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.

1 October 2012

Employees of Telecom Namibia have received increases in salaries, following negotiations on wages and benefits between the company’s management and the Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu).

As per the agreement reached by the two parties on September 20 this year, the increases in salaries will be implemented from October 1. Basic salaries for employees in the Paterson job grades A2 to C3 will have their salaries increased by 8%. Employees in the job grade C-Upper will have a 6% increase and the total packages for employees in job grades D1 to D3 will also be increased by 6%. The monthly housing allowance for employees in job grades A2 to A3 will be increased by N$100, and their monthly transport allowance will be increased by N$80.

“This agreement, in my estimation, is a good one since it captures the principles of inflation-based adjustments.

This agreement reflects the maturity of the leadership of Telecom Namibia and Napwu.It shows that Telecom Namibia cares about the quality of life for our most important resource - our employees,” said Telecom Namibia’s Managing Director Frans Ndoroma, before he signed the agreement on 26 September.

Ndoroma also said the agreement reflects their awareness of the realities of the macro-economic environment in which Telecom Namibia operates as a business. He stated that the agreement balances the impact of inflation and the sustainability of escalating labour costs.

“When labour costs are allowed to run wild, they present risks to jobs and levels of employment,” noted Ndoroma. He further said that the negotiations for increases in salaries were conducted within a commendable spirit, which served the interests of all the parties concerned - particularly the Telecom Namibia employees. He applauded the outstanding leadership displayed by the negotiating teams of the two parties, as the agreement was reached in a record period of two days.

Napwu General Secretary Petrus Nevonga hailed the agreement as a real significant achievement, when one takes into consideration the numerous media reports about protracted and destructive wage negotiations that are currently taking place in the country. He thanked the negotiating teams of the two parties for working hard and tirelessly to secure the agreement without the involvement of outside entities.

MEDIA RELEASE
20 September 2012

The Telecom Namibia Information Communication Technology (ICT) Summit will be held at the Safari Hotel & Conference Centre in Windhoek from 9-11 October 2012.

The Summit is the major ICT event on the Namibian calendar and takes place annually since 2007.

This year, the Summit celebrates its sixth anniversary and it has become a unique and powerful platform for all the key players to come together to share information, learn from each other, and discuss and identify measures to address issues that emerge from the wide-scale application and rapid development of ICTs.

Coinciding with the 20th Anniversary of Telecom Namibia, the Summit will look at the revolution that transformed the IT and telecommunications sector in Namibia and Telecom Namibia, as the key player, over the past 20 years.

Information communication technologies (ICTs) are improving at a fascinating rate. ICTs are not simply a way of organising business to improve efficiency and increase competitiveness. The ICT services and infrastructure that enable the digital economy are now increasingly becoming an integral part of everyday lives. They encompass business, education, freedom of speech, entertainment, as well as social inclusion and health, reaching out to improve the well-being of peoples across the globe.

Thus the theme for this year’s event is, “ICT – an integral part of everyday lives,” which provides an opportunity for ICT users, policy makers, industry players and the sector itself to interrogate how best the ICT potential – through social inclusion - can be harnessed to achieve real sustainable development for business, society and the environment as Namibia moves towards Vision 2030. Since education, knowledge, information and communication are at the core of human progress, endeavour and well-being in the digital economy, ICTs have an immense impact on virtually all aspects of our lives.

Through a series of high-level speeches, debates, interviews and case studies, our distinguished speaker line-up will look at the enormous potential of ICT to boost economic development and improve Namibia's competitiveness, by leading to new sources of growth and addressing key societal challenges we are facing as we forge ahead with the implementation of NDP-4. There will be a strong focus on how the industry players, the regulator, policymakers can work together to promote ICT penetration in the country.

One biggest challenge to be addressed by the Summit is how to harness the potential of ICT to create an inclusive society, to promote the development goals of NDP-4, namely the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; achievement of universal primary education; promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women; reduction of child mortality; improvement of maternal health; to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; and ensuring environmental sustainability.

There are also a number of key questions to be answered. How best can we empower the poor, particularly those living in remote, rural and marginalised urban areas, to access information and knowledge? How can we promote IT literacy? How can we shape ICT progress and how to ensure that Namibian citizens and businesses can make the best out of it?

Many ICT companies will be showcasing their products and services and close to 600 delegates are expected to attend the Summit. The event programme has an impressive line-up of local and international experts, who will deliver presentations and participate in panel discussions and workshops.

Members of the public who want to participate in the Summit are requested to register online at www.ictsummit.telecom.na

ISSUED BY:
Oiva Angula