Namibia`s premiere information and communication technology (ICT) event "“ Telecom Namibia ICT Summit 2009, is scheduled to take place in Windhoek on July 8-9, 2009.
The two-day summit, which forms part of concerted efforts by Telecom Namibia to enhance the momentum for the development of ICT in the country, will be held at the Safari Hotel and Conference Centre under the theme "ICT: Visualising the Future "“ Confronting the Crisis."
"The aim of the Telecom Namibia ICT Summit 2009 is to boost confidence and build motivation for future business oriented development, taking into account and overcoming local adversities and the difficult economic climate," said Coenraad Coetzee, General Manager for ICT and Corporate Business Solutions at Telecom Namibia.
This year`s ICT Summit, being one of the most important events in ICT area in Namibia, will be officially opened by Information and Communication Technology Minister Honourable Joel Kaapanda. Board Chairman of Telecom Namibia Joseph Iita is also expected to address the Summit.
Coetzee said the summit had evoked an enthusiastic interest both nationally and internationally.
About 600 people have so far been registered and some are still registering to take part in the ICT Summit this year. These include government officials, business leaders and ICT experts from Namibia as well as high-profile delegates from South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola, Nigeria, DRC Congo and Germany.
"It is a well known fact that all of the successful economies of the world have are using ICT as a main driver for their development and the ICT Summit will be showcasing and promoting ICT as part of our daily lives." Coetzee said.
He said there is a need to move forward through the adoption of ICT initiatives and take advantage of the numerous benefits they do offer, as this would not only lead to better communications but also to a better economy, a better education and ultimately a better future for Namibia.
Speakers who will feature at the event include Stanley Shanapinda of Telecom Namibia who will speak about "Changing the ICT regulatory landscape "“ the Communications Bill 2009," Michele Categnaro of Cisco "Weathering the storm through ICT," George Debbo of Ericsson on "Fixed mobile convergence "“ the next evolutionary step," Malcolm Anderson of Cornastone IT Services on "How to create a virtualisation strategy for your organisation".
There will be presentations on Visualisation by Dimension Data, on Customer Management by Business Connexion Namibia and on Loyalty Manager by SAAB Grintek.
Buhle Dlamini of Marie Grey & Associates who has been sponsored by Telecom Namibia to deliver a talk on "Owning the future.
"The discussions at the Summit will contribute to shaping a clear vision and roadmap for ICT development within Namibia. We are hopeful that the ideas and insights brought up by the Summit will result in concrete project," Coetzee concluded.
This Telecom Namibia ICT Summit 2009 is the third one to be held following the very successful summits in 2007 and last year. The 2-day summit brings together key ICT practitioners and decision makers and users from across Namibia and the region and increase their awareness and exposure to the latest emerging trends and opportunities in ICT.
Visit the ICT Summit website www.ictsummit.telecom.na to learn more about the sponsors, the presentations, the programme and the workshops which
The telecommunications regulator, Namibia Communications Commission (NCC) has come out with new norms on interconnect charges for Namibian networks. The move was long awaited and will have considerable impact on existing operators. The NCC has reduced termination charge by between 4.8% and 43.4%, effective from the 1 July 2009.
In a public notice released on 2 July 2009, the NCC says the move is aimed at gradually enforcing cost based termination rates for interconnections between operators in line with international best practice and the new Communications Bill currently before Parliament. This follows a compromised termination rate model agreed to between Telecom Namibia, Cell One and MTC last month.
This regulation means the termination rates for all types of domestic and international calls, including fixed to fixed, fixed to mobile, mobile to fixed, and mobile to mobile, are set at the same level of 60 cents per minutes.
"¢ The current mobile termination rate (MTR) of N$1.06 per minute was slashed by 43.4% to only 60 cents a minute.
"¢ The current fixed termination rate (FTR) of 63 cents per minute was cut by 4.8% to 60 cents a minute.
"¢ Charges for calls originating internationally and terminating locally via Telecom Namibia network will now be charged at 60 cents a minute, up by 1.7% from the current 59 cents a minute.
The termination rate for all calls originating in Namibia and terminating internationally was set at 60 cents a minute plus the international settlement fee payable to the foreign operator for terminating that call.
The NCC said that the mobile operators "“ Cell One and MTC "“ have requested further regulatory interventions "to level the playing field." These, the regulator said, are under consideration.
"The NCC will closely monitor the market developments and a review of termination rates will be conducted every two years to ensure that termination rates are kept current in light of declining cost and rate trends," the regulator pointed out.
It further states that any operator could request a revision of termination rates by demonstrating that its forward-looking long-run incremental cost of termination is above the prescribed ceiling will take place during the two days.