Chamwe Kaira
Data consumption increased by 8% in the second quarter of 2025, while data revenue declined by 1.2%, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) reported.
This balanced the N$800 million revenue level reached in the last quarter of 2024 after several quarters of around N$700 million.
The decline in revenue despite higher consumption was linked to free data promotions by operators.
The revenues from voice and SMS continued to fluctuate. SMS revenue dropped by 14%, while voice revenue fell by 6%. During the quarter, ICT revenue increased by 1%, but operating expenses increased by 4%.
Social media accounted for 68% of MTC’s total data usage, a 3% decline from the previous quarter. TikTok, Facebook, and WhatsApp each represented 17% of total usage.
Facebook recorded a 2% decline, while the other platforms remained unchanged.
Fixed-line outgoing minutes declined by 6%, reversing growth from the previous quarter. International outgoing minutes increased by 3%. About 35% of outgoing minutes were on-net, a share that remained unchanged.
The total number of active SIM cards stayed stable, but mobile broadband use via mobile phones grew by 4%.
This raised the share of SIM cards used for internet access from 58% to 61%.
Cran said this growth was mainly driven by higher consumption among MTC subscribers. Broadband use through dongles and routers remained flat.
Fixed-line subscriptions fell by 1% across both business and residential segments, showing a shift to mobile and broadband services such as VoIP. Lower-speed fixed internet subscriptions also declined.
Cran linked this to the proposed broadband policy amendment, which will raise minimum download speeds from 3 Mbps to 25 Mbps and increase upload speeds from 2 Mbps to 3 Mbps.
Fibre-to-the-Premises subscriptions grew by 11%. MTC remained the market leader, but Telecom Namibia, Paratus, and new entrants also gained share.
Rocketnet Internet Namibia doubled its subscriptions, while Demshi Investment Holdings grew by 34%. Satellite/VSAT subscriptions rose sharply by 63%, as customers began moving away from WiMAX services set to be discontinued by September 2025.
VoIP subscriptions increased by 9%, continuing their steady rise as a substitute for landline services.
Mobile outgoing minutes increased by 7%, reversing a 25% contraction in the previous quarter.
Telecom Namibia recorded the strongest growth at 11%, while MTC rose by 7%. MTC kept its dominant role in call termination, with 97% of mobile outgoing calls ending on its network.
SMS volumes fell by 3%, extending the downward trend. Mobile data usage, however, maintained strong growth, rising by 8% compared to 6% in the previous quarter.
This reflected the continuing shift in consumer behaviour toward data-based communication platforms and away from traditional voice and SMS services.
