TelePassport moves into Namibia

Johannesburg, 23 Feb 2005

Least-cost routing (LCR) company TelePassport has expanded its operations into Africa, following the recent opening of its Namibian operation in Windhoek.

TelePassport MD Anton Potgieter says the venture represents a new type of communications company in southern Africa, with the new company established as a true Namibian entity, with a majority local shareholding, which includes a significant black empowerment component.

"The new company will benefit significantly from our experience over the past 12 years in the LCR market in SA, and we will transfer skills and intellectual property freely between the companies on an ongoing basis."

Potgieter says that as it is a truly Namibian company, it cannot be labelled with the "hit and run exploiter" stigma that is often attached to South African companies doing business elsewhere in Africa, and is confident it will reflect the economic objectives of initiatives such as NEPAD.

TelePassport Namibia`s MD Phillip Stier says the company`s primary aim is to use its Fixed Cellular LCR technology to reduce Namibian corporates` communication costs by routing local cellular-bound voice calls directly into the local Namibian GSM cellular network, MTC.

"Essentially, we will convert switchboard-to-mobile calls into mobile-to-mobile calls, thereby drastically reducing the cost of telephone bills, as has been done in SA for the last eight years," says Stier.

"Secondly, we will provide our clients with TelePassport`s communications add-ons which include SMS and cost-control solutions."

TelePassport Namibia has also established working agreements with a number of telecoms suppliers, including Bytes Technology, Siemens and Telkom-Ericsson.

"Introducing state of the art technology also means Namibia is not left behind when it comes to the latest communications technology, which is essential to remain competitive in the modern global village," says Potgieter.

"One of the most striking aspects of the market in Namibia is the consumer enthusiasm we have met for new services at all levels, and this bodes extremely well for the future of TelePassport Namibia, and southern African telecommunications in general."