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
Vodacom, the top-rated company in the Reputation Institute’s annual National RepTrak Pulse survey last year, has fared “particularly poorly” in the 2014 edition of the survey, falling to sixth position and behind rival MTN. The survey found that there has been a “bloodbath” in company reputations, with the exception
Cell C has upped the ante in South Africa’s mobile price war. The mobile operator has slashed prepaid call rates to 66c/minute, from 99c/minute previously. The new 66c tariff excludes its Supacharge recharge benefits, which will continue to be available
The “last mile” fixed-line infrastructure into people homes in South Africa is “awful” and is holding back competition in South Africa’s television broadcasting industry by preventing Internet protocol television and video-on-demand players from launching services
