Author: Gugu Lourie

The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has dismissed Telkom’s bid to be allowed to build cellphone masts and other related infrastructure at locations of its choice. The battle over cellphone masts between Telkom and the City of Cape Town dates to 2015 when Telkom wanted to improve its infrastructure to supply better services in the area. Telkom decided to build 135 cellular phone masts and rooftop stations. It identified a property that belonged to the estate of Birch Kalu as one of the sites suitable for erecting a mast. The property is in the suburb of Heathfield in Cape Town. Telkom concluded…

Embattled mobile phone operator Cell C is facing significant liquidity constraints, a notice of retrenchment shows. Cell C is in the process of retrenching its workforce. For more read: Debt-Ridden Cell C Serves Retrenchment Notices to 2500 Employees The notice seen by TechFinancials details the reasons for the retrenchments. It states that Cell C has consistently under-performed and generated as much as R33 billion in losses over the years including a R4.2 billion loss in 2019 versus R7.3 billion in 2018. “The company is currently facing significant liquidity constraints which have resulted in it defaulting on its obligations to lenders, shareholders, and…

The Information Communication Technology Union (ICTU) said on Friday that Cell C has served retrenchment notices to all its staff members. ICTU is an affiliate of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), which is led by Zwelinzima Vavi. The union is the sole worker representative at Cell C. “Today, ICTU is having a meeting with Cell C management and their major shareholder, Blue Label Telecoms, at their BLT offices in Sandton,” ICTU spokesperson, Thabang Mothelo, told TechFinancials. “Key issue is the possible retrenchment of 960 staff. All 2500 staff members have been served with retrenchment notices.” JSE-listed Blue Label Telecoms…

SASSA KwaMashu Local Office has been temporarily closed until further notice after an official tested positive for COVID-19. The Department of Health has been requested to conduct tests on all affected officials (31). Whilst awaiting results, these officials will be on self-isolation. SASSA management has arranged for the decontamination of the office concerned. “Clients are encouraged to use these alternative local offices Phoenix, Inanda or Durban Local Office for all social grants applications or services,” said SASSA. As of yesterday, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa is 111 796. Case Data Province Total cases for 24…

Telkom is targeting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as part of its revenue diversification strategy. Small and medium businesses have the biggest impact on a successful gross domestic product. However, South Africa has one of the highest failure rates for these businesses compared to other developing countries. Telkom Small and Medium Business (SMB) aims to be a go-to place for all small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to connect and to grow. Telkom SMB’s goal is to shift from pure connectivity products to e-commerce and expand to adjacent offerings in IT, procurement, financial services and many more – all delivered through…

MTN has reached a significant milestone by recording 100 million active data users on its networks across Africa and the Middle East, the telco revealed on Thursday. The South Africa-based company has a total base of more than 257 million customers in 21 markets. Growth through scaling data and digital services is central to its strategy. The group is overcoming barriers to greater mobile internet adoption by extending its 3G and 4G coverage, accelerating smartphone adoption and transforming prices. MTN wants to bridge the digital divide by ensuring that rural people in Africa and the Middle East are connected to…

Jaguar Land Rover has partnered with the City of Oslo to launch the world’s first high-powered wireless taxis. In a programme known as ‘ElectriCity’, the global vehicle manufacturer will join Nordic taxi operator Cabonline (NorgesTaxi AS), the region’s largest charge point operator Fortum Recharge, US technology developer Momentum Dynamics and the City of Oslo to build wireless, high-powered charging infrastructure for taxis in the Norwegian capital. The project will be the first wireless high-powered charging system for electric taxis in the world and by providing a charging infrastructure model that can be implemented almost anywhere, it will help the rapid…

The Liberty Fighters Network (LFN) is going to court again today to fight the lockdown restrictions. Earlier this month, LFN launched a court case against the lockdown restrictions in May, arguing they were unlawful and violated South Africa’s Bill of Rights. For more read: Lockdown Makes No Sense – Says South Africa’s Court The high court in Pretoria bought their argument and agreed with them before handing down a ruling that said some of the restrictions were irrational and trampled the rights of citizens. For more read: Court Rules SA’s Lockdown is Invalid. What is the End Goal? Mass Graves… The…

Two weeks ago,  Bryan Habana – World Cup-winning Springbok star – announced the launch of MatchKit.co, an innovative platform that gives athletes a ground-breaking solution towards growing their commercial brands. Habana and his team at the award-winning creative sporting agency, Retroactive, have created a mobile tech play that reinvents the way athletes – of every tier and discipline – monetise their careers in a simple and cost-effective way. “MatchKit has connected with more than 2.1 million fans since its public launch,” Mike Sharman, co-founder of Retroactive, told TechFinancials on Wednesday. To date, the app has had 4,800 views on its…

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has lambasted the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa’s (USAASA) decision to put out a near-identical tender for the provision of television sets to over 111 000 learners. The first tender in this regard (USAF-IDTV/01/2020) was cancelled without being awarded. Nomsa Marchesi, the DA’s Shadow Minister for Basic Education, said this was reported that the original tender could cost up to R160 million. The tender process closes on 2 July 2020, after which the television sets will reportedly be distributed to Grade 12 learners. This process will take approximately two months which means by…