| |
 |
|
17
Feb 2010 |
|
The department of communications received R3,9bn in extraordinary proceeds from Telkom following the sale of its shares in Vodacom, according to the communications budget vote published alongside finance minister Pravin Gordhans national budget on Wednesday. Total receipts increased significantly, from R3,4bn in the 2006/07 financial year, to R5,4bn in 2009/10. The R5,4bn consists of the Telkom/Vodacom proceeds, as well as special dividends of R538,3m and R33,9m in ordinary dividends. Government owns a |
| |
|
|
17
Feb 2010 |
|
Government's broadband infrastructure provider, Broadband Infraco, will benefit from funding over the next few years. The entity, which was created in the 2006/7 financial year, at a cost of R627 million, has been flying under the radar since then. However, the 2010 Estimates of National Expenditure document indicates that the Public Enterprises' sub-programme, ICT Sector Broadband, will receive R142.3 million in the coming financial year. The bulk of this funding is to be spent on Broadband Infraco, |
| |
|
|
17
Feb 2010 |
|
MTN South Africa today announced that it has perfected its network capabilities in order to avoid network congestion and absorb additional demands during the World Cup. "As we move into our final implementation stages for the 2010 World Cup, it is encouraging to note that, having handled the increase in traffic over the festive season, the network is ready to process the huge volume increase in both voice and data traffic that we are anticipating during the event", said Sameer Dave, Chief Technology Officer |
| |
|
|
16
Feb 2010 |
|
Telkom is to reduce its fixed-to-mobile call rates from 1 March by 36c, from R1.65 to R1.29, per minute, which is about a 22% reduction. In a letter presented to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee (PPC) on Communications today, Telkom group executive for regulatory affairs Andrew Barendse wrote that these new rates have already been agreed to with MTN and Vodacom. He said the new tariffs are waiting for finalisation with Cell C and the regulator's approval of Telkom's tariffs. "In support of the PPC's |
| |
|
|
16
Feb 2010 |
|
Eager to try and pip each other (and Cell C) to the post, Vodacom and MTN have rushed to announce various upgrades to their respective networks in recent days. It's a kind of space race, without the moon. Vodacom snuck an announcement into its third quarter trading update call with analysts and journalists last Tuesday. It said it had enabled 14.4Mbps speeds at certain sites, and was planning to upgrade its entire network in time for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Vodacom 3G HSDPA customers would automatically |
| |
|
|
16
Feb 2010 |
|
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) hinted on Tuesday it could take on cellphone operators on "astronomical" pay-as-you-go rates. The regulator's chairperson Paris Mashile told parliament's portfolio committee on communications there was an urgent need for competition in the pay-as-you-go market, which was used mainly by the poor. "This is an area we have got to delve into and find out what we have to do to make it competitive, in terms of the prices coming down." The prices paid by the |
| |
|
|
16
Feb 2010 |
|
Telkoms announcement that it was going to give its customers a 100 percent "pass through" of the 36 cent rate reduction had been met with mixed feelings. Trade Union Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said the union generally welcomed the reduction but it was still not enough. "We have made proposals on this. But we hope this reduction is just the beginning of the process," he said. Graeme Victor, the chief executive at Du Pont Telecom, which provides voice communication solutions, said the problem |
| |
|
|
15
Feb 2010 |
|
FORMER Vodacom CEO Alan Knott-Craig has defended a reported agreement he has with the cellular provider, but said he was being paid "significantly less than half" the R1m a month that reports said yesterday he was earning. The Sunday Times said Vodacom signed a two-year deal with Knott- Craig last March to ensure he did not take up a position at Telkom . Vodacom has also defended the deal, saying it acted " by the book". Knott-Craig said: "I have a two- year agreement to render services to the Vodacom |
| |
|
|
14
Feb 2010 |
|
There is more controversy over Vodacoms former CEO Allan Knott-Craig and a hefty monthly payment he allegedly receives from the cellular giant. The Sunday Times newspaper is reporting the ex-CEO is being paid R1-million a month by the operator, 18 months after he resigned. The newspaper article states the payments have not been disclosed to the company's shareholders, which include the South African government, Vodaphone and BEE scheme Yebo Yethu.Insiders are calling it "money for nothing". According |
| |
|
|
11
Feb 2010 |
|
Vodacom, MTN and Cell C last month filed an agreement with Icasa proposing a cut in the peak interconnection rate from R1.25 to 89 cents on March 1. Icasa rejected the plan because it would have forced it to agree to a fixed gradual reduction over three years. The operators submitted revised agreements without the "glide path" on Monday and Tuesday. With the approval of those proposals, the peak rate will fall on March 1, as initially planned. Icasa said the rate reduction must be passed on to consumers |
| |
|
|
11
Feb 2010 |
|
In his state of the nation address, delivered to parliament in Cape Town on Thursday evening, President Jacob Zuma promised a reduction in broadband, cellphone, land-line and public telephone tariffs. However, he did not provide any details about how government intended to achieve this outcome. "As part of our efforts to encourage greater economic growth, we are working to reduce the cost to communicate," Zuma said. "We will work to increase broadband speed and ensure a high standard of Internet service, |
| |
|
|
11
Feb 2010 |
|
The Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (Eassy) would land at Mtunzini, on the north coat of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on the weekend - a landing which heralds the start of the final stage of the process bringing the cable into operation. The fibre-optics cable, which would connect 21 African countries to each other and the rest of the world with high-quality Internet and international communications services, would be switched on at the end of June 2010, after construction started in March 2008. South |
| |
|
|
10
Feb 2010 |
|
About 60000 Vodacom Group shareholders could end up being unknowingly forced to sell their shares back to the company this month. Yesterday, Vodacom announced a share repurchase offer, for shareholders with fewer than 500 shares, in an effort to reduce administrative costs. Vodacom said these investors made up 90% of the total shareholders of the company's JSE-listed shares, but they only held 0.6% of the entire company. Vodacom group chief financial officer Rob Shuter said in a statement: "We see this AS |
| |
|
|
10
Feb 2010 |
|
ICASA must not just acquiesce to the operators, says politician Patricia de Lille. The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) is being usurped by the mobile operators' move to cut the call termination rate next month. SA's three operators - MTN, Vodacom and Cell C - have independently agreed among each other to cut the rates to 89c for peak calls from the first of next month. This will drop the interconnect rate by 36c a minute. However, Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille says ICASA |
| |
|
|
9
Feb 2010 |
|
MTN SA has joined rivals Cell C and Vodacom in announcing that it plans to build an advanced 3G network capable of delivering much higher-speed broadband access. It says it will build an enhanced high-speed packet access (HSPA+) network in 2010 and is already offering 14,4Mbit/s downloads and 5,7Mbit/s uploads across its 3G cellular network. "The MTN network underwent extensive upgrades in 2009, and this high-speed broadband service is now available countrywide," the company says in a statement. However |
|
