INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY TELECOM NAMIBIA LTD IS NAMIBIA’S NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS OPERATOR. NAMIBIA BOASTS A 98% DIGITAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE. NAMIBIA’S CELLULAR NETWORK SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE MTC, OPERATIONAL SINCE 1995, AND TN MOBILE. NAMIBIA POST LTD OFFERS COURIER SERVICES. NAMPOST HAS MORE THAN 122 POST OFFICES AND 93 000 REGISTERED MAILBOX HOLDERS COUNTRYWIDE AND IS AFFILIATED TO THE UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION. INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE CODE +264 + AREA CODE + NUMBER
CRAN is the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia. It regulates telecommunication services and networks, broadcasting services, postal services and the use and allocation of radio spectrums. Consumer protection and advocacy forms an integral part of CRAN’s mandate. The Regulator endeavours to ensure that consumers receive the full benefits of competitive electronic communication services and are protected against any exploitation or abuse.
RESPONSIBILITIES: • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Ensure compliance with legislation and regulations Grant, renew, amend, transfer, suspend and revoke licences Implement a transparent and fair pricing regime Respond to consumer complaints Protect consumers in respect of prices, quality, variety of services and user equipment supplied Promote competition amongst service providers Manage spectrum planning and allocation Ensure that telecommunications services are operated in a manner best suited to the economic and social development of Namibia Establish procedures for ensuring safety and quality of services Regulate interconnection Facilitate the negotiation of rights of way Manage numbering, planning and allocation Facilitate universal service and attract foreign direct investment
ICT AND IDI DEVELOPMENTS IN NAMIBIA
Namibia improved its ID score from 3.20 in 2015 to 3.64 in 2016, making it the second most dynamic country in Africa in terms of IDI value after Côte d’Ivoire. The main reason for this improvement was
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substantial growth in the number of mobile-broadband subscriptions, pushing up Namibia’s use sub-index value from 1.73 to 2.91, the largest increase in the use sub-index. The growth was stimulated primarily by reductions in tariffs and packages aimed at low-income users. In 2015, Namibia’s mobile-broadband penetration stood at 62 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, the fourth highest in Africa after Cape Verde, Botswana and Ghana. Namibia’s overall IDI (ICT Development Index) score would have improved further had it not been for a drop in its access sub-index value caused by a 9 per cent reduction in the number of mobile subscriptions, the result of a decrease in the use of multiple SIM cards following a merger between two operators. Namibia’s score on the access sub-index fell from 4.35 to 4.25. Namibia is one of the frontrunners in Africa in ICT development, as the government has encouraged modernisation of the country’s telecom network. In 2014, Telecom Namibia started to construct a fibre-based network to connect the central government to the administrative capitals of all 14 regions in the country. The project aims to support government efforts towards decentralisation and make effective e-government available to the wider public. Mobile Telecommunications (MTC), the largest operator in Namibia, was also one of the first operators in Africa to launch both commercial 3G and 4G networks (in 2006 and 2012 respectively). In April 2016, MTC, in cooperation with Huawei, also announced the first commercial use of a (LTE-A) network in Africa, making Namibia the first country in Africa to reach speeds of 1 Gbit/s. Source: MICT Namibia: Measuring the Information Society Report 2016