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Johannesburg - Today saw the long awaited launch of South Africa's Second National Operator (SNO) - which will be known as Neotel - at a function in Kyalami, north of Johannesburg.
Although Telkom's (TKG) five-year exclusivity period ended in May 2002, various delays were encountered, including a protracted search for a foreign investor, which delayed the launch of the SNO until now.
SNO Telecom was eventually licensed in December last year after the consortium won the bid to become South Africa's second national network operator.
It has a 25-year operating licence.
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL), which owns 26% of SNO Telecom and which has been involved in the telecommunication business in India for 100 years, appointed Ajay Pandey as MD.
Pandey has more than 20 years experience in the telcomms industry, having held the posts of president of India's Tata Teleservices and CEO of Tata Internet Services.
VSNL is controlled by Indian industrial giant Tata.
The SNO is controlled by SepCo which comprises the Tata Group with a 26% stake (Tata Africa 1%, VSNL 25%), while Two Telecom and CommuniTel each own 12.5%.
Kennedy Memani-led Nexus Connexion is the empowerment partner with 19% and the South African government owns 30% in the SNO through Transtel and Esitel.
In theory, the introduction of the second operator is set to help reduce high telecommunications costs in South Africa, by offering competition to Telkom, which until now was the sole fixed line network operator.