The Communications ministry on Wednesday announced the names of five companies bidding for the second national operator (SNO) fixed line license.
The ministry said they were: TeleAccess Investments (S.A.) (Pty) Limited, WIP Investments Nine (Pty) Limited (CommuniTel), Two Consortium, Detecon International/T-Systems, and an unspecified Chinese company.
Communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri on April 1 made public the process and criteria to be used in determining the allocation of the 51% equity stake in the SNO.
Bidders were instructed to express interest by April 30.
Announcing the five interested parties, the ministry said the move represented a major boost for the introduction of competition in the South African telecommunications market ”especially in the light of the current unimpressive performance of the telecommunications market globally”.
The statement added that a new phase in the process would be starting soon.
This would include a SNO Working Committee, assisted by financial, business and legal advisors considering the submissions.
”After consideration of all the applications by the Committee, those qualifying for evaluation shall be shortlisted and recommended to Minister Matsepe-Casaburri for one-on-one negotiation,” the ministry said.
The negotiation process would result in the choice of the preferred applicant being recommended to the Minister by the committee before the recommendation was forwarded to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) for consideration and evaluation.
”Upon conclusion of the evaluation Icasa would make a recommendation to the Minister of Communications.”
Matsepe-Casaburri on January 31 announced that neither of the two consortiums then vying for the 51% stake had been successful.
Icasa had two days before recommending that both Optis and Goldleaf’s bids be rejected after public hearings showed major defects with both proposals.
The government has already awarded a 30% stake in the SNO to Transtel and Esi-tel, subsidiaries of parastatals Transnet and Eskom respectively, and 19% to empowerment company, Nexus. – Sapa