Vodacom, MTN, broadcasters legal action unacceptable: Minister

[jes]

Vodacom, MTN, broadcasters legal action unacceptable: Minister

"We will live in the dark ages if we don’t sort this out," say Communications Minister Yunus Carrim

 

[ShaunSA]

Vodacom, MTN, broadcasters legal action unacceptable: Minister

"We will live in the dark ages if we don’t sort this out," say Communications Minister Yunus Carrim

Thanks to who exactly Mr Carrim? :erm:

 

[siraman]

Don't forget Telkom Mr Carrim(Naked DSL and LLU) otherwise...

“We will live in the dark ages if we don’t sort this out.”

 

[Paul Hjul]

it is a symptom of the landscape and I am afraid until their is a blanket admission that Pule ****ed things up massively getting on with things is going to be a non-starter

 

[KOPITE]

Why does ICASA not fine those 2 operators for every law they break. i cannot understand why a company can hold goverment for ransom. this is a total disgrace.

Those companies need to be marginalised until they come to the party or GTFO

 

[DXL]

My sentiments is such that ICASA dont hammer the operators enough with regulations.
NO other country are operators allowed to dictate to the regulator.

YES fines need to be given every month and must become an annoyance to these operators.

Poor Coverage issues in rural areas need to be sorted out.

The NCC has banned MTN and Airtel from selling or activating any new sims until the Network Qulaity is sorted out and have accordingly slapped them with good fines as well.

Give more HEAT to those that give you HEAT

 

[Paul Hjul]

more regulation won't solve anything ....

Its a simple case that the State created a crony industry through restricting the market and now needs to structure the regulations to prevent abuse while freeing up the market. Every attempt to do otherwise simply leads

ALL other countries which have a landscape similar to ours in telecoms have a regulatory capture problem

Enforce the regulations, make the opportunities to change the regulations to serve narrow interests less and gain some consistency and the magic hand will do its work. The best thing that the Minister can do right now in respect of the CTR law suits is to apply to the court for admission as an amicus and to offer good office to an out of court settlement - because, as I've said a billion times, there are courses of action that benefit all of the parties concerned and which are in the public interest as well. The issue is simply that management of the companies need to get around the principal-agent problem they currently have i.e. putting the company's long term interests above their own interests

 

[elvis_presley]

Enforce the regulations

This is it in a nutshell. Regulation is absolutely necessary to keep everything running smoothly, but unless it's enforced, it's a waste of everyone's time. It doesn't take much either - make examples of a few big guys, and the rest will fall in line, when they realize there are indeed consequences of going against the laws and regulations. Just look at the taxman - effectively enforcing the regulations and everyone's scared of him, and thinks twice before doing dodgy stuff!

 

[supersunbird]

My sentiments is such that ICASA dont hammer the operators enough with regulations.
NO other country are operators allowed to dictate to the regulator.

YES fines need to be given every month and must become an annoyance to these operators.

Poor Coverage issues in rural areas need to be sorted out.

The NCC has banned MTN and Airtel from selling or activating any new sims until the Network Qulaity is sorted out and have accordingly slapped them with good fines as well.

Give more HEAT to those that give you HEAT

The best defence is a good offense...

 

[jannievanzyl]

The Minister went on to ask why a matter should be taken to court when a negotiation will suffice? “It is unacceptable what is going on here,” Carrim said.

Am I missing something? I though Icasa declared the negotiations over by publishing the new rates?

 

[Paul Hjul]

Am I missing something? I though Icasa declared the negotiations over by publishing the new rates?

Only if the intended outcome of negotiations are to determine the CTR rates
also even on Vodacom's own papers - which I have read, significantly better than MTNs but ... - there was not much negotiation from Vodacom's side to begin with. It really was just telling the regulator to let the big boys rule the roost and really you have nobody other than your own management to blame for the sharp glide path imposed. I've always has concerns about CellC getting the sort of regulatory arbitrage they are looking for - and if you look at this forum 12 months ago they took a decent amount of flak for wanting to suspend the operation of the regulations - but as I have frequently set out on this forum the asymmetry premise in these regulations could well be remedied by VC and MTN looking at wholesale retail seperations and getting VMNOs on stream [whether the entire idea of a VMNO really makes much sense is irrelevant to the fact that it presents a means of meeting the regulatory shift and so taken into proper context the asymmetry drives in competition rather than cuts off large operators arms - the response is what is going to hurt your business]

So no the time to negotiate is now, but the thing to be negotiating on is implementing the regulations and holding CellC (in particular) and Telkom Mobile to coming to the party and using the proceeds of asymmetry towards navigating the transition to a ubiquitous connectivity era.

 

[[)roi(]]

A negotiated deal that doesn't compromise the consumer would always be a better choice vs. running this through the courts -- this statement shows that ball is squarely in VC and MTNs quarters, let's hope they do the right thing.

Failing which I hope they Carrim has the chutzpa to figuratively kick them in the nuts, and not again fail the consumer.

 

[Paul Hjul]

A negotiated deal that doesn't compromise the consumer would always be a better choice vs. running this through the courts -- this statement shows that ball is squarely in VC and MTNs quarters, let's hope they do the right thing.

Failing which I hope they Carrim has the balls to kick them in the nuts.

such a settlement would require that some people with integrity and an understanding of the underlying issues participate in the negotiations ...

 

[[)roi(]]

These parties exist; the question is whether VC & MTN want to be a good corporate citizen or not?
i.e. Do they have the interest of SA at heart or are they the profit mongers we've come to suspect.

If the ANC has a brain (so far it's doubtful), they'd never relent on this one, as affordable telecoms is a paramount keystone to enable an environment that is conducive to growth and job creation.

 

[Paul Hjul]

These parties exist; the question is whether VC & MTN want to be a good corporate citizen or not?
i.e. Do they have the interest of SA at heart or are they the profit mongers we've come to suspect.

If the ANC has a brain (so far it's doubtful), they'd never relent on this one, as affordable telecoms is a paramount keystone to enable an environment that is conducive to growth and job creation.

O no doubt
and as I also keep saying getting things right is in the long term interests of the companies' shareholders. Proper solutions will require buy in from Telkom and CellC as well though

 

[[)roi(]]

O no doubt
and as I also keep saying getting things right is in the long term interests of the companies' shareholders. Proper solutions will require buy in from Telkom and CellC as well though

Real battles won't be won in joint sessions with all stakeholders present, but rather behind closed doors, respecting the principle that flinging in mud in public benefits no one. So far they've IMO screwed this up by playing it through the media; that should have been a last resort.

The next question is whether Carrim is suitable to this task?

 

[Paul Hjul]

Real battles won't be won in joint sessions with all stakeholders present, but rather behind closed doors, respecting the principle that flinging in mud in public benefits no one. So far they've IMO screwed this up by playing it through the media; that should have been a last resort.

The next question is whether Carrim is suitable to this task?

while behind closed door meetings are important sitting around the same table would be more important
especially if an easy solution is what is adopted

 

[[)roi(]]

Surely what we've seen in the media was proceeded by a few joint meetings?

 

[Paul Hjul]

Surely what we've seen in the media was proceeded by a few joint meetings?

doesn't appear that way on the papers from MTN or Vodacom

I am more interested in the court papers than the media statements save that the statements largely demonstrate that the CEOs of the respective companies are playing on the short term

 

[[)roi(]]

doesn't appear that way on the papers from MTN or Vodacom

Now that would just be silly. Hopefully round 2 fairs better.

I am more interested in the court papers than the media statements save that the statements largely demonstrate that the CEOs of the respective companies are playing on the short term

Yip, probably personally because the short term financial performance directly affects their bonuses.

As I said I still believe the real battle is best fought behind closed doors; as this will probably require some level of debate with the board members i.e. merits of long term sustainability and market growth vs. short term profiteering. Again the question is whether Carrim is adequately adept to play this game? It's certainly important enough for him or someone of his caliber to take a direct role in.