Following the January 2015 hearings held by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (“Authority”) on the application by Neotel for the transfer of control of its licences to Vodacom, the Authority has received further submissions from some interested stakeholders as well as Neotel and Vodacom. In the interests of fairness the opportunity to submit additional comments had to be extended to all interested stakeholders followed by Neotel and Vodacom having the right of reply to all comments received.
It is incumbent on the Authority to consider all relevant information in the process of reaching its decision. The Authority is currently analyzing all submissions before it, and will make a decision in due course and make an announcement once such decision had been made.
The Authority during 2014 received an application from Neotel to transfer control of all of its licences to Vodacom, as a result of a 100 percent acquisition of Neotel by Vodacom. The Authority published the application and invited comment from all interested stakeholders – it received seven written submissions by October 2014 and held public hearings in January 2015. All written submissions and the transcripts of the hearings are available on the Authority’s website www.icasa.org.za.
Telkom's acquisition of Business Connexion
The Authority can confirm that Business Connexion has withdrawn its application for the transfer of control of its licences to Telkom. The Authority has met the parties as per their request, allowing them to explain the rationale behind the withdrawal of the application and to advise the Authority on its plans. In deciding its next steps on the transaction, Telkom and Business Connexion have sought advice from the Authority which has resulted in a process of engagement, as is regularly the case when stakeholders seek advice on regulatory processes.
Currently, there is no application in respect of the above transaction before the Authority and the parties individually remain licensees. The Authority will consider any application when such is made.
The Authority during 2014 received an application from Business Connexion for the transfer of control to Telkom. The Authority published the application and invited comments. It received 2 submissions which are available on the Authority’s website. Business Connexion subsequently withdrew its application for transfer of control.
Enquiries:
Paseka Maleka
Tel: 011 566 3455
Cell: 079 509 0702
Email: pmaleka@icasa.org.za
