The middle of last month, we moved into our house. A few days after moving in, we started the process to get our internet. We expected the process to take a few days or maybe a week, but were shocked that it actually lasted about a month. We finally got our internet just over a week ago. The process, like many things in Zambia was complicated.
First, we had to go to Zamtel (the phone company) and request that a survey be done of our house to see if it would be possible to get a phone line for internet. At that time, we had to submit a letter from our landlord stating that we did live at the property and had permission to get a phone line and internet. After making the request, we waited about a week for them to come to do the survey. As it turned out, though, as soon as the technician arrived at our house, he remembered our property from a previous tenant, so an actual survey of the property was not necessary. In fact, he never even came through the gate into our yard.
After the survey, we returned to Zamtel to fill out two forms (see photo below) to request a phone line. The form required a lot of information and a passport-sized photo. It took the technicians another week to come and install our phone line.
Then, I went back to Zamtel to fill out the same form again (with another photo) to request our internet. Again, we waited over a week for the installation.
While we waited for our internet, we used internet through the cell towers. USB drives with SIM cards can be purchased at the cell phone stores here. The internet was not great and did not do well for uploading photos, but it was better than nothing.
Thankfully, we now have real internet and it has been working well. Now, that we have internet, I have a lot of posting to do! I have house photos, vacations, and other fabulous activities that I can't wait to share, so stay tuned!
