Author: Gugu Lourie

Jaguar Land Rover has developed a technology that alerts the driver if it detects the tell-tale signs of drowsiness. The technology takes inputs from thousands of data points, some of which are measured every thousandth of a second, including the Electronic Power Assisted Steering system, pedal inputs and general driving behaviour. It also uses complex algorithms to analyse all this to accurately determine whether a driver is becoming fatigued. The technology is known as the Driver Condition Monitor and Jaguar Land Rover has developed it as part of a wider vision to enrich and improve the lives of its drivers…

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has requested both MTN and Cell C to provide all the agreements and associated information on the roaming transaction for review and to assess compliance with the applicable law and regulations. On Monday, MTN South Africa disclosed that it has signed a new long-form roaming and services agreement with Cell C, subject to certain conditions precedent. In May 2018, Cell C signed its first roaming agreement with MTN, providing Cell C with 2G, 3G and 4G roaming services on MTN’s network in select areas of South Africa. The new agreement will see…

Telkom has confirmed it is in talks to buy struggling mobile phone operator Cell C. Cell C is 45% owned by JSE-listed Blue Label Telecoms, 15% by Net 1, 3 Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) collectively hold 30% (in turn held by 3C Telecommunications and further in turn held as 29.4% by the Employee Believe Trust, 45.6% by Oger Telecoms and 25% by broad-based black empowerment grouping CellSAf); and Cell C Management and Staff hold 10%. “Telkom has substantially concluded its due diligence, however, discussions are at a preliminary stage,” the company informed investors on Friday. The company, which is partially…

Even with the 5G era already upon us, investment in 4G/LTE networks is still vitally important for operators in sub-Saharan Africa and must remain a core focus of network construction for the immediate future. This is according to David Chen, vice-president, Huawei Southern Africa. “Currently, the mobile broadband penetration rate in Africa is only 47%, while 4G penetration rate is merely 10%,” Chen said. “Insufficient coverage causes LTE users to fall back to the 2G or 3G networks, resulting in significant decline in user experience. It also leads to congestion on the 2G and 3G networks and makes it difficult…

At the root of the troubled tech firm EOH misery in the past few years has been a flawed strategy around corporate governance. EOH’s new management team under its boss Stephen van Coller initiated a probe led by law firm ENSafrica (ENS) to review all its large, historical licensing contracts with the state. The probe uncovered suspicious transactions worth R1.2 billion. EOH had issued reports to regulators and is pressing criminal charges as well as civil claims to recover stolen funds. “This has been a difficult time for the EOH business but we will continue the process of meaningful engagement…

EOH, troubled JSE-listed technology group, has paid its CEO more than R19 million in 2019. The company disclosed in its annual report that Stephen van Coller, having been bought out of an existing contract joined with a guaranteed payment of R10 million, paid in two equal tranches in October 2018, and October 2019. Van Coller was also awarded 1 million share options on joining EOH. His total package include a basic salary of R5.4 million ( which includes medical aid, death and disability insurance, unemployment insurance fund (‘UIF’) and any amounts paid on resignation). It also consists of R14 million…

Takeaway announced on Wednesday that its bid offer for Britain’s Just Eat presented a compelling opportunity for both companies. The Takeaway’s offer is backed by Just Eat’s boards despite a higher bid price from cash-flush larger rival Prosus, which is owned by South African-based tech giant Naspers. Prosus hit back on Wednesday saying that “the Takeaway materials published today continue to underestimate the level of investment required in a sector that is changing rapidly. “Just Eat requires substantial investment in technology, product, marketing and own-delivery to capture its long-term opportunity,” Prosus said in a statement, emailed to TechFinancials. “With our global experience,…

A Cape Town blockchain-based startup, Registree, has partnered with the University of Cape Town (UCT to create blockchain-based records for thousands of UCT students. Over the past two years, a group of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) students and their professor quietly built Registree, a blockchain-based student registry to address one of the country’s most pressing problems: the coexistence one of the world’s highest youth unemployment rate with a massive and persistent skills shortage across all sectors of the economy. “We started Registree because we realized that universities struggle to fully use of the vast amount of student data,…

Bank Zero, a start-up by mostly former First National Bank (FNB) staffers chaired by venture capitalist Michael Jordaan, on Wednesday reassured the market that is making progress to launch in 2020. The digital bank was initially planned to launch three months ago. Today, the bank – which is set to compete with fellow newcomers TymeBank and Discovery Bank – revealed on Wednesday a debit card beta. To protect customers from widespread card fraud, Bank Zero said it has designed a new patented card which offers vital security and convenience. This patent will dramatically minimise the negative impact of card data…

Nokia today announced that Spectranet, Nigeria’s largest Internet Service Provider, will bring high-speed access to customers in Lagos and Abuja. Spectranet will deploy Nokia’s GPON solution as part of an extensive Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) rollout. The solution will enable Spectranet to provide new ultra-broadband services such as 4K HD video streaming and online gaming to residential and enterprise subscribers in the region.  “In today’s digital economy, our customers increasingly seek high-speed internet access to use applications like streaming ultra HD videos and online gaming,” Ajay Awasthi, Chief Executive Officer at Spectranet, said. “With Nokia’s GPON solution, we will be able to…