Telecom Namibia customers are being targeted by fraudsters posing as employees of our company, telling them that they have been "overcharged" and a rebate on their telephone account needed to be paid to them.

Such attempts to dupe Telecom Namibia customers have been reported in several towns in the Karas, Hardap and Erongo regions of the country.

In all incidences, the mysterious callers requested the unsuspecting customers for their bank account details, claiming that Telecom Namibia has had a "problem" on its billing system and have thus "overcharged" them, and then promising to refund them as soon they get the bank details.

Telecom Namibia does not do refunds on customer accounts without a physically visit from the customer himself/herself to one of our Teleshop where he/she is required to complete a credit refund form.

Fraud over telephone, SMS and emails has unfortunately become a reality in this information age. These criminals have no conscience and will go full speed in trying all sorts of tricks to rip off any member of the public.

We sincerely advise all our customers to be careful not to divulge any confidential information to unknown persons masquerading as Telecom Namibia employees. Customers who will be approached in such a way are encouraged to capture the number of the calling party and report such a case to Telecom Namibia immediately for further investigation.

Customers can make inquiries about suspicious calls to the Customer Contact Centre at 1100.

WINDHOEK - The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology is working towards a plan to advance Information Communication Technology (ICT), as the most important economic sector in the country.

A staggering N$320 million has been earmarked over the next five years, to fulfil this Vision 2030 objective that wants to see Namibian-based ICT service companies as competitive players on international markets, exporting to a large extent tailor-made hardware and software to the global market using electronic business.

The amount excludes the annual subsidies to parastatals such as the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation, the Namibian Press Agency, New Era Publications Corporation and NamZim Newspapers.

Line minister, Joel Kaapanda, says the targets set for the ICT sector in Vision 2030 are eight years behind schedule.

"By 2010, which is next year, Vision 2030 wants to see achievements in the ICT sector that include massive foreign investments in research institutions in Namibia," Kaapanda said.

The goal is to have Internet access in virtually all rural areas through the deployment of innovative technology, and government institutions that provide e-business services to the Namibian public and foreign investors.

"It is no secret that Namibia was once a leader in this sector in SADC and on the African continent. Unfortunately, our ratings have dropped," Kaapanda remarked.

He said although the country's telephone and cellular infrastructure is still among the highest on the continent, it is lagging behind in policy implementation, legal and regulatory frameworks, access for all, affordability and human resource capacity.

Kaapanda attributes this to the sector that was fragmented until last year with the creation of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, resulting in important sectoral functions coming together under one roof.

The minister said what now remains is to adopt the ministry's strategic plan, implement the ministry's mandate and create a statutory inter-ministerial ICT coordinating body.

"This body must consult and plan together to ensure that the available financial resources are used to best serve the nation and to bring an end to the costly duplication of services," Kaapanda added.

Regarding the Vision 2030 backlog, Kaapanda said it is not necessary to despair although the backlog is huge.

He said the ministry has, during the current financial year, invested time in the review, update and development of the ICT Policy, the Telecommunication Policy, Postal Policy, Broadcasting Policy and an Overarching ICT Policy.

The long-awaited Information Communication Bill, expected to create an autonomous regulator, levelling playing fields in the communication industry has been finalised and might be enacted during the first sitting of Parliament this year.

Cabinet has also guaranteed N$250 million for the construction of an undersea cable that will enhance broadband access and bring a landing point to Namibia.

The completion of the cable is expected to increase Internet speed and enhance access at more affordable prices.

Kaapanda, who was speaking at the stakeholders' meeting on the ministry's five-year strategic plan, said although a lot of groundwork has been done to position Namibia in the international information society, the industry faces serious challenges.

He said challenges are the approval of the ministerial structure, attracting and retaining the necessary human capacity to implement and drive the development and growth of the ICT sector and an adequate budgetary allocation for the 2009/10 and future financial years.

Telecom Namibia could be the first Internet Protocol (IP) based fully converged telecom operator in Africa leading the way on the continent and letting Namibia leap-frog into the information society.

As the converged market share increases, this will allow Telecom Namibia to deepen fixed and fixed-wireless penetration while capturing a much larger share of the current mobile market.

This would make Namibia's telecommunications giant the only operator that could offer fully converged services in Namibia.

These are the latest findings presented in a 4-page Namibia Economic Public Research Unit (NEPRU) Private Sector Brief compiled for Telecom Namibia as one of the sponsors of the 2007/8 e-Access and Usage Household Survey conducted in 17 African countries by ResearchICTafrica.net.

The brief further states that "œTelecom Namibia would be best advised to become a converged low cost provider, tapping into un-served markets and delivering a developmental impetus for Namibia that other operators are unlikely to deliver."

With the new telecommunications bill, new players in the market and converging technologies, Telecom Namibia is likely to be the leading provider to offer a fully converged Web 3.0 type services to the untapped market.

Web 3.0 is all about two IP addresses communicating any data through any type of technology. This can range from fixed line, mobile, fixed, wireless, Wi-Fi, PDA, computer or to car navigation system technologies.

"Convergence would not only address the growing information needs of those that currently use ICTs , but also extend it to poor people and rural communities that cannot afford it currently," reads the brief.

For Telecom Namibia this is very much possible because Namibia has a vast un-served market. Therefore, "œrolling out next generation network services would allow Telecom Namibia to gain market share among current users of ICTs and to tap into the currently un-serves market segment."

Since Namibians spend nearly 10 percent of their income and a quarter of their disposable income on average on mobile telecommunication, "œadditional services (by Telecom Namibia) can attract an equal or even higher amount of the disposable of Namibians in the future."

This bodes well for Telecom Namibia since it is the only provider that can offer exclusive handset subsidies. Therefore "185,000 Namibia without a mobile phone at present would be willing to buy one at N$100," states the brief, adding that Telecom Namibia is price leader already in mobile products.

"Moving to fully IP convergence would allow Telecom Namibia to increase its market share, secure a sustainable future and be of service to Namibia delivering an ICT environment that creates jobs and generates economic growth," the brief concluded.

The recent NEPRU brief titled "Towards one converged telecommunication service" was compiled by local researcher Dr. Christoph Stork.