Browsing: In-depth

Cellular operator MTN has warned that the Independent Communications Authority of SA’s (Icasa’s) draft proposals for licensing of spectrum in high-demand spectrum bands have the “high risk” of leading to “regulatory failure”. Efficient licensing of spectrum in the two bands in question

Cell C has slammed telecommunications regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), over its invitation to apply for valuable radio frequency spectrum, accusing the authority of opening itself up to legal challenge and of producing a document “so vague so as to not be capable of proper interpretation”

Give thanks, for once, to the law of unintended consequences. Too often, it seems, the secondary effects of policy decisions turn out to be at least perverse, if not downright detrimental. But in the case of last week’s congressional vote to extend America’s emergency payroll tax-cuts, the knock-on effects look

If you worked for five years on one project and had little to show for your efforts, would your boss fire you? The government has been plugging away at the digital terrestrial television migration now for half a decade and the broadcasting sector says the building blocks are still not in place. So what went wrong? And, why

Earlier this week, Blue Label Telecoms, the largest distributor of prepaid vouchers airtime in SA, revealed that 8ta accounts for well under 1% of its airtime revenues. Vodacom, MTN and Cell C contribute 53%, 34% and 10% respectively. There was little doubt 8ta, which was launched in 2010 after Telkom disposed of

DStv rival TopTV has sold 360 000 decoders since its launch two years ago, but of these only about half are actively using the service, the company’s chairman and acting CEO, Eddie Mbalo, has revealed. He tells TechCentral that TopTV, which is owned by On Digital Media (ODM), has between 160 000 and 200 000

The Competition Tribunal heard closing arguments this week in the Competition Commission’s case against Telkom. The tribunal now has to decide whether the company is to be fined and, if so, what sort of penalty is fitting. If the tribunal imposes a hefty sentence, Telkom has a number of legal options

In a new submission to the Competition Tribunal at hearings into alleged anticompetitive behaviour by Telkom, the Competition Commission has recommended to the tribunal that it impose a fine of nearly R1,2bn against the company. This is less than the maximum R3,5bn fine analysts said it could have asked

The fourth of April this year is a red-letter day on SA’s investment calendar. It is the date on which international board members of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope will meet to decide whether the core site for the giant instrument will be built in SA or in Australia. Science & technology director-general

If the Competition Tribunal imposes a large fine on Telkom for anticompetitive behaviour, it will be “catastrophic” for the company and will “irretrievably jeopardise its viability”, leading to “disastrous consequences for the SA economy and government”. This is the stark warning the