Telecom Namibia has been nominated to host this year's 43rd Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA) annual conference from April 26–28 in Swakopmund.

The conference is hosted on a rotational basis.

Among others, the conference will deliberate on the G5's implementation, artificial intelligence, telecommunication infrastructure, possible challenges faced in the fourth industrial revolution, and how to ensure greater internet connectivity in rural areas.

The Chief Executive Officer of Telecom, Dr. Stanley Shanapinda, outlined some of the opportunities that the conference will bring.

"During the lockdown, people had to work from home, and the West Africa Cable System (WACS) is completely oversubscribed, which means that there is not enough capacity on the submarine cable to address the needs for internet connectivity, so we have to then invest in one of Google's cable systems. That is an immense opportunity for us to be able to sell some of these services to other regional players on the continent."

Dr. Shanapinda says that the conference will also focus on the latest technology.

Namibia has just released a report on the fourth industrial revolution, and Telecom Namibia is looking at how it can position itself as well as the country to take advantage of 4IR.

"We will be meeting with vendors to discuss aspects of 5G and technology development as well as the opportunities that will be present there for them. There will also be opportunities for them to sponsor the conference and have an opportunity to showcase some of their products and do some demos for the operators that are coming together under one roof."

The conference will be held under the theme "Conducting SADC regionally and internationally through ICT infrastructure and services."