MARIA SHAANIKATHE information and communication technology minister Stanley Simataa said NamPower’s new fibre optics network connection will address some of the challenges the information and communication technology sector faces.
Simataa said this at the launch of NamPower’ new fibre optics network offering, branded ‘The Grid Online’, last Wednesday in Windhoek.
He noted that this would be done in order to attain the key components of the Harambee Prosperity Plan, under the infrastructure development pillar, while the network offering addresses the insufficient telecommunication backlog in remote rural areas through providing the needed infrastructure.
Simataa said one of the significant challenges is to provide equal opportunities to all citizens, regardless of their location, hence building an inclusive society. This will, however, continue to be difficult for as long as only main towns and cities have access to information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure.
“I am challenging all ICT providers to maximise this backbone to provide services to the hitherto underserviced parts of our country. This will be achieved without having to construct large and costly backbone network infrastructure,” he added.
The fibre optics network addresses the extremely high unit cost of rolling out infrastructure, as sharing existing infrastructure yields a noteworthy reduction in the requisite start-up capital for ICT operators, both new and established, he said, adding that these will also address the issue of limited internet access points in public facilities, especially in rural areas.
Simataa thus urged ICT and backhaul providers to work together to provide internet services to the people to achieve the set target of 80% of the population to be covered by 2020 in terms of broadband connectivity.
Speaking at the launch, a NamPower board of directors’ chairperson Kauna Ndilula said fibre optics is the future of digital communication, which offers the highest capacity of any network connection.
The NamPower fibre optics network has the potential to provide additional managed services to licensed telecommunication service providers and wholesale clients, and is operated and managed on the NamPower transmission grid as it ensures the grid’s security, she stated.
“Our new product offering will provide Namibia with much-needed additional, national, telecommunications bandwidth, creating an accessible framework for all service providers to make use of the available fibre optic asset, regardless of whether they may be start-ups or established businesses”, Ndilula added.
Meanwhile, NamPower’s senior engineer of telecommunications and control, Helgo Müller, said ‘The Grid Online’ is a bulk data transport measure to give Namibia unlimited network access to the rest of the world.
“Fibre’s speciality is to transport data very fast from one point to another over very long distances,” he noted, adding that the network is indeed established. The initial offering is limited to Windhoek and Swakopmund, but will be taken link by link to cover major nodes.
NamPower managing director Simson Haulofu said ‘The Grid Online’ will positively stimulate market growth by enabling added accessibility between Namibia and the rest of the world.
He observed that the network will enable Namibian start-up companies to enter the telecommunications markets without having to construct expensive nationwide backbone networks.
“The establishment of this function will also create new opportunities for the employees to develop new skills and capabilities to grow into new positions and responsibilities,” added the managing director.
