The official second national operator for telecommunications in South Africa, Neotel, announced on Wednesday that it will begin its operation by March 2007.

Access to Eskom and Transnet infrastructure, including almost 10 000 kilometres of optical fibre were already attained, said managing director Ajay Pandey.

"We anticipate a cumulative capital expenditure of more than R11 billion in the first ten years of our operation," Pandey said.

The company will offer a variety of fixed-line and wireless services to the public, challenging the monopoly of Telkom.

He added that Neotel planned to make telecoms more accessible to developing industries by reducing call rates, among other incentives.

Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, and Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin were present at the press conference where the announcement was made.

"The launch of the Neotel brand and the start of Neotel's first telecommunications services mean that fixed competition in the industry is now a reality," said Pandey.

Sapa

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