MTC (Mobile Telecommunications Limited) was established in 1995 as a joint venture between Namibia Post and Telecommunications Holdings (NPTH), Telia and Swedfund. During May 2004, NPTH concluded a deal that saw it hold 100 per cent of the shares in MTC by acquiring the 49 per cent held by Telia Overseas AB and Swedfund International AB. During 2006 the sale of 34% of MTC shares to Portugal Telecom was concluded for N$1.34 billion while the Namibian government retains the remainder of the stake through NPTH. MTC currently covers 98 per cent of the population of nearly 2 million citizens with more than 650 base stations and repeaters and offers a dual band 900/1800MHZ. The company also expanded its cellular coverage to all major towns in Namibia, including the major arterial roads. MTC was the second Mobile Operator to introduce 4GLTE in May 2012. The Company's 3G HSDPA+ Network allows for a download speed of up 7.2 Mbps in Namibia's major towns. It further runs two modern MSC's (mobile switching centre) in Windhoek and Oshakati with capacity to accommodate rapidly rising number of customers of over 2 million active users. In May 2012, the company also launched its 4G technology ­ making it the second mobile operator on the continent to have 4G technologies. MTC also operates the only full service customer contact centre in Namibia dealing with service queries ranging from telephony, sms, fax, GPRS, data, voicemail and 3G/HSDPA. A staff of 421 persons serves a diverse market of both pre- and postpaid subscribers