Icasa has hit back at Cell C for its criticism of how the regulator handled, and subsequently approved, the merger between Vodacom and Neotel.<\/p>\n
According to a report in the Sunday Times, Icasa\u2019s chairman Stephen Mncube said \u201ceverybody\u201d had their say with regards to the deal, and its legal team made the decision based \u2013 in part \u2013 on this input.<\/p>\n
Cell C has threatened to oppose the deal between Vodacom and Neotel using \u201call legal avenues\u201d if the transaction is given the green light by the Competition Commission.<\/p>\n
Icasa said that it\u00a0cannot make regulatory decisions in the ICT sector while \u201cfearing\u201d court action, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is Cell C in the industry? Cell C is just one of the players. Well, let them go to court,\u201d said\u00a0Mncube.<\/p>\n
One of Cell C\u2019s gripes with the deal is that Vodacom may gain access to Neotel\u2019s spectrum, which the operator\u00a0could use to expand its mobile data services.<\/p>\n
Icasa did not disclose how the spectrum will be divided if the merger takes place, saying only when changes to assigned spectrum are made would the regulator deal with the matter.<\/p>\n
In 2014, Vodacom and Neotel announced that the two companies had entered into a deal which\u00a0would see Vodacom acquire 100% of Neotel.\u00a0The deal is worth R7 billion.<\/p>\n
The full report is available in the 21 June 2015 edition of the Sunday Times.<\/em><\/p>\nMore on Vodacom and Neotel<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n