iWeek 2006: Ferdinand Tjombe:The status of Internet and VoIP in Namibia

“I was asked to talk about VoIP in Namibia, but I can not do so because there isn’t any”, reiterated Mr Ferdinand Tjombe, an Executive Chairman of Namibia Strategic Business Communications (NSBC). Namibia, like many other developing countries, is faced with critical challenges ranging from political interference, operators taking over “our markets” as the concentration of the media continues to deepen, and revenues going down. Twelve years ago, there was no mobile cellular network and no internet connectivity in Namibia. The current status of ICT in Namibia is that, in 2000, there were only about 30,000 internet users; currently, there is an estimated amount of 75,000, compared with only 0.3% of Namibian users in Africa. South Africa is rated at 15, 8%. In Namibia, Telcom Namibia continues to monopolise the fixed line operations alone, with an Internet exchange point at one and eight numbers of ISPs, including iWay, Mweb, iAfrica, Verizon, Internet technologies, Namibnet, Oasys, schoolNet, and Govt.Net.

Regulatory development, privatisation continue to rock the ICT industry in Namibia as the MTC incumbent mobile operator partly privatised, Portugal Telecom bought shares, while the fixed-line monopoly still intact with Telecom Namibia. The New Communications Bill is said to be in its final stage, though it has long been anticipated. It promises “full competition”; the Bill will put some pressure on the state to stop unnecessary delays and ensure the independence of the regulatory agency. However, there is no clear legislation on the use of VoIP; as a result, five Chinese nationals were arrested on 18th May 2006 for using VoIP. These could further prevent the use of VoIP in Namibia and other countries in the region, given the lack of good governance and political transparency. The presentation of Mr Tjombe shows the realities of life in the global south, challenges to researchers, ISPs, broader civil society and the general public.