Namibia’s mobile market has long been dominated by MTC, which controls close to 90% of the sector. Telecom Namibia, once a contender, has battled to recover market share ,let down by ageing infrastructure.For most consumers, “choice” has been a formality, not a fact.
Paratus is not new. It has been in business for over two decades, building a footprint in fibre, satellite, and data centres. Its listing has performed well, and it has built credibility with investors. What is new is its decision to run a mobile service on its own infrastructure rather than piggy-backing on incumbents. That distinction matters. It turns Paratus into a direct competitor for the first time.
The risks are significant. Building and maintaining a national mobile network is more demanding than leasing capacity. Paratus’s record on fibre shows strengths, but also cracks: delays, uneven coverage, and reliability complaints. Its front-line customer service is good, but its call centre is weak, a serious liability in a market where price sensitivity is high and customers expect swift resolution of problems.
MTC, for all its arrogance, is not without defences. Its 24-hour customer contact centre is capable of handling tiered subscriptions and managing churn with operational sophistication. That gives it armour against competitors.
Paratus promises to compete on service, not just price. That will be tested quickly. Customers will judge it on call quality, coverage, and how it handles complaints. Investor confidence and infrastructure assets mean little if consumers conclude that the experience is no better than the incumbents.
The presence of a private operator with its own infrastructure is overdue. But hype will not decide the outcome. Execution will.
* Briefly is a weekly column that is opinionated and analytical. It sifts through the noise to make sense of the numbers, trends and headlines shaping business and the economy with insight, wit and just enough scepticism to keep things interesting. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE NOT OUR OWN, we simply relay them as part of the conversation.
