The Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Emma Theofelus, has highlighted that digital infrastructure development planning must be aligned with the actual needs of communities.

Theofelus said this in her address at the stakeholders' high-level engagement at Keetmanshoop.

The engagement aims to strengthen partnership, advance digital infrastructure initiatives, and deliberate on the ICT sector's related challenges in the region.

“ICT development in the ||Kharas Region must be approached with a clear understanding of the region's activities and its communities and its development priorities. As the ministry responsible for information and communication technology, we recognised that expanding connectivity cannot be achieved by the government working alone. It requires deliberate collaboration with telecom operators, businesses, local authorities, and, of course, the communities we serve.”

The minister further noted infrastructure expansion must keep pace with the region's development while urging the communities to protect critical digital infrastructure.

ICT operators, including the NBC, Telecom Namibia, and CRAN, shared their infrastructure development plans.

NBC Chief Commercial Officer Nico Mwiya revealed the broadcaster has transitioned to Direct To Home digital satellite technology in its quest to ensure 100% coverage across the country.

MTC's Manager for Network Development Gert Vermeulen explained.

“The main background of this project is that we have done excessive testing on our network and see there is a need for us to maximise our coverage and service from our existing network. So, this project will upgrade existing ones to get the maximum from that."

Vermeulen revealed the project dubbed Buffalo, which consists of four phases, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.