The broad cellular channel plans to organise itself to protest en masse against the decision that denied MTN and Vodacom use of the 1800MHz spectrum band.
We need to take decisive measures and we need to take them right away.
Selwyn Chatz, MD, Shawcell
In doing so, it is calling for possible government interference with the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA). Similar alleged interference with the selection of a third cellular network formed the basis of legal action that still delays the issue of that licence.
"We need to take decisive measures and we need to take them right away," said Shawcell MD Selwyn Chatz at an industry conference called by his group.
Among those measures is a petition to be presented to the government in December, after cellular agents and dealers gather signatures from their customers, employees and partners. The petition calls on ICASA to revise its decision on the 1800MHz allocation.
Chatz is not concerned with a possible precedent of government interference with the regulator. "I will turn to every authority that I can to ensure the future of my business." However, he does hope that the action will galvanise ICASA into renewed talks with the operators first. Should that fail, he said, he would approach the government to take action.
ICASA was invited to the conference, but was not visibly represented.
The petition was supported by many of the community operators and small businessmen at the conference, although there was some disagreement on the best course of action.
"[The 1800MHZ issue] is a terrible danger to my business," said Peter Dzingwa, MD of Mosidzi Cell Comm, which operates in Daveyton, Benoni. He pledged his support to the petition programme. "If Vodacom slows down, my business will suffer substantially, I will suffer, and my people will suffer."
Dzingwa employs 34 people in his Vodacom community service operation, and says a lack of support from Vodacom will force him into retrenchments.
Vodacom has warned that it will need to slow down its growth, by giving less assistance to its channel, by next year, should it not gain access to the 1800MHz band. The company says its current spectrum allocation cannot support many more customers, and that it will need to slow down growth through its channel without an 1800MHz allocation.
Padi Mokodutlo, who operates an 18-man business in the Kroonstad area, said he will support the petition even though he doubts that it will be effective.
"I am an action man," he said. "We need to sit down, as MTN, Vodacom and franchise holders, with the government and tell them what we need. We also need to get the consumers on board. A piece of paper is not the way to do it."
Although Kroonstad has not been identified as a "hotspot" area that needs 1800MHz to satisfy traffic requirements, Mokodutlo says he would like to offer his customers the better service 1800MHz would bring. His company's motto is "Service by performance."
Dealers and franchise holders did agree on the need for an industry body to represent their needs, both in the 1800MHz battle and thereafter. "We need to go the route of collective bargaining," said Dzingwa.
The petition forms will be collected by Shawcell at the end of the month, and "presented to Thabo Mbeki himself, if that is where we need to go," said Chatz.
Neither MTN nor Vodacom would condone a call for government interference, but both supported concerted action by their dealers.
"We support any action that brings to the attention of the national authorities, be they government or regulators, the need not to do damage to our consumers or stunt economic growth in this sector," said MTN spokesman Jacques Sellschop.
Vodacom corporate affairs group executive Joan Joffe said her company's official protest would be through the court action it has initiated, but that any action that raised awareness among consumers would be positive.
Shawcell says it represents about 1 000 cellular dealers, but aims to draw far wider participation from the industry, estimated by Vodacom to employ 70 000 people directly.
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