By Albertina Nakale
WINDHOEK- Over 10 000 users are currently benefiting from the use of Wi-Fi internet provision since March this year when Namibia mobile giant MTC commenced with special terms for the service.
Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Joel Kaapanda, revealed this last week when he officially announced the Wi-Fi provisioning partnership of the University of Namibia (Unam) and MTC. The partnership will enable students across Unam campuses countywide to access the internet.
Unam has about 18 000 students countrywide.
Nabot Uushona, Director of the Computer Centre explained in an interview with New Era that each student will pay an annual fee of N$500 for such service for 24 months.
He said the partnership is one of the university’s strategies to cut costs in terms of internet access.
“It is compulsory for each learner to pay the N$500 during the registration process. Once they pay, they will receive a SIM card with their internet access passport, which they can use anywhere. They have unlimited internet access,” he said.
Kaapanda singled out that access to digital technologies in education is vital to achieve “our national development goals in Vision 2030.”
Hence, he added, government views such landmark partnership as a commendable development in meeting government objectives in promoting e-learning in institutions of higher learning.
He is hopeful that such unlimited access to internet at campuses will improve research and development at such institutions.
“It is pleasing to note that MTC, instead of being driven by commercial interest, also fulfils its social responsibility by not only providing digital services at all Unam campuses but also makes it available to students from their homes as long as they are on MTC’s network,” he noted.
He, however, urged other communication operators to emulate MTC in carrying out their social responsibility in a similar manner.
Currently, Namibia has a network of about 13 000 km of optic fibre developed by Telecom Namibia and MTC.
Meanwhile, Tim Ekandjo, Chief Human Capital and Corporate Affairs Officer at MTC, promised that such initiatives would also be extended to schools and other institutions of higher learning in the country.
He urged students to use the Wi-Fi for research and development instead of spending a lot of time on social networks such as Facebook, among others.
Wi-Fi is a local area wireless technology that allows an electronic device to exchange data or connect to the internet.