The Hindu Business Line : VSNL inks pact for 2nd fixed line operator in South Africa

AFTER a long-drawn process, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) on Monday signed a shareholder's agreement with its partners for establishing a second fixed line telephony operator (SNO) in South Africa, according to a news release from VSNL.

The Tata-VSNL consortium from India will be the controlling stakeholder in the strategic equity partner company (SEPCO), which, in turn, will have a 51 per cent stake in the SNO. This was decided by the Minister of Communications in February this year. Since then, the shareholders have completed a business plan for the SNO and finalised the shareholder's agreement.

A steering committee comprising senior representatives from the SNO's shareholders has been working on the documents, which are now under submission to India-South Africa Commercial Alliance (ISACA). It is anticipated that ISACA would shortly engage the SNO in determining the terms of the licence and that this process would speedily culminate in the issuance of the licence. The SNO will hold a public switched telecommunication service licence, which will allow it to offer a range of services equivalent in scope to the incumbent carrier. This will include voice, data and limited mobility access.

The business launch of the SNO is expected to take place within six to nine months from the award of the licence.

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