Swakopmund eSIM
In Swakopmund you connect to MTC or Telecom Namibia, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 29 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- MTC and Telecom Namibia
- Typical speed in Namibia
- 29 Mbps typical, 7 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- 4G only
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
How Namibia compares across Africa
- Regional typical speed
- 29.5 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, MTC, Telecom Namibia
- 5G
- 4G only
- Next fastest nearby
- Egypt, 29 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Senegal, 29 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 2: Windhoek, Swakopmund
Landing at Walvis Bay Airport (WVB)
- Airport
- WVB / FYWB
Getting into Swakopmund
- B2 main road from Windhoek to Swakopmund
- TransNamib railway from Windhoek to Walvis Bay via Swakopmund station
- B2 road, Walvis Bay north along the coast about 35 km to Swakopmund
Worth knowing about Swakopmund
- Swakopmund lies 352 km west of Windhoek on the B2 road, so overland arrival from the capital is a long desert drive.
- Swakopmund has its own small airport and a station on the TransNamib line from Windhoek to Walvis Bay, but scheduled jet service uses Walvis Bay Airport instead.
- Walvis Bay Airport is 15 km east of Walvis Bay and its scheduled routes are limited to Cape Town, Johannesburg and Windhoek.
- The town sits on the Atlantic coast at the edge of the Namib desert, a long way from any other Namibian centre.
- SIM registration is mandatory in Namibia under Section 77 of the Communications Act, with regulations published in the Government Gazette of 15 March 2021. The requirement took effect on 1 January 2023.
- CRAN says a customer must give personal data such as a residential address and a valid identification document when buying or activating a SIM. New customers must be registered within three months of purchase.
- CRAN states that unregistered SIM cards will be deactivated, and that from 1 January 2023 Namibia joined 185 countries with mandatory SIM registration.
- Swakopmund is one of the 14 landing points of the West Africa Cable System, a 14,530 km cable from South Africa to London that became operational on 11 May 2012. Telecom Namibia is a consortium member.
- Namibia relied on the West Africa Cable System for international connectivity until Google's Equiano cable landed. Paratus and Telecom Namibia built the landing station. Paratus says Equiano's capacity is four times that of WACS.
- Swakopmund has a cold desert climate with less than 20 mm of rain a year. The coastal region can have more than 180 days of thick fog a year, drawn off the cold Benguela current.
- Swakopmund Airport, code SWP and FYSM, is non towered and has no runway lights. Its two gravel runways measure 1,600 metres and 963 metres, and charter companies operate from it daily.
- Walvis Bay Airport has one asphalt runway, 09 and 27, of 3,500 by 30 metres at 91 metres elevation. Its terminal was inaugurated in July 2016 and it handled 79,763 passengers in 2023.
- Walvis Bay Airport is served by Airlink to Cape Town and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo and by FlyNamibia to Cape Town. It is the second major gateway developed and managed by Namibia Airports Company.
- The B2 runs 320 km from Walvis Bay, north along the coast about 35 km to Swakopmund, then inland through Arandis, Usakos and Karibib to the B1 near Okahandja. Its whole route forms the first section of the Trans-Kalahari Corridor.
- Mobile Telecommunications Limited, MTC, is the largest mobile carrier in Namibia with over two million active subscribers. It launched 4G LTE on 16 May 2012.
- Telecom Namibia is wholly owned by the government and is the national telecommunications operator. Its mobile arm trades as tn mobile, launched as Cell One in 2007 and renamed Leo in 2009.
Sources for this page
Other cities in Namibia we cover
- Windhoek
- 263 km from Swakopmund, nearest airport ERS