MTN South Africa CEO Godfrey Motsa said on Thursday that it is not the company’s responsibility to save rival Cell C, but it’s also not in the interests of the telecommunications sector or the country to allow it to fail.
Helios Towers rose 1.8% in London after raising R5.4-billion in a long-delayed share sale that gives investors a foothold in Africa’s fast-growing wireless tower industry.
Multiple sources close to Cell C have rubbished a report that China Mobile is about to strike a deal to buy a stake in the troubled South African mobile operator.
South Africa’s third-biggest mobile operator has put core parts of the business up for sale as it struggles with R9-billion of debt and deepening losses.
Ethiopia may give up majority control over its telecommunications monopoly in a second phase of privatisation once it’s sold 49% of the company next year.
A report on Tuesday suggested China Mobile may be about to swoop to the rescue of embattled mobile operator Cell C. Telkom is also rumoured to be circling.
MTN South Africa has launched embedded Sim technology for postpaid customers. The eSim technology is available on the Samsung Galaxy Watch (42mm variant), it said on Tuesday.
Nigeria vies with South Africa as the continent’s largest economy and is its most populous, but it’s a “sleeping giant” in the world of fintech.
Telkom has taken the wraps off new Sim-only fixed-LTE broadband plans for both contract and prepaid customers, with prices starting at R59/month for 5GB of data (plus 5GB of “night surfer” data).
Telecommunications and technology advisory firm BMIT has warned that South Africa faces complex choices and trade-offs in reaching decisions regarding the awarding of new spectrum licences.