Paratus Group will in the coming weeks launch a mobile data network in Namibia that will challenge the dominant state-owned incumbent, MTC.
Barney Harmse, group executive chairman at Windhoek-headquartered Paratus, a fast-growing digital infrastructure company with operations across Southern Africa, revealed the plans in an interview with the TechCentral Show, which will be published soon.
He also disclosed that Paratus is considering a listing in New York in the coming years, though no firm decisions have been made in this regard.
The Namibian mobile network, which will offer data-only services in the vast, arid south-west African nation, will utilise so-called low-band and high-band spectrum to provide a mix of geographically widespread coverage as well as coverage aimed at maximising internet speeds for consumers.
The network, which will use the Paratus brand, will be launched commercially on 2 September. Paratus is already a major player in the fibre-to-the-home market in Namibia.
The Namibian mobile market is interesting in that MTC, which is majority state owned (with some shares floated on the Namibian Stock Exchange), holds more than 90% market share. The only other player is Namibia Telecom, also state owned, which has the remaining share of about 8-10% through its brand TN Mobile.
First private operator
MTC offers 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE services and provides some 5G coverage in Windhoek and a few of the larger towns in the country of just 2.6 million people.
Paratus’s entry in the mobile market – albeit with data-only mobile services for now – could kick-start a shake-up in the competitive dynamics of Namibia’s mobile telecommunications sector.
“We will be the first private operator venturing into this space,” Harmse said. The company has had the necessary licences from the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia for many years, he added.
Read: Paratus promises lowest latency to London via Kalahari fibre
“They won’t hold back their punches,” Harmse said of MTC’s likely response to Paratus’s mobile launch. “But we are not going to get into a price fight. We will be competitive where it matters. At the end of the day, what distinguishes you from the rest … is [good customer] service.” – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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