Starlink competitor Echo receives approval in Namibia

Echo Namibia has received approval from the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) to provide internet services in Namibia.

The company plans to use OneWeb low earth orbit satellite technology to provide faster internet in the country.

"It is with great pleasure that we wish to announce that our final, 100% approval from Cran was received.

This is indeed great and exciting news for the Namibian small, medium and large enterprise businesses as a whole," says Echo Namibia managing director Christo Greeff.

Last year, the company said the service will use OneWeb's enterprise-grade satellite internet system, with local infrastructure linked to a regional hub based in Johannesburg.

All packages will have a download speed of up to 100Mb and an upload of up to 20Mb. Packages start with a cap of 250Gb, with the biggest package being 2 000Gb of data.

In an interview with The Brief last year, Greeff said although Starlink remains a well-known consumer-focused competitor, he positioned OneWeb as a more reliable solution for business-critical operations.

"OneWeb, with its enterprise focus, provides more robust and reliable connectivity, especially in challenging environments, with more complex equipment, professional installation and real-time support," he said.