Chamwe Kaira
Telecommunications investments dropped to N$164 million in the second quarter of this year, down 48% from the previous quarter, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) said in its quarterly statistics bulletin.
The regulator said the drop followed major capital spending in the first quarter, including a once-off infrastructure investment by Loc8 Mobile.
“It is also important to note that Telecom Namibia and Paratus Telecommunications continued to make considerable investments during the period,” the report said.
Cran reported that cyber-threat events more than doubled during the quarter.
“Reported cyber vulnerabilities also increased by approximately 2%, sustaining an upward trend and underscoring the growing need for strengthened network protection against malicious actors,” the regulator said.
Pay-TV subscriptions fell by 11%, reversing the 10% growth recorded in the first quarter.
Cran linked the decline to the growing adoption of over-the-top streaming platforms such as Netflix, which continue to change consumer viewing habits.
Advertising revenue in broadcasting rose by 14% after a 20% drop in the previous quarter.
Cran said advertising income as a share of total sector revenue remained stable at around 10%.
Postal services showed modest recovery. Postbox usage increased by 10% to 48%, while private bag utilisation rose by 4% to 35%.
The total number of active SIM cards stayed stable, but mobile broadband use via mobile phones grew by 4%, lifting the share of SIMs used for internet access from 58% to 61%.
“This growth was primarily driven by an increase in consumption among MTC subscribers. By contrast, mobile broadband usage through dongles and routers remained unchanged, thereby offsetting the recovery noted in the preceding quarter,” said Cran.
Fixed-line subscriptions fell by 1% in the quarter, with both business and residential lines declining at a similar pace. CRAN said this showed a shift towards mobile and broadband services, such as VoIP.
Lower-speed fixed internet subscriptions also declined.
Cran also linked the trend to the proposed amendment of the broadband policy, which raises the minimum download speed from 3 Mbps to 25 Mbps and increases the minimum upload speed from 2 Mbps to 3 Mbps.
Caption
Investments in the telecommunication sector declined in Q2.
– Photo: Contributed.
