4 September 2019

Delegates from the Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA) member states converged in the Namibian capital, Windhoek on 4 September 2019 to attend the Service and Network Operations Southern Africa (SNOSA) Conference, scheduled for 4-6 September.

SATA established the SNOSA in 2006 as a forum to champion Service and Network Operations (SNO) activities and developments by addressing pressing issues and contribute to global standardization.

The forum allows for the sharing of information and has a direct impact on changing or implementing new processes that apply to network and service management. SNOSA focuses on service and network operations and strives to drive standards bodies and industry organizations by being the "voice of service and network operations".

Over the course of the three days, the meeting will aim to encourage participation in the identification, development and implementation of network and service management activities for operations as well as disseminate information relating to network and service management operations, techniques and procedures for new technologies.

Addressing the delegates, Linda Aipinge, Director for ICT Development in the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) on behalf of the MICT Minister said: `Namibia has invested greatly in our telecommunications infrastructure and continue to upgrade and install new infrastructure where required to ensure the delivery of fixed and mobile services. The same can be said for other nations on the continent, and more specifically the SADC region. Investment in the telecommunications infrastructure opens opportunities for trade within the country and beyond the borders of our respective countries. To communicate in real time with the developed world, we require similar infrastructure, products and services in our countries.`

Speaking at the same event, Amon Dlamini, Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation GM: Telecom Operations on behalf of the SNOSA Chairman, Petros Dlamini said: `I believe that as Telcos, we will take a keen interest in embracing and advancing the 4th industrial revolution, the Internet of Things (IoT). Africa, as a continent, might not have participated actively in previous industrial revolutions; this time around, I believe we should not be left behind.`

In his address, delivered by the Head: Corporate Communication and Public Relations, Nomvula Kondombolo-Kambinda, Telecom Namibia Acting CEO, Armando Perny highlighted customer experience saying `Telcos have an opportunity to improve the customer experience by ensuring that we deliver services on time; ensure that faulty services are resolved on time; ensure that the network is performing in line with the customer experience aligned network KPIs to ensure an optimum customer experience across the different services namely voice, data and VAS. Opportunities will be found by operators that can have a 360 view of the customer experience across all channels and particularly when the customers are on the operator network.`

SNOSA has three general areas of interest. These are:
Network Management, which covers topical areas related to the operations of telecoms /ICT networks across fixed, mobile and next generation networks
Service Management, which covers topical areas related to the service management of telecoms networks across fixed, mobile and next generation networks
New and Hot Topics, which covers topical areas related to transformation and migration to new and future technologies like 5G.