Cellular operators were set to receive a grilling in parliament this week. Politicians want mobile interconnection fees to come down. But it’s far from clear if the basic cost of calls will also fall. Can politicians avoid the temptation of interfering further?
The debate over cellphone interconnection rates is only about how much they would be reduced and over what time period, national assembly communications committee chairman Ismail…
MTN Group chief operating officer Sifiso Dabengwa pocketed an astonishing R38m last week after selling 295 000 shares in the cellular group. He is one of…
Some commentators have speculated that the failure of talks between MTN and India’s Bharti Airtel points to a more protectionist approach by government. If so, it’s troubling. The country ought to be opening up to investors, not scaring them away
A flurry of initiatives aimed at achieving a reduction in mobile termination rates will provide interesting sidesdows, but beneath the politics of the moment, the real action remains an intimate dance between the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) and the mobile networks. The initial mobile termination rate, also known as interconnection rate, of 20c/minute was set between Vodacom and MTN on 8 August 1994. This was amended on 28 May 1999, shortly after it was announced by government that a third mobile cellular telecommunications licence would be issued.
The decision to suspend talks about a possible merger between cellphone giants MTN and India’s Bharti Airtel was welcomed by trade union Solidarity. In a statement…
MTN and Bharti decided to terminate merger talks, the national treasury said on Wednesday after talks between finance minister Pravin Gordhan, MTN chairman Cyril Ramaphosa and…
India’s top mobile company Bharti Airtel said on Wednesday it and SA cellular flagship MTN Group had decided to end tie-up talks aimed at creating an…
Shares in Bharti Airtel rose Tuesday as investors awaited an announcement by the top Indian mobile firm and SA’s flagship group MTN on plans for a…
Telecommunications operator Neotel plans to open retail outlets in the country’s major urban centres as it seeks to expand its presence in the consumer market in…