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24
May 2010 |
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THE latest attack on the intellect of South African consumers comes from internet service providers who claim to provide what we've always wanted - unlimited internet access - but in reality are offering limited connectivity. Perhaps an intellectual assault is taking things a bit far, but there certainly is a level of disingenuousness. This isn't a South African phenomenon. All over the world internet service providers offer so-called uncapped or unlimited connectivity that actually does have a limit on it... |
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21
May 2010 |
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An internal Telkom report has fingered three senior staffers for alleged corruption and fraud. They are accused of colluding with security companies who are hired to protect and monitor Telkom's copper network. Two of these companies were the target of allegations the Mail & Guardian reported in 2001 concerning corrupt transactions involving a senior Telkom employee at the time. The internal report was handed to Telkom SA managing director Pinky Maholi and group executive of legal services Anton Klopper... |
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20
May 2010 |
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Naspers-owned Internet service provider MWeb has the launched its own "self-provisioned" wireless network, offering uncapped wireless access aimed at business users in greater Johannesburg and Cape Town. "While the industry waits for details on the issuing of WiMax spectrum, MWeb has already built base stations covering Sandton, Boksburg, Isando (Kempton Park) and Midrand in Johannesburg; and N1 City and the Cape Town CBD in Cape Town," the company says. "This footprint will be expanded on an ongoing basis... |
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20
May 2010 |
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MWEB said that while the industry waits for details on the issuing of WiMAX spectrum, it has built base stations covering Sandton, Boksburg, Isando (Kempton Park) and Midrand in Johannesburg, as well as N1 City and the Cape Town CBD. "This footprint will be expanded on an ongoing basis throughout the year and the network will utilize open unlicenced spectrum bands using Alvarion wireless equipment to broadcast signal in a 5km radius of the base stations," MWEB said. Bernard Kur, head of product management... |
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20
May 2010 |
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Naspers-owned MWeb has made another major move on the Internet market, releasing an uncapped WiMax offering which competes with a business uncapped ADSL solution. The company announced this morning in a press statement that its WiMax offering will be available in certain coverage areas, including Sandton, Boksburg, Isando and Midrand, in Johannesburg; and N1 City and the Cape Town CBD. According to MWeb, it will release the service on an open spectrum band, in anticipation of an expected scarce spectrum... |
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18
May 2010 |
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Tough new legislation to crack down on the theft of cellphones and their use by criminals has resulted in a leading company losing close to two million customers, it believes. Reporting its headline earnings up 22.3 percent for the year ended March 2010, Vodacom said its customer base had declined 4.9 percent to 26.3 million. This was a result of a 1.9 million reduction in prepaid customers following the implementation of the Regulation of Interception of Communications Act (Rica). The law was implemented... |
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18
May 2010 |
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Mobile operator MTN SA will introduce what it describes as an "uncapped" 3G broadband product from 1 June. The service will be subject to a fair usage agreement, the company has said, and will only be available on a 24-month contract. The uncapped contract is available for R749/month. However, strict fair-usage rules apply to the service. Once subscribers have used 3GB of data, the service will be restricted to a download speed of 128kbit/s. Before the threshold is reached, downloads are available at full ... |
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18
May 2010 |
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African telecoms giant MTN announced South Africa's first uncapped mobile broadband contracts on Tuesday, following an announcement in April of uncapped one-day data bundles. Surajh Surjoo, senior manager of consumer segment and broadband at MTN, said that the new uncapped contracts will be on a 24-month basis. Two contracts are available; MTN Uncapped Lite and Pro. Both packages have a fair usage policy after which the connection is slowed down to 128 kilobits per second, but subscribers will not be cut ... |
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17
May 2010 |
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Vodacom has reported an increase of 22.3% in headline earnings per share to 510 cents per share for the year ended the 31st March. Headline earnings growth was flattered by the inclusion of a broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) charge of R1 315m in the prior year. This was partially offset by R375m in losses on the remeasurement of financial instruments and the R489 million reversal of a deferred tax asset largely recognised and reported on in the six months results to 30 September 2009.... |
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17
May 2010 |
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Vodacom has boosted annual headline earnings by 22,3 percent, and said it will increase dividend and spend 7,4 billion rand in capital expenditure. Vodacom, which is majority-owned by Britains Vodafone, said headline earnings per share for the year to end-March rose 22,3 percent to 510 cents. Headline earnings, which strip out some one-off and non-trading items, are the main profit gauge in South Africa. South AfricaҒs largest mobile phone operator declared a final dividend of 175 cents per share and... |
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17
May 2010 |
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WITH about four weeks left before the start of the Soccer World Cup, local mobile network operators have expressed their readiness to handle the traffic volumes expected during the event. Over the past year, and more recently, mobile customers have experienced dropped calls, delayed SMS delivery and poor network availability, raising fears of the networks' ability to handle call and data volumes during the four-week event. The operators were blamed for their delay in adding enough base stations and radio ... |
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17
May 2010 |
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Still leading the local subscriber race, with 53% of the market, Vodacom lost 1.9million users in the year to the end of March, giving it 26.3million subscribers. Rival MTN said in March that it has 16.1million customers locally after suffering a 6.4% reduction due to the combined effects of recession and the implementation of the Regulation of Interception of Communications Act. Late entrant CellC was the only operator to gain ground during the year, adding more than 500000 subscribers, bringing its base... |
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17
May 2010 |
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Cellphone group Vodacom will sell its 24,9 percent stake in iBurst parent company WBS Holdings. And the other WBS shareholders, including Blue Label Telecoms co-CEO Brett Levy, will have first right to bid for the stake. That's the word from Vodacom Group CEO Pieter Uys, who says the operator will sell the stake so that it is eligible to bid for spectrum in the 2,6GHz and 3,5GHz radio frequency bands. Icasa is expected to make the spectrum available in the next few months, but has warned that anyone already... |
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14
May 2010 |
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CEO at mobile operator Cell C Lars Reichelt on Thursday rejected comments that it had not announced any reduction in the per-minute rate for contract subscribers since the lower interconnect rate came into effect. It follows a survey conducted by voice-based telecommunications solutions company Du Pont Telecoms, which found that the average business person could expect to save only 2 percent on their cellphone bill following the almost 29 percent reduction in cellular interconnect charges in March. It said... |
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13
May 2010 |
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What happens to the investment that Telkom has made in fibre-optic cables and other hi-tech infrastructure for the 2010 soccer World Cup after the last whistle has been blown in the final game? It's a question that is worrying a number of executives in SA's telecommunications industry. According to Telkom, government has given the company a R950m guarantee, which it has drawn on to build telecoms infrastructure in the country's soccer stadia. Now, telecoms industry executives have begun asking what will ... |
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