Telecom Namibia is launching a comprehensive network improvement initiative to overhaul its ageing infrastructure and address a recent surge in vandalism.
The national telecommunications provider reported more than 80 cases of vandalism from February to May 2026, disrupting services for customers in various regions of the country. These incidents have led to interruptions and degraded network performance, affecting both fixed-line and mobile services nationwide.
In the initial phase of this initiative, the company will prioritise replacing critical network components that have reached the end of their operational life. The focus will also be on upgrading the national backbone network from several 10 Gbps links to multiple 100 Gbps links, substantially enhancing overall network capacity.
A significant aspect of this effort is a strategic partnership with Demshi Investment Holdings, a fibre network operator, to advance national digital infrastructure and broadband connectivity. This collaboration will primarily focus on deploying fibre networks in areas that have been frequent targets of copper theft and vandalism.
Stanley Shanapinda, the CEO of Telecom Namibia, emphasised the importance of this partnership. “This collaboration signifies a strong alignment of vision and strategy between Telecom Namibia and Demshi. As we accelerate our fibre deployment, we are proactively combating copper theft by transitioning to fibre infrastructure, especially in high-risk locations.”
Shanapinda also noted that this transition will enable the provider to offer services such as cloud PABX for businesses and high-speed internet access for residential customers.
Furthermore, the overall strategy includes expanding and modernising international connectivity gateways, as well as upgrading the mobile core infrastructure that supports voice, SMS, and mobile data services.
Telecom Namibia stated that these initiatives are expected to bring significant improvements in network stability across key areas, decrease the frequency of major service interruptions, enhance internet performance, and improve fault restoration times by October this year.
The company has committed to providing regular updates on the progress of its improvement program.
