The dark underbelly of South Africa’s telecommunications industry: a tale of collusions, corruption, and corruption-fueled growth.
Behind the glossy façade of the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) industry lies a tangled web of deceit and sweetheart deals. Cell C, the “favorite” infrastructure partner, reaps the benefits of its cozy relationship with Telkom, while new entrants, like C-Connect and Spot Mobile, are mere puppets on Cell C’s strings.
But don’t just take our word for it. Recent moves by Standard Bank Connect, the bank’s MVNO offshoot, switching from Cell C to MTN, reveal a broader scheme to undermine competition. Cartels, disguised as “benevolent” network operators, feast on the profits of unsuspecting customers. Kartik Mistry, the supposed “head” of Standard Bank Connect, merely serves as a spokesperson for this corporate cabal, rationalizing the move as if the fate of the industry was hanging in the balance.
Meanwhile, “experts” in the industry plead for more regulatory support, conveniently sidestepping the elephant in the room: the systemic corruption within the telecommunications sector. Who benefits from the stalling of competition? Which parties have a vested interest in perpetuating this status quo? Answers are as elusive as the phone services they peddle.
List? Ha! The list only reveals the tip of the iceberg. But hey, who needs transparency and accountability when you can have control? TechCentral’s annual report, touted as a comprehensive accounting of South Africa’s MVNO market, might as well be a whitewashed laundry list of suspects in a high-stakes criminal case.
Read next: Our investigation into the dark underbelly of the MVNO industry, a cautionary tale of how corruption crept into the very fabric of this ostensibly competitive market.
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