City and MTC to sign 4G agreement

It seems the City of Windhoek will endorse Namibia’s largest telecommunications provider’s 4G technology ambitions, after the municipality’s council decided that a technical agreement be entered into by the two parties prior to the installation of extra ducts. Such an agreement would detail the route, time-frames, standards and quality control of the work.
The city council has also recommended that MTC supply the municipality with a demand guarantee of N$1 million, prior to the start of construction as recourse for accidental or other damage during construction and installation.
In July 2010, MTC applied to the City of Windhoek for the installation of underground ducts in the city’s road reserves for the laying of fibre-optic cables. These fibre-optic cables will permit  transmission over longer distances and at a higher bandwidth than any other forms of communication. At its monthly council meeting on Wednesday this week, the council also recommended that the council’s decision to pursue a partnership with MTC in providing optic fibre services to the public, be scratched as the municipality is not a registered communications provider.
Meanwhile, Telecom Namibia has also asked the City of Windhoek not to allow MTC to construct its own metro fibre ring. At a meeting scheduled between all stakeholders at the Prime Minister’s Office,  it was decided that MTC will be given access to Telecom’s ducts, however MTC applied for the installation of their own ducts late last year  for the deployment of the ducts and the 4G technology.
MTC has stated that the company will pay annual rental fees to the City of Windhoek for the entire infrastructure and the use of the City’s road reserve should they build their own ducts.
Currently, MTC shares the fibre metro ring with Telecom but wants the City of Windhoek to allow the company to lay its own fibre network and base stations.