In the past 20 years, Telkom has lost almost every aspect of the absolute monopoly it once held over South African telecommunications. First, it lost its supremacy over voice communication as cellular rivals challenged it for dominance and won. Today, the cellular operators carry the vast majority of
In a significant development, MTN has lodged objections at both communications regulator Icasa and the Competition Commission against Vodacom’s proposed R7bn acquisition of Neotel, putting a potentially big hurdle in the way of the conclusion of the deal. TechCentral has established that
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” So reads the opening line of Leon Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. The novel comes to mind when looking at the prospects that confront mobile money. Success stories have many similarities, but failed efforts fail for their own
Vodacom intends rolling out high-speed fibre-optic broadband to 250 000 end points within the next three years. This will include connecting 150 000 homes and 100 000 businesses, the telecommunications operator’s
The average volume of data consumed per smartphone on Vodacom’s network in South Africa jumped by 55,4% to 336MB/month year-on-year in the six-month period ended 30 September 2014. The mobile telecommunications group revealed the numbers alongside its interim financial results
Cuts to wholesale mobile call termination rates led to a 1,3% decline in Vodacom’s service revenues in South Africa in the six months ended September 2014. Without the cut to the rates, which mobile operators charge each other to carry calls between their networks, the company’s service revenue would have
Vodacom on Tuesday said it plans to pump R1bn into upgrading its network in Gauteng, which will include expanding 3G in the province’s townships. The mobile operator said that it will spend more than R1bn in Gauteng in the current financial
Will it be a case of second time lucky for Vodacom? The mobile operator has finally relaunched M-Pesa, the mobile payments platform that has proved enormously successful in Kenya and Tanzania, in South Africa, hoping it will
Vodacom has shown good growth in the user base of its South African operation, and turned in a healthy service revenue increase in its international services for the quarter to June 2014. Group revenue for the quarter
Vodacom is going to face an uphill battle in its attempt to get regulatory approval for its R7bn acquisition of Neotel. Its competitors, who are already publicly questioning the legality of the deal, are likely to lobby for it to be scuppered or at the very least have strict conditions imposed on it. “It will be challenged
