What do leopards and GSM mobile phones have in common? The surprising answer is they both use MTC SIM cards!
Renowned international conservation organisation Biosphere Expeditions is working with MTC on a leopard research project near Windhoek. The project's aims are to gather reliable scientific data on the ecology of cat predators living on private game farms in Namibia.
“This is because we want to gain a better understanding of how leopards, as predators, form an important part of a healthy ecosystem, even on a game farm,” says Kristina Killian, the project's biologist, adding that “in the end, we also want to provide straight-forward information to farmers in Namibia and southern Africa to help alleviate predator/game conflicts.
“To conduct our research, we capture leopards, and then fit them with a GSM collar with an MTC SIM card inside,” explains Killian. “The collar then uses the mobile phone network to send data to my laptop whenever the leopard picks up a signal from a mobile phone tower. With the help of this data, we are gathering amazingly precise information about the leopards' movements, and what they are up to within their home ranges on game farms.”
In the past eight weeks, Killian and her volunteer helpers have had significant success in capturing and collaring three leopards. “The success is beyond our imagination. We are so excited about the results,” Killian stated.
MTC's Chief Human Capital and Corporate Officer, Tim Ekandjo, says: “We're proud that our technology can help with this important conservation project. We are especially pleased that MTC is able to help in the mitigation of animal and human conflict. We are very excited, and we look forward to reading the full report of this project once it is completed. We wish Biosphere Expeditions much success with their work and the GSM collars.”
Biosphere Expeditions not only conducts research on leopards, but also engages with the local and international communities. International volunteers from all over the world regularly come to Namibia to help Killian with her project. There is also an educational programme aimed at children, in Katutura, and a scholarship programme for Namibian citizens.
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Biosphere Expeditions
Biosphere Expeditions is an international not-for-profit wildlife conservation organisation. It bridges the gap between scientists at the forefront of conservation programmes that are in need of funds and helpers, and enthusiastic travellers who, during their vacation time and through their hands-on assistance and expedition contributions, want to support them.
More information about the project at http://www.biosphere-expeditions.org/Namibia
High-resolution image library at http://www.biosphere-expeditions.org/mediaarchive
Press trips to the project are available and more information about them and other media resources are in the online press pack http://www.biosphere-expeditions.org/presspack.
MTC
MTC (Mobile Telecommunications Limited) was established in 1995 as a joint venture between Namibia Post and Telecommunications Holdings (NPTH), Telia and Swedfund. During May 2004, NPTH concluded a deal that saw it hold 100% of the shares in MTC by acquiring the 49% held by Telia Overseas AB and Swedfund International AB. During 2006, the sale of 34% of MTC shares to Portugal Telecom was concluded for N$1.34 billion, while the Namibian government retains the remainder of the stake through NPTH.
MTC currently covers 98% of the population of nearly two million citizens with more than 650 base stations and repeaters, and offers a dual-band 900/1800MHZ. The company also expanded its cellular coverage to all major towns in Namibia, including the major arterial roads. The company's 3G HSDPA+ network allows for a download speed of up 7.2Mbps in Namibia's major towns. It further runs two modern MSCs (mobile switching centres) in Windhoek and Oshakati with capacity to accommodate rapidly rising number of customers of over 1.6 million active users. MTC also operates the only full service customer contact centre in Namibia, dealing with service queries ranging from telephony, SMS, fax, GPRS, data, voicemail and 3G/HSDPA. A staff of 367 people serves a diverse market of both pre- and post-paid subscribers.
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