Real
Namibia |
Mobile phones
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A few useful notes about mobile phones Namibia uses the GSM network. If you want to bring a mobile phone, check that it works with the GSM network. You can’t use a mobile phone everywhere in Namibia. Get familiar with the little indicator on your handset that shows the signal strength. You can use mobile phones on most highways, all major towns, many smaller towns and in some game parks. If necessary ask your local tour operator where you can use your mobile phone. Check with your own mobile operator whether you will be able to use your phone in Namibia. If this is the case, make sure that you have done all the necessary paperwork so that you can roam. If you use Namibia’s prepaid mobile service, you can make a free emergency call. If you have a guide, he or she can make the call. Do you really need a mobile phone? You can probably make a call from the hotel or lodge. You could also send a postcard. |
You should also
read
Getting around
The route
Offroad vehicles
Flat tyres
Namibian roads
Gravel roads
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“Namibia’s mobile provider has roaming agreements with slightly more than 100 countries. This does not help you if you don’t come from one of those countries.”
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| One
of the charms of Namibia is its unspoiled landscape. Imagine this
picture with a signal tower just to the left of the high dune.
Fortunately, there are places where you can't get a signal on
your phone. |
Before mobile phones arrived in Namibia in the mid Nineties, everyone wanted a car. After that, everyone wanted a mobile phone. Spending patterns began to change. For some people, food and clothing became luxury items. Alcoholics reconsidered their ways. Today, very little stands between Namibians and their mobile phones.
A mobile phone in Namibia is more than just a phone. In fact it is a symbol of your social status. In light of this Namibian mobile etiquette differs from that of the ‘west’. In a meeting, it is customary to display your phone at least once and to leave it on. The more obviously expensive your phone, the higher your status. The more calls you receive during a meeting, the more important you must be.
It can be trying, however mobile phones are now an established Namibian culture, and ‘when in Rome…’ In fact, the only places where mobile phone are turned off, are cinemas and banks.
Mobile phones are also invaluable for travelers to Namibia. The obvious uses are to call home or the office and tell them about the lion that has just jumped on the hood of your car, ask people to let the dog out or ask the fire brigade to turn off your oven. A mobile phone may also be useful in case of emergencies, though there are several things that you need to take into account.
The first thing you need to know is that you cannot use a mobile everywhere in Namibia. The population is generally not dense, unless you count all the people who give you directions that you can’t understand, the waiters who get your orders wrong and the people responsible for sending your luggage to Nigeria, though the latter are probably to be found at an airport outside of Namibia, as Namibians know the difference between Namibia and Nigeria.
As there are only about 1,4 people per square kilometer in Namibia, it does not make business sense to put up mobile signal transmitters everywhere. Instead, mobile transmitters are placed along all major highways, in all major towns and most of the smaller ones. If you have an emergency, you are advised to have it somewhere where you can receive a signal.
On the other hand, there is a free emergency number. This means that the call is free. The costs that come attached to making that call are between you, whoever rescues you and your travel insurance company. Only begin your negotiations after you have been rescued.
Of course, in order for you to make a free emergency call, you will need the services of the Namibian provider. To this end, you may want to consider picking up a cheap handset and a prepaid starter kit.
Can you use your own mobile in Namibia? Perhaps…
Namibia’s mobile provider has roaming agreements with slightly more than 100 countries. This does not help you if you don’t come from one of those countries. If you do come from one of those countries, make sure that your own mobile service provider has an agreement with the Namibian provider. If everything comes back ‘yes’, it still doesn’t mean that you can use your mobile in Namibia. Have you made sure that your mobile provider gives you specifically, yes you, roaming services?
Your mobile provider will possibly ask you for a deposit, in which case, it may well be cheaper to buy a prepaid starter kit in Namibia. If you decide to do so, you will need to check that your handset is not locked to use with one network only. If this is the case, you will also need to buy a handset.
Ask your local tour operator if a mobile phone will be useful. If you are going on a guided tour, the guide will probably have a mobile phone. Make sure that this is the case, and also that he or she has credit.
Before you rush out and start buying a mobile phone, you may also want to consider the fact that most hotels and lodges will have landlines from which you can call home. If you are worried about something happening at work, should you really be taking leave in the first place?
Finally, although it is nice to be able to call and tell someone how a troupe of baboons is busy stripping your car in search of something edible, and that you will never, ever leave the window open again, you can always fall back on the traditional method of staying in touch. Most larger stores in Namibia will have wonderful postcards somewhere, and writing the words “Having a great time. Wish you were here.” only takes a minute or two.