JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—South African mobile network operator Vodacom confirmed that the company has as yet not accepted the offer of a mobile license in Zambia.
The operator was offered a license for the fourth mobile network in Zambia in the later half of 2001.
Joan Joffe, group executive corporate affairs, said the company had been offered the license, but that the offer is still subject to approval by shareholders of Vodacom.
Analysts believe that one of the key issues in the decision going forward for Vodacom will be the lack of availability of GSM 900 MHz spectrum as the company has only been offered a license to operate in the GSM 1800 MHz band.
South Africa’s parastatal telecom utility Telkom holds a 50-percent stake in Vodacom together with British company Vodafone Group holding 31.5 percent, Rembrandt with 13.5 percent and independent investment company Hoskens holding 5 percent.
Vodacom recently entered the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a US$39 million investment in Congolese Wireless. The operator this week awarded Alcatel a five-year US$127.3 million contract for a turkey GSM 900/1800 MHz network in the DRC. The operator has successful networks in Lesotho and Tanzania.
