Telkom dropped a bombshell on South Africa’s telecommunications industry this week when it said it was approaching the Competition Tribunal to object to Vodacom’s roaming agreements with Rain. But why?
Telkom-owned IT services company BCX has initiated a section 189 process under the Labour Relations Act that will see further retrenchments at the company.
South Africa’s fifth mobile operator, Rain, has launched “unlimited 4G for phones”, offering uncapped on-device data for R379/month on a month-to-month contract.
Telkom has approached the Competition Tribunal, seeking to have the spectrum arrangements between Vodacom and Rain declared a merger and therefore notifiable in terms of the Competition Act.
Operators will no longer have to hand back temporary spectrum assignments, awarded to them under the Covid-19 state of disaster regulations, until the spectrum auction is held in March 2021.
Telkom has made several new appointments to various board committees following the announcement of the retirement of directors Santie Botha and Khanyisile Kweyama.
Telkom’s fixed-line and enterprise business lines have taken a battering due to the Covid-19 lockdown, but its consumer mobile business is flying, the company said in a market update on Friday.
On the face of it, the Covid-19 lockdown was an inadvertent blessing for South Africa’s telecommunications operators.
Telkom shareholders have shot down a special resolution at its AGM that would have allowed the company to issue more shares for cash if it had been approved.
Santie Botha and Khanyisile Kweyama are stepping down from the board of Telkom, while Alphonzo Samuels will join the board along with Herman Singh.