President Jacob Zuma’s decision to split the department of communications into two separate entities — one focused on broadcasting and media and the other on posts and telecommunications — is a retrograde step that has set ICT policy making in South Africa back by 25 years. That’s the view of
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SABC acting chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng is waiting to hear from his employers regarding a damning report by public protector Thuli Madonsela, his lawyer said on Monday. “We are still waiting to hear from the SABC. I spoke to Hlaudi yesterday [Sunday]. He has not heard from the board either,” said Motsoeneng’s lawyer Zola Majavu. In a report
Seven-year-old Neotel, which is currently the subject of a takeover bid by Vodacom, is showing strong customer growth in the business, small enterprise and retail market segments. Its revenue for the financial year ended 31 March 2014 was R3,9bn, up by 23% from a year ago, with the business and the small enterprise and retail market
The whispers that started weeks ago were wrong, as they so often are: presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj will not be the minister for propaganda after all. But what President Jacob Zuma did announce on Sunday still has all the makings of a ministry for information, replete with overtones of spin and advocacy, but headed by the relatively unknown
Communications regulator Icasa has moved to deflect criticism that consolidation in South Africa’s telecommunications industry is a result of its failure to award new radio frequency spectrum licences. In a statement on Friday, Icasa says there have been “insinuations in the media to the effect that some of these developments are as a
If the latest quarterly quality of service tests from communications regulator Icasa are correct, MTN may have a problem with the quality of its network in the Western Cape, but all operators clearly have challenges. The authority, which conducts regular quality tests of the operators’ networks, focused
Vodacom published its annual results for the 2014 financial year on Monday. TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod sat down with the group’s CEO, Shameel Joosub, after the results presentation to ask him about the operator’s offer to buy Neotel as well as its plans to relaunch M-Pesa. Joosub talks about Vodacom’s view on where
Vodacom intends increasing group capital expenditure by 20% in the financial year ended March 2015. It proposes increasing its capex investment from R10,8bn in 2014 to R13bn this year. However, it has warned that the planned investment could be affected negatively. “This will be informed by the final outcome of the mobile termination rate
After many months of negotiation, Vodacom and Neotel are finally getting into bed with each other. Vodacom has reached an agreement with Neotel’s shareholders to buy 100% of the company, including shareholder loans against it, for a total cash consideration equivalent to an enterprise value of R7bn. The deal, if it gets the necessary regulatory
Cell C this week signalled it will not back down an inch as the price war between South Africa’s mobile operators intensifies. The mobile operator, South Africa’s third largest after Vodacom and MTN, upped the stakes with its bigger rivals by cutting its prepaid rate from 99c to 66c/minute (billed per second) on a promotional basis