MTC Namibia, the country's leading mobile operator, is committed to working with Namibian suppliers for all its operational business requirements.
The company uses an open or invited tender process to contract both small and large suppliers for its vast operational necessities. “MTC is dedicated to supporting the local industry for all goods and services; however, our suppliers must conform to our internal quality standards and commercial requirements. We share the need to be sensitive to the local supply chain and we are committed to working closely with local suppliers,” Tim Ekandjo, chief Human Capital and Corporate Affairs Officer, said in a statement released Tuesday.
MTC has three supplier categories, namely general suppliers for products and services, unique sole suppliers and specialised suppliers.
The general supply of products that are not industry specific, such as stationary, groceries and promotional items, are supplied to MTC by suppliers, of which 85% is fully Namibian.
Specialised suppliers of services related to more complex technical operations are required mostly in the Base Station Tower (BTS) area of Infrastructure and BTS Maintenance. Namibian suppliers to MTC in this category currently stands at 98%.
The specialised supplier of products for the industry, such as the supply of 3G devices and handset generators, is supplied by a total of 49% Namibian suppliers, while general supply of services that are not industry specific, such as cleaning services, security services and the supply of accommodation, stands at a 99.6% Namibian supplier status.
A unique sole supplier is defined as a supplier providing a unique solution, mainly technological and IT. Thirty-eight percent of unique sole suppliers to MTC are Namibian. These category suppliers are long-term contracts, which will only be changed should the supplier or MTC default on the contract.
MTC currently makes use of the NPPC accreditation certificate to determine the BEE status of Namibian companies.
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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 2 million citizens, with more than 650 base stations and repeaters and offers a dual band 900/1 800MHz. 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 centre) 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 persons serves a diverse market of both pre- and post-paid subscribers.
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