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6
Nov 2008 |
Santa readies more reindeer for bumper Xmas season.
Telkom will pay its shareholders a special dividend of R10,5bn — less any tax levied thereon — following its sale of 15% of its stake in cellular operator Vodacom. The fixed-line operator confirmed on Thursday morning that it will sell the 15% to Vodafone for R22,5bn in cash, less Vodacom’s attributable net debt of R1,55bn as of September 30 2008. Telkom will distribute 50% of the... |
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6
Nov 2008 |
Minister uses public money to protect Telkom, screw public.
The Pretoria High Court today ruled against communication minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri's urgent interdict against the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), to prevent it from issuing telecommunications licences to value-added network services (VANS).... |
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6
Nov 2008 |
If being a useless lump could be exchanged for time Ivy would live forever.
The Pretoria High Court today ruled against communication minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri's urgent interdict against the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), to prevent it from issuing telecommunications licences to value-added network services (VANS). The interdict was filed on behalf of the minister on 17 October, as part of a strategy to prevent Altech, and the... |
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4
Nov 2008 |
Bandwidth to South Africa as precious as doughnuts to Minister of Comms.
The construction of SEACOM’s 15,000 km fibre optic undersea cable, linking South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia to India and Europe, remains firmly on schedule to become the first cable to link east Africa to the rest of the world. Over the past three months, a number of major milestones were reached including the groundbreaking at the cable station... |
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4
Nov 2008 |
Telkom's all-time best buddy could still have trick up sleeve.
The Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) has welcomed the High Court ruling against communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri's appeal. However, it has advised value-added network service (VANS) providers to hold tight until after 21 November. The association says the Independent Communications Authority of SA is required to issue all VANS, which were approved before... |
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3
Nov 2008 |
Hopefully to take Ivy for a stroll and not return. Ever.
Lyndall Shope-Mafole will continue as director-general of the Department of Communications (DOC), despite her resignation from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to join the new political party mainly made up of dissidents. Political observers, members of her own department and many others, particularly in the ICT industry, were shocked to learn on Friday that Shope-Mafole... |
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3
Nov 2008 |
Minister gathers ingredients, heats cauldron, stops at BP to refuel broomstick.
The Internet Service Providers' Association of South Africa (ISPA) has welcomed the news that the High Court has denied the Minister of Communications, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, leave to appeal a recent judgment by the court which found in favour of telecom group, Altech. ICASA is now required to issue all VANS licences issued prior to 19 July 2008 with an IECNS licence as well as... |
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2
Nov 2008 |
Just when Telkom started to think they have nothing to worry about.
Many companies accept that social responsibility and community services cannot be based on simple donations and handouts to meet government criteria for CSI expenditure. Such projects need to be a viable part of the business and its future sustainability while benefiting the communities that would not have before. “For us, simply making a donation is not what CSI is about — we... |
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2
Nov 2008 |
Provider fails at property business, sticks to cellphones.
The Law Society of the Northern Provinces will hear a complaint of professional misconduct against three attorneys next week. The attorneys represented Vodacom in a case in which a Johannesburg family alleges that the cellular operator took possession of the family home by "making" family members sign purchase papers "under duress". Dino Anastassiou, a son of the owners of the... |
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2
Nov 2008 |
SA-based cellular phone operator MTN has lifted its customer base by 9% to 80,7m in the three months to September, it said on Friday, beating analyst expectations. The robust quarter-on-quarter growth comes in spite of a sharp slowdown in the world economy.
The South and East Africa (Sea) region contributed 28% of the group’s total subscribers, while West and Central Africa (Weca) and Middle East and North Africa (Mena) contributed 44% and 28% respectively.
The Sea region increased its subscri... |
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1
Nov 2008 |
Country crosses collective national finger, willing to sponsor electric wheelchair in return for early retirement.
Communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri may not be in her post much longer if weekend newspaper reports are correct. The Weekender reported on Saturday that there is “growing speculation” that Matsepe-Casaburri, who has been communications minister since 1999, may be without a job soon. “While the minister’s office denied this on Friday night, ANC sources said that... |
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31
Oct 2008 |
Spending time in Ivy's sizable, cold shadow not all it's cracked up to be.
Communications department director-general Lyndall Shope-Mafole has quit the ruling ANC because she believes the “character and tradition” of the party “no longer prevail”. She has slammed the intimidation and violence that have marred some ANC meetings and criticised the boorish behaviour of the ANC Youth League. Shope-Mafole confirmed in an interview with FM Tech on Friday even... |
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31
Oct 2008 |
Minister suffers brutal smackdown, licks wounds with lawyers, Telkom.
Communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has suffered a humiliating legal setback in her efforts to ensure that SA’s telecommunications industry is not immediately thrown open to full-scale competition. In a move that will have far-reaching implications for the information and communications technology sector, acting high court judge Norman Davis has denied the minister leave... |
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31
Oct 2008 |
White bakkie with blue and green phone logo seen speeding from scene.
Neotel has confirmed it experienced a generalised network failure this morning, which it says caused an outage for certain customers in the Johannesburg area. Neotel executive head of strategy Angus Hay explains that customers experienced a break in service when one of the optic fibre backbone cables was damaged. “This resulted in a localised interruption of services to enterprise... |
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30
Oct 2008 |
Storm clouds gather as pricing less exorbitant than expected.
Telkom recently started trialling its mobile data service based on based on W-CDMA technology, the same wireless technology used by Vodacom and MTN for their HSDPA offerings (Telkom Do 3G on the Move advertisement here). Telkom’s nomadic data service, Do 3G on the Move, “is a fixed-mobile service where users gain access to the Internet with a 3G modem or USB dongle and a computer.... |
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