The remote rural area of Onamishu in the Oshikoto region will soon have access to fast and reliable internet provided by Telecom Namibia. The access is being facilitated by the erection of a transmission tower, expected to be completed by the end of May, by Telecom’s subsidiary, PowerCom.
A recent site visit to the area by politicians as well as Telecom Namibia and PowerCom management and staff highlights the completion of project Onamishu and serves as part of the tower rollout plan for the year 2020/2021. The rollout is part of PowerCom’s mission to provide world-class communication that enables connectivity to all industries for economic transformation.
At the event, Telecom Namibia CEO, Stanley Shanapinda said: “I would like to commend the PowerCom team, for doing a splendid job in ensuring that it carries out its mission of providing world class communication infrastructure to rural Namibia, that in turn enables connectivity for educational and business purposes alike.”
Shanapinda stated that the
Covid outbreak placed many households under immense pressure, especially households in isolated communities and thus, bridging the digital divide should be prioritised.
“It is clearer now, more than ever, that the time is now to speed up the process of bridging the digital divide. Communities living in rural and remote areas, such as Onamishu, need access to education, reliable information, and the same quality of service experienced by the wider world, and those in Windhoek. The only way to do this is through the construction of more mobile cellphone towers,” he noted.
Under the Telecom Namibia Group of Companies’ strategic initiative called Operation Autumn Cleaning (OAC), the company plans to rollout more towers across Namibia, in more places like Onamishu. “With PowerCom as our subsidiary, we are embarking on a major project to rollout hundreds of towers, faster across Namibia. More details will be made available soon where we will invite strategic partners to help with this strategic initiative that we call: The Faster Tower Rollout Initiative. We had our first kick-off meeting in April and will have the second one tomorrow with the project teams of the two companies. This is an ambitious goal to connect Namibia to faster mobile internet,” he added.
Shanapinda also pleaded for assistance from traditional leaders, town councils and village councils to help by fast-tracking access to land to construct mobile towers.
“The bureaucracies we encounter in this regard slows down access to faster mobile internet connectivity at a time when learners, patients and businesses need it more. I am sure the Telecom Namibia Group of Companies can rely on your support.
Having said that, I would like to thank the local authorities and traditional leaders that helped us to get access to this site so we can connect Onamishu to the world and connect the world to Onamishu.”
The tower to be in operation in early June is expected to support entrepreneurs and SMEs in Onamishu to develop local digital ecosystems and leverage on wider opportunities that come with the good quality connection.
Onamishu boasts various types of SMEs projects such as bricklaying, chicken hatching, bars, minimarkets, restaurants, bakery and carpentry, just to mention a few. The area also has a clinic, a regional councillor’s office, an agriculture ministerial office, a fuel station and a multi-purpose youth centre, which can all benefit from the technologies that the Telecom Namibia Group of Companies, via PowerCom is deploying.