WAN to link Zambian post offices

Zambia Postal Service (ZAMPOST), in partnership with the Zambia Telecommunications (ZAMTEL), has secured US$700,000 in funding to install a WAN (wide area network) that will link all the country's post offices.

The postal service is mainly hindered by a lack of connectivity among branches, especially those in rural areas, said ZAMPOST Director of Operations Kathryn Chellah.

With the WAN in place, she explained, it will be easier for ZAMPOST to offer electronic services, like the new ePost service, which is now ready for launch after several months of testing. The electronic-based postal service allows customers to send mail over the Internet using their physical or postal addresses as opposed to their e-mail addresses.

Other electronic services now available from ZAMPOST include Western Union Money Transfer service and SWIFT CASH, a domestic money transfer service.

In response to the explosion of ICT in Zambia, the corporation has also introduced business centers - offering Internet, secretarial, photocopy and pay phone services - at major post offices.