Telecom launches at Impalila Island

By Business Reporter

RESIDENTS of Impalila Island now have access to fixed and mobile telecommunications services, following the launch of Telecom Namibia services at the Island on Friday, 19 July 2019.

Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Stanley Simataa officiating at the launch of the service thanked Telecom Namibia for heading the Government’s call in providing an enabling infrastructure and ensuring the provision of ICT products and services countrywide.

“Namibia has made great advances in the delivery of Information Communication Technology with all towns now linked through an extensive network of modern technologies. These developments have incrementally been extended to smaller settlements to ensure all Namibians have access to the latest available ICT products and services,” the Minister said.

As part of the services provided by Telecom Namibia on the island, Government Offices, Ministries and Agencies and selected lodges are connected to the MSAN by means of an overhead fibre optic cable.

Minister Simataa explained that the residents of Impalila no longer have to travel long distances to access services such as banking. “These services and more are now available at the click of a button, often from a handheld device,” he said.

“Through technology, we have been able to shrink the distance between towns and overcame challenges presented by vastly remote geographical locations. We have enabled Namibians to conduct business from anywhere in the country,” he said.

Speaking at the same event, John Likando, Councillor of the Kabbe South Constituency said efforts to attract investors to the Zambezi region have yielded positive results, and this is due to a steady growth in service delivery and improvement in infrastructure. “Among the infrastructure provisions, we value the investments made by Telecom Namibia to offer high-speed fixed and mobile data services to the people of the region.

The upgrades by Telecom Namibia allows the people of the region to have instant access to online services and connectivity to the rest of the world, the Councillor added.

Telecom Namibia Acting CEO, Calvin Muniswaswa said the delivery of Telecom Namibia’s services are possible due to infrastructure upgrades and installations carried out over a couple of months, at significant cost.  “Extensive infrastructure upgrades and installations were done to connect the Island to the mainland, and these infrastructures allowed us to provide fixed and mobile services to the people of Impalila Island,” Muniswaswa explained.

“At Telecom Namibia we never stop investing in the development of our infrastructure,” he said. He said the company needs to remain abreast of trends in the industry to be able to optimally serve its customers.

Muniswaswa said the infrastructure developments at Impalila are in line with Telecom Namibia’s commitment to expand telecommunication and network infrastructure at unconnected or underserved areas in order to provide our service to all Namibians across the country. “The services which are now available at Impalila depend on the same technologies employed at urban centres across Namibia, and address pertinent communication needs on the island, while the infrastructure deployed is among the best in the world,” he said.