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Are you (really) connected at home?

Not too long ago, the average household’s mail was delivered to their home by a gentleman dressed in a postman’s uniform. We communicated mostly by telephone - landline and later mobile phones. The majority of households in those days received their communications and entertainment via traditional terrestrial TV and radio signals. With this medium we all had to consume what the broadcaster aired.

Internet home connectivity really started to catch on in the late 90’s with the web created in 1989 and the first browsers appearing in 1990. Internet users in the early days started viewing webpages and receiving their email at home, in some cases it started making sense to have a desktop at home and to provide some kind of exposure for the family to the new online world that was lurking.

Then the so-called cord-cutting or wireless era dawned, with many trendsetters warning that home internet connectivity will disappear even faster than it took to catch on.

However, this was followed by the introduction of the first smartphones in the mid 2000’s and internet connectivity was now in the power of the sim card, meaning that users were now connected wherever they were, and in the same way that the mailman and the fixed line disappeared into history, so did the conventional TV, radio, the old desktops and laptops with slow connectivity and their old browsers. Mobile networks and smart devices were simply faster. Smart devices at home also meant a place in the dustbin or the attic for alarm clocks, conventional cameras, digital cameras, CD’s, DVD’s and their players.

Between 2010 and 2015 no other device gained as much user popularity as a smart phone and its applications. A new connectivity age was certainly dawning.

The new norm meant faster, easier, single-point connectivity, the push for cheaper and unlimited data plans, the Internet of Things and smart homes with smart appliances. The Covid-19 pandemic and its lockdowns has made home connectivity crucial for work, home schooling, banking and social connections.

This time we believe home connectivity is here to stay. Fibre is still the buzz word, but it has its drawbacks: it takes time to install, it is labour- and infrastructure-intensive. Already being in the age of mobile fixed connectivity, it is so much easier for mobile network operators to deploy mobile fixed connectivity supported by their network infrastructure.

MTC’s home product Spectra has seen 1 000 new subscribers in less than a year – such is the need for affordable, reliable and fast internet connectivity at home.

MTC wants to provide an affordable solution for your home. Find out all about Spectra Home at www.mtc.com.na, toll-free 90111 or [email protected].



Alan Krohne
Manager Retail: Infrastructure and Development