Author: Gugu Lourie
Telkom, the country’s biggest fixed-line telephone group, plans to offer the Sim-Sonke and Telkom More prepaid plans users R10 000 funeral cover by simply recharging with R100 or more airtime. By Gugu Lourie The firm, which owns Telkom Mobile, has partnered with Africa’s biggest insurer Old Mutual, which would underwrite the cover valued at R10 000 at no additional costs for the telephone group subscribers on the Sim-Sonke and Telkom More prepaid plans. This innovative solution has been developed by Telkom as a loyalty funeral cover for prepaid users. Telkom said customers on the Sim-Sonke and Telkom More prepaid plans will…
MTN Business has given further weight to its intentions of supporting open access fibre networks by announcing a multi-tier model that leverages off MTN’s fibre infrastructure and applies equally to enterprise end-users, households, and SME users. By Staff Writer MTN’s multi-tier model gives MTN the ability to cater to the individual needs of each customer segment. This service is a step up from traditional offering where other service providers are able to piggy-back off MTN’s fibre infrastructure. The next level up from this is the reseller service that smaller IT service providers or residential property managers can offer as…
JSE-Listed technology firm EOH acquires Mehleketo Resourcing, a turn-key rail automation and technology solutions. By Staff Writer The software and computer services firm didn’t disclose the amount it paid to but Mehleketo Resourcing. Mehleketo has a turnover of over R300 million, technology partnerships with the major international rail automation technology OEMs and about 350 employees. They are the leading rail signaling and communications engineering and systems integration solutions provider in South Africa and have a number of long-term project and maintenance & support contracts with the major operators in the country. “It’s very exciting to have Mehleketo join the EOH family.…
JSE Listed Adapt IT announced on Monday it has agreed to buy value added distributor CQS Investments for more than R200 million, enabling the technology firm to diversify into the auditing and accounting professions and will enhance its technology. By Gugu Lourie The software and computer services firm said it has entered into a share purchase agreement with Ethos to buy CQS Investment, which has a footprint in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Botswana and Zimbabwe through a direct and a distributor network. This targeted acquisition is in line with Adapt IT’s strategy of planned acquisitive growth and allows the company to further…
One of the next great frontiers of consumer technology will be the humble automobile. No longer just a piece of physical engineering, the car of the future will soon connect us to the digital world in ways that stretch the imagination and excite our ambitions. And that future is not very far away. By Michael Frans, head of business operations: Automotive at T-Systems South Africa For consumers, connected cars promise to make our lives simpler, more convenient, and safer – augmenting our digital lifestyles in a variety of ways. For vehicle manufacturers, dealers, and workshops, connected cars will open…
Today marks the beginning of the 8th Open Access (OA) week, a global event to highlight all things open access. By Virginia Barbour It also marks three years since the Australasian Open Access Support Group (AOASG) – a coalition of nine Australian universities and now the Council of New Zealand University Librarians (CONZUL) – came in to existence to advocate for OA in this region. So it’s a good time to reflect on where we are with open access today. It’s now 25 years since the birth of the web, and more than 15 years since people started discussing open…
It is easy to get lost in a sea of information when looking at cybersecurity issues. And hearing about hacks and cyberattacks as they happen is a surefire way to feel helpless and totally disempowered. By Robert Potter What follows is a sort of future shock, where we become fatalistic about the problem. After all, 86% of organisations from around the world surveyed by PwC reported exploits of some aspect of their systems within a one year period. That represented an increase of 38% on the previous year. However, once the situation comes into focus, the problem becomes much more…
BMW South Africa received the first green energy at its Rosslyn plant in Pretoria on 10 October 2015. The plant received energy generated from renewable sources such as cattle manure and mixture of organic waste. By Staff Writer Last year, BMW signed power purchasing agreement with energy company Bio2Watt. Through this agreement, between 25% and 30% of BMW Plant Rosslyn’s electricity requirements will now be generated from renewable sources. The BMW South Africa / Bio2Watt renewable energy partnership is the first commercially viable biogas project. The Bio2Watt biogas plant in Bronkhorstspruit is located on the premises of one of South…
Cartrack, a South African new player in the vehicle tracking industry is actively pursuing global opportunities, is targeting growth prospects in the United States. By Gugu Lourie Cartrack provides services related to stolen vehicle recovery, fleet management and insurance telematics through Software as a Service (Saas). The company has more than 430 000 units installed in cars globally, after recording 24% growth in its maiden results. Its technology solutions have so far helped to recover stolen vehicles in South Africa valued at R450m. “The board of directors of the company is pleased to announce that the company is planning to…
The fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) market is now so competitive big telcos are doing all they can – including snapping up smaller competitors – to stay ahead of the game. By Gugu Lourie Oddly, the FTTH market rose out of the ashes of Telkom’s dwindling fixed-line telephone business that provides internet access to South Africans. It is not a surprise that rival telcos and new players are taking Telkom on as they push for a market share of FTTH. But the proliferation of companies that deploy fibre across the country is raising fears about the South African market becoming over traded. JM…