Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri will grant four of the under serviced area licences (USALs) to the recommended bidders, and has referred the remaining three back to ICASA for further consideration.
Matsepe-Casaburri made the announcement at the Department of Communications (DoC) offices in Pretoria this afternoon.
The Minister`s decision will certainly be a welcome relief to the four accepted bidders, who have complained that the delays - the original invitation to apply for USALs was made in December 2002 - have placed an enormous strain on their resources.
Licenses have been awarded to: Bokone Telecomms (Limpopo, Capricorn District); Thinta Thinta Telecoms (KwaZulu-Natal, Ugu District); Kingdom Communications (KZN, Zululand District); and Ilizwe Telecoms (Eastern Cape, OR Tambo Municipality).
The following three have been referred back to ICASA for consideration, subject to their resolving certain shareholder issues: The Eastern Cape`s Amatole Communications, Karabotel in the Central District in the North West Province and Bokamoso Communications in the Lejweleputswa District.
The Minister expects ICASA`s report-back on the matter by the end of June.
According to Matsepe-Casaburri, the second phase of the USAL process will begin during the course of this year, once lessons learnt in the first phase of the process have been absorbed.
The Minister commended the applicants on the professionalism displayed in their presentations and on the new and innovative ideas in the application of technology in disadvantaged areas.
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