Telecommunications in Namibia

Telecommunications in Namibia include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Radio and Television

Since Independence in 1990, Namibia has seen a dramatic growth in radio stations, with both commercial (for instance Radio 99, Radio Wave, Radio Energy, Omulunga Radio, West Coast FM, etc.) and community (UNAM Radio, Katutura Community Radio, etc.) receiving licences. Most of these stations broadcast various types of music format, and political discussions, news and phone-in programs remain mostly the domain of the national broadcaster (NBC) which broadcasts nine radio services nationally (in various Namibian languages, including German - the only full-time German service outside of Europe), plus the new !Ha service, broadcasting to the San community in Tsumkwe.

The television network with the widest transmission range is the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC, not to be confused with the American NBC network). The NBC is the successor to the South Africa–run South West African Broadcasting Corporation (SWABC), which was modeled on the original SABC. Like the radio services of the NBC, the television service tries to cater to all the linguistic audiences in Namibia, although the dominant language is English (Namibia's official language).

The commercial "free to air" station is One Africa Television, the successor to the now defunct TV Africa. It has expanded its transmitter network and is now available in most major towns and cities in Namibia. In 2007 it commenced broadcasting a local television news bulletin each evening.

The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is a religion television station, with some material originating locally, although also carrying relays from the United States. It is based in Windhoek and holds a community television licence.

Telephones

Internet

Telecom Namibia, which has offered ADSL access since late 2006,[11] has a de facto monopoly on ADSL access. Their monopoly was unsuccessfully challenged in the courts by MWeb Namibia in May 2007[12] and again in August 2011.[13]

In February 2007, ISP Namibia Mweb began offering broadband wireless services through WiMax, making Namibia the second African country (after Mozambique) to do so.[14]

Internet censorship and surveillance

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet; however, the Communications Act provides that the intelligence services can monitor e-mail and Internet usage with authorization from any magistrate. There have been some allegations and rumors that the government reviewed ways to block or curtail social media sites, but there is no concrete evidence of such action.[15]

The constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally respects these rights.[15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Communications: Namibia", World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 7 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  2. ↑ Dialing Procedures (International Prefix, National (Trunk) Prefix and National (Significant) Number) (in Accordance with ITY-T Recommendation E.164 (11/2010)), Annex to ITU Operational Bulletin No. 994-15.XII.2011, International Telecommunication Union (ITU, Geneva), 15 December 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "ACE: Africa Coast to Europe", Orange SA. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "West Africa Cable System (WACS)", Tata Communications Ltd. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  5. 1 2 Calculated using penetration rate and population data from "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012", Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013
  6. ↑ "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012", International Telecommunications Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013
  7. ↑ "Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012", Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012", Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
  9. ↑ Select Formats, Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.
  10. ↑ Population, The World Factbook, United States Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Data are mostly for 1 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "Namibia: Telecom Namibia to Provide Broadband Internet Services" (subscription required), All Africa, 15 September 2006. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  12. ↑ http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/internet/2007/0705311034.asp?A=AFN&S=All%20Africa%20News&O=E&C
  13. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20120606180224/http://www.namibian.com.na/news-articles/national/full-story/archive/2011/august/article/mweb-loses-internet-case-against-telecom/
  14. ↑ http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/internet/2007/0702121031.asp?S=Mobile%20and%20Wireless%20Technology&A=MAW&O=FPQQ#1
  15. 1 2 "Namibia", Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 22 March 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2014.

External links

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