MTC launches 4G LTE services in Namibia (Namibia)
Mobile operator MTC has rolled out the 4G LTE cellular telephony in Windhoek, a broadband network that is said to be 10 times faster than the previous connection, according to a report by AllAfrica.
Speaking at the launch of the new technology, Miguel Geraldes, Managing Director of MTC said customers will have a much better experience in 4G as the speed will be tremendously faster. 4G is the fourth generation of wireless communication standards, converging computers and cellphones wirelessly in an era of ultra-fast broadband internet access.
As per the report, Geraldes said that there will be no latency, when you click the button, you no longer have to wait to get a response from the network as this will now be instant which is significant for business.
After Angola, Namibia becomes the second country in Africa to be equipped with the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE). MTC’s latest move follow last weeks launch of the long awaited West African Cable System, a connection that, among others is set to enable high-speed internet access. The 4G LTE will for now only be accessed in certain areas in Windhoek.
Geraldes added that they further expect to cover the whole of Windhoek with 4G LTE at the end of July 2012, adding that 4G LTE will allow mobility with download speeds up to 100MB per second and 50 Megabits per second upload compared with the current 3G where the speed was up to 7.2/1.8 Megabits per second. Further, put simply the speed will be 10 times much faster than the current version of Netman 3G.
Geraldes said MTC has ambitions to cover 45 per cent of the Namibian population in the next 12 months, including part of the rural areas, which, according to him, compared with the current 3G that covered close to 32 per cent based in urban areas.
There are a full range of devices already available for the customers from the dongle to connect with a laptop, a desktop, a tablet, and even a smartphone.
Mobile money services receive success in Africa (Africa)
The success of mobile banking services in Africa can be gauged by a report by FNB, highlighting a 150 per cent hike in transaction growth for its cellphone banking service and 1384 per cent growth for eWallet, for the month of December 2011 when compared to the previous December.
The report reveals that customers conducted 2.4 million cellphone banking transactions during December 2011 in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Swaziland and Lesotho, to the value of US$ 27.9 million as compared to US$ 128,485 transactions in December 2010.
Botswana, recorded over 1.3 million cellphone banking transactions, representing a 126 per cent increase year-on-year. Further, Namibia recorded year-on-year growth of 155 per cent, with Zambia at 308 per cent and Swaziland at 227 per cent.
As per the report, Ravesh Ramlakan, CEO, FNB Cellphone Banking Solutions, has said that the increasing confidence amongst consumers in using their handsets for money transcations have greatly aided in the adoption of mobile money services in the country. He added that innovation has played a key role in growing cellphone banking across Africa. Further, their ability to adapt the service for use on any cellphone has been an important driver of this growth.
Users can conduct a number of transactions using FNB Cellphone Banking, including transferring money between their own FNB accounts, buying prepaid airtime and making third party payments.
The report reveals that, FNB eWallet has generated 407,110 original sends in its four African Operations (Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho and Zambia) as at the end of December 2011. In Botswana FNB eWallet, saw an increase in original sends of 1236 per cent year-on-year from December 2010 to December 2011.
Yolande van Wyk, CEO, FNB eWallet Solutions has said that although eWallet has only recently been introduced to markets outside South Africa, the service has demonstrated strong potential for continued growth into the future. He claims that a country like Zambia for example has 5.4 million mobile phone users and a large informal sector, making a solution such as eWallet ideal in helping bridge the financial services gap between the banked and the unbanked. eWallet reduces both risk and cost, and in African markets they have found this to be essential in any financial product offering. Simple, convenient and affordable financial services represent the future of banking in Africa.
eWallet allows FNB customers to send money to anyone within the borders of the country in which the service operates. The convenience lies in the fact that the recipient does not need to have a bank account. The money is transferred instantly and the recipient uses a pin code sent to their cellphone to access the cash from FNB ATMs.
Orascom Telecom finalizes to sell Powercom (Egypt)
Orascom Telecom, which operates in Egypt, has announced that its fully-owned subsidiary Telecel Globe has entered into an agreement to sell Powercom to Investec and Nedbank.
The consideration for the sale consists of all liabilities of Powercom of about US$60 million. The sale is conditional upon regulatory approval.
According to Orascom Telecom CEO Ahmed Abou Doma, they consider the transaction to be positive for Powercom as it strengthens the company through solid local partners. The development is also in line with the firm’s overall company strategy to focus on profitable growth. Powercom operates the Leo mobile network in Namibia.
208 operators in 80 countries currently investing in LTE- Report
A recent report by Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has revealed that around 208 operators are now investing in LTE, which is 98 operators more than in June 2010.
According to the report, the number of countries and territories where LTE systems are deployed or planned has increased by 32 in the same period.
The report confirms 154 firm LTE network deployments are in progress or planned in 60 countries, including 20 networks which have commercially launched. A further 54 operators in 20 more countries are engaged in LTE technology pilot trials or tests.
Taken together, it means that 208 operators in 80 countries are now investing in LTE. The report covers both LTE FDD and LTE TDD systems. The 60 countries and territories having firm LTE network commitments are Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong S.A.R., Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore , South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, UAE, UK, Uruguay, USA, and Uzbekistan.
LTE networks are launched in 14 countries, namely Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, USA, and Uzbekistan. GSA forecasts that at least 81 LTE networks will be in commercial service by end-2012.
MTC launches iPad 2 in Namibia
MTC has introduced the iPad 2, following the launch of the original iPad in September 2010.
The uptake and use of the first generation iPad was so high that users enquired about the availability of the new iPad2 as soon as it was introduced in overseas markets.
MTC has now launched the iPad2 on its Connect, Netman Plus and OfficeBox packages.
MTC tests new wind power system (Namibia)
MTC is currently trialing a new method of generating power through wind in a continued effort to find alternative power solutions.
The special wind charger is mounted on the existing radio tower whereas the most common systems require a separate structure. This immediately cuts costs for building an extra tower or structure to host the generator.
The demo system is a 1.1kW (at wind speeds of 12.5m/sec) and weighs 29kg in total. At MTC’s trial site good wind speeds of 3m/sec to 7m/sec are experienced. This gives power generation from 220Watt to 700Watt into the batteries. The system has control intelligence and during fully charged battery conditions, the electronics automatically breaks the wind generator and thus no power is being pushed into the batteries.
This means there is no need to dump the surplus charge current into a load and therefore no energy is wasted. The immediate benefit of the wind-power solution, once fully commissioned, is an increase in up-time, so less failures and therefore an improved service to customers.
The Airdolphin trial follows on the heels of the inauguration of its first fully-funded wind-powered solution on the Erindi Mountain at the Erindi Game Reserve in north-central Namibia, at Mile 108 in the Erongo Region and on the Sossusvlei Mountain in southern Namibia. MTC also has a number of BTS run on solar power.
MTC customer base grows to 1.53 mn in 2010 (Namibia)
MTC has revealed that it ended 2010 with a total 1.53 million active customers, an increase from 1.28 million compared to the previous year.
According to the company, revenues for the year were little changed due to the cuts in termination rates, while EBITDA improved to $785.8 million from $748 million in 2009.
Capex increased from $260 million to $410 million, almost half of which went to 3G network roll-out. The 3G investment helped data revenues grow 50% over the year, to 7.6% of total revenues by September 2010. Capex was higher than net profit for the year and a record for the company since its start.
MTC added that it was opposed to the regulator’s latest policy to cap off-net retail voice prices, stating that this is unprecedented for a regulator to intervene on retail prices. However, the company is positive on the country’s new communications law, which should allow it to gain a technology- and service-neutral licence.
Portugal Telecom Namibia opposes plan to regulate rates
Portugal Telecom’s unit in Namibia (MTC) has stated that it opposes a move to force mobile-phone companies to charge the same rates when subscribers call other networks in the southern African nation.
According to MTC, a decision by the Namibia Communications Commission, which regulates telecommunications in the country, will block innovation in terms of products and service that are the engine of competition.
As per the company, a bid by the company to block the commission’s move was rejected by the High Court in Windhoek, the capital. MTC has about 1.5 million subscribers and is Namibia’s biggest carrier.
Telecom Namibia Deploys Fiber-Optic Cable for High-Speed Broadband Connectivity
Telecom Namibia is set to link the southern African country to the consortium submarine system called West African Cable System (WACS) that links Africa to Europe.
The undersea fiber-optic cable, which was installed along the West African coast, delivered higher broadband connectivity for Namibia and its neighboring cities.
The WACS consortium includes 12 companies. They are Vodacom, Togo Telecom, Telkom SA, Telecom Namibia, Tata Communications/Neotel, Portugal Telecom/Cabo Verde Telecom, Office Congolais des Postes et Telecommunications, MTN, Congo Telecom, Cable & Wireless, Broadband Infraco and Angola Cables.
It is anticipated that the high-speed fiber-optic cable will help in reducing the cost for internet users. The cable will also be expanded to Botswana. According to media reports, Telecom Namibia has installed the required infrastructure to connect its Swakopmund’s landing station to the domestic network. The cable, which is installed in Swakopmund beach, was developed by Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks and Telecom Namibia.
Telecom Namibia anticipates that the commercial operation will be initiated in the Q2 of 2011 and hopes that the country will benefit from direct access to worldwide network cable network.
Telecom Namibia’s Managing Director, Frans Ndoroma stated that the 14,900 km WACS will provide direct connectivity between the UK, West Africa and Namibia.
Telecom Namibia ready for WACS
Telecom Namibia is ready to connect the country to the West African Cable System (WACS), a consortium high speed submarine system linking Africa to Europe, which it hopes will lead to higher-bandwidth, cheaper data and voice services for all end-users.
The US$600 million fibre-optic cable has reached the shores of Namibia, while Telecom has already deployed infrastructure to link its landing station at Swakopmund to its domestic network and expects that commercial services could be launched by the second quarter of this year. The project will give Namibia its first direct access to global submarine cable networks.
The WACS consortium consists of twelve companies: Angola Cables, Broadband Infraco, Cable & Wireless, Congo Telecom, MTN, Office Congolais des Postes et Telecommunications, Portugal Telecom/Cabo Verde Telecom, Tata Communications/Neotel, Telecom Namibia, Telkom SA, Togo Telecom and Vodacom.
