MTC makes changes to its Aweh and Free Hour services

Issued by MTC
Windhoek, 20 Oct 2011

Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), Namibia's leading mobile operator, announces changes to its Aweh and Free Hour (FH) class of services (COS) for prepaid customers, with immediate effect.

“The changes to both products have been introduced to allow for a period to address important aspects of the MTC network that will ultimately result in an improved service to all 081 customers,” said Tim Ekandjo, Chief Human Capital and Corporate Affairs Officer.

In May 2010, MTC introduced Aweh-Aweh, a product that addresses the communication needs of the 081 Nation. The uptake of Aweh-Aweh by the public has been tremendous in both urban and rural areas, and remains the most affordable way of mobile communication in the country.

Aweh-Aweh subsequently expanded its portfolio to include Aweh-Lite, and with the introduction of the BlackBerry services at MTC, the BB7 Aweh COS was added under the Aweh sub-brand.

Changes to the Aweh products will affect all three COS, in that all three products will be limited to 50 minutes of free calls on weekdays and weekends.

Subscribers to the FH, Special Free Hour (SFH) or Free Hour Student (FHS) COS will now be limited to 30 minutes during the specific hour.

“Both the Aweh and FH services are here to stay. They have been some of the company's best-performing products, and we do recognise the affordability these products provide for several communities, countrywide. We want to assure all our customers that changes to products or services at MTC are always aimed at meeting customer demands, or improving our service delivery,” concluded Ekandjo.

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 2 million citizens with more than 650 base stations and repeaters, and offers 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 the 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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