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22
Feb 2000 |
Nape Maepa, chairman of the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has withdrawn from the decision process around the third cellular licence and will not be taking part in either the deliberation or adjudication of the licence.
Maepa said in a statement that he made a comprehensive statement to the SATRA council over the weekend in terms of the Telecommunications Act, which requires the disclosure of any conflicting interests. “Experts in these matters... including legal opinion obtained b... |
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17
Feb 2000 |
[Johannesburg, 17 February 2000] - The second fixed line operator to enter the South African market after Telkom's exclusivity expires is likely to be largely government-owned. The Department of Public Enterprises has confirmed that Eskom and other parastatals are looking at ways of combining their resources into a single bidder for the licence.
“We expect, when events have progressed further, to make an official announcement on the details,” says Zaid Nordien, director of the public relations office for... |
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10
Feb 2000 |
Both Telkom and the South African Value-Added Network Association (SAVA) have welcomed the proposed regulations recently published by the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (SATRA).
The regulations seek to define in generic terms what the business of an Internet service provider or value-added network (VAN) entails.
“Given the ongoing regulatory vacuum in the VANS industry, SATRA's announcement of its intentions to make regulations has not come a moment too soon,” Telkom says in a s... |
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9
Feb 2000 |
Telkom and Uthingo, the national lottery operator, had successfully negotiated an agreement on the provision of very small aperture terminals (VSAT) telecommunication facilities for the lottery, they said yesterday.
The two companies, which were given seven days in which to reach an agreement by the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Satra), concluded negotiations on Sunday. The agreement was presented to Satra on Monday.
Satra, which made the ruling on the provision of a telecomm... |
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8
Feb 2000 |
The exclusivity period granted to Telkom has caused a legal tangle that has caught up Internet service providers (ISPs), value-added network services (VANS) providers and just about anyone else that transfers data or voice traffic.
It has led to, in the words of South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (SATRA) councillor William Currie, "a web of complaints, counter-complaints and court cases".
Telkom, VPN and VANS providers have lodged various complaints about each other with SATRA. At l... |
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3
Feb 2000 |
Demand for telecommunications (telecoms) in South Africa is growing in every market segment, which means the country`s telecoms network must be both modernised and expanded.
Reuben September, Telkom`s deputy managing executive for technology and network services, said Telkom`s 1997 to 2002 network upgrade programme would cost R50 billion.
The network rollout programme has already delivered over one million fixed access
lines over a period of two and a half years.
He said the objective of the prog... |
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1
Feb 2000 |
Communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has given the go-ahead for the third cellular licence to be issued. The minister said in a statement that a final recommendation will be made to her by the end of March.
The introduction of a new cellular operator has been delayed time and again. When the submission of bids closed in June last year, speculation had it that the licence could be awarded by August. Public hearings on the various bids were delayed until September, which moved the probable date of... |
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21
Jan 2000 |
The South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Satra) said yesterday Uthingo, the national lottery operator, and Telkom had seven days in which to reach an agreement regarding the provision of a telecommunications solution for the national lottery.
Satra, which was making the long-awaited ruling on the provision of the telecommunications solution for the national lottery that included a very small aperture terminals (VSAT) and radio solution, said failure by the parties to resolve outstanding... |
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14
Jan 2000 |
The value of next year`s listing of Telkom, as well as its overall effect on the economy, would depend heavily on the parastatal`s shareholding in Vodacom, analysts said yesterday.
Johan Augustyn, a telecommunications analyst at BoE, said the ultimate value of the public offer, which is widely regarded to be no more than 30 percent of Telkom, would depend heavily on Telkom`s shareholding in Vodacom at the time of listing.
The parastatal now holds a 50 percent stake in the unlisted cellular operator, c... |
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6
Jan 2000 |
Telkom, the national telecommunications operator, said yesterday that positioning itself for competition would be its key objective this year before its listing on the JSE next year.
Amanda Singleton, Telkom`s group executive for corporate communication, said the company would focus on improving shareholder value. "With the end of our exclusivity period in sight (May 2002) we are preparing to face competition in all aspects of our operations," she said.
The preparations would involve upgrading Telkom`... |
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17
Dec 1999 |
Telkom has implemented comprehensive business contingency plans to safeguard
its customers in the event of any Year 2000 (Y2K) incident affecting the utility`s service delivery.
Possibly the only event that could bring down Telkom`s network over the new year is if everybody makes a telephone call at midnight to test if the system is working, the parastatal said.
Telkom has invested considerable energy in ensuring its systems are Y2K compliant, but warned that human behaviour is beyond its control.
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11
Dec 1999 |
Telkom could potentially delay the start-up of the national lottery, scheduled for March next year, pending the outcome of hearings being held by the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Satra), Humphrey Khoza, the chief executive of Uthingo Management Services, the national lottery operator, said yesterday.
He said Telkom, which wanted to provide the entire telecommunications solution required for the national lottery, would not be able to do this by the scheduled start-up date.
"We... |
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9
Dec 1999 |
Ucingo Investments Holdings, the black empowerment group bidding for the 3 percent equity stake in Telkom, said yesterday it would add value to the national telecoms operator by establishing telecentres nationwide.
John Makhene, the executive director of Ucingo, said the group proposed to roll out about 25 to 50 telecentres across the country a year, offering telephony, fax and Internet services.
"We won`t be coming as a passive equity partner," he said. "But we have a business plan proposing to add v... |
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1
Dec 1999 |
The Inter-Ministerial Cabinet Committee (IMCC) on restructuring announced yesterday that plans for the initial public offering (IPO) for Telkom had been approved, paving the way for the company to be restructured in 2001.
The Thintana partners, SBC and Telekom Malaysia, which already owned a 30 percent stake in the parastatal, would support the IPO.
According to Jeff Radebe, the minister of public enterprises, the initial plan would be to list Telkom on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). He did no... |
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30
Nov 1999 |
GOVERNMENT said on Tuesday it plans to float majority state-owned Telkom in 2001 and is proceeding with plans to sell off a stake to a black-owned partner and company employees.
The cabinet sub-committee on the restructuring of state assets said in a statement it has approved the start of the process for an initial public offering of shares in Telkom and agreed for the entity to be listed in 2001.
In 1997, government sold a 30% stake in Telkom for $961-million to a consortium of SBC Communications and... |
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