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28
July 2010 |
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Telkom nonexecutive chairman Jeff Molobela, under fire for allegedly overstepping his mandate and interfering in the day-to-day operations of the group, has hit back at his critics, saying he's been unfairly maligned. Molobela used a press conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday to slam "innuendo from a number of quarters" and claims that he "recklessly ignored corporate governance". The chairman, who is appointed by government, has come under fire from former CEO Reuben September and is also understood... |
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28
July 2010 |
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Fixed-line operator Telkom has finally spoken out against allegations of government interference and the role of the chairman of the board in the recent dismissal of its CEO. Speaking at a media briefing in Johannesburg this morning, Jeff Molobela, chairman of Telkom's board, acknowledged that the board has commissioned an investigation by auditing and accounting firm KPMG to look into complaints of interference by the chairman in the executive management, and that the findings are still pending. Molobela... |
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28
July 2010 |
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When Seacom went down from 6 to 23 July, Internet service providers (ISPs) relying on the cable had to make alternative arrangements - at a cost. Seacom stipulates in its contract with service providers that it will not provide fail-over. However, the un-guaranteed Seacom line is cheaper than SAT-3's guaranteed solution, which provides automatic redundancy on its SAFE line. ISPs which had redundancy, such as MTN Business, did not feel the effects of Seacom's downtime. MTN GM of technology and... |
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28
July 2010 |
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JSE-listed Telkom would still launch its mobile operations during the current calendar year, acting group CEO Jeffrey Hedberg confirmed on Wednesday, when he unveiled a five-point strategy for the group. Hedberg, who along with Telkom chairperson Jeff Molobela, provided details of the group's plans going forward, told journalists at a briefing that its key focus for the mobile operations would now be on the distribution side to ensure that its services were accessible to customers. The other key focus... |
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27
July 2010 |
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Cell C is considering selling its towers to UK firm Eaton Telecom, in a deal that will be the foreign firm's first investment in South Africa and at a stroke cancels a significant portion of Cell C's debt overhang. Neither company would confirm a deal on Tuesday, but suggested they were in the final stages of discussions. Earlier, Eaton announced it was establishing operations in Tanzania and planned to grow its operations in South Africa. The company also has a presence in Nigeria and Ghana. Eaton Telecom... |
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27
July 2010 |
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Mobile operators MTN and Cell C will join Vodacom Group in lobbying for an extension of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA) deadline. The law requires subscribers to register their SIM cards and provide proof of residence and an identity document. Operators will have to register all of its subscribers by 31 December, or face cutting them off the network. Last week, Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys noted that the operator still has 8.2 million... |
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27
July 2010 |
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Outgoing Telkom chief financial officer Peter Nelson has sold nearly R1,8m worth of the group's shares in the open market just days after he announced he would be stepping down from the telecommunications group. Telkom informed the market late on Tuesday that Nelson sold 53 421 ordinary shares last Friday, 23 July, a week after he surprised shareholders by announcing he was quitting. Nelson is leaving Telkom, sources say, because he is frustrated with the way the telecommunications group is being led by... |
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26
July 2010 |
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Pending legal action against Telkom could see the company's recent profit turn into a loss of more than R1 billion. This will place even more pressure on the company, which is battling to keep its head above water. Telkom is being sued by Phuthuma Networks for damages of R3.7 billion, or an alternative claim of R5.5 billion and another alternate claim of R1.8 billion, over a tender that was not awarded. The companies are set to square off next February, when the matter will be heard by the North Gauteng... |
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24
July 2010 |
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Local internet service provider MWEB said on Friday that it had to date, attracted 70 000 customers to its low cost uncapped ADSL broadband offering. Launched in March, MWEB claimed that its low-cost uncapped ADSL consumer and business offerings priced from R219 per month were 40 percent cheaper than other offerings. It also claimed to be the first major player in South Africa to offer uncapped ADSL on a significant scale. Carolyn Holgate, general manager of MWEB Connect, told I-Net Bridge: "Since launch... |
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23
July 2010 |
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Vodacom lost R393 million for the first quarter of its 2010 financial year through lower interconnection fees and a declining prepaid customer base, the company said yesterday. Prepaid customers declined by 11.9 percent year on year, partly due to the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (Rica), the company said. Pieter Uys, Vodacom's group chief executive, said the company had also changed its policy of disconnecting inactive cellphone... |
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23
July 2010 |
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FROST & Sullivan (F&S), the growth partnership company, yesterday called for mobile telecommunications group Vodacom to expand rapidly or face the risk of holding on to a "few bleeders". Vodacom reported revenue for the three months ended June 2010 at R14.41 billion, up 0.7 percent. The South African operations posted revenue growth of 3.8 percent to R12.56bn, despite the 18.3 percent decline in interconnect revenue. The group said its South African customer base declined by 3.1 million to 23.2 million in... |
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23
July 2010 |
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South Africa's Mobile telecommunications operators have proposed an extension to the cut-off date for RICA believing they will not have their customers registered in time to meet the December 31 deadline. RICA is the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act. It requires everyone who has an active cellphone number or purchases a new prepaid starter pack, to register their SIM cards with their operator. Vodacom said on Thursday that it has proposed... |
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23
July 2010 |
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Seacom, whose SA-East Africa-South Asia fibre-optic submarine cable system went down on 5 July, is in the process of restoring capacity to all its customers. The cable operator confirmed last night that physical repairs to the fault were in the final stages of completion and that final testing was under way. Technical teams began working with customers to reinstate Seacom traffic to pre-outage configurations throughout Africa, a process that should be completed within the course of the day. Seacom's... |
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22
July 2010 |
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The enforced reduction of mobile termination rates since March 2010 has chopped almost R400m of the quarterly income of telecommunications firm Vodacom Group. On Thursday, the group reported a 4 percent increase (to R14.4bn) in service revenues from its South African operations for the three months to end-June, but said that it would've been up by 8.2 percent were it not for the interconnection reduction which had a R393m effect on its bottom line. Interconnection rates are paid when network traffic... |
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22
July 2010 |
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Mobile operator Vodacom was making good progress in the mobile data space, CEO Pieter Uys said on Thursday, noting that the group was seeing strong growth in data revenues. JSE-listed Vodacom reported overall data revenues of R1,35-billion for the first quarter of the year, ended June 30. "This was a positive start to our financial year with overall group service revenue increasing 3,1 percent in constant currency. Our continued focus on broadband leadership paid off with group data revenue growing 43,2... |
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