Namibia’s Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) has launched a new 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in Windhoek. This makes the country among the few in the world to have the technology, and the second in Africa.
The 4G LTE technology is a development of the current 3G. It is however ten times much faster than the 3G.
Speaking during the launch, MTC’s managing director Miguel Geraldes said customers would definitely have a much better experience in 4G as given the faster speed as there would be no latency.
“When you click the button, you no longer have to wait to get a response from the network as this will now be instant, which is significant for business,” he said.
4G is superior to 3G since it has less delays in the network replying to subscriber requests.
Geraldes further noted many more users would be accommodated in the same base station.
In-door coverage is much better with 4G since frequency is lower in urban areas, and improved coverage in rural areas using a much lower frequency.
The technology is deployed in more than 1000 kilometres of fibre backbones in Namibia, with the latest technology from the West Africa Cable System (WACS) launched last week in South Africa.
The entire Namibian capital, Windhoek, is expected to access the 4G service by the end of July 2012. According to Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA), MTC also aims to have 45 per cent of the current Namibian population, including those in rural areas, covered with the new service in the next 12 months.
MTC partnered with a consortium of international investors in the laying of the WACS cable, and this provides the company with a competitive advantage as far as ICT in Africa is concerned. Zambia’s AfriConnect is the other service provider that launched its 4G technology back in March 2012.
