MTC Responds

A LETTER from Hussein Abdou in your edition of the 24th of March 2006 under the heading “On MTC and NBC” has reference.

Allow us to respond to each of the points made as follows: Switching between Per second or Per minute billing not free; The writer is correct in his observation. What is erroneous, however, is the claim that we don’t advertise that fact.We have overwhelming evidence that since the launch of the service the N$5 switching charge has been widely publicised.If in doubt, please consult our advertising material available in the public domain.N$12 minimum credit required for international calls The required minimum credit in Namibia is N$12 for all international and Angolan calls from a prepaid account.For all prepaid calls to Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Swaziland and Zimbabwe N$5 minimum credit would be required.The rates are a function of the interconnect agreements with international carriers of our traffic and the accompanying costs attached to those destinations which all callers have to carry.It is not an arbitrarily set limit but one that we review on an ongoing basis to get the best possible deals for our international callers.Quality of service The assertion that opening up the market will improve service levels is nothing more than a value judgment that the writer is entitled to in our democratic Republic.What is true is that we measure our service levels (quality of calls, retention rates, billing, customer care etc) on an ongoing basis.Customer perception surveys are also conducted annually by Synovate, an independent South African based market research company.The table (below) is a summary of the last few years: Albertus Aochamub Senior Manager: Corporate Services Mobile Telecommunications Ltd 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 MTC Customer Satisfaction Index 66% 65% ? 71% ? 69% ? 76% ? MTC Dealer Satisfaction Index — 64% 66% ? 59% ? 75% ? Source: Synovate Report 2005.What is erroneous, however, is the claim that we don’t advertise that fact.We have overwhelming evidence that since the launch of the service the N$5 switching charge has been widely publicised.If in doubt, please consult our advertising material available in the public domain.N$12 minimum credit required for international calls The required minimum credit in Namibia is N$12 for all international and Angolan calls from a prepaid account.For all prepaid calls to Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Swaziland and Zimbabwe N$5 minimum credit would be required.The rates are a function of the interconnect agreements with international carriers of our traffic and the accompanying costs attached to those destinations which all callers have to carry.It is not an arbitrarily set limit but one that we review on an ongoing basis to get the best possible deals for our international callers. Quality of service The assertion that opening up the market will improve service levels is nothing more than a value judgment that the writer is entitled to in our democratic Republic.What is true is that we measure our service levels (quality of calls, retention rates, billing, customer care etc) on an ongoing basis.Customer perception surveys are also conducted annually by Synovate, an independent South African based market research company.The table (below) is a summary of the last few years: Albertus Aochamub Senior Manager: Corporate Services Mobile Telecommunications Ltd 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 MTC Customer Satisfaction Index 66% 65% ? 71% ? 69% ? 76% ? MTC Dealer Satisfaction Index — 64% 66% ? 59% ? 75% ? Source: Synovate Report 2005.