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30
June 2010 |
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Vodacom, South Africa's largest mobile-phone operator, said it has lost about $79-million (about R600-million) due to a rate cut imposed by the regulator and has warned proposed further cuts would be "devastating." Vodacom, which is majority owned by Britain's Vodafone, said on Tuesday it has lost about $79-million in the last three months since the rate cut. South Africa's communications regulator in March forced wireless operators to reduce their interconnection fees, the rate they charge to use each... |
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30
June 2010 |
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The telecommunications regulator yesterday heard that Telkom would be unable to recover its costs of operation should it be forced to comply with the Independent Communications Authority of SA's (Icasa) proposed interconnection rates for fixed-line network operators. Interconnection rates are the fees one network operator pays another to carry its calls. Telkom's team - led by Andrew Barendse, the group executive for regulatory affairs - told the panel on day two of Icasa's public hearings - which will in... |
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29
June 2010 |
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Cellular network operator Vodacom wants the telecommunications regulator to delay the second call termination rate cut scheduled to take effect on Thursday this week until March next year. Shameel Joosub, the managing director of Vodacom, said this would allow network operators sufficient time to absorb the effects of the first rate cut implemented in April when the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) asked fixed and mobile network operators in April to reduce the call termination... |
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29
June 2010 |
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LISTED mobile network operator Vodacom yesterday pleaded with the telecoms regulator to delay the second round of interconnection rate cuts, saying if the new rate was introduced next month it would "devastate" the industry. In April, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) proposed an interconnection rate, the fees mobile operators charge each other to carry calls on to their networks, of 65c a minute in peak and off-peak periods from July 1. This was to be followed by 50c in July next year... |
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29
June 2010 |
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The cost of communicating using contract subscriptions on all three of SA's mobile operators has risen, not fallen, despite the substantial reduction in wholesale mobile termination rates on 1 March, two industry executives have claimed. Howard Sackstein, CEO of telecommunications company Saicom, who has analysed a large range of packages - both postpaid and prepaid - offered by Vodacom, MTN and Cell C, says individual tariffs have risen by as much as 70 percent. The analysis, if correct, is likely to... |
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29
June 2010 |
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Vodacom, South Africa's largest cellphone operator, says it has lost about R600-million in three months due to a rate cut imposed by the communications regulator. It has warned that proposed further cuts would be "devastating". In March, the regulator forced wireless operators to reduce their interconnection fees, the rate they charge to use each other's networks. Vodacom has cut its rate for peak calls by nearly 29 percent to 89c a minute. That had cost it about R600-million so far, Vodacom spokesman... |
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27
June 2010 |
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On the Telkom website, a small logo off to the side of the front page hints that Telkom might be involved in the 2010 World Cup. But somewhere inside the site, you could learn that it is in fact an official national sponsor. The vague acknowledgement of its role in one of the most important events in the history of South Africa - second, perhaps, only to the 1994 elections - symbolises what has gone wrong at Telkom over the past decade. From being regarded by all - consumers and businesses alike - as the ... |
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25
June 2010 |
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Mobile operator MTN has once again been a victim of its own erratic billing system, which cut off about 20 000 contract customer subscribers yesterday. Early yesterday morning, the company encountered a problem that resulted in some of its contract customers reaching a credit limit imposed by the billing system, explains Louis Nel, CIO of MTN SA. This resulted in 20 000 customers being cut off from making calls, despite having paid up. However, these customers were still able to receive calls. MTN reported... |
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23
June 2010 |
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Telkom is a fixed-line operator with ambitions to get into mobile telecommunications. Analysts aren't sure it should be investing in a mature cellphone market. Do they have a point? Should Telkom be sticking to its knitting in fixed lines? Pity whoever is appointed to replace Reuben September as the next CEO of Telkom. The new head will be inheriting a difficult business facing its biggest-ever competitive and regulatory threats. Telkom isn't the same company it was in the late 1990s, when, led by a foreign... |
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23
June 2010 |
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Introduced as the second national operator (SNO) in the telecommunications market, Neotel's initial focus was a competitive alternative to Telkom's fixed-line offerings for consumers and small business. However, the operator has failed to deliver, say industry experts. WWW Strategy MD Steven Ambrose argues that the operator's focus has been on the corporate space rather than on the consumer, which can be seen when reviewing Neotel's consumer products versus its corporate and wholesale products. The... |
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23
June 2010 |
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The Department of Communications (DOC) is making good on its promise to bring more muscle to the telecoms and broadcasting regulator. For years, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) has complained that legislation governing its role in industry regulation is a labyrinth, making it hard to get proper regulation into the market on time. Now Cabinet has approved possible amendments to the ICASA Act that could see the regulator gain some steam and general efficiency. "The essence of the... |
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23
June 2010 |
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Telkom has opened the door for smaller telecoms players to get in on the spectrum action, by confirming it is not in the running for any more. While this is positive news for the other competing bidders, it also implies the winning bidder faces fierce competition from Telkom post-auction. The spectrum auction refers to an invitation from the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), in May, to apply for spectrum in the 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz bands. These bands are what the telecoms providers will be... |
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23
June 2010 |
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JSE-listed telecommunications group Telkom must get into the mobile market urgently, its outgoing chief executive officer Reuben September said on Monday. He was addressing Telkom's annual results presentation. Earlier, Telkom reported that profit plummeted for the year ended March 31, with headline earnings per share dropping to 46.8 cents compared with 610.5 cents a year earlier. "Simplicity, quality and value will be Telkom's three main guiding principles to its entry into the mobile market," September... |
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22
June 2010 |
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A R5.2 billion write-down at Telkom's Nigerian subsidiary Multi-Links depressed Telkom's normalised headline earnings a share by 11.2 percent to R4.73, reinforcing speculation about the unit's imminent disposal. Making what was his last final results presentation yesterday, Telkom's outgoing chief executive Reuben September indicated that selling all or part of the Nigerian business was a high possibility. Peter Nelson, the chief financial officer, admitted "it was the worst technology business to have... |
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22
June 2010 |
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TELKOM's outgoing CEO, Reuben September, presented the company's financial results for the last time yesterday, amid speculation that he might leave his post before his contract expires in November. Mr September has been at Telkom for 33 years, with three as CEO, and will leave after a difficult year. Telkom recorded a huge decline in headline earnings per share, dragged down by its ailing Nigerian unit, Multi-Links. The losses were also affected by the divestment from Vodacom and increased competition in... |
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