Staff Reporter
Windhoek-PowerCom, a 100 percent subsidiary of Telecom Namibia, will visit stakeholders in the north of the country to inform them on their rights and obligations, and at the same time appraise stakeholders and landowners on new developments, since the company ceased to trade as a mobile operator and commenced its operations as an infrastructure entity.
PowerCom was recently awarded a network facility service provider licence by the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN).
PowerCom provides ICT infrastructure via telecommunications towers countrywide, servicing a wide array of players in the communications industry, ranging from mobile operators and television to radio broadcasters.
The existence of towers as network facilities hosts network antennas, broadcasting dishes and other equipment that facilitates communication transmission. The towers’ foundation and structures are generally hosted in communal and commercial farm areas, mahangu fields, kraals, grazing areas as well as public and private institution rooftops and surroundings.
Essentially, the infrastructure is strategically located, putting into consideration the vegetation and terrain amongst others to optimise network coverage for clients. PowerCom’s stakeholders closer to the towers tend to have premium experience and enjoy a robust network in terms of signal strengths and quality.
“PowerCom has a vast ecosystem and behind each of the 300 towers under our portfolio there are ordinary men and women deep down at grass-roots level adding value in the form of land lease to construct our towers and at the same time protect the assets. It is our endeavour to continue leveraging on these economic opportunities by engaging our community- based stakeholder continuously and unlocking further opportunities at a right size and price, it being a key sustainability element in our business model,” said Alisa Amupolo, CEO of PowerCom.
PowerCom has confirmed an upcoming official visit to the central and northern regions to get closer to the bottom of the value chain where the first stone and foundation of the towers are laid. PowerCom has so far visited some of the key stakeholders in Omaheke, Khomas and Erongo regions. The northern undertaking will commence on August 21 until August 29.
During the upcoming visit PowerCom will meet key stakeholders and trace landowners in rural and urban northern region areas so as to renew and negotiate existing lease agreements generally for a period of 10 years and issue a new contract. The company will also conduct site audits on the towers to confirm the equipment various operators have on the towers, and will conduct maintenance in terms of aircraft warning lights, which are often visible at night to planes flying through the regions.
PowerCom prides itself as an entity engaged with community-based suppliers – however the company also experiences challenges in tracing landowners and subsequently obtaining proof of ownership once the 10-year lease agreements expire.
In some cases when landowners die no succession follows in the form of an estate or new landowner. The accounts subsequently become inactive and the compensation goes in a hiatus temporarily, resulting in loss of income which many stakeholders depend on at community level. PowerCom is therefore calling on landowners to update their contract information, accounts number and proof of ownership in events of succession, ahead of the visit.