BSNL in South African talks
State-owned Indian operator BSNL is reportedly in talks with South African operators to acquire an equity stake, in what would be its first overseas venture. According to India's Financial Chronicle, BSNL said it is keen to enter South Africa and claimed to be in talks with several operators there.
BSNL is looking at Africa in a new drive to expand abroad. The operator recently created a new division to explore opportunities overseas and recent reports said it was interested in bidding for Tunisia's upcoming fixed and mobile licence. The new division, called International Business, will be led by M K Jain.
MTN is the only one of South Africa's three main mobile operators not to have foreign backing: Vodacom will soon be controlled by Vodafone while Cell C is owned by Saudi Oger. Cell C, however, is high indebted and has advocated a merger with state-owned fixed-line operator Telkom. The latter recently unveiled a partnership with AT&T, while fixed-line altnet telco Neotel is owned by India's Tata.
