Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

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

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Trump tariffs could wreck South Africa’s vehicle manufacturing industry

      14 July 2025

      Legislative overhaul on the cards for South Africa’s ICT sector

      14 July 2025

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      Microsoft South Africa to get new MD as Lillian Barnard moves to regional role

      14 July 2025

      Zuckerberg used open source to scale AI – now the lock-in begins

      14 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025

      Grammarly acquires e-mail start-up Superhuman

      1 July 2025

      Apple considers ditching its own AI in Siri overhaul

      1 July 2025
    • In-depth

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on the latest and greatest cloud technologies

      27 June 2025
    • Opinion

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » iBurst boss may face arrest

    iBurst boss may face arrest

    By Craig Wilson4 April 2013
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Thami Mtshali
    Thami Mtshali has denied that WBS has reconnected links using disputed spectrum

    The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) may lay criminal charges against Thami Mtshali, the CEO of Wireless Business Solutions (WBS), after the company, which owns iBurst, allegedly replaced equipment the telecommunications regulator confiscated on Wednesday, so that it could continue providing services to its customers.

    This is according to a well-placed source close to Icasa, with intimate knowledge of this week’s developments, who has told TechCentral that the authority believes that WBS replaced confiscated equipment in order to resume serving its clients — in direct violation of a court order.

    The order, obtained on 7 March at the high court in Johannesburg, prevents WBS from conducting business using radio frequency spectrum that Icasa claims it is using illegally.

    WBS subsidiaries Broadlink and iBurst experienced serious problems with their networks in Gauteng on Wednesday, with as much as 75% of Broadlink’s network affected. Broadlink provides broadband connectivity to wholesale and business clients.

    iBurst, which provides wireless broadband services to consumers, at first attributed the problems to a power outage, but it later emerged that Icasa’s equipment seizures at WBS facilities in Gallo Manor and Bryanston in Johannesburg were to blame.

    In a statement released on Thursday evening, iBurst said negotiations between WBS and Icasa were ongoing and that the company would provide feedback once a resolution had been reached.

    According to TechCentral’s source, Icasa’s next move in instances where a licensee under its authority is in breach of a court order is to lay criminal charges against the individuals responsible for the transgression, rather than the organisation.

    In the case of WBS, this means Icasa’s next move may be to lay criminal charges against Mtshali, because he heads the company. “The equipment is not the crime,” the source says. “The crime is using the frequency.”

    On Thursday evening, Mtshali told TechCentral in a telephone interview that WBS had not reconnected the wireless links. “We have rerouted our traffic through [data centre company] Teraco using fibre connections. You don’t need a licence for fibre.”

    According to Mtshali, WBS has notified Icasa that this is how it has been able to resume service. The company has not replaced confiscated equipment as claimed by TechCentral’s source, he said.

    WBS has nine spectrum licences but, according to the source, six of these have not been paid for, and WBS has been in arrears on its licence fees for three years. Despite this alleged nonpayment of fees, WBS operates 1 522 “illegal” point-to-point connections, according to the source.

    But WBS’s alleged noncompliance may just be one example of an industry-wide problem. According to the source, there are about 60 000 instances of the utilisation of spectrum that haven’t been paid for. Of these, many have simply expired or belong to entities no longer operating, but about a third are active connections.  — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media



    Broadlink iBurst Icasa Thami Mtshali WBS Wireless Business Solutions
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleOrange outsources towers
    Next Article E-mails show Icasa ructions over WBS

    Related Posts

    EFF vows to stop Starlink from launching in South Africa

    11 July 2025

    Icasa publishes new draft regulations for digital TV

    8 July 2025

    Operators to decide 2G/3G shutdown timeline

    2 July 2025
    Company News

    Banking on LEO: Q-KON transforms financial services connectivity

    14 July 2025

    The future of business calling: Voys brings your landline to the cloud

    14 July 2025

    How digital twins and AI are shaping the future of security

    14 July 2025
    Opinion

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

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

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

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