South Africa’s second national operator Neotel is planning to raise USD1 billion of funds, mainly through debt, to finance its network expansion, The telco, which is 56%-owned by Tata Communications of India, has already begun talks with financial institutions, including original investors Nedbank Capital, Investec Bank and the Development Bank of South Africa, Telecom Tiger reports.
Separately, Neotel is finalising plans to offer fibre-based services to business customers in major cities. The firm has completed the rollout of fibre rings and the metro access layer in larger markets and is now looking to offer triple-play packages of voice, video and internet services to enterprise users. ‘The availability of fibre in the major metros means that any businesses in these areas can get connected to our services in a matter of days,’ Neotel’s head of enterprise services, Stefano Mattiello, told IDG.