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9
March 2011 |
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There has been no formal announcement about a replacement for Vodacom 's MD as the departure of the incumbent Shameel Aziz Joosub approaches. Mr Joosub leaves the country at the end of the month to take up a post in Spain as CEO for Vodafone there. In December 2010 Vodacom group chairman Peter Moyo said his company would make an announcement when the new MD was selected. "The process of identifying Shameel's replacement is underway. It's difficult to predict how long the process will take and this isn't ... |
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7
March 2011 |
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Second mobile operator MTN has introduced free incoming calls and SMSes for both postpaid and prepaid customers travelling in the South and East Africa (SEA) region. Historically, roaming charges have presented pricing challenges, with customers accumulating exorbitant monthly bills due to a lack of knowledge about pricing structures and varying tariffs per country. However, MTN says its free incoming call roaming benefits will be available to both MTN PayAsYouGo and MTN contract customers roaming across ... |
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3
March 2011 |
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The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) stands firm on its decision that government's Class A shareholding status will expire on 5 March, as agreed when Telkom listed on the JSE in 2003. "As I have said previously, the JSE remains firm on our position regarding Telkom's special rights. As a listed company, Telkom must comply with all the requirements set in the listings requirements and the special rights will fall away. At this point, the JSE cannot comment further on the discussion," says JSE CEO Russell... |
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2
March 2011 |
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The national treasury has reinforced Communication Minister Roy Padayachie's call for Telkom's local loop to be unbundled by November this year. The local loop is the copper-cable network that Telkom uses to deliver internet and telephony services to homes and businesses around the country. Unbundling the local loop would allow all operators in the internet and telephony markets cost-based access to the copper-cable network. In the Budget Review the treasury states that unbundling the local loop will... |
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2
March 2011 |
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Communications minister Roy Padayachie's meeting on Friday with executives of 30 of SA's largest technology companies was well received. It has helped establish a much-needed discourse between government and the private sector. What happens next will be much harder. Padayachie's predecessor but one, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, mollycoddled companies in her portfolio, including Sentech and Telkom, refusing to veer from her failed policy of "managed liberalisation" (code words for protectionism). Only when... |
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2
March 2011 |
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THE Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) is racing against time to meet the November deadline to force Telkom to share a critical part of its network with competitors. But analysts are sceptical that the deadline for local loop unbundling - giving competitors access to the "last mile" that takes communication services to consumers homes - will be met. The last mile is situated between the subscriberҒs telephone connection and the main distribution frame where all user lines come together... |
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2
March 2011 |
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THE appointment of Telkom's CEO is edging closer after a series of interviews last week. Telkom's board, under the chairmanship of Lazarus Zim, is understood to have decided on the new CEO. The appointment is likely to be announced before the government's special rights expire at the end of the week. The candidates who have been interviewed include Nombulelo "Pinky" Moholi, MD of Telkom SA , former chief financial officer Peter Nelson and Talib Sadik, the CEO of state-owned arms company Denel. The CEOte... |
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2
March 2011 |
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Motlatsi Nzeku, Telkom's former chief operations officer who was dismissed under a cloud and then reinstated following an arbitration ruling late last year, reported for duty yesterday. Telkom confirmed yesterday that Nzeku had been reinstated, but with the new job title of managing director of Telkom International. Nzeku is also tipped to be a strong contender for the group chief executive vacancy, which Telkom is under pressure to fill before the end of this month, when acting chief executive Jeffrey... |
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2
March 2011 |
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Many view advertising as the bane prevalent in almost every entertainment medium, but the reality is that it is a necessary evil. How else would competition in any sector actually be facilitated? The mobile telecommunications industry is no exception to this rule. One only has to consider Vodacom's lovable African dictator or Cell C's new "customer experience officer", Trevor Noah. MTN has even harnessed a word, "Ayoba", in its campaign, while 8ta has simplified it all into a single pink dot. But past all... |
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1
March 2011 |
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Minister of communications Roy Padayachie is confident the November deadline for the unbundling of the local loop will be met. "I am informed by the regulator that the project is on track and that we will make the deadline," he said at a press briefing last week. Padayachie noted that the Department of Communications was, however, still in discussions on precisely the kind of model that should be adopted for local loop unbundling (LLU). The minister noted that LLU is vitally important to achieve, because... |
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75
Feb 2011 |
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Choosing whether to invest in MTN or Vodacom has even the analysts befuddled, writes Brendan Peacock Knowing how profitable cellphone companies are, it is a no brainer that we should be buying their shares. Mobile network operators are a popular choice of share for most South African investors, but which one has the best growth prospects? Irnest Kaplan, MD of Kaplan Equity Analysts, said the choice between MTN and Vodacom could be argued more than one way. "If I were forced to put money on one, with a... |
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28
Feb 2011 |
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At a press event in Johannesburg, the minister said: "We have to construct a high road into the year 2010." The Department of Communications pointed out that, over the past four years, the total telecoms market had grown from R131 billion in 2007 to R179 billion in 2010. It is estimated that the sector will grow to R187 billion in 2011, with the possible figure estimated at R250 billion in 2020. The growth in the market could be attributed to mobile telecommunications, including both voice and data, the... |
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28
Feb 2011 |
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The 4 March shareholding expiry will not mark the end of government's influence over Telkom, as communications minister Roy Padayachie has confirmed that talks are under way to entrench certain special rights into government's shareholding in the fixed-line incumbent. Government currently holds a Class A shareholding status for its 39.8% shareholding in Telkom. Its Class A shareholding status gives it special privileges over other shareholders, including, among others, the right to appoint five out of 12 ... |
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28
Feb 2011 |
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THE government is in discussions to extend certain special rights that it holds at Telkom , as it believes the company is a strategic asset that can assist with the roll out of broadband in rural areas. The state owns 39 percent in Telkom and has special rights through its Class A shares, which give it the right to appoint a chairman, four nonexecutive directors and veto powers regarding the CEOs appointment. The rights will expire on Saturday. TelkomҒs board under the chairmanship of Lazarus Zim, who ... |
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28
Feb 2011 |
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Interconnect regulations are due to come into play tomorrow; however, many telecoms players are still confused as to whether or not they qualify to charge an asymmetric rate or how termination rates link to number allocations. As of 1 March, the Independent Communications Authority of SA's (ICASA) interconnect regulations will be enforced. Subsequently, call termination rates across the board will drop from 89c per minute to 73c per minute. The regulations have also made it permissible for operators that... |
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