Paratus Namibia shakes up market – hacks data prices by 83.4%
Paratus Namibia shifted up a gear this week when the telecoms operator announced an 83.4% cut of data prices which will provide the most affordable data to customers at a rate of a mere N$15 per Gigabyte.
The telecoms operator said data on all its packages that include LTE 4G, WiMAX and Fiber will be reduced from N$85 to N$15 per Gigabyte.
According to Paratus Namibia’s Managing Director, John D’Alton, internet access is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. “This is the norm that each Namibian is growing accustomed to and we believe that every single person in this country has the right to affordable internet access.”
D’Alton said that campaigns like #DataMustFall in South Africa raised the issue of high data costs, showing high levels of dissatisfaction amongst the consumers.
“It is essential for consumers to educate, inform, connect and share valuable information through affordable internet services, without having to pay exorbitant prices,” he said.
Paratus Group CEO Barney Harmse said Paratus has established a pan-African telecoms network and will continue to invest in Namibia and the rest of Africa as it has been doing for the past 15 years.
“We are now exporting Namibia’s Internet access to the rest of Africa and providing Internet capacity and ICT services to the DRC and neighbouring landlocked countries, from Namibia and the WACS CLS in Swakopmund. These are the opportunities that we are leveraging, not only showcasing Namibian ICT assets but also delivering on an international platform,” he added.
Meanwhile according to statistics from Research ICT Solutions (2018), Namibia rates 29th out of 52 African countries with regards to the cheapest 1 Gigabyte mobile prepaid rates per month for 2018 in USD.
“This is cheaper in comparison to other southern African countries such as South Africa, with a rate of US$8.28, Botswana with a rate of US$13.40, DRC with a rate of US$20 and Angola with a rate of US$24.86 per month.
D’Alton said the statistics gathered are based on research done by Research ICT Solutions in partnership with the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) and they indicate the affordability statistics of mobile operator’s quarterly data prices since 2010.
