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23
June 2011 |
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Nearly 3 million SIM cards risk being cut off next week - and South Africans who still haven't registered will have no-one to blame but themselves. With just one week to go before the Rica cut-off date on June 30, service providers have gone into overdrive to get outstanding users to register their SIM cards, sending out SMSes, press releases and radio adverts on a daily basis. But not everyone seems to be listening. According to Vodacom, 1.4 million SIM cards of their 26.5 million customer base are still... |
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23
June 2011 |
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MTN's share price fell nearly 2 percent to close at R134,10 after the company said revenue for the four months to end-April would show only marginal growth due to the strong rand. This morning it opened slightly up at R134.40. The cellphone network said in an update before its annual general meeting yesterday that subscribers had grown 5 percent to more than 150-million in 21 countries. The company said at the meeting that a board for its international operations would not be appointed "at this point in ... |
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23
June 2011 |
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Telkom's new mobile operator, 8ta, has dropped a bomb on rivals Vodacom, MTN and Cell C, introducing a cut-rate broadband product offering 10GB of data a month for R199 on a 24-month contract. For an additional R100/month, users will have 20GB of bandwidth - 10GB plus an extra 10GB for use between midnight and 5am. The 10GB package equates to an effective cost-per-megabyte of less than 2c, making it the most aggressive mobile broadband pricing in SA to date. The out-of-bundle rate is 30c/MB and no modem... |
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23
June 2011 |
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South African mobile phone operators MTN Group and Vodacom are on track to meet a deadline this month for registering users as part of an effort against crime, a state official said on Thursday. Under the country's RICA legislation passed in 2008, cellphones are required to be registered to a name and an address to make phones easier to trace. South Africa's major mobile phone operators have said the legislation could hurt revenue and subscriber growth. Operators are on track to meet the June 30 deadline... |
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23
June 2011 |
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Cell C now exchanges internet traffic with other internet service providers through the Johannesburg Internet Exchange (JINX), allowing it and other ISPs to enjoy reduced costs and higher service levels. Mobile operator MTN also interconnects at the exchange point through its MTN Business division. Said Rob Hunter, Chair of the INX Working Group at the Internet Service Providers' Association, "Mobile operators account for a growing proportion of the country's internet traffic, so we are delighted to bring... |
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21
June 2011 |
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In a bid to enhance customer experience and ensure that subscribers get value for their money, MTN has launched two carry over features, one for all internet packages and recurring internet bundles and another for all once-off internet bundles. This carry-over extension feature, which is an industry first in South Africa, will enable MTN subscribers to carry over their unused internet data for additional months over the term of the contract with a maximum carry over extension of two times the monthly... |
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21
June 2011 |
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Telkom's mobile network 8ta recently hosted a network showcase and discussion panel in order to demonstrate its vast mobile network capability. 8ta is currently using its mobile platform to address some of its unique fixed line challenges. These include fighting copper theft, breakage, replacing old infrastructure and extending coverage beyond the reach of fixed lines. The company has deployed 18 core sites and 3 breakout points, which are all currently operational. 8ta's Radio Access Network (RAN)... |
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15
June 2011 |
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Telkom's poor financial performance in the past fiscal year has triggered fresh calls for re-nationalisation of the company and its delisting from the JSE. Yesterday the Communications Workers Union (CWU) said a continued decline in Telkom's value was worrying as it made it vulnerable to a takeover and threatened job security. The union said it had noted with concern but was not surprised at Telkom's "dismal" results for the year to March, which it presented on Monday. The state owns 39.3 percent and... |
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15
June 2011 |
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IN HER maiden full-year results presentation on Monday, Telkom CEO Nombulelo Moholi said the telecoms company had neither the "agility to seize market opportunities nor the ability to absorb competitive pressures ad infinitum". Her comments come as concern mounts about Telkom's strategy to survive in the highly competitive market. Plans to revive its expansion into the rest of Africa have so far failed. Its internet service provider company, iWay Africa, is too small for fund managers to bother analysing.... |
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15
June 2011 |
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IN HER maiden full-year results presentation on Monday, Telkom CEO Nombulelo Moholi said the telecoms company had neither the "agility to seize market opportunities nor the ability to absorb competitive pressures ad infinitum". Her comments come as concern mounts about Telkom's strategy to survive in the highly competitive market. Plans to revive its expansion into the rest of Africa have so far failed. Its internet service provider company, iWay Africa, is too small for fund managers to bother analysing.... |
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15
June 2011 |
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In its first (fiscal) year of operation, Telkom's mobile business 8.ta, burned through over R1bn. Capital expenditure since the unit's inception - it had to build a network - totals R1.68bn. That's for a network comprising 970 base stations. There are still around 1 000 to come. Selling, general and administrative (so-called "SGA") expenses were R769m. Employee expenses for the 2011 financial year were R140m. This may seem low when looking at the group's high-level numbers. Staff costs in the rest of the... |
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14
June 2011 |
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Tata Communications has increased its stake in SA's second national operator Neotel, which makes Neotel a Tata subsidiary. Tata, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, yesterday told shareholders - through the US Securities and Exchange Commission - its stake has gone from 49 percent to 61.5 percent. The company did not disclose from which other Neotel shareholder it bought its stake. According to the Neotel Web site, its owners include Tata; CommuniTel, with a 12.5 percent holding; and Nexus... |
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14
June 2011 |
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The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) said on Tuesday that it was concerned over Telkom's "dismal" year-end results, and added that the continued decrease in the company's value positioned the operator for a takeover. The union stated that the best option available would be to nationalise the telecoms provider "to ensure it remains strategically biased towards the poor and the developmental objectives of the country". The CWU said that Telkom needed to do more to ensure that the poor had access to... |
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13
June 2011 |
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The regulatory environment is stopping Telkom from exiting loss-making units and is a risk to its business, says the telco. The fixed-line operator, which for many years had a monopoly over the local communications sector, wants less regulation, because that would allow it to offer more competitive pricing and exit areas that do not make any money, but add to its cost base. Telkom this morning released its annual results for the year to March and said it cannot continue to absorb competitive pressures... |
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13
June 2011 |
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Telkom cannot continue to absorb competitive pressures "ad infinitum" and isn't agile enough to take advantage of market opportunities. As a result, a "step change" in the way it operates and invests in its business is "vital". Interconnect rate reductions and aggressive pricing from competitors have put Telkom's voice revenue, its traditional mainstay, at "risk", it says, and income from its voice offerings is expected to continue declining. The listed company this morning released its results for the... |
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