From ITN to a new Paratus Telecom

An impressive line-up of who’s whos in the IT industry joined the management and staff of the former Internet Technologies Namibia, when they introduced their new company, Paratus Telecom to the Windhoek business fraternity.
The CEO of Paratus Telecom, Barney Harmse said Paratus Telecom became operational in 2005 as an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and it was decided for strategic reasons, the switch their former company, Internet Technologies Namibia, to the label of Paratus Telecom.
The Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Hon. Joel Kaapanda delivered the key address saying the private sector is an essential partner with the overnment in the development of ICT infrastructure as a priority programme under NDP4.  “The most significant infrastructure development project within this PPP model is the West African Cable System (WACS) and I am informed that Paratus Telecom utilizes bandwidth and capacity from WACS to bring more affordable and quality services to their customers.”

“The Ministry of ICT is constantly evolving and implementing relevant policy and regulatory frameworks to create and enable environment for the ICT sector to flourish. The service neutral licensing regime that was implemented following the adoption of the Communications Act of 2009 provides the necessary impetus for ISP’s to evolve into fully-fledged telecommunications operations, such as which Paratus Telecom have done” he said.
Citing the latest policy developments, the minister said a new policy and regulatory framework for universal service has been adopted recently that will mainly support telecommunications operators to roll-out infrastructures and services to very remote areas that is commercially not viable to do business in.
“I have further been informed that Paratus Telecom has already implemented cross-border fibre infrastructure and connectivity into South Africa and Zambia, which is very commendable from a private sector enterprise perspective.  In 2006 the company launched the first ever commercially available Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) service to its customers.
“Closer cooperation and collaboration within the framework of the PPP model can see the private sector reaping benefits from the various cooperation agreements that government enters into with other governments, such as the Agreement with the Government of Mauritius. This Agreement acts as a framework through which Namibian companies and individual businesses could enter into joint-ventures with their Mauritian counterparts in areas of ICT. Therefore, I call upon Paratus Telecom and other ICT companies to explore areas in which they can collaborate with their Mauritian counterparts.”
“As I said earlier, Paratus Telecom has been in operation since 2005, which I believe has given it an opportunity to grow financially and technically, therefore they are well placed to be part of the national effort in search for software solutions that could improve service delivery in many sectors of our economy.”
“In conclusion, I would like to reaffirm the government commitment to support any effort that will bring notable ICT development in terms of infrastructure and software solutions, amongst others. Furthermore, the government will continue to create a conducive and competitive environment that allows easy and equal access and participation by Namibian citizens in the economic activities of the country” he said.