Firms snub second cell licence

TWO parastatals may end up competing in the cellular phone market in the coming months after it was announced yesterday that NamPower had applied for the second mobile telephone license.

The Namibian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday opened its tender box, which revealed that only two out of the 24 firms and individuals who had shown an interest in running Namibia’s second cellular phone network have applied. It is not clear why the response seems to be poor after the announcement of a second mobile phone license attracted the attention of bigger operators.Cellphone giants Vodacom and MTN from South Africa were said to have been interested, but were yesterday conspicuous by their absence when the applications were made public.The applicants are Powercomm, a consortium of Namibia’s electricity monopoly NamPower and Telenor, Norway’s leading cellphone company, and ZDE from China.The Namibian was unable to get details about the Chinese company but people who were present at the opening of the tender box said ZDE appeared to have failed to meet at least two requirements, including pricing.NCC Chairman Dave Imbili said last night that his organisation would evaluate the applications to ensure that they comformed with the specifications of the tender before announcing the successful applicant.Imbili said it might take a month to complete the evaluation.The announcement of the successful applicant will only be made once Cabinet has given its stamp of approval.NamPower’s application, if successful, could throw the cat among the pigeons as it will mean that two State-owned companies will enter into direct competition.The existing cellular network is operated by the Mobile Tecommunications Ltd, a company owned by the Namibia Posts and Telecom Holdings (NPTH), which also owns Telecom Namibia and NamPost.NPTH is fully owned by Government.NamPower will be charting completely new territory, while the entry into its business ambit by another parastatal might irk, telephone monopoly Telecom, which is already bracing itself for the opening up of the entire telecommunications market in the coming years.While MTC have said that they welcome competition, an official in the Namibian telecommunications industry remarked yesterday:”I just wonder about this constellation of parastatals [how it] will work.It will be the Government competing against the Government.”In the past, MTC itself has faced numerous complaints from customers unhappy about the service, with the network jammed, calls cutting or conversations breaking up even when within fair distance of the transmission towers.Until this year MTC was a joint venture between the Namibian Government and Swedish investors.It is not clear why the response seems to be poor after the announcement of a second mobile phone license attracted the attention of bigger operators.Cellphone giants Vodacom and MTN from South Africa were said to have been interested, but were yesterday conspicuous by their absence when the applications were made public.The applicants are Powercomm, a consortium of Namibia’s electricity monopoly NamPower and Telenor, Norway’s leading cellphone company, and ZDE from China.The Namibian was unable to get details about the Chinese company but people who were present at the opening of the tender box said ZDE appeared to have failed to meet at least two requirements, including pricing.NCC Chairman Dave Imbili said last night that his organisation would evaluate the applications to ensure that they comformed with the specifications of the tender before announcing the successful applicant.Imbili said it might take a month to complete the evaluation.The announcement of the successful applicant will only be made once Cabinet has given its stamp of approval.NamPower’s application, if successful, could throw the cat among the pigeons as it will mean that two State-owned companies will enter into direct competition.The existing cellular network is operated by the Mobile Tecommunications Ltd, a company owned by the Namibia Posts and Telecom Holdings (NPTH), which also owns Telecom Namibia and NamPost.NPTH is fully owned by Government.NamPower will be charting completely new territory, while the entry into its business ambit by another parastatal might irk, telephone monopoly Telecom, which is already bracing itself for the opening up of the entire telecommunications market in the coming years.While MTC have said that they welcome competition, an official in the Namibian telecommunications industry remarked yesterday:”I just wonder about this constellation of parastatals [how it] will work.It will be the Government competing against the Government.”In the past, MTC itself has faced numerous complaints from customers unhappy about the service, with the network jammed, calls cutting or conversations breaking up even when within fair distance of the transmission towers.Until this year MTC was a joint venture between the Namibian Government and Swedish investors.