Browsing: Cell C

I’m sometimes asked by investors whether the growth story has gone out of SA telecommunications stocks. A series of regulations, coupled with growing competition and a weak economy, is putting pressure on operators’ margins. Is it time for investors to abandon the sector? Before I attempt to answer that question, it’s worth looking back at how the telecoms sector in SA has developed over the past decade

Wireless Business Solutions (WBS), the holding company of iBurst, is at advanced stage of discussions about building a mobile cellular network in a sign that infrastructure competition in SA is stepping up another gear, TechCentral has learnt. If it goes ahead with its plans, which one senior source close to the company says appears likely, WBS will become SA’s fifth mobile network operator after Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and the soon-to-be-launched Telkom

The cost of communicating on all three of SA’s mobile operators has risen, not fallen, despite the substantial reduction in wholesale mobile termination rates on 1 March, two industry executives have claimed. Howard Sackstein, CEO of telecommunications company Saicom, who has analysed a large range packages – both postpaid and prepaid – offered by

Vodacom has no plans to offer third-generation (3G) cellphone services in the 900MHz band, especially not in urban areas, because…

The stage is set for a battle of epic proportions at public hearings in Johannesburg next week. That’s when operators will make their arguments for and against proposed cuts in wholesale call termination rates. MTN, for one, has warned of dire consequences for its business and for the entire mobile ecosystem if industry regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), proceeds with its plans to cut wholesale mobile call termination rates to 65c/minute this year. Other operators have also lodged strong objections

Dimension Data subsidiary Merchants will take over and run Cell C’s customer call centre, the mobile operator has announced. It’s one of several initiatives aimed at improving Cell C’s customer service levels, says CEO Lars Reichelt, which include overhauling its billing system and moving its contact centre to Parktown

Telecommunications group Telkom will leverage its existing customers, offering mobile products to them as it gears up to launch SA’s fourth mobile operator. The company has finally begun to provide some details of its plans in the mobile space, where it is spending R6bn over five years to build a network to rival those operated by Vodacom, MTN

Telkom rival Neotel reported a net loss of nearly R1,6bn in the 2010 financial year, according to information accompanying Tata Communications’ annual results. It’s the first time that India’s Tata Communications has revealed the extent of the losses being incurred by its SA subsidia

“Bill shock” is a growing problem for SA travellers. They go overseas, and, before they know it, they’ve run up a bill of thousands of rand without even making a phone call. The problem is, as with roaming voice charges, the mobile operators impose exorbitant fees for roaming data – in some cases, more than R100 000/GB. And with smartphones, which are constantly polling the network looking for updates to e-mail and other services, consumers can quickly run up monster-sized

Vodacom is ditching its 24,9% stake in iBurst parent Wireless Business Solutions (WBS) Holdings to increase its chances of being awarded radio frequency spectrum that will allow it to build a fourth-generation (4G) cellphone network. The mobile operator confirmed last week that it would sell WBS so as to be eligible