The Cell C consortium says preparations to roll-out its cellular network will begin immediately, and that it will be up and running before the end of the year.

“We intend to proceed as quickly as possible with the implementation of our plans,” said Cell C CEO Talaat Laham on Friday.

Laham was speaking at a press conference shortly after communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri announced that she would provisionally award the third cellular licence to Cell C, despite a legal challenge which is still in progress.

Matsepe-Casaburri said an application by rival bidder Nextcom for a judicial review of the selection process in which Cell C came out on top did not prevent her from issuing the licence.

Nextcom says review goes ahead
Audio: Phillip de Wet WINDOWS | MP3 
Nextcom director Anthony Glass reads the statement his consortium released on Friday, indicating that the battle for the third cellular license continues. 

However, Nextcom has warned Cell C not to count unhatched chickens, as it is certain the review will prove its case and cause a re-evaluation of bidders, which it believes it will win.

A court date for the judicial review application has been set for 2 May.

“In terms of the legal process, we have to amend various papers so that the minister's decision will also be reviewed at the same time,” Nextcom CEO Bushy Kelobonye said in a statement. “We will be applying to have the minister's decision set aside.”

Nextcom abandoned an interdict it was granted earlier to prevent the minister from awarding the licence, after Matsepe-Casaburri appealed the Pretoria High Court interdict in the Constitutional Court. “It was easier for us to lift the injunction than to get involved in a Constitutional Court process that would delay everything,” said Nextcom director Anthony Glass on Friday.

Instead, the company focused on a judicial review of the process which led the SA Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (SATRA), predecessor to the current regulator, to select Cell C as its favoured bidder in a “beauty contest” process.

Nextcom believes it has evidence to prove that SATRA did not apply its mind to the selection and was biased in favour of Cell C.

Cell C disagrees.

“We are confident that should [the application] proceed to a full judicial review that there will be no material irregularities in the selection to derail the licence,” said Cell C director and spokesman Zwelakhe Mankazana.

It seems unlikely that Nextcom and Cell C could settle the matter to circumvent the court case, despite Cell C's invitation for losing bidders to work with the company.

“We wish to extend our congratulations to the other bidders,” said Mankazana. “We sincerely hope that there will be a role for them in the telecommunications market in SA and that we may find a way to work with them.”

Nextcom does not believe this would be in its interest.

“We don't believe we will need to share the licence,” Glass said. “We probably would not work with Cell C if they offered, not before the review was completed.”

Glass would not speculate on what would happen should Nextcom be awarded the licence after Cell C starts its roll-out, but warned his competitors not to make any investment yet.

“If I were Cell C, I would not build my network until the judicial review has been completed,” he said.