One for the mobile! The lush green Parliament Gardens this week turned greener when Cell One, whose corporate colour is mainly green, celebrated its first anniversary on the premises. Government officials and members of the business community attended the event. Cell One is aiming to reach 80% of the population by the end of this year. The company managed to reach 70% of the population in the first year. The introduction of Cell One has forced MTC to reduce prices on calls, starter packs and SMSes. Above, Rocky Schmidt of Nokia Siemens, Gerson Nareb, Chairman of Cell One, Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Joel Kaapanda and Cell One Chief Executive Officer Frode Haugen toast to the occasion.

While celebrating its first anniversary this week, the country's second mobile operator, Cell One announced that it is on an ambitious road in which it is aiming to reach 80% of the population this year. Within a year of its formation, Cell One has managed to reach 70% of the population, a major achievement for any new operator.

Frode Haugen, Chief Executive Officer of the mobile operator, nevertheless admitted in an interview with the Economist that competing with MTC, which has been operating in the country for over 10 years, is a daunting task.
He however said Cell One would invest more in extending its infrastructure and building more.
“Last year we invested around US$100 million and this we hope to invest more,” Haugen said. Nokia Siemens is developing the Cell One network.
Haugen added that the company was still looking for a new management partner after it announced on 27 March that it had terminated the Management and Technical Services Agreement with Telecommunications Management Partners (TMP) of Norway.
A committee of the board has been formed to drive negotiations with an alternative management partner.
Haugen confirmed that Cell One is still operating without paying for an operating licence fee reported to be around N$65 million. He said there are a number of issues that need to be addressed with the Namibian Communications Commission before the company can pay for the licence. He however could not elaborate.
“We are in discussions with the NCC. And we hope to find a solution very soon. There are some certain requirements that have to be met before that happens,” he said.
Chairman Gerson Narib said on Wednesday during a function to mark Cell One’s first anniversary that the company has now given Namibia a choice people did not have in the past. He said, as a result of Cell One, MTC has been forced to reduce prices on calls, starter packs and SMSes.