Vodacom Group (Pty) Ltd. last week announced that it has become a member of the global Vodafone Group PLC partner network. In terms of the agreement, Vodacom will market Vodafone?s global services in SA.

Says Vodacom Group CEO, Alan Knott-Craig: ?This agreement will give us access to Vodafone?s worldwide R&D. In the next ten years, no cellular company will be able to do its own R&D on a scale that will suffice without partnerships and alliances.

?High-speed mobile wireless data is a reality, and it will roll out very quickly in the next two years or so,? he adds. ?It is a reality today. The terminals work, the networks work -- the cellular operators know what to do, it is just a case of doing it.?

To that end, Vodacom has to date rolled out 470 3G base stations covering most of the major metropolitan areas, with a further 470 scheduled for roll-out next year. ?We need to roll out a completely new overlay network,? Knott-Craig says, ?which will take three to four years to complete, and cost around R5 billion (US$8.2 million) to build. We need to ensure that the network has sufficient capacity and coverage to meet market requirements.?

Price is another issue which needs to be addressed, he notes, saying that current data prices are far too high, but that they will come down significantly in the next few months -- possibly to around half of current costs, if not more. A further driving reason for the alliance is terminals. ?It is very difficult to get 3G terminals without being part of the Vodafone alliance,? Knott-Craig states. ?Vodafone is the leader in this area, and Vodacom cannot get meaningful access to terminals without this alliance.?

In terms of product, Vodacom will market the 3G Vodafone Mobile Connect Card, which, Vodafone says, is a high-speed laptop data card, in SA. It expects to make the card available before December.

Vodacom will also be launching Vodafone live! in SA early next year, by February or March, says Knott-Craig. Vodafone live! will be the cornerstone of Vodacom?s consumer 3G offering. The Vodafone live! offering includes a branded Vodafone handset, which gives subscribers access to the Vodafone live! portal and the content thereon.

Also on the cards, says Dr Thomas Nowak, director of partner networks at Vodafone group marketing, is a Blackberry device, which has been specifically designed for Vodafone, and will be available in SA through the partnership.

Vodacom subscribers travelling internationally will now be able to roam across Vodafone?s networks in 26 countries, and its partners? networks in a further 13. Vodafone and Vodafone partner subscribers will likewise be able to roam seamlessly in Vodacom?s coverage areas, the companies say.

While Knott-Craig would not reveal the value of the fee that Vodacom paid to join the Vodafone partner network, he did say that the cost saving that Vodacom will realize through having access to Vodafone?s global price book, enabling it to get equipment at better rates, would pay for the cost of the subscription.