Cell C will have to wait until the end of the month to find out if the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (SATRA) will confirm its intention to recommend it as the third mobile telephone operator.
Five other consortiums have raised objections against the recommendation and SATRA still has the option to change its collective mind. Then it is up to communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri to issue the licence.
That has not stopped Cell C from issuing tenders it estimates to be worth more than $500 million (R3 billion) over the next few years. The company says it has no time to lose. "We intend to have a friendly launch in November this year, an estimated six months after the award of the licence," says spokesman and director-designate Zwelakhe Mankazana.
The tenders include the supply of GSM equipment for the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands and the supply of IT equipment for billing, customer care and business support.
"Throughout the bidding process Cell C maintained a supplier-neutral position," Mankazana says. "We had open and non-exclusive relations with all the suppliers."
Cell C has named Alcatel, Ericsson, Lucent, Motorola, Nokia, Nortel and Siemens as equipment suppliers interested in the tender. It says Andersen Consulting, Dimension Data, SEMA, IBM, Computer Science Corporation UK and EDS have shown interest in the IT contracts.
"When we consider the bids, Cell C will place high emphasis on the creation of sub-contractual opportunities so that they not only benefit our own empowerment shareholders but also other nominated black sub-contractors," Mankazana says.
Cell C advisor Paul Doany says the company expects peak funding to reach $600 million to $640 million, of which 50% will be carried by debt. "The bridge financing we could commence with could be as low as $50 million and as high as $100 million," he says. Bridge finance will be secured from Saudi Oger, which holds a 60% stake in holding company 3C Telecommunications.
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