SNO licensing in final stage

By Paul Vecchiatto, ITWeb Cape Town correspondent

Cape Town, 29 Nov 2005

The second national operator (SNO) should be licensed before year-end.

An Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) councillor says the regulator is in the final stages of drafting the terms and conditions.

In terms of the Telecommunications Act, the SNO is three years behind schedule due to problems with the bids and finding an international investment partner. ICASA chairman Paris Mashile went on record earlier this year saying that it should be licensed before the end of November. However, it seems it will now be by the end of December.

"We should have good news for all within the next two to three weeks," says Lumko Mtimde, the ICASA councillor chairing the SNO licensing committee.

Speculation within the ICT industry has been that the SNO would be able to begin offering services by 1 March in competition to Telkom.

Mtimde would not comment on this speculation, although he says there is a lot of pressure on the regulator to conclude the licensing process as soon as possible.

"We are well aware of the importance the SNO has for the whole country," he says.

According to Mtimbe, ICASA has received all the relevant documentation from the SNO, including the shareholders` agreement and the business plan.

"It has been a very smooth process. We are now finalising the licensing terms and conditions that have been extracted from this documentation," he says.

Mtimbe says the Telecommunications Act requires the SNO to be licensed on no less favourable terms than Telkom`s conditions.