MTN Group on Wednesday issued a statement to investors in which it criticised the Competition Commission’s final report on the data services market in South Africa, saying it will “vigorously defend against over-broad and intrusive recommendations” by the commission.
The US has been warning other countries not to buy telecommunications gear from China’s Huawei and ZTE. The government will soon put real money behind the effort.
After a massive selloff on Monday, shares of South Africa’s biggest listed telecommunications companies continued to trade lower into Tuesday.
Vodacom and MTN must drop mobile data prices significantly, failing which the Competition Commission will consider prosecuting the two companies.
The Competition Commission on Monday unveiled surprisingly broad-ranging, tough and radical interventions in the data services market, including a proposal that mobile operators be forced to give South Africans a free allocation of daily data.
Vodacom and MTN said in reaction to interventions by the Competition Commission that a failure by government to allocate spectrum timeously is one of the reasons data prices are higher than they would otherwise be.
Shares of Vodacom Group and MTN Group slumped after South Africa’s two biggest mobile phone companies were ordered to step up efforts to lower data prices within the next two months or face prosecution.
Communications regulator Icasa has said there is insufficient competition in aspects of the delivery of mobile broadband in South Africa.
Ahead of publication of the Competition Commission’s final report flowing from its inquiry in the data services market, expected later on Monday, TechCentral republishes this column from editor Duncan McLeod.
Vodacom Group on Thursday rubbished a report suggesting its CEO, Shameel Joosub, will soon leave the helm of the telecommunications operator to take on a new role as CEO of Vodafone Africa.
