Telkom has committed to having its mobile offering fully operational before the end of the year. However, the time required to resolve Telkom's dispute with the mobile operators will likely extend into next year, as the authority need only submit its ruling 90 days after the hearings.
So far, only MTN's case has been scheduled for 30 September. Telkom's dispute with Cell C and Vodacom has not yet been heard by ICASA, and a date not yet been set.
Nonetheless, the Telkom is still confident it will be in a position to unveil its mobile service this year as it has in the interim entered into interconnect agreements with the mobile operators.
If ICASA has not yet ruled by the time Telkom Mobile starts operating, the interim agreement of a symmetrical 89c per minute will come it to play.
However, Telkom is clear this is subject to ICASA's ruling and may change if the ruling is favourable to Telkom.
Hurst believes Telkom has been fully aware it would be a battle to break into the mobile market and is less than confident of the company's success.
