TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Saboteurs threaten South Africa’s power supply

      20 May 2022

      Prosus to sell Russia’s Avito

      20 May 2022

      Curro pilots artificial intelligence for learning in its schools

      20 May 2022

      Dark weekend lies ahead thanks to you know who

      20 May 2022

      CSIR develops app to help kids learn to read

      20 May 2022
    • World

      Chip giant ASML places big bets on a tiny future

      20 May 2022

      Musk moves to soothe investor fears over Tesla

      20 May 2022

      Apple is almost ready to show off its mixed-reality headset

      20 May 2022

      TikTok plans big push into gaming

      19 May 2022

      Musk says he will vote Republican, calls ESG a ‘scam’

      19 May 2022
    • In-depth

      Elon Musk is becoming like Henry Ford – and that’s not a good thing

      17 May 2022

      Stablecoins wend wobbly way into the unknown

      17 May 2022

      The standard model of particle physics may be broken

      11 May 2022

      Meet Jared Birchall, Elon Musk’s personal ‘fixer’

      6 May 2022

      Twitter takeover was brash and fast, with Musk calling the shots

      26 April 2022
    • Podcasts

      Dean Broadley on why product design at Yoco is an evolving art

      18 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E02 – ‘AMD: Ryzen from the dead – part 2’

      17 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E01 – ‘AMD: Ryzen from the dead – part 1’

      10 May 2022

      Llew Claasen on how exchange controls are harming SA tech start-ups

      2 May 2022

      The inside scoop on OVEX’s big expansion plans

      20 April 2022
    • Opinion

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022

      Cash is still king … but not for much longer

      31 March 2022

      Icasa on the role of TV white spaces and dynamic spectrum access

      31 March 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»In-depth»Big changes looming at Autopage Cellular

    Big changes looming at Autopage Cellular

    In-depth By Editor28 September 2011
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Craig Venter

    JSE-listed technology group Altech is considering big changes at its largest subsidiary, Altech Autopage Cellular. Options on the table include launching a mobile virtual network operator and bidding for radio frequency spectrum to build its own fourth-generation (4G) mobile network.

    Altech CEO Craig Venter emphasises that no firm decisions have been made yet but says a number of options are being considered to leverage the more than 1m cellphone subscribers — most of them post-paid users — on Autopage Cellular’s books.

    Cellular service providers are coming under increasing margin pressure from upstream network providers that are keen to cut their costs as competition intensifies and as termination rates — the fees they charge each other to carry calls between their networks — come down through regulatory intervention.

    One of the options under consideration is launching a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO. SA currently has only one MVNO in the form of Virgin Mobile, which piggybacks off Cell C’s network.

    Autopage is SA’s largest independent cellular service provider and has resale agreements with Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and 8ta. It also operates about 140 retail stores around the country.

    Venter says launching an MVNO is “one of the options we have going forward”. But, he says, it would have to make sense for the bottom line.

    “There’s no specific plan on the table right now to launch an MVNO,” he adds. “As the market progresses, we will look at our options.”

    Jeffrey Hedberg

    Another opportunity that is being considered is bidding for radio frequency spectrum so that Altech can build its own network. “We have 4G potentially coming and a lot of expertise in Jeffrey Hedberg who knows how to build and run networks,” Venter says. “I mean, he’s done that for 30 years, so I think we will keep our options open.”

    Hedberg, who recently joined Altech as chief operating officer, was previously acting group CEO at Telkom. Before that, he was CEO at Cell C and is credited with helping turn around the cellular operator’s fortunes.

    In the six months to the end of August 2011, Autopage Cellular generated almost R3bn in revenue, up 6,3% over last year, and operating profit of R123m, up 18,3%.

    Hedberg says as prices come down and there’s more margin squeeze from the upstream operators, it’s important to grow Autopage Cellular in new areas. One of these is ensuring it works closely with sister company, Altech Technology Concepts, to offer data services. Another is selling more products through its retail channels.

    “Down the road, we’ll see what happens with local-loop unbundling and 4G,” Hedberg says, adding that Altech will review its options in spectrum. “Whether we do it or not will be a function of many things.”

    Venter adds that in a liberalised telecoms market, Autopage Cellular is able to do many things it couldn’t before. “We are having those discussions at strategic level but the … playing field has not yet been set, so it’s difficult to say whether we will participate. Can we participate? Yes, we can, and there are a number of international players that would like to play in the SA market and would love to partner with a company like Altech.”  — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral

    • Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
    • Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook
    • Visit our sister website, SportsCentral (still in beta)
    8ta Altech Altech Autopage Cellular Altech Technology Concepts Cell C Craig Venter Jeffrey Hedberg MTN Virgin Mobile Vodacom
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleNPC Jam: crowd-sourcing government policy
    Next Article Telkom warns of sharp fall in profits

    Related Posts

    Creating an effective employer value proposition for the new era of work

    20 May 2022

    Elon Musk is becoming like Henry Ford – and that’s not a good thing

    17 May 2022

    Stablecoins wend wobbly way into the unknown

    17 May 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Fast-rising fintech Bankingly closes $11m investment round

    20 May 2022

    Creating an effective employer value proposition for the new era of work

    20 May 2022

    Why fibre is the new utility – and what it means for South Africa

    19 May 2022
    Opinion

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

    19 April 2022

    How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

    8 April 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.