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    Home5G & BeyondState-owned Telecom Namibia to build 500 towers in five years

    State-owned Telecom Namibia to build 500 towers in five years

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    The deployment is to densify and expand mobile coverage as part of the operator’s five-year strategic plan

    TrendsnAfrica reports that the state-owned Telecom Namibia is to build 500 telecom towers across the country in the next five years. The plan dovetails with its plan to spend NAD300 million (€7.78 million) on fibre deployment.

    Digital divide

    The deployment is intended to extend the availability of its mobile service as well as improve the quality, and in the process help close the digital divide.

    Earlier this month, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) awarded 5G licences to Telecom Namibia, Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), and Loc8 Mobile. As part of the licences, CRAN imposed licence conditions on successful bidders to increase 4G population coverage in the Kunene, Zambezi, Otjozondjupa, Omaheke, Hardap, and Kavango West Regions.

    More investment

    Telecom Namibia is planning to more than double its investment in network upgrades as part of its Integrated Strategic Business Plan to make its data and interconnection faster, more reliable and more secure.

    In July last year the operator said it requires NAD2.371 billion to sustain its capital projects between 2023 and 2027. Namibia’s internet penetration is just over half, 53.0%, with more than 2.81 million active mobile connections.