Namibians prefer to send messages online rather than offline, such as through SMSes.
A report of the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) on the telecommunications sector’s performance in the fourth quarter of 2024 shows that text messaging overall has declined by 6%.
“In contrast, mobile data consumption increased by 9%, reflecting a consumer shift toward data-driven
communication over traditional SMSes,” the report states.
At the same time, the time people spent on phone calls has increased.
“In the fourth quarter of 2024, total mobile outgoing minutes increased by 4%, a slowdown from the 8% increase recorded in the previous quarter,” the report reads.
It says the slow growth was a result of a 37% drop in off-net mobile minutes of Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC).
Additionally, Telecom Namibia (TN) Mobile heavily depends on MTC’s network for interconnecting local outgoing calls.
“TN Mobile continued to rely heavily on MTC’s network, with just 0.2% of its calls remaining on-net,”states the report.
This means that almost all TN cellphone calls are done using MTC’s network Meanwhile, 99% of MTC’s outgoing mobile calls were terminated within its network.
This indicates that the vast majority of MTC subscribers are calling other MTC subscribers.
“This highlights a significant disparity in network utilisation between the two operators,” the report says.
In terms of revenue in the telecommunications sector, data usage remained the highest contributor.
“In the third quarter of 2024, data revenue surpassed N$800 million. Data-driven services remained the key revenue driver in the telecommunications sector,” the report says.
However, the number of SIM cards used for internet connection declined, showing an increase in wireless internet usage.
“Mobile broadband usage via mobile phones decreased by 3%, lowering the percentage of SIM cards used for internet access from 64% to 60%,” the report states.
Meanwhile, SMS and voice revenues recorded a decline.
Furthermore, the number of people using dongles and routers for mobile internet access has decreased.
“Mobile broadband usage through dongles and routers experienced a substantial decline of 17% during the same period, indicating a gradual phase-out of these connectivity devices,” the report says.
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