Shake-up in South Africa

The South African government is planning a major shake-up of the country’s telecoms market, according to local press reports, with the aim of reducing Telkom’s dominance of the sector. Local newspaper Business Day quotes the Department of Communications’ acting deputy director general for policy, Norman Munzhelele, who says a statement on liberalisation will be made next month. He adds that Telkom’s monopoly of the fixed line market is keeping prices high, hampering the spread of telecoms networks in rural areas and deterring foreign investment. The statement is expected to include proposals for the unbundling of Telkom’s local loop infrastructure, giving rival telcos cheaper access to its networks.