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

      Vumacam announces big Jo’burg expansion drive

      24 June 2022

      Eskom crisis spirals: stage-4 power cuts this weekend

      24 June 2022

      Illegal strike at Eskom could make load shedding worse

      24 June 2022

      State capture probe ends but South Africa remains ‘broken’ by corruption

      23 June 2022

      Vivica Group, formerly Vox, looks beyond ICT

      23 June 2022
    • World

      Amazon has a plan to make Alexa mimic anyone’s voice

      24 June 2022

      Apple, Android phones hacked by Italian spyware

      24 June 2022

      Zendesk nears buyout deal with private equity firms

      24 June 2022

      Crypto crash survivors could become ‘tomorrow’s Amazons’

      23 June 2022

      Tether to launch a stablecoin tied to the British pound

      22 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022

      Sheryl Sandberg’s ad empire leaves a complicated legacy

      2 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      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
    • 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»News»Cell C debt doesn’t worry FNB

    Cell C debt doesn’t worry FNB

    News By Agency Staff5 June 2015
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    FNB-MVNO-640

    Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s warning over Cell C’s R2bn of unsecured debt is is no cause for concern to the head of First National Bank’s new mobile network.

    FNB will become the first bank in South Africa to launch a mobile network when it starts selling SIM cards on June 15.

    Dubbed FNB Connect, the bank’s cellphone service is a mobile virtual network, meaning that it will roam on Cell C’s network. Network operator me&you also launched as a mobile virtual network on Cell C’s infrastructure earlier this year.

    However, S&P has raised concerns over Cell C’s R2bn unsecured debt which has upcoming maturities in July. S&P also issued a warning in the light of Cell C continuing to generate negative free operating cash flow.

    Subsequently, S&P placed Cell C, which is on a B- long-term rating, on CreditWatch negative. S&P did say that backing from Cell C’s parent company, Saudi Arabia’s Oger Telecom, could help the South African telecoms firm with its debt. S&P also intends resolving the CreditWatch placement upon finalisation of the financing arrangements.

    But FNB Connect’s CEO, Ravesh Ramlakan, said he is not worried about concerns around Cell C and its debt.

    “I think every year there’s an article like that on Cell C to be honest, and I think they’ve also got strong shareholders who have been continuously backing them,” Ramlakan said.

    Reports have also been swirling that Oger Telecom is looking to sell Cell C. To date, Cell C has not publicly confirmed or denied these reports.

    But even if Cell C is sold, Ramlakan said the sale will not affect FNB’s mobile network.

    “It typically won’t because our arrangement is, again, whoever is the shareholder is independent of our arrangement. A new shareholder will have to take over our arrangement with Cell C,” Ramlakan said.

    “[I’m] not worried about [this]. I think it depends, in my view, on who the shareholder is; it could be great. What if it’s a Bharti or Orange or whoever… it could be an MTN; it could be anyone,” said Ramlakan.

    Fin24 asked Ramlakan if FNB Connect would consider building its own mobile towers to break its dependence on other networks.

    But Ramlakan said FNB won’t be building its own network. The costs involved can be high and the trend globally is for mobile networks to share infrastructure such as cell towers to lower capital expenditure.

    It is unclear how many customers FNB could win over to its mobile network, but Ramlakan said competition in the mobile virtual network space is expected to heat up in the coming months and years.

    “What we predicted three years ago is that a lot of MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) are going to come into this country and guess what’s happening by 2015 already — and there’s going to be a few more,” Ramlakan said.  — Fin24

    • See also: FNB goes mobile: the inside story
    Cell C First National Bank FNB FNB Connect Ravesh Ramlakan
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleNew FTTH player on Atlantic seaboard
    Next Article FNB issuing ‘tap and go’ credit cards

    Related Posts

    Vumacam announces big Jo’burg expansion drive

    24 June 2022

    Eskom crisis spirals: stage-4 power cuts this weekend

    24 June 2022

    Illegal strike at Eskom could make load shedding worse

    24 June 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Watch | Telviva One: adapting to the requirements of business

    24 June 2022

    Huawei P50 now available for pre-order in South Africa

    23 June 2022

    Calabrio paves way for SA’s cloud contact centre WFO journey alongside AWS

    23 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 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.