Author: Gugu Lourie
Telkom told TechFinancials.co.za on Monday that it is still interested in transforming the coin or card operated payphones into wifi hotspots. By Gugu Lourie Last year Telkom told TechFinancials.co.za that it was contemplating turning its thousands of public payphones into wifi hotspots. In 2013, City of New York asked designers to re-imagine the city’s decrepit payphones as internet-flinging, ad- spitting future machines, according to Gizmodo. Telkom 79 000 public payphones scattered around the country could create an instant massive network, which could help provide broadband access to millions of South Africans. Speaking at Satnac conference in Hermanus on Monday Prenesh Padayachee,…
Telkom wants to double and accelerate its investment into fibre-to-the-home (FFTH) and the country’s fixed-line telephone group CEO, Sipho Maseko, said the company would have passed 1 million houses by 2018. By Gugu Lourie Speaking at Telkom’s annual Satnac technology conference, held at Arabella, Hermanus, Maseko said the company is aiming to pass 70 000 homes connected with fibre by end of this year and targeting 150 000 by March next year. Maseko said the company has alreay passed 38 000 homes by end of August 2015 that are now connected to its fibre network. “We are doubling and…
Electromagnetic fields are all around us. They are a part of our natural environment, produced by the Earth and the sun. But they are also becoming increasingly prominent with advancements in technology, such that we are surrounded daily by many different sources of electromagnetic energy. By Sarah Loughran Mobile phones, Wi-Fi, personal computers, smart meters, radio, television and even the TV remote control – they all emit this kind of energy. Mobile phone base stations are continually being installed, and Wi-Fi hotspots are increasing all of the time. Cafés and restaurants, libraries, hotels and even some city centres and parks now…
South Africa’s Naspers, a multinational group of ecommerce and media brands, is ‘taking a big bet’ on a US-based start-up letgo, which was recently launched to offer a highly visual mobile marketplace allowing users to post, buy, sell and communicate with each other instantly and for free. Naspers is investing $100 million (R1.38 billion) into the start up. By Gugu Lourie Letgo, which was founded in 2015 has already been downloaded more than 2 million times – with users in the U.S. and around the world posting more than 500,000 listings with a total gross merchandise value of over $25 million.…
Now that so many teenagers have smartphones equipped with cameras it’s inevitable that they’re used to take pictures, sometimes regrettable pictures, and to share them with others. The problem is that this is not just often regrettable in their own eyes, but also illegal in the eyes of the law. By Nikki Godden-Rasul A 14-year-old boy who took a naked selfie and sent it to a girl at school that he’d been flirting with recently found himself in hot water with his school and with the police. Both his and the girl’s details have been added to a police…
Telkom will be automatically migrating Home and Business LTE and LTE-A plans (table below refers) to the recently introduced higher value SmartBroadband Wireless (LTE) and SmartBroadband Wireless LTE-A plans as of 1 October 2015. By Staff Writer The new plans will give customers added value in terms of double data allocation through the included Night Surfer Data and unlimited access to WiFi data at Telkom’s public WiFi hotspots. “Customers will be migrated to the higher value plans free of charge and there will be no change to their monthly recurring subscription fees after the migration. Our LTE and LTE-A…
MTN has expanded its fibre to the home (FTTH) footprint to the Western Cape, and trenching has already commenced in the picturesque suburbs of Fresnaye and Bakoven as the operator prepares to connect approximately 1 000 homes with this high speed network before the end of the year. By Staff Writer The rollout of this high speed fibre network by MTN to the residents of Fresnaye and Bakoven follows a successful deployment of FTTH to a number of suburbs around Johannesburg including at the eco-estate of Monaghan Farm, Lonehill, Parkmore and surrounding suburbs. MTN has already commenced the civil works in…
Telkom on Friday announced that it will be rolling out the second phase of SmartBroadband Uncapped High Speed Wireless packages to more than 200 additional areas in Gauteng. The online sale will take place on 7 September to offer the uncapped packages to customers on a 24 month contract at prices starting at R599. By Staff Writer The second phase on the online sale comes off the success of the first phase in June, where approximately 400 people took advantage of the packages in 29 locations in Gauteng. Phase two of the sale will also allow customers to purchase…
Cloud is modernising and streamlining the way in which repeatable solutions and services are delivered to clients. South African telcos operating in Africa are catching on and big industry players are marching to the virtual battleground in an effort to diversify revenues streams. By Gugu Lourie Telkom’s acquisition of technology firm Business Connexion (BCX), a big move towards cloud services, will help the parastatal address the information technology and communication (ICT) needs of local businesses. It also provides Telkom with a ready-baked Africa strategy, covering more than seven African countries. Global online retailer Amazon has joined the fray, announcing in…
Westcon, which celebrates 30 years in the IT channel, has gone from the brainchild of three founders operating from a garage to a global distributor with more than 4 000 employees in nearly 70 countries across the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Africa. By Staff Writer Westcon, a subsidiary of JSE and London-listed Datatec, is celebrating 30 years of exceptional service and support in delivering results for its partners in the channel. The company recorded $4.9 billion revenue in full year 2015 and grew by 19% organically in that year alone. Westcon is focused on technology practices in Security,…