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| Neotel (Pty) Ltd. | |
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| Type | Private company[1] |
| Founded | Johannesburg, South Africa, 2006 |
| Headquarters | Woodmead, South Africa |
| Key people | Ajay Pandey, Managing Director |
| Industry | Communications Services |
| Website | www.neotel.co.za |
Neotel (Pty) Ltd., previously SNO Telecommunications, is the much anticipated second national operator (SNO) for fixed line telecommunication services in South Africa. It was unveiled on 31 August 2006 in Kyalami in northern Johannesburg. Neotel is South Africa's first direct telecommunications competitor to the current telecommunications parastatal, Telkom.
The new company announced its business services on 15 November 2007 and its consumer services in May 2008. Its business services include local and international leased line services, as well as a suite of voice, data (VPN), and Internet offerings delivered over its converged, next-generation network [2]. International Transit services for wholesale customers have been available since September 2006[3][4]. They plan to use wireless broadband technologies, amongst others, which not only allows data transfers but also voice in the form of VOIP[5].
The arrival of a competitor is said to bring competitive pricing in terms of high speed internet (avg. 250 Kb/s to 750 Kb/s CDMA2000), broadband through WiMax, and later high speed broadband (xDSL and Fiber).[6][7] For many years South Africa has had only one telecommunications service, Telkom, which is partly government owned and partly private owned, but now for the first time people will have a choice of telecommunication services.
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History
In 2001, an amendment to the Telecommunications Act was made that allowed for the creation of a competitor to South Africa's largest telecommunications operator, Telkom[8]. The initial shareholders of the Second National Operator (SNO) were identified as Eskom and Transnet[9]. In early 2002, bidding started for the remaining stakes in the SNO[10]. The Shareholder's agreement was signed on 15 August 2005[11]. Following the signing, the licence terms and conditions were finalized in March 2006, and the company officially launched in August 2006[12].
Current Consortium
Neotel currently consists of the following consortiums:[13]
Initial holdings by Eskom Holdings (15%) and Transtel, a division of Transnet (15%) sold to VSNL/Tata Group raising their stake from 26% to 56%, making them the majority shareholder within Neotel.
- VSNL/Tata Group (56%)
- Nexus Connexion (BEE partner) (19%)
- Strategic Equity Partner Company (SEPCo, 25% (81% including Tata Communications)
- Communitel (12.5%)
- Two Consortium (12.5%)
See also
References
- ^ "Neotel FAQ", retrieved October 1, 2006
- ^ Neotel website, retrieved Nov 15, 2007
- ^ "Neotel gives Telkom taste of competition" by Lesley Stones, Businessday, September 1, 2006, retrieved September 25, 2006
- ^ "Say hello to Neotel, SA's second national operator" by Hila Bouzaglou and I-Net Bridge, Mail & Guardian Online, August 31, 2006, retrieved September 25, 2006
- ^ Neotel website, retrieved Sep 25, 2006
- ^ "Neotel: ‘Telecoms prices should be 25% of what it is now’" by MyADSL, September 7, 2006 retrieved September 25, 2006
- ^ "Neotel Broadband - xDSL and Fibre on the cards" by MyBroadband, July 10, 2007 retrieved July 11, 2007.
- ^ "Telecoms bill passed but SNO cloud hangs" by Lynda Loxton and Reuters, Business Report, November 17, 2001, retrieved September 25, 2006
- ^ "Transtel, Eskom will be Telkom competition, says Radebe", by ITWeb, August 11, 2000, retrieved September 25, 2006
- ^ "ITA sets SNO bidders to work", by Phillip de Wet, ITWeb, May 27, 2002, retrieved September 25, 2006
- ^ "Second network operation to launch this month" by Helene Le Roux , Creamer Media's Engineering News, August 25, 2006, retrieved September 25, 2006
- ^ "The SNO is finally here", by Jackie Mackenzie, business.iafrica.com, August 31, 2006, retrieved September 25, 2006
- ^ About the shareholders, Neotel, retrieved July 12, 2007
External links
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