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

      South Africa loosens media ownership rules – but keeps one hand on the remote

      16 July 2025

      Eskom targets 32GW green energy shift by 2040

      16 July 2025

      MTN Group appoints new chief enterprise officer

      16 July 2025

      Kruger Park’s white rhinos get a hi-tech lifeline

      16 July 2025

      The real cost of a cashless economy

      16 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025
    • In-depth

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      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
    • TCS

      TCS+ | Samsung unveils significant new safety feature for Galaxy A-series phones

      16 July 2025

      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
    • Opinion

      A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

      15 July 2025

      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
    • 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 » In-depth » Red tape choking SA telecoms, operators say

    Red tape choking SA telecoms, operators say

    By Editor6 August 2010
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    MTN SA MD Karel Pienaar

    SA’s mobile operators are upset over the growing delays they face in having environmental impact assessments concluded for the construction of new base stations. They say it’s holding back the sector.

    Cell C CEO Lars Reichelt used a media briefing earlier this week to criticise municipal bureaucrats for the lengthy delays.

    “This is one of the slowest things you’ve ever seen,” he told journalists. “It’s easier to build a base station in downtown Zurich, in a 300-year-old building, than it is to build a site out in the [SA] countryside where there are a couple of hyenas and a toothless lion.”

    He describes the bureaucracy involved as “crazy”. “This country needs communications and better connectivity, but you can’t even build a tower.”

    Cell C is building a new national network as part of efforts to position itself better against bigger rivals MTN and Vodacom.

    Under Reichelt’s leadership, the operator is spending R5bn on an advanced, third-generation mobile network that can be used to offer high-speed wireless broadband.

    Karel Pienaar, MD of MTN SA, echoes Reichelt’s concerns about the delays in environmental assessments. He says they typically take more than a year. On average, it takes 14 months for MTN to put up a tower.

    “It takes far too long,” Pienaar says.

    Compounding the issue is that people have concerns about the health implications of cellphone masts, he says.

    But Pienaar insists there are no health implications from cellphone-tower radiation. “Your standing in the sun for 10 minutes is a million times more harmful than having a base station on top of your lounge.”

    He says the delays in environmental approvals are serving to hinder rather than help competition in the sector.

    Big operators such as MTN and Vodacom already have thousands of towers, Pienaar says.

    But new industry players like Telkom — which will launch a mobile network later this year — have to start from scratch. “I can imagine their frustration, because the problem is getting worse, not better.”

    Even though MTN’s network is already established, Pienaar says it always has to fill in gaps in its coverage.

    “There are some places we’ve been waiting years to put a site in to offer better coverage. There’s always a pushback [from residents].”

    It also needs to provide new sites for the rapid growth in demand for data services. It’s also expanding its network in rural area, he says.

    Vodacom says it’s experiencing similar challenges. The company’s executive director for regional operations, Vuyani Jarana, says it can take up to 24 months to receive the necessary environmental approvals.

    Like Pienaar, Jarana says consumer objections, particularly from residents of Johannesburg’s more affluent suburbs, are holding back the roll-out of new infrastructure.

    Bryanston, Jarana says, is particularly bad. Many residents of the leafy Sandton suburb complain of poor coverage, but just as many object to Vodacom’s plans to put up new base stations to fix the problem.

    “We need to densify the network,” he says, “and we need more understanding from residents.”

    Residents often object to new towers because they say they’ll be eyesores in their communities. Others are worried about the impact of electromagnetic radiation. “We build sites in accordance with World Health Organisation guidelines,” Jarana says.

    “Increasingly, SA relies on mobile for broadband. We have the capability to build those networks but the processes are just taking far too long.”  — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral

    • Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
    • Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook


    Cell C Karel Pienaar Lars Reichelt MTN Telkom Telkom Mobile Vodacom Vuyani Jarana
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleBeastly battery promises end to powerlessness
    Next Article TalkCentral: Episode 5

    Related Posts

    MTN Group appoints new chief enterprise officer

    16 July 2025

    South Africa’s telcos battle to monetise 5G as 4G suffices for most

    15 July 2025

    MTN empowerment investors see ‘modest’ return as Zakhele Futhi winds up

    15 July 2025
    Company News

    Ransomware in South Africa: the human factor behind the growing crisis

    16 July 2025

    Mental wellness at scale: how Mac fuels October Health’s mission

    15 July 2025

    Banking on LEO: Q-KON transforms financial services connectivity

    14 July 2025
    Opinion

    A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

    15 July 2025

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 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.