By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Hangala and Peneyambeko Jonas
Between April 2024 and June 2026 (27 months), the telecommunication companies of made N$6.7 billion from data sales alone, making more than half a billion every quarter.
The data revenue was driven by the usage of social media, with TikTok, Facebook and WhatsApp usage leading the pack.
This is according to the Quarterly Statistics of the telecommunication sector for the second quarter of 2026, which was released this week by the Communication Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN).
As for the latest quarter under review, April to June 2026, telecommunication companies have generated almost a billion Namibian dollars (N$944 million) from data sales.
The period marks of the biggest quarterly data revenues since the second quarter of 2024.
The data revenue generated during that quarter accounted for 85% of the telecommunication companies revenue from its core services of data, sms, and voice.
Data continued to account for the largest share of telecommunications sector revenue, highlighting its growing importance to the sector.
Voice revenue has also rebounded for the quarter, increasing significantly by 23% during the quarter, driven mainly by a 29% recovery in domestic voice revenue.
Sectoral revenue has grown by 12% for the second quarter.
Most of the data revenue came from social media usage: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, and TikTok.
The statistics show that Namibians are buying more data, mostly just to go on social media.
According to the statistics, Namibians have bought data mostly to watch TikTok, to use WhatsApp messages, and to go on Facebook.
The statistics show that, for the quarter, Namibians have bought 8.9 million GB of data just to consume or post content on TikTok.
TikTok was the most-used platform; data usage for the platform grew by 21% “the largest increase among the major platforms.”
As for WhatsApp messaging and status viewing and posting, they have bought 7.1 million GB for the three months.
In third place is data for Facebook use, which was recorded at 6 million GB, followed by YouTube with 4.4 million GB.
Despite growth in the top 3, YouTube and Instagram consumption domestically also continued to gain traction, increasing by 15% and 9%, respectively.
According to CRAN, the broad-based growth across the major platforms suggests that social media continues to play an increasingly important role in internet usage, as video-focused platforms such as TikTok and YouTube show particularly strong growth.
Social media usage in Q2 2026 increased by 11% compared with the previous quarter and continued its upward trend.
Namibia’s digital and platform economy continued to expand in the second quarter of 2026, with people using more mobile data and businesses generating higher ICT revenues.
The growth also came with threats, as the country recorded a sharp rise in cyber security attacks, showing the growing opportunities and risks that come with a more digitally connected economy.
The quarterly statistics also show that active SIM-card subscriptions increased by 2% to about 2.79 million.
Prepaid subscriptions accounted for most of the growth, while mobile broadband subscriptions also increased by 2%.
The strongest movement, however, was in data consumption. Overall mobile data usage increased by 11%, while SMS traffic fell by 15%.
CRAN said the figures point to a continued movement away from traditional communication towards data-based services.
erastus@thevillager.com.na
