Author: Gugu Lourie
Legendary music icon Prince Rogers Nelson died unexpectedly on April 21, 2016, sending shock waves through the lives of many music lovers. With a career spanning nearly 40 years and even more albums, Prince was one of the most prolific musicians of this generation. By Shontavia Johnson Naturally, as Prince fans process his death, they will also search for his music online to purchase and play while they mourn the loss of a music titan. But most of these searches will be futile because American law provides strict protections to copyright owners, and Prince was a pioneering advocate when it came…
Vodacom’s broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) credentials may be bolstered by the Public Investment Corporation’s (PIC) plans to sell a sizable portion of its stake in the mobile phone operator to black investors. The Sunday Times reported that the move may be part of Vodacom’s plans to comply with the industry’s regulator Icasa’s regulation to bid for the scare broadband radio frequency spectrum. Mobile operators that want to acquire broadband spectrum will need to prove that 30% of their shares are owned by black investors. On Friday, Mail & Guardian reported that ex-Vodacom executive Romeo Kumalo may be leading a…
It’s not been a good year so far for Australia’s traditional television industry with reports that prime-time audiences are down almost 5% amid competition from internet streaming services. By Marc C-Scott But the decline in the number of Australians watching traditional television has not just occurred since the introduction last year of online streaming services such as Netflix. The trend has been evident for some time now in reports from the audience monitoring company Oztam. The key reason for the change in television viewing habits is the internet, which has led to a large uptake of new screen media devices…
JSE-listed telecoms specialist Blue Label Telecoms continues to hold talks with Cell C on a proposed recapitalisation of SA’s third-largest cellular services provider, the telco informed investors on Friday. By Gugu Lourie Last month, Business Day reported that a empowerment shareholder at debt-laden cellular services group Cell C is looking to disrupt a much-needed recapitalisation exercise initiated by Blue Label Telecoms. The newspaper reported that CellSAf, which holds an effective 25% stake in Cell C, has filed an application in the Gauteng High Court to liquidate 3C Telecommunications, the holding company for Cell C. The liquidation application comes after CellSAf was…
South Africa’s Wireless Application Service Providers’ Association (WASPA) has been looking out for the interests of the country’s mobile consumers since its inception in 2004. An important milestone that has boosted consumer confidence in the local mobile content and applications industry is the alignment of the WASPA Code of Conduct with national legislation such as the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECTA), the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI). Acting in the interests of consumers to help ensure the long term sustainability of the greater mobile industry also means proactively offering consumers helpful advice.…
The primary function of private hospitals is to provide healthcare services. However, they are effectively a business just like any other large enterprise. They are faced, like any other property owner, with the challenge of having to manage multiple facilities at their premises. By Mark Swemmer, Business Manager, Jasco Property Technology Management One fact that is most frequently overlooked is effective management of the rooftop space of hospital and clinic buildings. Outsourced rooftop management can assist healthcare groups and facilities to simplify the management and associated challenges including health and safety requirements, space management, asset management and effective meter management…
MTN, Africa and Middle East biggest mobile phone operator, reported disappointing Nigeria and South Africa subscriber growth as the company continues to feel the pressure of aggressive competition and stringent regulatory requirements. The mobile phone group reported on Monday a 1.4% decline in the quarter for the period ending March 2016, impacted by the disconnections of subscribers in Nigeria related to the substantial subscriber registration process and compliance exercise. The key market of Nigeria had the biggest drop with a 6.9% decline in subscribers to 57 million customers. MTN attributed the downshift in Nigeria, in part, to the disconnection of…
Having experienced volume-driven web failure themselves, local low-cost airline FlySafair offers a helping hand as the Gauteng Department of Education struggles with #admissions2017. The Gauteng Department of Education had to suspend new online scholar registrations for the 2017 intake again yesterday, after their website crashed under the weight of unprecedented traffic load. Parents took to Twitter to express their increasing frustration as they struggled to complete registrations. MEC for Education in Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi announced a further delay, giving the department a new deadline of Friday to have the system up and running. Offer to help Low-cost airline FlySafair have…
Following a rigorous selection process, involving more than 700 applicants from 26 countries across Africa, the top three finalists in the MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge powered by Jumia, have been revealed. The challenge, which aims to boost entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as build a stronger and more sustainable business environment on the continent, kicked off in February, and is a joint initiative between MTN, Jumia and the MTN Solution Space based at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business. Through the entrepreneurship challenge, students were invited to develop a unique digital application or smart solution to address a…
Over the last few months, ttrumpet has been actively working with the Community Police Forums (CPF) in Pretoria to connect individuals in real-time with their communities, to syndicate information to keep themselves and their families safe. Currently, ttrumpet, along with the CPFs already covers over 700km2 in the Pretoria region, covering an impressive 289 241 households – a number that grows bigger every day as new security channels join the platform. The platform’s security channel is being used to provide updates to the community, report suspicious activity, highlight the real crime hotspots and generate better community awareness and vigilance to assist…
The leak of 11 million confidential documents (in about 2.6 terabytes of data) from the Panamanian law firm Mossack, Fonseca and Co. has been credited by some media outlets to a whistle-blower who wants to remain anonymous. Others have suggested it came from an attack by hackers. By Karuna Pande Joshi If it was a whistle-blower, then like the Snowden leaks, the Manning leaks and even back to the Pentagon Papers leak in 1971, this incident once again underlines the dominance of insiders as the primary source of attacks on organizations’ critical and sensitive data sets. Organizations spend significant resources…
After market speculation that Deon Liebenberg may be leaving Vodafone for MTN Business, he may not be going anywhere. By Gugu Lourie But for now it’s anyone’s guess, if he is staying put or not. Byron Kennedy, the spokesman of Vodacom Group, which is owned by British mobile phone giant Vodafone, was non-committal in his comment. “We don’t comment on market rumour or speculation,” he told Techfinancials. Techfinancials.co.za will give him a benefit of doubt. Vodacom, the country’s biggest mobile phone operator, has been consistent in not commenting on unsubstantiated market talks. It might be that Liebenberg is staying put…
Hip Hop superstar Cassper Nyovest and AG Mobile have launched the AG#Hashtag, a well specified 4G LTE mobile device available exclusively through MTN. This is the first time that AG Mobile has collaborated on the design aspects, colour of the device with a celebrity. Available in a funky red – Cassper’s own design specification and favourite colour – the AG#Hashtag will be available exclusively through MTN’s retail outlets and call centres. The device will cost R229 monthly (over 24 months) on an MTN MyChoice contract and retails at R3 499 on pre-paid. The phone is available on pre-order from April 19…
MICROmega Group company Turrito Networks announced on Tuesday that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Saicom Voice Services, a provider of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services aimed at simplifying telephony for SMEs. “Over the years, we have had discussions with many VoIP providers who promise a ‘scalable’ and ‘robust’ solution for SMEs. However, in Saicom, we have found an ideal partner, one that provides us with a unified Cloud PBX and VoIP offering for the diverse requirements of our clients across industry sectors,” says Brian Timperley, managing director of Turrito Networks. Companies traditionally had to use the…
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been recognised as a key sector of local economies, particularly in emerging markets, where formal SMEs contribute up to *45% of total employment and up to *33% of GDP. In a bid to create greater efficiencies, as well as enable the growth of this sector, MTN Business is driving the development of ICT solutions, specifically for SMEs. To this end, MTN Business has unveiled a new cloud delivery platform in Rwanda and Cameroon, which will enable this segment of customers to access cloud services with greater ease. Dubbed MTN Business Cloud Services platform, the…
“It’s a marketplace connecting local freelancers and businesses, with an emphasis on vetted skills,” by Hooros, an online network of experts connecting established businesses and start-ups to experts on a freelance or permanent basis. By Gugu Lourie The Cape Town-based Hooros provides vetted talent through a comprehensive three step filtering process and handle all legal agreements to protect all parties and client invoicing. Co-founders of Hooros – Emmanuel Sibanda and Sijabuliso Nkiwane – believe that their start-up “is the perfect starting and ending point for high performing student looking to gain work experience, professionals looking to attract new clients, or…
Organising courier, removal and domestic delivery services is fraught with time-consuming headaches, as you flounder with phone calls and copious quotes. What if there was a service available where you could state your needs in a couple of clicks and wait for the quotes to come to you? Introducing FastVan. Launched already in South Africa and available Nationwide, FastVan is an exciting labour-saving app, which allows users to gather instant quotes, compare prices and book courier, local delivery and removal services tailored to their needs at the touch of just a few buttons. The new app is available to download…
MTN is planning to rebrand MTN Business into MTN Internet of Things (IoT) and is in a process to finalise the appointment of industry veteran Deon Liebenberg to lead the enterprise business into new markets, TechFinancials has established reliably from industry sources. By Gugu Lourie Africa’s largest mobile phone group is competing aggressively for additional revenues in the enterprise space in the continent. For more read: Will Telkom’s move to gun for corporate clients pockets lead to price war for enterprise solutions? TechFinancials has been informed by sources that MTN is in advance talks with Liebenberg to leave Vodafone, where…
The registration for set-top boxes (STBs) in the digital migration project started in earnest on Sunday in Tiyani village in Limpopo. Speaking to SAnews at the digital migration awareness imbizo in Tiyani, Communications Minister Faith Muthambi said indigent people should go to their nearest post office to register for STBs. “After a consultative process with the board of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), an important decision was taken that indigent people with a TV licence debt should be allowed to apply for STBs. “We are urging all indigent people to register at the post office and we will be…
In a bid to broaden access to broadband and alleviate the costs associated with access to data, MTN has zero rated d6 Communicator on its 32 million network. The decision by MTN to zero-rate d6 Communicator is an acknowledgement of the mounting pressure on customers’ disposable income and the consumer frugality due to the challenging economic climate. The zero-rating of d6 Communicator is expected to facilitate seamless communication between parents and schools. d6 Communicator is an integrated web-based communications solution that allows schools to communicate with parents on a variety of platforms. The solution uses a simple, web-based control panel…
Diplomats from around the world met in Geneva last week for the United Nations’ third Informal Expert Meeting on lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), commonly dubbed “killer robots”. By Sean Welsh Their aim was to make progress on deciding how, or if, LAWS should be regulated under international humanitarian law. A range of views were expressed at the meeting, from Pakistan being in favour of a full ban, to the UK favouring no new regulation for LAWS, and several positions in between. Despite the range of views on offer, there was some common ground. It is generally agreed that LAWS…
EON Reality, the world leader in Virtual Reality based knowledge transfer for industry, education, and edutainment, in partnership with The City of Tshwane announce the inauguration of EON Reality’s Tshwane Interactive Digital Center (IDC). This IDC is a central part of Tshwane’s long term plan, Tshwane Vision 2055, to “break the cycle of generational poverty, inequality, and underdevelopment” as well as to enhance the local business and investment climate in South Africa’s capital city. Tshwane is working on its Tshwane 2055 Vision, which defines how the city will develop and grow towards a becoming a “Smart City”, where effective investments…
David Dunning, University of Michigan In the hours since I first sat down to write this piece, my laptop tells me the National Basketball Association has had to deny that it threatened to cancel its 2017 All-Star Game over a new anti-LGBT law in North Carolina – a story repeated by many news sources including the Associated Press. The authenticity of that viral video of a bear chasing a female snowboarder in Japan has been called into question. And, no, Ted Cruz is not married to his third cousin. It’s just one among an onslaught of half-truths and even pants-on-fire…
Over the last several months, the BBC, the New York Times, and other major news and commercial websites became victims of Malvertising attacks. What exactly is Malvertising? To understand this type of attack, we must go back to the malware basics. By Doros Hadjizenonos, Country Manager of Check Point South Africa One of the most prominent ways malware spreads is by infecting websites and delivering drive-by attacks. When a user visits an infected site an exploit kit is activated. Once activated, the kit checks to see if the machine is vulnerable to one or more of the exploits it contains.…
JSE-listed tech firm Datacentrix is in the midst of a legal tussle with South Africa’s unlisted technology group Dimension Data (DiData) over a tender issued by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ & CD). The company informed investors late on Thursday that wholly owned subsidiary, Datacentrix Proprietary Limited, together with DOJ & CD and 12 other ICT service providers, have been cited in an application brought in the high court of SA by Didata. “The application seeks to review and set aside the bid award involving the provision, implementation, maintenance and support of a Court Recording Technology solution…