Cell One Namibia

Cell One, Namibia's second-largest mobile-phone operator, was established in 2007, and Pattern Matched Technologies has been providing technology solutions from the start. Approximately half of Namibia's population of two million people have mobile phones, and Cell One's market share is between 15 and 20%. It is estimated that 80,000 Namibian mobile-phone users are subscribers. However, the bulk of Cell One's client base comprises pre-paid users.

Emerald has provided Cell One with the technology to issue airtime-recharge vouchers – in both paper and electronic format – and facilitate the redemption of these vouchers. Also thanks to Emerald, credit transfer between users can take place and statistics reports for auditing purposes can be generated.

Cell One product group manager Ronel le Grange explains the advantages of the solution Pattern Matched Technologies custom-built for Cell One. "Besides being environmentally friendly, electronic recharge vouchers are just so much handier than paper ones for rural users," she says.

PMT's solution also has a very quick turnaround time, with credit reflecting immediately once users have slotted in their pins. Cell One has experienced no major system outages with its PMT solution, which Ronel notes as a significant achievement for the continent. "And all queries are solved the same day," she says. "I can tell you I am very happy with PMT's after-sales service."