Paratus promises superfast mobile internet
April has been a hive of activity in the telecommunications space with the recent launch of home-grown mobile operator, Paratus Telecom’s fourth generation Long Term Evolution services, hot on the heels of the launch of MTC’s 4.5 generation service.
A very excited Barney Harmse, Chief Induna at Paratus Telecom addressed techno savvy onlookers in the capital last week, telling the story of Paratus Telecom and what lay ahead, stressing that it was only the beginning of many more exciting developments on the horizon.
Paratus with the launch of its services became the de facto third mobile operator, and although the teleco has not rolled out its voice service, it is expected to take shape soon. This was according to its Chief Operating Officer, Schalk Erasmus who indicated that Paratus would be rolling out its network in three phases, with the first to begin with an extended roll-out in the Khomas Region followed by the coastal areas comprising Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Henties Bay, he said in response to a question from the crowd. The roll-out, according to Erasmus, would be completed once Paratus has rounded off activities in the northern parts of the country.
Said Erasmus“the resounding positivity we have seen from the market has been astounding. Our test environment was closely monitored and the relevant feedback allowed us to achieve maximum throughput on the network while progressing through many phases of optimisation. We have gone to great lengths to ensure that quality of service takes the highest priority.”
Paratus Telecom has commenced with developments on VoLTE (Voice over LTE) and while these are early stages, the roadmap to full adoption is still in its infancy. “It can however be noted that visionary steps need to be taken by handset vendors to ensure that handsets are not only VoLTE compatible, but that such handsets are affordable to end-users and become the de-facto standard” Erasmus explained.
Paratus’ ambitions to become a fully-fledged mobile operator were further reaffirmed by a Swedish telecommunications manufacturer which together with Paratus completed a study on the viability of the establishment of a mobile operator.
Global mobile leader, Ericsson, conducted extensive market research in collaboration with Paratus Telecom to determine the viability of a third mobile network. The conclusion of the research was that Namibia, in comparison with countries of similar demographics, would be able to accommodate a third mobile operator, Erasmus pointed out. “Paratus Telecom is now moving into the mobile market and with the LTE Mobile Data network launch, it has officially become the third mobile operator, making a long-term vision a reality, Erasmus said adding that its national roll-out plan is in place.
