Media Centre

Telecom Namibia Managing Director Frans Ndoroma hosted an executive cocktail dinner for partners, IT and business executives at a local restaurant in the capital city last night ahead of the company's ICT Summit which gets underway at Safari Hotel & Conference Centre in Windhoek this morning.

According to the organizers, the Summit is heading for a major success. By yesterday afternoon 793 individuals have already announced their intention to participate in the largest ICT event in Namibia, says Chrissie Fendler, ICT Network Solutions Consultant at Telecom Namibia. "We still have tomorrow for registrations," she added.

Information and Communication Technology Minister Joel Kaapanda will open the two-day Summit scheduled to start at 08h30 today.

Speaking at the cocktail dinner last night, Mr Ndoroma said the event is Telecom's most innovative platform for knowledge sharing and partnership building among Namibian industry players as well as with their foreign partners.

Mr Ndoroma explained that the world has seen the emergence of three forces of change - people, markets and technologies - that transcend geographies and which, he said, are both converged and intertwined and are bound to alter and shape the future.

"Telecom Namibia ICT Summit 2009 will, among other issues, take a close look at these three forces of change and discuss solutions for the many challenges we need to tackle," he said.

"We have representatives from various nations and entities, where each has their own unique capacities. Let us through this ICT Summit explore opportunities and collaboration in order to build on each other`s strengths and benefit mutually."

The Telecom MD said by visualising the future and promoting effective ICT-based solutions to present-day challenges exacerbated by the current global crisis, the Summit is helping to ensure that the ICT sector reposition its services for the upturn in future through investment in infrastructure and the rollout of cost-effective services, such as next generation networks (NGNs).

Telecom Namibia has developed a clear strategy for transformation that puts customers at the heart of its business. As it aims to become an integrated ICT service provider, the company is focusing on the following:

Replacing existing legacy switched core networks with packet-based all IP networks (NGN);
Introducing diverse access technologies like ADSL, WiMAX, WiFi, Fixed Wireless and CDMA, as well as fibre rollouts into the local loop either to the cabinet or the street;
Making it possible for consumers to obtain multiple services or a single service on a single platform or device or obtain any given service on multiple platforms or devices;
Placing strong focus on and need for nomadic and fixed broadband, international capacity as well as data services and connectivity; and
Delivering the communications experience whereby people have access to the services they want and all of their personal content -- anytime, anywhere, on-demand and on any device.

Mr Ndoroma thanked the stakeholders for supporting Telecom's efforts to create a world-class telecommunications infrastructure for Namibia and next generation products and services for Namibia for our customers.

He wished the participants a fruitful exchange and learning in order to be ready to tackle the future, "armed with fresh knowledge and strengthened through new and stronger partnerships."

This year`s summit is on the theme: "Visualising the future: Confronting the crisis."

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.