South Africa's communications regulator is biased in favour of mobile operators Vodacom and MTN and seems to want to further entrench their domination of the broadband market, says Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko. He says the recent attempt by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa to auction off R12-billion worth of mobile internet spectrum was against its own rules, anti-competitive and detrimental to consumer interests. The High Court in Pretoria blocked Icasa in September after telecommunications minister Siyabonga Cwele took legal action to stop the auction. Vodacom and MTN share 90% of current mobile revenue and Maseko, who was MD of Vodacom South Africa before being appointed to head Telkom three years ago, is desperate to increase its share. After losing billions since trying to break into the mobile space six years ago, Telkom Mobile, according to results released last month for the six months ended September 30, has finally turned a small profit. But with revenue...
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