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Low end smartphone launched

Low end smartphone launched

MTC is expected to make significant inroads into rural areas across the country as it pushes ahead and showcases its recently launched smartphone, aptly titled, OsmartPhona. The launch of the OsmartPhona comes about as MTC extended coverage of its 3G telecommunications network across the country.
MTC launched its OsmartPhona on the back of a U$$60 million investment of a network upgrade in remote areas of the country. Speaking on the launch, its head for Corporate Affairs Officer Tim Ekandjo said, “the provision of this 3G technology is to allow business and ordinary people to benefit from high value wireless service data and content services. It also intends to bring the practical, social and economic change and contribute to cultural enhancement for the rural populace. This is so based on that, with this smartphone, people in remote areas with no bank accounts will now be able to make money transactions, acceleration of e-commerce and e-service platforms. This is in an effort to bridge the gap between urban and rural countrywide.”
The smartphone will retail for N$399 and is limited to one person per purchase. Each of the OsmartPhonas come loaded with 5 gigs of data and also a new SIM card is provided with each purchase. MTC will provide 20 000 hand held sets.
To support its drive, MTC applied for more spectrum in February 2015, motivating that it required the additional spectrum for better services provision
Ekandjo last year said, “We are very concerned that this project and our investment which is aimed at rural ICT development will go to waste if we do not receive the required spectrum soon.”
MTC is currently allocated 63 MHz of spectrum for its mobile services, the company said, and needed to up this to 73MHz to successfully implement the project. MTC’s spectrum requirements were already gazetted on October 24 last year, a critical development which MTC said informed its decision to move ahead with investing in the project. To date, the company has commissioned eight new 3G sites in the north, 10 new 3G sites at Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, and 10 new 4G sites in Windhoek.

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