Author: Duncan McLeod

So, Vodacom is in exclusive talks to buy Neotel. There’s no surprise there – that Neotel is for sale is one of the telecommunications industry’s worst-kept secrets. But if the deal goes ahead, which is far from certain, it could spark further, arguably much-needed consolidation in the sector

I first met Frank Heydenrych in 1994, or perhaps it was 1995, soon after I started my career, at Systems Publishers. Even back then, Frank was a larger-than-life character. I was a youngster, fresh out of journalism school, and had moved to Johannesburg after being offered a job by Systems CEO Terry Murphy. I joined

The stage is set for an epic showdown between South Africa’s telecommunications operators. This Friday, telecoms regulator Icasa will publish draft call termination regulations outlining its position on further cuts to termination rates and the introduction of asymmetry for smaller players

Telkom’s chief financial officer, Jacques Schindehütte, has bought R6m worth the telecommunications shares on the open market. The move comes on top of a R1m purchase of Telkom shares in July. The latest move by Schindehütte will come as reassuring news to Telkom

E.tv CEO Marcel Golding has warned that South Africa’s free-to-air television industry is in “crisis” and has said that “without urgent regulatory attention and intervention” there will be a “rapid if not irreversible decline in the quantity and quality” of programming and choice in the years

Despite its precarious financial situation, South Africa’s fourth mobile operator, Telkom Mobile is in a “prime position” in wireless broadband compared to rivals Vodacom, MTN and Cell C thanks to a huge chunk of radio frequency spectrum it has access to that allows it to build a fast and reliable

Vodacom and Neotel have finally confirmed what the market has known for some time: that they are in discussions regarding a potential acquisition by the mobile operator of Tata Communications-controlled operator. The two parties say the talks revolve around Vodacom

Sentech has taken the wraps off its new free-to-air broadcasting platform, Freevision, a competitor to the recently announced OpenView HD that will be to be launched by e.tv sister company Platco Digital in mid-October. Freevision uses Intelsat’s IS-20 satellite – the same one

Gijima’s management team is “confident” it has taken the “correct strategic decisions” to get the company “back on track”, despite reporting a massive R210,8m loss in the financial year ended 30 June 2013, from a much smaller loss of R50,6m in 2012

The Democratic Alliance wants communications minister Yunus Carrim and former SABC interim board chair Ellen Tshabalala to appear before parliament to explain why a deal the public broadcaster signed to supply two television channels to MultiChoice “contradicts government’s policy on digital