Author: Gugu Lourie
Take an advanced technology. Add a twist of fantasy. Stir well, and watch the action unfold. By Andrew Maynard It’s the perfect recipe for a Hollywood tech-disaster blockbuster. And clichéd as it is, it’s the scenario that we too often imagine for emerging technologies. Think superintelligent machines, lab-bred humans, the ability to redesign whole species – you get the picture. The reality, of course, is that the real world is usually far more mundane: less “zombie apocalypse” and more “teens troll supercomputer; teach it bad habits.” Looking through this year’s crop of Top Ten Emerging Technologies from the World Economic Forum…
Talks by South Africa’s Telkom to buy Broadband Infraco has collapsed, ending attempts by the country’s biggest fixed-line telephone group to goggle up the state-owned telecoms infrastructure firm. Techcentral reported that the parties could not agree on price after Telkom completed a due diligence of Infraco. Citing well-placed sources, Techcentral said Telkom offered to pay R1 for the troubled company, while Infraco was apparently seeking “several hundred million rand” for the deal to proceed. Telkom spokeswoman Jacqui O’Sullivan said in a brief written statement in response to questions from TechCentral: “While there have been discussions … [the] parties could not reach agreement…
Waste is the eternal burden of civilisation. The earliest known urban garbage dumps are found in Crete, made over 5,000 years ago. Not long after that experiments with recycling began: Chinese societies reused bronze and the Aztecs routinely rescued usable materials from their garbage piles. Even regulation is not new: Athenian Greeks decided over 2,500 years ago that a dump should be located more than a kilometer away from settlements. By Ashley Boag Growing urban populations are placing heavy demands on modern waste disposal. There simply is no space to breathe, even in smaller municipal areas. This is made more…
South Africa’s business mogul Andile Ngcaba, the chairman and the majority shareholder of the ICT (Information Communications and Technologies) specialist investor Convergence Partners, travels the globe in hot pursuit of the best startups to invest in as part of his company’s growth plans. By Gugu Lourie Convergence’s goal is to invest in high-growth ICT platforms with global ambitions, Ngcaba laid out the investment firm’s ambitions during an interview with Techfinancials, which took place at Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Johannesburg’s Newtown area. To be able to achieve its objective, Convergence will have to scout for new startups. There are many startups emerging…
Unlisted technology firm Gijima, which is fully-owned by businessman Robert Gumede, is sizing up new growth opportunities in the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence to grow its business after completing a three-year turnaround programme at the end of the 2016 financial year. By Gugu Lourie The Internet of Things (IoT) space is real and is getting more real every day. As IoT expands and the US tech giant IBM is bringing real artificial intelligence applications such as Watson to South Africa, Gijima is positioning itself as close to the action possible. In March, IBM opened its first cloud…
From near death, Telkom – the country’s fixed-line telephone giant that was on life support for years – finally seems to have recovered enough to be ready to call its main shareholder and others to inform them that it is raring to go. By Gugu Lourie Sounds ridiculous … right? In the past three years market pundits claimed that Telkom being a partially state-owned entity would always be subject to SA Government interference. The sentiments persisted even after Sipho Maseko was appointed Telkom boss in 2013. But since then Maseko has bucked the trend and confounded Telkom’s critics and put the…
In 2006, Huffington Post columnist Danny Miller stated that “gays are the new Jews”. He asked if our ability to accept people who are different from ourselves had plummeted to dangerous levels. By Charles King The world since then has altered substantially: for better, there was the historic Supreme Court decision to legalise same-sex marriage across the US last year. For worse, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) persons are facing new, unprecedented legal and social challenges in Russia. Furthermore, Amnesty International maintains that “the continued criminalisation of consensual same-sex conduct in 38 African countries is a serious cause for concern…
Investors gave thumbs up to the completion of the three year turnaround at South Africa’s Telkom, with the stock surging on Monday early trade after the company published a good sets of 2016 full year financial results. The stock surge 7.07% at R64.24 by 10:07am on Monday, pushing the company’s market value to R32 billion on the Johannesburg bourse. The shares have risen 298% in the past three years since the company started its turnaround plan in 2013. The South African-based telco reported on Monday morning that operating revenue rose by 14% to R37 billion in the year to end-March…
Telkom announced today that it is the official Olympic sponsor of the South African Olympic and Paralympics teams. The multi-million rand sponsorship will allow SASCOC to expand Team SA, including more qualifying athletes, giving our local talent and opportunity to compete on the world’s greatest sporting stage. Telkom will also be adding R4 million to the medal incentive pot, to be shared between both our Olympic and Paralympic stars. Earlier this year Telkom indicated its intention to support local athletes. In fact, Telkom has a long history of supporting the Olympics, having sponsored teams attending the Athens and Beijing Olympics…
The former CEO of tech firm Altech was paid R15 million in his final year of employment after quitting JSE-listed Altron – a business started by his father Bill Venter, making his one of the top separation payments in the country’s telecommunications industry and closer to the R23.7 million paid to ex-MTN CEO Sifiso Dabengwa. By Gugu Lourie Craig Venter has been working for Altron for 27 years and resigned on 31 July 2015. Altron on Wednesday reported that Craig Venter would receive a base pay of R2.6 million, a R327 000 defined contribution pension payments, R310 000 integration special…
You may have seen the headlines over the weekend, reporting on a new study that’s supposedly found a link between mobile phones and cancer. But all is not quite as it seems. And much of the alarm raised by the study is misplaced. By Rodney Croft First, a bit of background. The study was set up by the US National Toxicology Program (NTP) in response to concerns about the potential health effects of radiofrequency (RF) emissions from mobile telecommunications devices. It was set to determine whether chronic RF exposure caused cancer in mice and rats. This was a large, well-funded study,…
Smartphones can be compromised when charged using a standard USB connection connected to a computer, Kaspersky Lab experts have discovered in a proof-of-concept experiment. The researchers are now evaluating what the impact of such an incident might be. Have you ever wondered how safe your smartphone and data are when you connect the device to freely available charging points at airports, cafes, parks and public transport? Do you know what, and how much data your mobile device is exchanging with these points while it’s charging? Kaspersky Lab researchers became curious and conducted research to find the answers to these questions.…
No one buys technology just for the sake of technology. If that were the case, we might all have pockets full of silicon chips instead of smartphones. To have value, technology has to help people achieve more. It has to make life easier. By Neil Cameron, General Manager, Johnson Controls Building Efficiency Building Management Systems (BMS), such as Metasys by Johnson Controls, do just that. They help facility managers control multiple systems and conditions using one tool, making management of the facility far easier and ensuring the buildings are more efficient. And while they’re doing all that, they’re also gathering enormous…
Mobile phones have become ubiquitous in Africa. Among younger users, basic phones are most common. But more pupils are accessing smartphones that can connect to the internet – and taking them along to school. By Gina Porter Phones are often used in school whether they’re allowed or not. Although they can enable valuable access to information, they also bring new responsibilities and dangers. It’s remarkably common for classes to be interrupted by both pupils’ and teachers’ phones. Access to pornography as well as bullying and harassment through phones is widely reported. We have conducted a study of young people’s mobile phone…
Depending where you live, maybe you follow your local transportation department on Twitter for construction updates. Or maybe you watch Periscope videos of city council sessions, or read live blogs of public school board meetings. By James Toscano Around the world, governments and citizens are engaging on social media. For instance, the town government in Jun, Spain has famously ditched its traditional approach to municipal customer service and replaced it with Twitter interactions. And Twitter extended the reach of emergency management agencies in the U.S. Northeast after 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, providing a “lifeline” to residents who needed critical information but lacked…
The party is over for telecoms executives in South Africa. Is Vodacom boss Shameel Joosub slowly marching towards the exit door like his counterpart at MTN Group, Sifiso Dabengwa, who resigned or was “fired” over the Nigeria $5.2 billion fine fiasco. By Gugu Lourie. Joosub is one of the youngest CEOs in the country’s telecoms sector. He was groomed at Vodacom to take over the baton of one of the biggest mobile phone operators in Africa, which was started in South Africa in 1994. Joosub may be the youngest telecoms boss, but he is one of the veterans of the sector.…
WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned popular instant messaging service, has launched desktop apps for Mac and Windows. The firm said on its blog post that “today we’re introducing a desktop app so you have a new way to stay in touch anytime and anywhere – whether on your phone or computer at home or work. Like WhatsApp Web, our desktop app is simply an extension of your phone: the app mirrors conversations and messages from your mobile device”. The new desktop app is available for Windows 8+ and Mac OS 10.9+ and is synced with WhatsApp on your mobile device. Because the…
When was the last time you opened your laptop mid conversation or brought your desktop computer to the dinner table? Ridiculous, right? But if you are like a large number of Americans, you have done both with your smartphone. By Kostadin Kushlev Less than a decade after the introduction of the first iPhone, more people reach for their smartphones first thing in the morning than reach for coffee, a toothbrush or even the partner lying next to them in bed. During the day, with a smartphone in our pocket, we can check our email while spending time with our children just…
As a business owner you may find it difficult to keep track of transactions – don’t despair! A solution for entrepreneurs and small businesses is at hand. By Gugu Lourie Accounting firms have come up with digital solutions to help small business owners to manage their finances correctly. You have no idea how excited I was when I began testing the Sage One software, which focusses on helping small business owners who can’t afford the services of an accounting firm or an accountant to manage their finances. The wonderful thing about this software is that it’s available online, anywhere, anytime and…
The appointment of Yolanda Cuba, 39, as the new CEO of Vodafone Ghana is not different – tough questions are already being asked, such as whether her move is part of a bigger succession plan by both Vodacom and its parent company Vodafone. Another question being asked is whether Vodacom prepares employees to take over executive positions by first sending them on overseas assignments? For example; Shameel Joosub was sent to Vodafone Spain for a stint before he was appointed as Vodacom Group CEO. If that is the case, it may be conceivable that Cuba may be very well on…
Do you “i-Pad your child” when you go to a restaurant? By Joanne Orlando I couldn’t help but notice the one-year-old at the restaurant table next to me who had been iPad-ed. That is, an iPad loaded with his favourite animation had been propped up on the table to act as a surrogate babysitter. While screens can solve short-term issues of keeping children quiet, consistently using them to anaesthetise kids does us all a disservice in the long term. Research shows that 75% to 80% of parents now use technology to placate or distract children, for example on a long…
Technology venture capital firm EchoVC Partners have committed up to $1 million to Nigerian-based S&T Media. The funds are already being used to expand the company’s digital advertising network services at petrol stations across Africa’s biggest market. S&T’s AdPump is the only digital advertising network in Africa to target consumers at petrol pumps. The funds raised by S$T will be invested in expansion, product development, hardware and staff acquisition. The investment was secured after AdPump’s successful pilot to launch and install 160 screens across Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, in 17 strategically located filling stations. S&T secured exclusive distribution deals for AdPump with…
There is no doubt that scientists and mathematicians have an enormous amount to contribute to Africa’s future. They can develop vaccines and cures for disease, find ways to purify drinking water, create mathematical and statistical models, and engineer infrastructure. By Shehu AbdusSalam Hundreds of people were murdered in my home town during three bloody days in December 2015. They were victims of what’s come to be called the Zaria massacre, killed by soldiers who were supposed to protect them. A baby girl, scores of children, university students and journalists were among those killed in the Nigerian town where I grew…
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has resumed the 2.6 GHz spectrum auction process, and here’s hoping there are no more obstacles as the band would pave the way for faster networks and more affordable smartphones for its citizens. By Mortimer Hope, Director of Africa, GSMA Since the first 4G network was launched, the 2.6 GHz band has played a key role in the rollout of 4G networks around the world. Today it is the second most used band (after the 1,800 MHz band) when counting the number of networks and number of available devices. The popularity of a band and the…
MTN, Africa’s largest mobile phone operator, was concerned about inaccurate media reports that it was planning a secondary listing in Nigeria. By Staff Writer The telco said in a statement on Monday that it was concerned about reports attributed to its senior executives, purporting that MTN Group is planning to list in Nigeria. “This is grossly inaccurate. The correct comment, as expressed by the Executive Chairman, is that MTN could consider listing the local operation, MTN Nigeria, not the Group. As a result, reports that MTN is considering a secondary listing in Nigeria are misleading,” MTN said…