Author: Gugu Lourie

South Africa’s businessman and billionaire Patrice Motsepe joins the race to connect South African households to faster broadband, which has the capacity to change people’s lives and connect them to the global economy. Motsepe’s firm African Rainbow Capital announced on Monday it has bought 18,14% shareholding in Metrofibre Networx. Following the investment by African Rainbow Capital, Sanlam Private Equity remains the controlling shareholder of Metrofibre Networx. African Rainbow Capital is a subsidiary of Ubuntu-Botho Investments (Pty) Limited (UBI), a broad based black empowerment investment holding company. UBI was created in 2004 with its main purpose of being Sanlam’s empowerment partner. The shareholders…

Cyber Security consultancy MWR InfoSecurity announced on Monday the fourth annual HackFu challenge. The challenge is an online hacking competition, which aims to generate interest in the information security field, as well as recruit students to address the cyber security skills gap in South Africa in the run up to the main HackFu event in June. For those new to HackFu, it’s an event hosted by MWR that brings the world’s best security pros and enthusiasts together to take part in challenges designed around hacking, scripting, tinkering, lock-picking, crypto, and generally thinking outside the box. The South African HackFu challenge will…

South Africa has a new social media platform, ProBonoMatters, designed to improve access to the country’s justice system by allowing ordinary people to list their legal matters for a free attendance by an online network of legal minds. Hosted on probonomatters.co.za, the new media platform comes to address a critical gap in South Africa’s justice system. South Africa’s justice system is in many cases inaccessible to ordinary people who cannot afford the expensive lawyers’ fees. The justice system is also obscured by a cloak of legal jargon that can only be understood by lawyers. “As such, ordinary people find themselves…

International accounting software vendors will soon feel the effect of the plummeting rand as local businesses consider cheaper options. Software prices have already increased by 40% and will continue to rise as the rand weakens. By Staff Writer This is the time for locally owned accounting software companies to shine, says Stephen Corrigan, MD of Palladium Business Solutions, a local company offering tailor-made business solutions to businesses throughout Africa. “We are experiencing a huge interest from companies that previously looked at dollar-based products. They all just went up 40% in price, no wonder they are calling us,” says Corrigan. “The weakening…

Vodacom has appointed award winning actress Katlego Danke, who is well known for her role as Dineo Mashaba in the SABC drama Generations, as Vodacom’s own Dr. Yebo, the data guru. The appointment of Danke is effective from the 13th March 2016. Today, the mobile phone operator will unveil a data education campaign that is aimed at helping customers to manage their data usage better. Championing the cause for cost effective data usage is Danke, who will tackle data related topics through a 13th part data educational series, which will be broadcasted across all SABC TV channels, ETV and DStv. Vodacom…

We’ve all experienced it. Your phone rings, you pick it up, say hello and it’s someone you don’t know trying to sell you something – or a recorded message. Nuisance calls can be irritating, time-wasting and for some people, highly distressing. But can anything be done about them? By Nigel Linge In July 2013, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, announced they were joining forces to tackle nuisance calls. Then, from last April, the ICO was given new powers to crack down on nuisance calls through an amendment to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. The results of which…

Africa’s mobile phone giant MTN stepped up its defense of its engagement with the Nigerian authorities, warning the media of ‘misleading reports’ and advising investors to refrain from taking decisions based on these unconfirmed reports. By Gugu Lourie  In a statement published on Friday MTN informed investors that it was aware of the various reports that appeared in the press on Thursday regarding the $3.9 billion fine imposed by the Nigerian Communications Commission for failure to register subscribers in Africa’s biggest economy and most populous market. On Thursday, media reports said MTN has proposed to pay 300 billion naira ($1.5 billion) to settle the fine.…

The ShowMax app is now live on Apple TV bringing an incredible experience to the living room. Stream your favourite shows and movies with the ShowMax app for Apple TV. By Staff Writer To start watching ShowMax instantly, search for ‘ShowMax’ in the Apple TV App Store. If you are a ShowMax subscriber, simply enter your username and password to start streaming from over 20,000 episodes of top-class TV shows and movies. The Naspers’ owned firm also said that it has added Chromecast support to its Android app, making it possible to broadcast shows and movies directly from Android smartphones and tablets to big-screen…

In the next few days, humanity’s ego is likely to take another hit when the world champion of the ancient Chinese game Go is beaten by a computer. By Toby Walsh Currently Lee Sedol – the Roger Federer of Go – has lost two matches to Google’s AlphaGo program in their best-of-five series. If AlphaGo wins just one more of the remaining three matches, humanity will again be vanquished. Computer champions Back in 1979, the newly crowned world champion of backgammon, Luigi Villa, lost to the BKG 9.8 program seven games to one in a challenge match in Monte Carlo. In 1994, the Chinook program was declared “Man-Machine World Champion”…

If you join MTN Gamer+ today and also be part of the VIP Club, you will enjoy free data plus awesome games on www.mtngamer.mobi. By Staff Writer MTN Gamer+ is an online game store optimised for mobile. The first game played is for free and the next is charged at R2/day or R6/week gaming bundles, which provides adrenaline gamers with data to download free games, as well as discounted rates on paid-for-games. MTN Gamer has more than 1000 games on its catalogue, which makes it a lovely pocket playground for subscribers. The platform has games from action to adventure, kids and sport,…

Telkom Business on Thursday launched its new Pocket WiFi solution offering businesses affordable mobile data connectivity in over 140 countries across the globe. By Staff Writer Pocket WiFi is a portable, pocket-sized mobile hotspot that business people can travel with and use for global internet access. The mobile hotspot can connect up to 10 devices – smartphones, tablets and laptops – to the internet via 3G connectivity. At R599 per month over 24 months the offer includes 10GB of international data, made up of 34 daily 300 MB data bundles, as well as 2GB of local data per month to…

MTN is re-imagining its smartphones deals on its network.  By Gugu Lourie South Africa’s second biggest cellular operator is offering a Samsung Galaxy S7 LTE smartphone at R599/month on 24 months contract on a MyMTNChoice 100 plan and R609/month on MyMTNAnyTimeTopUp 200 plan. The mobile giant is also offering its subscribers a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge LTE smartphone at R649/month on 24 months contract on a MyMTNChoice 100 plan and R659/month on MyMTNAnyTimeTopUp 200 plan. In addition, the mobile phone operator is giving away an additional free LTE 30GB of data as an added value. MTN subscribers can also add any Samsung Galaxy…

Vodacom is redefining upgrades of its smartphones packages on its network.  By Gugu Lourie South Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator is offering a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge LTE smartphone at R699/month for a 24 months contract on a Smart plan. The telco, which is owned by British mobile phone giant Vodafone, is also offering its subscribers a Samsung Galaxy S7 LTE smartphone at R599/month for 24 months contract on a Smart plan. In addition, the mobile phone operator is throwing in an additional 6GB of data as an added value, access to Deezer free music streaming for six months…

Around 32% of small and medium enterprises in South Africa run the risk to fall bait to cyber and phishing attacks, Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Siyabonga Cwele said in parliament on Wednesday. By Liesl Peyper, NewsAgency Cwele was among cabinet ministers who were responding to questions about the economic cluster in government and he was responding to a question about the Cyber Security Hub that was launched in October last year. IFP MP Liezl van der Merwe asked in a follow-up question if Cwele’s department has the capacity to prosecute perpetrators – even international ones. “Do you even have…

   #FeesMustFall has been named as the Newsmaker of the Year for 2015. By Wim Pretorius, NewsAgency The announcement was made by the National Press Club on Wednesday. The award is allocated based on the amount of media coverage a topic receives, as well as its impact. “The decision to name #FeesMustFall as the newsmaker for 2015 was unanimous,” said club chairperson Jos Charle. “This was a major game-changer in our country. There is no doubt that tertiary education in South Africa will never be the same again.” Charle said the support for #FeesMustFall came not only from South Africa, but…

In an effort to help increase vocational skills, access to education and life skills in previously disadvantaged communities, MTN, through its MTN SA Foundation, in partnership with the Department of Social Development donated a special needs computer laboratory to the Itsoseng Handicradft Centre today. The centre, which is located in Itsoseng Township is the only one of its kind in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality that caters for persons with disabilities. The centre offers services like sheltered employment, vocational training and social rehabilitation. MTN SA Foundation, General Manager, Kusile Mtunzi-Hairwadzi says: “MTN SA Foundation believes that the centre is the…

Convergence Partners, the investment management firm established in 2006 by businessman Andile Ngcaba, announced on Wednesday an equity injection into inQuba, a global specialist in managed customer experience software. By Staff Writer The South African-based firm said the undisclosed funds invested by it will be used to accelerate inQuba’s global expansion. The inQuba investment will be housed in Convergence Partners Fund I (CPI), the vehicle through which Convergence Partners invests in software businesses among other key pillars of the African ICT market. Convergence said in a statement that CPI will hold a significant minority interest in inQuba post transaction. Founded by…

Vodacom announced on Wednesday that it will supply renewable energy to the Vuvu Junior Secondary School in Mount Fletcher, Eastern Cape, and to the community through its solar-powered base station in the area. By Staff Writer The school will have access to access to electricity for the first time since it opened its doors in 18 June 2004. Providing renewable energy to Vuvu follows a successful pilot project launched in Emfihlweni, Northern KwaZulu Natal in 2012 as well as a second project in Kisarawe, Tanzania in 2013. The Vuvu school project consists of a 7.5kW solar array which is sufficient to…

The new Telkom Digital Gaming League (DGL) travels to Cape Town this month for the rAge Expo 18-20 March 2016, where the first event in the Telkom DGL Masters series will be taking place. The tournamet will be streamed live on Twitch.tv/dgl. By Staff Writer The tournament set the tone for the DGL’s Masters main event taking place at rAge Expo, Johannesburg in October, with a prize pool of R1 million. The Cape Town tournament is a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament and will feature eight teams representing each of the eight Masters Multi-Gaming Organisations (MGO’s) respectively for the R100,000 prize pool. “Reliable high…

While Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is in the United Kingdom trying to woo international investors and prevent a sovereign ratings downgrade, Moody’s Investors Service has placed South Africa’s Baa2 bond and issuer ratings on review for downgrade. By Liesl Peyper, NewsAgency “The decision to place the ratings on review was prompted by the continuing rise in risks to the country’s medium-term economic prospects and to its fiscal strength, notwithstanding the tighter fiscal stance undertaken in the 2016/17 budget,” Moody’s said in a statement. If Moody’s does indeed downgrade South Africa, it will become a junk country, which has a considerable…

Now in its 7th year running the IT Leaders Africa Summit, South Africa’s most respected CIO event, will take place on the 15th and 16th March at Vodacom World in Johannesburg. By Staff Writer The IT landscape is swiftly evolving and continually facing disruptions which makes it incredibly difficult for CIOs, CTOs, directors and managers in the information technology space to keep up. The IT Leaders Africa Summit is a meeting place for IT and business leaders across all industries: FMCG, mining, manufacturing, finance, retail and many more.  It is designed to provide attendees with the latest key insights,…

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has questioned the commitment of the South African Post Office (Sapo) chair after he failed to appear at a key hearing. By Duncan Alfreds, NewsAgency Sapo chair Dr Simosezwe Lushaba failed to appear before the committee on Tuesday after the Post Office posted a R1.5bn loss for the 2015 financial year. Lushaba also failed to show up at a recent telecommunications and postal services parliamentary hearing. “He shows no commitment; he doesn’t understand the expenditures that we need to answer for and the corruption that has run deep into the Post Office, he has…

MTN SA Foundation empowers centre for disable people with information and communication technology tools. As part of its strategic focus in working with government and civil society organisations to help advance the standard and quality of education in previously disadvantaged communities, MTN SA Foundation has donated a computer laboratory for children and elderly persons with physical and mental disabilities of the Oasis Skills Development Centre in Kalahari town, Upington, Northern Cape Province. The centre received a computer laboratory with 24 months free access to the internet. This boasts hardware and software for people with special needs. The older persons…

 Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has slammed the South African Post Office (Sapo) for the absence of its chairperson at a key meeting into the financial viability of the state-owned entity. By Duncan Alfreds, NewsAgency Sapo chair Dr Simosezwe Lushaba on Tuesday missed a hearing into the financial affairs at the Post Office. Sapo last month reported a R1.5bn loss for the 2015 financial year. “We are going to call them back and insist that the minister should also come just to demonstrate the fact that public funds management and administration should be taken seriously,” an angry Scopa chair…

The South African Government spends R3.2 billion in 2015 on fixed line  telephone and cellular services, according to the country’s Treasury on its latest report. By Staff Writer The Government under President Jacob Zuma spends R800 million on mobile communications and R2.2 billion on fixed line. This was contained in the progress report on the work of the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer  (OCPO) of the National Treasury, which stated that procurement of goods, services and works over the next three years will amount to R1.5 trillion across all spheres of government “Together, national and provincial government spends approximately R3.2…