AG switches on Telecom’s Switch

CABINET has approved the lifting of a restriction on Telecom’s Switch mobile communications technology after the Office of the Attorney General recommended it to the Office of the Prime Minister.

Switch was only allowed to be used in towns and a small radius surrounding towns.The Cabinet decision has surprised another mobile telecommunication company, which is partly owned by Government.’We are very surprised at the unilateral Cabinet decision,’ Albertus Aochamub, MTC’s General Manager for Corporate Communications told The Namibian yesterday afternoon.’No consultations took place with MTC on this issue but we shall study the decision carefully once documentation is made available to us,’ Aochamub added. ‘It raises questions about a conflict of interest with respect to Government’s ownership of two mobile operators with regard to this decision.’ Government is a shareholder in both Telecom Namibia and MTC through the holding company Namibia Post and Telecommunications Holdings (NPTH).’The same people who run NPTH also run Telecom Namibia. NPTH takes a decision to un-restrict Switch, are there any surprises here?’ Aochamub responded.’We maintain that we at MTC hold a mobile licence while Tele-com does not. However, competition is what we thrive on and anyone encroaching upon MTC territory better be prepared for a tough ride. They can re-launch Switch and anything else, the taste of the pudding will be in the eating [sic],’ according to the MTC Corporate Communications General Manager. According to the press release on Cabinet decisions, Telecom Namibia on March 24 2009 obtained a resolution of the board of directors of NPTH, which resolved that it was ‘satisfied that there is nothing illegal and untoward with Telecom Namibia’s Switch product and has no objection that the geographic restriction be lifted and the product be re-launched.’Aochamub of MTC however fired another bullet at NPTH. ‘We still wait for the tabling of the Telecommunications Bill, which must also deal with the Switch product by regulating the mobile telecommunication sector. Why is that Bill not yet in Parliament?’ he wanted to know. Aochamub further pointed out that Telecom Namibia also held the monopoly of infrastructure, forcing the other mobile companies to make use of it for all international calls. ‘Namibians pay high charges for international calls because of this monopoly. I hope the NPTH board will soon decide to lower these rates it charges other operators to the detriment of customers.’The other cellular communi-cations operator, Cell One, had nothing to say about the decision yesterday.’There is no comment from us at this stage,’ said Stanley Similo, Chief Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Officer at Cell One.Until recently, Government also had a stake in Cell One via PowerCom, a subsidiary of NamPower, the State-owned power utility, but the shares were sold to the Egyptian consortium Telecel Globe earlier this year. brigitte@namibian.com.na