Browsing: Telkom

An argument over whether SA’s telecommunications regulator has jurisdiction to rule in a dispute between Telkom and Vodacom, MTN and Cell C over interconnection fees, could spell bad news for the traditionally fixed-line operator.

The cash-strapped state-owned signal distributor, Sentech, appears to have cut an illegal deal to sell wireless broadband spectrum that benefited politically connected businessmen, led by Eddie Funde, the controversial former chairman of the SABC who is now South Africa’s ambassador to Germany.

The long-awaited regulations that will determine wholesale call termination rates in SA are ready and will be published next Friday. That’s the word from Icasa spokesman Jubie Matlou, who says he is not in a position to provide details of any planned

SA’s telecommunications industry has assembled on the battlefield with two players, one new, Telkom’s mobile business 8ta, and one reinvigorated, Cell C, getting ready to take on the giants of industry. Some smaller players are gathering on the flanks and others may yet make an entrance.

It’s here three days later than usual (thanks to a crazy newsday last Friday), but the latest episode of SA’s business technology podcast, TalkCentral, is now ready for download. In this week’s packed show, hosted by Duncan McLeod and Candice Jones, we talk about — yup, you guessed it — Telkom’s launch of 8ta, SA’s fourth mobile operator

Telkom has set its sights on taking up to 15% of the SA market in the next five years with its new mobile network, 8ta. Analysts say the target is ambitious, but some think it is doable.

Telkom has chosen a youthful engineer to lead its new mobile network, 8ta. Amith Maharaj, just 36 years old, joined Telkom from Vodacom in 2008 to spearhead the traditionally fixed-line operator’s move into the mobile market.

Telkom’s new mobile arm, 8ta, is in talks with Apple about bringing the US company’s popular iPhone 4 handset to SA. If the two parties reach agreement, 8ta, which Telkom launched on Thursday night, will be the third operator in the country to offer the hot-selling product.

Dial-up still dominates as the fixed-line Internet access medium in SA, despite the fact that broadband digital subscriber lines have been available for nearly a decade. If a new research report from PwC (formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers) is to be believed,

State-owned Sentech is reviving plans to build a national broadband network. It wants a second chance and is promising to do things differently this time. However, as much as Sentech’s heart is in the right place, government must not allow it.