Black-owned and run management consultancy Labat South Africa has announced its partners in the consortium which is to bid for the third cellular license later this year. A newly formed bid company, Khuluma Cellular 084, will co-ordinate the effort and hold the license if successful.
Consortium partners include the National Union of Metalworkers, the National African Chamber of Commerce, the Communications Workers` Union and the Disabled Empowerment Consortium.
Labat, the consortium organiser, intends to list on the JSE later this year.
"This is an empowerment license," says Brian van Rooyen, CEO of the bid company and Labat SA, "and we have the right group to win it.
"It is not merely a question of numbers. While there is a strong emphasis on empowerment in our bid group, we believe we have simultaneously brought together the business capabilities necessary to drive an important process such as this," he said in a statement at the announcement of the consortium.
Van Rooyen says the final decision on operators, suppliers and financial institutions has not yet been made, but promised an announcement next week. "It has to be a three-pronged approach. The operator has to be happy with the supplier and some players have their own financial institutions attached." International companies are included on the shortlist, he says.
Another announcement of note, this time more mysterious, is expected by the end of April. "Watch this space, but expect it to involve satellites," Van Rooyen hints.
Khuluma ("talk" in Zulu) says it will use cutting-edge technology throughout its infrastructure, which is what will differentiate it from the competition, says Thozamile Botha, the chairman. "The current operators are plagued by, for instance, capacity problems," he says. "We will have no legacy investment, and the new technology will allow us to offer flexible tariffs, greater Internet integration and other unique services."
The company would not commit itself on issues such as infrastructure sharing, network roaming and interconnect. "We are taking a wait-and-see approach," says Bradley Scop, head of the legal and regulatory department. The company expects the Telecommunications Amendment Bill, withdrawn early in March by Minister Jay Naidoo, to be enacted in "much its present form".
"Once the required consultation has been done, it will probably become a reality," says Van Rooyen.
Other partners in the bid are Black Management Forum Investments, Milestone Investments, Phakamani and Kwetliso, an empowerment IT company.
"All groups will be actively involved to ensure skills transfer does take place," Van Rooyen says. Some of the expected beneficiaries listed by the company are the Bafokeng tribe, the Free State Woman`s Group and the Western Cape Empowerment Consortium.
Bids for the license are due to be presented to Satra, the regulatory body in charge of the process, on 14 June.
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