Telkom gets a competitor

Telkom's competition has finally arrived after the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa licensed a second fixed line operator on Friday. SNO Telecommunications received its licence nearly four years behind schedule, and it is hoped that they will be able to offer consumers a choice between fixed line operators by sometime next year. The licensing process was delayed several times because of infighting among the shareholders, which include India's Tata Group and state-held Transtel and Esitel, which are Transnet's and Eskom's telecommunications arms.