Ongwediva
The story of a schoolboy who invented a mobile phone that works without airtime has gone viral, with some international companies wanting to ‘develop’ the invention further.
Last month New Era broke a story about Simon Petrus, a 19-year-old learner at Abraham Iyambo Senior Secondary School at Oshikunde village in Ohangwena Region, after he invented a free-to-call mobile phone.
A number of international media houses, including numerous South African, Nigerian, British and Chinese ones, have published the story that has grabbed headlines online.
Local and international corporate companies have also shown interest in developing the invention further, while some are contemplating giving a scholarship to the village boy.
Simon has come up with a unit consisting of a free-to-call telephone and television that according to him, only uses a radio system. From this phone he is able to make calls anywhere, with no interruption, as long as the area has radio frequencies. He is also able to watch NBC1 TV on his box.
The chargeable unit is a complete set for a room as it also has a light bulb, a fan for cooling the room and socket for charging cellphones and other gadgets. The utility unit works on a radiator.
According to him, the phone works on radio frequencies and an expired SIM card.
The shy learner has been working on his project for about two years and his unemployed parents sacrificed over N$2 000 to buy the parts he needed for the project.
This is not the only invention Simon has come up with. Last year he won a gold medal at the Nampower schools competition, held at the national level, after he invented a two-in-one machine that works as a seeds drier and cooler.
Last month Simon’s latest project won the first place at the regional level and he is now heading for the national competition.
According to Taimi Vataleni, a physical science teacher at Abraham Iyambo, when Simon won last year some judges asked whether there was an engineer at home helping him.
“But the only help he has is from us, the teachers here at school. He comes up with his own projects,” Vataleni earlier told New Era.
Simon, who dreams of becoming an electronics engineer, said he wants to develop his project further into a cellphone that would be affordable for the poor, especially in rural areas.