Telecom Namibia continues its supports towards the Economist Business Women Club by donating N$30,000 at the launch of the 10th Northern Conference on Wednesday 24 June 2009 at Omba Gallery in Windhoek.

The aim of the conference is to create an opportunity for women to share their expertise and skills, make new contacts, support one another and to create worthwhile business relationships.

According to the organizers, the conference is tailored for all women who want to increase their professionalism, job satisfaction, add value to their organisations as well as to encourage women entrepreneurship.

Businesswomen of the Year 1999 and patron of Northern Economist Business conference Sara Elago encouraged women all women to attend the conference. "The Businesswomen Club will enrich women while adding value to the activities which are taking place in their communities," Elago said.

"You are employing a major strategy of tapping into existing network, the same pool of skills and experience as your sisters in Windhoek, meet other key players and improve yourself and your business," she said.

Telecom Namibia`s Communication Practitioner Surihe Gaomas said the conference is a platform and opportunity for women entrepreneurs to share and transfer skills and expertise.

"Telecom Namibia has for long been a keen main sponsor of women empowerment through the Economist Businesswoman Club. We therefore hope that through this sponsorship, local businesswomen reap the benefits during the upcoming conference in the north," said Gaomas.

The northern conference is expected to take place on the 13 August at Oshakati.

The government of Namibia announced the lifting of the restriction on Telecom Namibia's Switch, a CDMA-based mobility service, on 12 May.

Cabinet approved the lifting of the restriction on the Switch product to the geographic areas after the Office of the Attorney-General recommended to the Office of the Prime Minister to lift the restriction.

Switch was only allowed to be used in towns and a small radius surrounding towns after the government decided that Switch, the provided by fixed line incumbent Telecom Namibia, can continue operating but under a new set of restrictions.

"On 24th March 2009 Telecom Namibia obtained a Board Resolution of the NPTH holding company. The Board resolved that it is satisfied that there is nothing illegal and untoward with Telecom Namibia's Switch (CDMA Technology) product and has no objection that the geographic restriction be lifted and the product be re-launched," reads a Cabinet resolution sent to the media on 12 May 2009.

The launch of Switch in November 2006 was fiercely opposed by the country's GSM mobile operators, which complained that it was providing a mobile service under a fixed telephony licence.

Under current legislation, Telecom Namibia does not need a licence from the regulator, the NCC, to offer specific services but needs authority to use frequency bands over which the NCC has control. Telecom obtained spectrum in the 450MHz and 800MHz bands in February 2005.

Plans are now in full swing to re-launch the Switch product countrywide.

Angolan telecoms company Startel, partly-owned by Telecom Namibia, plans to invest at least USD55 million to deploy 100,000 wireless in the local loop (WiLL) telephone lines providing voice, data and internet services in the capital and other areas as it expands across the country in the medium- to long-term.

During the launching ceremony of the company`s telecommunication service on 27 April, board chairman Manuel João Carneira said that the institution aims at expanding its activity nationwide, by paying attention to the quality and creating 276 jobs, including 243 for Angolans.

Startel CEO, Ernst Nitschke, also informed that as an authorised operator, the company is ready to supply with voice, data and Internet services for Luanda`s metropolitan area, as well as countrywide in medium and long terms.

Mundo is building out a fixed-wireless network based on CDMA2000 access technology and NGN backbone infrastructure in partnership with Chinese equipment vendor ZTE.