30 July 2013

Telecom Namibia today announced a three-year sponsorship of the Windhoek City Run to the tune of N$600 000, following the successful staging of the first edition last year.

In its second year running, the Telecom Namibia Windhoek City Run event takes place on Sunday, 18 August 2013. Organisers expect close on 700 people to take part in the 2013 event compared to the 500 participants last year.

The telecommunications giant is sponsoring the run as part of its commitment to corporate social responsibility and in support of the wider vision to improve health across the community by engaging more people with sport.

Oiva Angula, the company’s senior manager for corporate communications and public relations, expressed his excitement at securing the deal with organisers. “Telecom Namibia’s mission is not only about developing the country’s telecommunications infrastructure and providing services, it is also about delivering sustainable, long-term benefits for local communities, and there is no more meaningful event for this than the Windhoek City Run which mainly focuses on family and community health,” Angula said.

“Our company is an integral part of the Namibian society and frequently supports community events both big and small. In response to popular demand, we are again sponsoring the Windhoek City Run event to offer opportunities for both young and old to participate in healthy sporting activities while encouraging families to come along too and cheer on their favourite participators. This is going to be a fun Sunday for everyone, whether they take part themselves or simply soak up the atmosphere,” he added.

“Organising the capital city’s marathon requires the on-going commitment of sponsors and a wide range of volunteers. Without them the event simply would not happen. We are excited to have a strong national brand such as Telecom Namibia involved. The support they are providing and the added profile the event will gain will be invaluable,” said Johan van Niekerk, Chairperson of Windhoek Harriers.

The Telecom Namibia Windhoek City Run is arranged in partnership with Windhoek Harriers and OTB Sport in celebration of the City of Windhoek. The run routes have been designed so as to showcase the best the City has to offer, with the 21.1km and full marathon winding their way past the Old State House, Independence Memorial, Supreme Court, Parliament, Tintenpalast, Gibeon Meteorites, Hochland Trails, the Christus Kirche, Zoo Park and other interesting sites of Windhoek.

Participants have a choice between a 5km fun run/walk; 10km walk/run; 21.1km walk/run and a marathon. The races will start and finish at the Doc Jubber Hockey Fields in Olympia.

“We are putting in a huge effort for this event. To guide people through the city we are looking at placing around 50 Marshalls to make sure people do not run the wrong way. There will also be 7 water tables manned by Telecom Namibia staff. We suspect this may be one of the hardest city marathons in the world, as participants need to contend with the high altitude as well as a very hilly route,” Van Niekerk said.

Telecom Namibia has generously increased this year’s prize money to over N$37 000 in cash prizes. For complete breakdown of prize money, entries and other race details go to www.otbsport.com. Online entries closed on Wednesday 14 August. For further details contact Yvonne on 081 142 9966.

1 August 2013

TELECOM Namibia, which acquired second biggest mobile operator, Leo in November last year, for a paltry N$2 says the deal was a "handy gift" ahead of its 20 years anniversary.

Speaking ahead of the ICT summit, which the company will host next week, Oiva Angula Senior Manager of Corporate Communications and Public Relations said in an interview the price was justifiable given Leo's poor financial state at that time.

"I must say that the selling of Powercom t/a Leo was a handy gift which came as Telecom Namibia was celebrating 20 years of exemplary service to Namibia and its people. Telecom Namibia strategically decided to go GSM and the opportunity to buy up Powercom t/a Leo just came at the right time for Telecom Namibia," he said.

The acquisition made Leo a 100% Namibian company, owned by Telecom Namibia. "This is a very significant development for the cellular industry in Namibia. Moving forward we fully intend to ensure that we extend the Leo services to all Namibians in the shortest possible time. Secondly, the most important goal is to provide Namibians with fixed-mobile converged services, thereby providing value for money to customers," he said.

"The sale price was N$2. This was deemed a fair price given the state of Powercom."

With this development, all the major telecoms companies are now state owned but Angula does not see this as a problem. "Yes, the regulator Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) and not the state approves tariff structures by all the operators in Namibia. Telecom Namibia/Powercom and MTC are established on commercial principles and are expected to enhance shareholder returns in their own way."

Asked whether MTC and Leo running on different technology systems, is this not a duplicate and waste of resources, Angula said where possible all backbone infrastructure will be made available to all operators.

"The technology differentiations are on the access networks which is standard practice. Yes we are making use of the NamPower overhead cables as part of our national express routes," he said.

"We have already begun to invest millions in the Leo network to provide greater coverage," Angula said.

Source: The Namibian

23 August 2013

Telecom Namibia has introduced the TN Mobile brand following its acquisition of the second biggest mobile operator in the country, Leo. The new TN Mobile logo is designed with the aim of entering the mobile phone market as a fresh new brand and to achieve success.

This was done at a special ceremony officiated by the Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Joel Kaapanda at Ongwediva on 22 August 2013.

According to the Managing Director of Telecom Namibia Frans Ndoroma, the new branding aims to start fresh and avoid any negative points from the brand's history.

“The Leo brand is proprietary to Orascom Telecom and our free use of it is to 30th September 2013. Besides this, we need to rebrand Leo to get rid of all historical negativities and skepticism regarding the brand based on certain perceptions,” Ndoroma said.

"The unveiling of the TN Mobile brand is aimed at supporting the Telecom Namibia Group's strategic direction. The introduction of a new brand also represents the beginning of the end of Leo branding across our operations," he added.

He said the TN Mobile will offer more value in the form of quality service, improved coverage and data capability and an integrated fixed and mobile proposition. Ndoroma reiterated that customers of the former Leo will continue receiving the same services at Leo outlets while the old brand is phased out over the next few months.

Minister Kaapanda said the re-branding of Leo as TN Mobile was a significant milestone which signals Telecom Namibia‘s readiness to take its (mobile) business to the next level of development and progress.

“Since starting its operation about 21 years ago, we have seen Telecom Namibia taking various initiatives in strengthening your position in the ICT industry,” the minister said.

“We have seen your digitisation of the network infrastructure and the introduction of next-generation access technologies. We have also seen the company embarking on various social programmes to cater the demands and needs of the public.”

The re-branding of Leo to TN Mobile is an effort to support Telecom Namibia’s convergence strategy.

“Fixed-mobile convergence is an inevitable surety as customers continually look for ways to connect to content from any device, while doing it with the simplest access possible. This is why the Telecom Namibia Group is working towards combing its powerful fixed line infrastructure with GSM technologies for future revenue growth while staying consumer competitive and relevant,” Kaapanda added.

“I wish to congratulate the Telecom Namibia Group on this milestone with the unveiling of the “TN Mobile” brand today. I am sure there are exciting activities planned in conjunction with the unveiling. Most importantly, I look forward to seeing a more vibrant journey for the Telecom Namibia Group with the TN Mobil brand,” the minister concluded.