Namibia's second mobile telecommunications company, Cell One, intends to build a GSM network that covers up to 90% of the Namibian market by 2010, says CEO Lars Christian Iuel.
The mobile telecoms firm, under the name of Powercom, was issued an operating licence in August 2006. The company then re-launched itself in March 2007, under the brand name Cell One, and has already rolled out a network covering 55%-60% of the market, he says.
In line with Cell One's network expansion strategy, the company recently secured a N$535 million long-term financing deal with an investment banking consortium, comprising Development Bank Namibia (DBN), Investec and Nedbank Capital.
The DBN is set to invest N$60 million, while Investec and Nedbank Capital will split the remainder of the investment equally, explains Iuel.
Secure network
"Cell One will channel these funds towards rolling out a secure network," he says.
Cell One is establishing new infrastructure and transmission base stations. "The company is not overriding technology with already existing infrastructure."
Iuel previously said the company had introduced its network in the north of the country. Coastal areas are expected to be covered later in the year.
According to Namibia's New Era news Web site, over N$1 billion will also be invested in the company in the next few years, through shareholder equity and company turnover, to help build a bigger network.
Norwegian Telecoms Management Partner is the managing shareholder in the mobile operator. Other shareholders are NamPower, Namibia Miners Investment Company, Old Mutual's Namibian unit and the PowerCom Educational Trust.
Cautious market
Iuel explains that building subscriber numbers has been a challenge since Cell One's inception in the Namibian market. Subscriber numbers currently stand at around 70 000.
"We are on track in terms of numbers, but there is room for more growth at a quicker rate. Cell One hopes to capture 50% of the market within five years."
Cell One works on per-second billing as opposed to per-minute rating - the former being more cost-effective, explains Iuel. "This is taking time to catch on in a very cautious market."
The company's main market base consists of small and medium enterprises. Cell One has been pushing services aimed at corporate users in a bid to increase subscriber numbers.
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