Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao is optimistic that a breakthrough is near on the government's ICT policy white paper, saying a "hybrid" model proposed by local mobile operators, including Vodafone subsidiary Vodacom, is making progress. "Yes, I think I am," Colao said when asked in an interview in Johannesburg this week whether he was hopeful that a resolution to the dispute would be found soon. The UK-headquartered Vodafone owns 65% of the JSE-listed Vodacom. The white paper, published late last year, has been met with a chorus of industry opposition, led by the country's two biggest mobile operators, Vodacom and MTN. A plan to reserve all future "high-demand" spectrum for a single national wholesale network operator has come in for particularly harsh criticism from the big operators. The companies have warned that the policy, unless changed, threatened their continued high levels of infrastructure investment. Spectrum is the lifeblood of the operators, which need it to continue ...
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