Author: Gugu Lourie

It is 5 years since the potential of social media was considered limitless. Not only was social media revolutionary, but it was literally capable of bringing about revolutions such as the uprisings of the “Arab Spring”. There was no part of our social lives that platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn could not change. By David Glance Concepts like having a “social graph” became generally understood, as was the ability of those graphs to determine what we bought, how we felt, who our friends were and where we would work. It was believed that social media would be with us from…

The land speed record attempt by the Bloodhound Supersonic car at Hakskeenpan in the Northern Cape will now only take place in 2017, due to financial problems. By News24 Correspondent “The revised dates reflect the fact that, although interest in and support for the project have never been greater, a number of major funding deals are still in negotiation,” said project director Richard Noble. The team needs £20m (about R400 million) to proceed with the attempt at Hakskeenpan in the Northern Cape’s Kalahari. The land speed record attempt was supposed to be done this year. “The most difficult part is behind us. We…

Internet access in the Western Cape is higher than the national average.  By Duncan Alfreds, NewsAgency This is according to a study dubbed the ‘Western Cape Digital Readiness Assessment 2015’ which was commissioned by the province’s department of economic development and tourism and conducted by Research ICT Africa, the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC). According the survey, 93.8% of individuals in the province access the internet via a mobile phone, compared to a national average of 70.8%. Moreover, the survey said that 38% of Western Cape households have a computer with ADSL internet…

Adapt IT, the JSE-listed technology group that is pursuing diversification through an organic and acquisitive growth strategy, continues to deliver stellar financial performance. By Gugu Lourie The technology firm informed investors on Monday that headline earnings per share – South Africa’s main profit gauge – rose 42% to 23.96 cents a share for the six months to end 31 December 2015. The Durban-based firm that has been benefiting from its diversification strategy reported that its operating profit jumped 50% to R53 million and turnover was up 19% to R310 million. “We have been consistent in pursuing diversification through an…

A copyright body claims MTN owes songwriters just under R1 million in unpaid royalties for music sold by the mobile network. By Gareth van Zyl, NewsAgency MTN sells music via the likes of its caller tone service ‘CallerTunez’. The mobile network also secures music from third party aggregators which include Content Connect Africa (CCA). MTN acquired a stake in CCA in 2014, according to the Financial Times. But non-profit songwriter and publishing royalty collecting society Capasso (Composers Authors and Publishers Association) says attempts to license and collect alleged outstanding royalties from MTN and CCA have been met with “constant rate disputes…

When cellular services first hit the South African market 21 years ago, it was all about chasing new connections. The race was on to sign up as many subscribers as possible. Today, that race is run and the telecommunications industry, if it wants a future, has to look at innovating its brands as never before. What could that look like on the mobile landscape? By Eleanor Potter, consumer executive at Altech Autopage. Today, it’s all about understanding what the customer wants and adapting accordingly – before they go somewhere else. The name of the game is diversifying revenue streams…

Internet service provider Axxess, which recetly switch over to its own network and introduced mobile voice service, is planning to launch fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services joining bigger players such as Telkom, VumaTel, MTN, Vodacom and Metrofibre. By Gugu Lourie The Port Elizabeth-based Axxess said in a an email to customers on Thursday that “we have realised that our clients are looking for faster broadband speeds, and bigger data packages fueled by video streaming like ShowMax and Netflix.” The company added “which is why we are planning to introduce FTTH services very soon, to address this growing demand.” However, Axxess didn’t specify…

It is time MTN South Africa learns to let go. When MTN South Africa launched MTNFrontRow, in December 2014, the video-on-demand (VoD) service was billed as “a niche player” – but clearly it seems as if the platform hasn’t signed enough customers to write about. A year later MTN rebranded the VoD service into VU, taking away some of its goodwill already built in the market at a time when the competition was hotting up and new players such as ShowMax and ONTAPtv, were launching new services. The launch of Netflix was also imminent, which only occurred earlier last…

Travelstart has secured $40 million (R645 million) in funding from global technology investors Amadeus Capital Partners and mobile phone group MTN. By Staff Writer “Travelstart’s goal has always been to put people in charge of their own travel arrangements – to help them save time and money while receiving excellent customer service,” says Stephan Ekbergh, CEO of Travelstart. “This capital gives us additional resources to expand quickly and strategically into new markets, innovate rapidly, and deliver on our vision in more countries”. Africa’s largest online platform for booking flights, hotels and rental cars, said the investment would be…

AG Mobile,  an African mobile technology, has launched in Nigeria. Recognised as one of the continent’s first ODM (original design manufacturer), it was the first South African brand to release its own mobile device in 2007. This is the ninth African country where AG Mobile phones and tablets are available, and the first where its launched independently of a retail partner.  By Staff Writer  AG Mobile CEO Anthony Goodman said this development forms part of the brand’s expansion strategy to provide more Africans with affordable, quality products while investing in markets that offer mutually beneficial opportunities. “As a proudly African brand…

As on-going tough economic times bite, Business Connexion (BCX) looks likely to be less aggressive with its pan-African growth strategy. By Gugu Lourie Even after it was acquired by Telkom last year, BCX continued to pursue its forceful acquisition strategy. But, now with the market downturn affecting most of its clients such as mining houses, BCX could put brakes on its growth strategy ambitions. Global miners are seeing profits diminish amid slowing economic growth in China, the largest commodities buyer. With other exogenous factors such as rand weakness, the downturn was likely to affect technology firms, including BCX, which…

The Jasco Group has expanded the presence of NewTelco South Africa, a joint venture between the Jasco Group and NewTelco GMBH, into the East African region with a dedicated presence in Kenya. By Staff Writer The company said in a statement that this presence will support NewTelco’s existing customers in the region, including Six Telecoms in Tanzania. “The East African ICT market is one of the fastest growing ICT markets on the African continent. It is a well-developed, open and deregulated market that is still is attracting much foreign direct investment,” says Eckart Zollner, Business Development Manager at NewTelco SA and…

Vodacom  Business, an enterprise division of Vodafone-owned Vodacom Group, informed investors on Wednesday that its machine-to-machine (M2M) customers increased 29.6% to 2.2 million in the third quarter to end-December 2015, as the company continues to extend its M2M’s solutions. By Gugu Lourie  M2M services are also referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT) – a concept of connecting devices to the internet ranging from refrigerators, geysers and smart electricity meters to coffee makers – in such a way that they communicate without the need of human intervention. Vodacom Business said its fixed-line and business managed services revenue now consist…

After an exceptional strong third quarter, driven by strong growth in data customers and benefiting from massive infrastructure investment, Vodacom – South Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator is likely to saw its revenue growth slightly taper in quarter four. By Gugu Lourie In the third quarter to end-December 2015, Vodacom posted a  14.5% rise in active data customers to 30.3 million boosted by an increase in sales of affordable smart devices. As a result the mobile operator, which is majority owned by British mobile giant Vodafone, saw a 27.5% increase in data revenue to R5.5 billion, due to higher demand…

Today, however, the newest data increasingly support the idea that young people are actually transitioning out of using what we might term broadcast social media – like Facebook and Twitter – and switching instead to using narrowcast tools – like Messenger or Snapchat. By Felicity Duncan When my digital media students are sitting, waiting for class to start and staring at their phones, they are not checking Facebook. They’re not checking Instagram, or Pinterest or Twitter. No, they’re catching up on the news of the day by checking out their friends’ Stories on Snapchat, chatting in Facebook Messenger or checking…

In mid-January, Netflix announced a ban on the use of proxies, unblockers and virtual private networks (VPNs) – all technical work-arounds to view movies and TV programs unavailable in the subscriber’s country. This announcement coincided with the company’s global service launch into more than 130 new markets. By Peter K. Yu With the new ban in place, Australian subscribers will no longer be able to watch U.S. shows until they become available Down Under. Likewise, U.S. subscribers who are addicted to British shows will have to wait for those shows to come stateside. The content providers’ desire for this ban is…

Johannesburg based entrepreneurs, Sanele Ngubane and Thokozani Mashego, are positioned to boost the momentum of radical change in the mode of moving people, goods and services in the information era. Their push comes through Phuza Patrol, a new online outfit positioned as mobile liquor store that can be hauled via a mobile phone tap. By Vula Mthimkhulu, Ujuh News They are part of a big story. It is a story that will one day, in the near future, have a drone hovering over a pool party to top up the depleted beer and whiskey  stocks. Many other interesting things can be…

Vox Telecom announced on Tueday that it has acquired a majority stake in Everlytic, an enterprise level cloud tech company, for an undisclosed amount. By Gugu Lourie Everlytic will operate as a standalone business division within Vox Telecom, retaining its highly skilled team of developers, creatives and marketers. The Vumela Fund, which is managed by FNB and Edge Growth, will retain the minority stake it acquired in Everlytic in 2013. The deal would enable Vox Telecom customers to leverage the skills and expertise of the Everlytic team to extend and enhance their digital footprint. “The addition of Everlytic completes our…

Unlisted technology firm Business Connexion (BCX) is working tirelessly with its parent company, Telkom – South Africa’s biggest fixed-line telephone group, to develop converged products and launch them onto market in three to four months’ time.  By Gugu Lourie The company, which was acquired by Telkom late last year and kept as a standalone entity, will help the leading South African fixed-line group advance its convergence strategy and support it grow its enterprise operations. BCX CEO Isaac Mophatlane said the technology group was fully aware that the market is anticipating products and solutions around convergence. “I think we are…

Upington – Hakskeen Pan in the Kalahari, the site where the Bloodhound Supersonic Car (SSC) will attempt the land speed record later this year, is flooded. And organisers couldn’t be happier about it. NewsAgency Correspondent The Kalahari received some 51mm of rain recently and the pan is flooded to a depth of 25cm. “Oh, it’s great that it’s flooded,” said Dave Rowley, the Bloodhound’s education director in SA. “It means the work that’s been done on the pan is being repaired.” For years, hundreds of locals have been manually picking up stones on the pan. Some 350 men and women from…

VIDI, South Africa’s first video on demand (VoD) streaming service, is finished as competition in the VoD space intensified in the country. By Gugu Lourie VIDI, which was launched in September 2014, has offered both a monthly subscription option and/or an instant rental option across one platform. VIDI’s end was written on the wall last year. Last year, TISO Blackstar said  is set to exit its VoD business Vidi following poor take-up. Last October, Tiso Blackstar CEO Andrew Bonamour  told Business Day newspaper that Vidi had not been a success and “we will exit over the next 12 months”. Then, just four…

The tough economic environment in South Africa – seen through interest rates hikes – is going to be a drag on earnings of companies. That is why Business Connexion (BCX), a standalone unit of Telkom, is taking steps to face the economic realities of a downturn. By Gugu Lourie BCX is implementing various cost-cutting initiatives to remain relevant and profitable. For more, read: “Extraordinary times hit BCX” “For us to remain profitable and relevant, we have to look at our cost structure in response to the current market realities and how these impact our client base. This is particular…

Telkom Mobile, a business unit of information and communication solutions provider Telkom, posted a 22% rise in customers to 2.6 million total subscribers in the three months to end-December 2015 and is unlikely to break even by March 2016. By Gugu Lourie The Centurion-based firm said on Monday Telkom Mobile increased subscribers by 22% to 2.56 million, with blended average revenue per user of R90.26. The telco added that its contract customers spiked 45% while prepaid users grew  by 15%. The mobile unit also grew its service revenue by  37% and data revenue was up 56% year-on-year. “Our initial expectation…

Telkom, South Africa’s biggest fixed-line telephone group, has connected 56 000 homes to its fibre-to-the-home network as of 31 December 2015. By Gugu Lourie The telco said on Monday in the three months to end-December 2015 its fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) has passed 1,25 million homes with 56 000 homes currently having access. Telkom fibre would be accessible to one million homes by March 2018, with half a million homes to have access by the end of 2016. Fibre to the home currently allows for download speeds of up to 100Mbps, allowing users to download a standard definition 4.7GB video in…

Business Connexion (BCX), a Telkom-owned technology firm, is planning to accelerate the expansion of its converged cloud computing services offering in the coming months. By Gugu Lourie The South African-based technology firm is hoping that its converged cloud services are likely to benefit from tough economic times and through the reverse integration of Cybernest by Telkom into BCX. “I think this is magnificent for us to be driving the cloud with consolidation of Cybernest. I think in terms of the data centres and the real estate we will be enjoying, we are certainly growing our cloud with our tech…