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.
Telecom Namibia re- launches ‘Switch’ CDMA mobile voice service
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: CDMA mobile voice service ‘Switch’ has been officially re- launched by Telecom Namibia on March 24, 2010 with extensive coverage of rural areas. The service has come after ten months when the government lifted mobility restrictions on the service.
The government removed restrictions in May 2009 limiting each switch voice service user to a zone in and around their home town. In the following month, the service was re- launched as a mobile service. However, initially the network did not extend much beyond urban zones, partly because covering main roads between towns would have been pointless during Switch’s period as a restricted mobility service.
After the complaint from GSM mobile operators that Telecom Namibia was offering mobile services under a fixed line license when it originally launched in November 2006, ban was imposed on full voice mobility.
According Telecom’s marketing and sales manager, Amanda Hauuanga, re-launch is providing Telecom Namibia with the opportunity to touch base with end users, bring back their confidence, gather feedback to further improve its Switch products and create further brand and product awareness in the market.
Users to make and receive calls, send and receive SMS messages and connect to the internet with a data package provided over CDMA2000 1x, and in certain areas, 1xEV-DO technology through switch.
BEE day: Telecom Namibia to launch procurement policy
Fixed line monopoly operator Telecom Namibia has announced that it will officially launch its Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Procurement Policy at the NamPower Convention Centre in Windhoek on 13 June 2007. The BEE policy, aimed at the company’s supplier base, takes a proactive approach to redressing economic imbalances in the country. The policy includes a rating system that will be used to evaluate potential suppliers, with BEE measures making up 15% of the scores. The company’s managing director Frans Ndoroma said: ‘Telecom Namibia is committed to…BEE that is broad-based, the most difficult, yet the most rewarding form of such empowerment possible…Properly managed, the BEE philosophy holds the promise of strengthening the social fabric by giving vastly greater numbers of people a stake in the economy.’ He added that Telecom Namibia looks forward to forging mutually beneficial business relations with all those companies that share its vision. TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database notes that Telecom Namibia is owned by state holding company Namibia Post and Telecommunications Holdings (NPTH), which also owns a 66% stake in the country’s largest mobile operator Mobile Telecommunications (MTC); the government plans to complete the sale of a 15% stake in MTC to local BEE groups this year.
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