28 November 2012

Telecom Namibia today announced that the Communication Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) has formally cleared the Company’s completed acquisition of Powercom (Pty) Ltd, trade name Leo, the country’s second mobile operator. The transaction was already approved by the Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC) on 27 April this year.

CRAN’s approval marks the final approval required for Telecom Namibia’s overall transaction with Guinea Fowl Investments Two (Pty) Ltd to acquire 100% equity stake in Powercom (Pty) Ltd T/A Leo, effectively placing the Company under the full control of Telecom Namibia.

Commenting on the development, Frans Ndoroma, MD of Telecom Namibia, said; “This is a milestone achievement for Telecom Namibia and it undoubtedly positions TN as a fully-fledged ICT service provider. We are indeed pleased to welcome Powercom (Pty) Ltd t/a Leo customers and staff to the Telecom Namibia family.”

Ndoroma said that Telecom Namibia’s acquisition of Powercom (Pty) Ltd T/A Leo will see mobile users across the country benefiting from increased investment in even better mobile services and new technology in the future. “Our immediate focus from today will be on improving services, products, marketing, and network coverage to meet the needs of the Namibian market,” he said.

“With Powercom (Pty) Ltd T/A Leo as part of the Telecom Namibia Group, it will serve as an active platform to introduce innovative fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services and using the all-powerful Telecom Namibia infrastructure for backhauling and transport capability,” the MD added.

“I thank our shareholder for the confidence they placed in us, as well as our Minister of ICT, Hon. Joel Kaapnda for his unwavering support to us. I would like to extend my gratitude to the Board of Directors of Telecom Namibia, the management team as well as our employees and Union Executive who supported TN during the bidding for this acquisition. Last but not least, I thank Mr. Stanley Similo, in his capacity as Acting CEO, who managed to steer the company forward with all employees onboard, during these turbulent times

Telecom Namibia’s Chief Strategy Officer Theo Klein will assume the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer at Leo with immediate effect. He will report to the Board of Directors of the Company.

"I am very pleased to join Powercom (Pty) Ltd T/A Leo at this decisive moment in its development. The opportunities at the newly acquired entity are both exciting and challenging. Together with the Company's solid management team and employees, we are looking forward to further establishing a strong platform and infrastructure that will enable us to deliver new products that compliment Telecom Namibia's existing services," said Klein.

The acquisition of Powercom (Pty) Ltd T/A Leo represents a unique opportunity to gain full management control of a mobile business with growth potential. Telecom Namibia is committed to accelerating the growth of Powercom (Pty) Ltd T/A Leo and increasing its share in the dynamic Namibian mobile market. This represents a great opportunity that will allow us to fully integrate the new acquisition to the Telecom Namibia family and take advantage of Group synergies and jointly becoming a stronger player in the market.

In addition, this transaction delivers significant customer, shareholder and public benefits that are available at this level only from the combination of these two companies with complementary network technologies and operations. Telecom Namibia is confident in its ability to execute a seamless integration, and with additional spectrum and network capabilities, the Company can better face competition, build for the future and help meet customers’ demands for FMC services.

Telecom Namibia has awarded the 2012 Paralympic Gold and Silver Medalist, Johanna Benson with a laptop and a 24-month free broadband Speedlink connection, valued at N$25 000 for her brilliant exploits at the London Games.

Head of Marketing Amanda Hauuanga said the Telecom Namibia gift would enable the sprinting sensation“to keep in touch with families, friends and fans around the world.”

Benson was attending a Telecom-sponsoredNamibian Businesswomen Projects’ year-end breakfast held in Windhoek on 9 November.

Oiva Angula, Telecom’s Senior Manager of Corporate Communications & Public Relations, extended the company’s congratulations to the athlete who was the guest of honour at the event.

“This gives me the opportunity, on behalf of Telecom Namibia, to extend hearty congratulations to Johanna, Namibia’s first ever Paralympic gold medallist, for her success in London. Your gold- and silver-medal performances are amazing, a testament to your the hard work and dedication as an athlete. We all are so proud. Well done,” Angula said.

“Women not only in Namibia but the world over, because of the challenges they confront, are trailblazers, instinctual innovators and they are energetic entrepreneurs if exposed to an opportunity. You know that; many are here in this room. Their drive and their ideas must be recognised and realised, but they must be given the resources to do this and take it to scale,” he added.

He said Telecom Namibia was proud to be the main sponsor of the Namibian Businesswomen Projects. “Research and experience have shown that educating women is among the most effective ways of improving a country’s overall wellbeing, and beneficiaries of various programmes of the Namibian Businesswomen Projects are energetically playing their part in the boardrooms of their companies and other spheres of our national lives,” Angula said.

“We at Telecom Namibia do not believe that a company has to choose between being a successful business and a responsible one. We have a model for making a difference that works. When we combine the Telecom Namibia model with women’s empowerment, we have an incredible opportunity to make a difference on the big challenges facing our country today.”

Angula said gender equity and women empowerment have been the missing links in the human development value chain for too long.

“What is needed is the enhancing of women’s financial inclusion, building enabling environments for women to thrive as entrepreneurs as well as to create opportunities for women to participate in commerce through inclusive and transparent procurement chains,” he stressed.

Angula called upon Namibian businesswomen to participate fully in Telecom Namibia tendering process to grow their businesses, adding: “We are eager to increase women share on the Telecom Namibia account, in addition to making philanthropic giving toward women’s economic empowerment projects.

“Helping more women live better is a defining issue for Telecom Namibia and our country. We are stepping up our efforts to help educate, source from and open opportunities for women around the country. We want women to view us as a company that is relevant to them and cares about them. We want them to be leading suppliers, managers and loyal customers,” he said.

12 October 2012

Over 900 participants attended the 6th Telecom Namibia ICT Summit 2012 on October 9 to 11 at the Safari Hotel & Conference Centre in Windhoek under the theme, “ICT – an integral part of everyday lives.”

Founded in 2007, this prestigious event has rapidly won national limelight for being one of the best platforms that catapults ICT issues on the national agenda, as it garner significant participation from key local and foreign players in the ICT sector – the manufacturers, suppliers, the intermediaries, the service providers, maintenance companies, the customers, the regulator (CRAN), government agencies and the consultants - to exchange latest information on technological improvements, new innovative ideas, products, services and solutions.

Honourable Joel Kaapanda, Minister of Information and Communication Technology delivered the keynote address at the gathering’s start.

Also in attendance was the Minister of Education, Hon. Dr. Abraham Iyambo, whose ministry is keen in introducing e-learning through the TECH/NA!, a comprehensive strategy for the integration of ICTs across the entire education sector. Telecom Namibia is a partner in TECH/NA!

This year’s event presented the participants the opportunity to interrogate a complex array of technical, technological and organisational challenges in making ICT part of the everyday lives of Namibian households, businesses and public sector.

This Summit had a strong focus on ICT diffusion and utilisation, in keeping with the theme of the Summit. Some of the vital issues that came out were:

1. Using ICT to improve information and exchange and decision-making;
2. Using ICT to improve health, education and the economy, especially employment creation;
3. Using ICT to create business opportunities;
4. Corporate responsibility on the issue of ICT, in particular working to increase the access, use and benefits from ICT;
5. Youth empowerment, in relation to ICT; and
6. Enabling environments in terms of policies, regulatory frameworks, resource allocations and strategies in order to be able to reach a wider group of end-users.

In his keynote address Minister Kaapanda stressed some of the achievements that are directly attributable to Telecom Namibia. He said that the arrival of the West-African-Cable System last year laid the foundation with state-of-the-art infrastructure for ICT promotion, growth and development. He further said that Namibia’s direct connectivity to the WACS cable placed the country in an advantageous position to act as a gateway for land-locked countries to access the rest of the world through the submarine cable system. “The international points of presence that Telecom Namibia is establishing in various countries would immensely benefit neighbouring States,” the Minister added.

Telecom Namibia Managing Director Frans Ndoroma pointed out that the decision to transition the company towards a Next Generation Network Operator six years ago had seen advances in ICT in the country, and the introduction of many innovative products, services and solutions by Telecom Namibia and other ICT players.

In addition to the tremendous growth in broadband capacity over the last, Ndoroma revealed that more and more households are being connected to the Telecom Namibia fixed broadband networks with maximum speeds of 2 megabit per second. Fixed broadband connections in 2011 increased by 28.7%, while net growth this year amounted to 31%.

In the foreword to the summit brochure, Ndoroma mentioned some achievements that show that the company is still leading the pack on ICT development in Namibia. He stated: “Fixed and wireless broadband infrastructure is being rolled out throughout the country. A national IP/MPLS core transport network is in place, supported by a state-of-the-art DWDM platform” all which are crucial to the provisioning of advanced ICT services in the country.

He continued: “We have deployed about 9,000 km of fibre optic cables. The deployment of fibre will provide the opportunity for innovative IT applications to emerge in business, government, education and health sectors which will achieve a number of social and economic benefits.”

Sustaining success requires that Namibia’s ICT players to evolve policy and sector development actions beyond connectivity, and accelerate the identification and build-up of ‘right to win’ capabilities in the new digitisation era, including speed, usability, skills, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

The Summit ended on 11 October 2012.