Switch service could be pulled soon

THE technical committee set up to look into the legality and controversy surrounding the Switch mobile phone service has presented its recommendations to Prime Minister Nahas Angula, who is expected to decide on the way forward – possibly by the end of the month.

Telecom Namibia’ s Switch service came onto the scene in November and since its launch it has been engulfed in controversy, with other players in the telecommunications industry questioning its legality. The Namibian Communications Commission (NCC) declared that Telecom – the country’s sole fixed-line operator – had no licence to operate mobile wireless telephony.The country’s two mobile phone licence holders, Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) and PowerCom, also cried foul at Telecom’s antics.Telecom has stuck to its guns, citing the legality of Switch on the Posts and Telecommunications Act of 1992.This confusion dragged in Cabinet, which at the end of last year established a committee to look into the matter.MTC, which is currently the sole mobile phone operator, uses the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology – a platform on which PowerCom will also roll out its operations.However, Telecom’s fixed-wireless service runs on the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) platform, which also refers to mobile technology.The head of the technical committee, Sakeus Shangala from the Ministry of Justice, yesterday informed The Namibian that the five-member team had met with officials of Telecom, MTC, PowerCom, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication.Shangala confirmed that the team’s paperwork had been submitted to the Prime Minister Office’s but would not reveal his team’s findings and recommendations.NCC’s head David Imbili is on record as saying: “We are here to serve all people in the telecommunications industry, and we want to do our business (as a regulator) properly.”Switch has been hailed by consumers, and recently by the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (Nepru), as providing an alternative to MTC and also for offering low prices which will benefit the rural poor who have for long been left out in ICT development.Telecom spokesperson Oiva Angula yesterday said his company was waiting for the outcome of the investigation before deploying more Switch base stations across the rest of the country.PowerCom is yet to prove itself in the telecommunications arena, as it is yet to launch its Cell One product.The company’s Managing Director would not reveal the date of commencing operations or progress being made, save to say “it’s a competitive issue”.The Namibian Communications Commission (NCC) declared that Telecom – the country’s sole fixed-line operator – had no licence to operate mobile wireless telephony.The country’s two mobile phone licence holders, Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) and PowerCom, also cried foul at Telecom’s antics.Telecom has stuck to its guns, citing the legality of Switch on the Posts and Telecommunications Act of 1992.This confusion dragged in Cabinet, which at the end of last year established a committee to look into the matter.MTC, which is currently the sole mobile phone operator, uses the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology – a platform on which PowerCom will also roll out its operations.However, Telecom’s fixed-wireless service runs on the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) platform, which also refers to mobile technology.The head of the technical committee, Sakeus Shangala from the Ministry of Justice, yesterday informed The Namibian that the five-member team had met with officials of Telecom, MTC, PowerCom, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication.Shangala confirmed that the team’s paperwork had been submitted to the Prime Minister Office’s but would not reveal his team’s findings and recommendations.NCC’s head David Imbili is on record as saying: “We are here to serve all people in the telecommunications industry, and we want to do our business (as a regulator) properly.”Switch has been hailed by consumers, and recently by the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (Nepru), as providing an alternative to MTC and also for offering low prices which will benefit the rural poor who have for long been left out in ICT development.Telecom spokesperson Oiva Angula yesterday said his company was waiting for the outcome of the investigation before deploying more Switch base stations across the rest of the country.PowerCom is yet to prove itself in the telecommunications arena, as it is yet to launch its Cell One product.The company’s Managing Director would not reveal the date of commencing operations or progress being made, save to say “it’s a competitive issue”.