Dominant incumbents are typically defensive when any attempt is made to curb their otherwise abusive behaviour, but isn’t MTN taking it a bit far? Not content to make “super-normal profits” (more than normal profits, or the amount of revenue generated after paying costs, by a
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, facing a legal challenge brought on an urgent basis at the high court by MTN, has decided to delay implementation of new wholesale call termination regulations to 1 May 2014. The regulations, which govern the fees operators can charge
The decision by mobile operator MTN South Africa to take communications regulator Icasa to court over looming cuts to wholesale call rates “should not in any way be construed as an attempt to keep the cost of telecommunications high as has been inferred in certain quarters”. TechCentral revealed on
It’s official. MTN has fired the first shot in what looks set to be one of the biggest ever legal battles in South Africa’s telecommunications industry. The mobile operator has lodged an application at the high court in Johannesburg to have telecoms
Despite a number of retail price skirmishes in South Africa’s mobile telecommunications industry in 2013, the prepaid tariffs levied by South Africa’s two incumbent mobile operators, Vodacom and MTN, remain “expensive” relative to the rest of the
I often wonder if certain captains of industries are entirely disconnected from reality. It’s the only thing that can explain the breathtaking gall of Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub, who complained publicly that new regulations would cost his company R1bn in 2015, threatening to sue as a result
Despite a sharp reduction in average voice tariffs in the past year, Vodacom South Africa managed to grow service revenues by 0,6%, with lower prices offset by a 23,3% surge in voice traffic and a 31,2% growth in data revenue. Competitive pricing pressures – Vodacom credits its
The halving of mobile phone termination rates will hurt MTN and Vodacom but benefit smaller operators, Moody’s said on Monday. Vodacom will be hardest hit because it had the biggest share of the South African mobile telecommunications market, with 47%, and the bulk of its cash flow came
Spare a thought for Shameel Joosub and Zunaid Bulbulia. The Vodacom and MTN chief executives must feel like they’re being unfairly picked on for running successful, profitable businesses. This week, telecommunications industry regulator Icasa published final regulations that will
Cell C employees began moving into the company’s sprawling new campus, built at the confluence of the N1 and N3 freeways in Woodmead, near Midrand, at the end of last year. The 50 000sq m facility includes a main head office facility, a customer service centre, a new national network
