COVID-19 Hinders Namibia Mobile Operator’s Network Expansion

Posted by African Examiner African News, Featured, Latest Headlines, News Around Africa Thursday, January 21st, 2021

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Namibia mobile provider, MTC’s plans to have 100 per cent network coverage throughout the country under the 081Every1 project had been dealt with a blow due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A company executive said on Thursday that 081Every1 which is a 104-million-U.S.-dollar project officially launched in July 2017 with the aim of realising Namibia’s 100 per cent population network coverage goal.

MTC’s CEO, Licky Erasmus at the company’s Integrated Report and Annual Results for 2019/2020 released on Thursday, said the COVID-19 pandemic had pushed their plans a step back.

“Phase 1 of the project was completed in June 2020 and 111 rural and 21 urban sites are functioning, while Phase 2 which is underway has seen the erection of 91 rural towers scheduled to be completed in May 2021,’’ he said.

According to Erasmus, MTC has extended the delivery deadline to 2023 due to the delays caused by the COVID-19 impact.

The whole project entails the erection of 500 new network towers, mainly in rural Namibia, with the intention to bridge the urban-rural digital divide.

Meanwhile, further to the delay in the network expansion project, Erasmus also announced that the planned listing on the Namibian Stock Exchange has been interrupted by COVID-19 restrictions adding that MTC is on track to list not later than September 2022 as per the extension granted. (Xinhua/NAN)