Author: Gugu Lourie

Telkom, South Africa’s fixed-line telephone group, has spent R757 million in the 2016 financial year to connect 81 503 homes to its fibre infrastructure. The telco is planning to intensify its fibre roll-out plan to capture more customers. Last year, the telecommunications giant revealed it plans to reach 500 000 homes with fibre by the end of 2016. “In the year ahead we plan on an aggressive fibre roll-out as our number one priority while simultaneously deploying our other capital resources with a focus on revenue generation and cost  efficiency as we seek to grow earnings,” Telkom informed investors on Moday.…

“I am currently using Telkom Internet connection at my house and also a customer of 8ta (Telkom’s mobile phone unit),” said Karabo Moeng, a software developer shopping at the telco’s Mall of the South store in Johannesburg South. “I am really pleased with Telkom services and don’t trust the other unreliable service providers.” By Gugu Lourie No so long ago, obituaries were being drafted for the oldest South African telco before Sipho Maseko took over the hot seat at the fixed-line telephone behemoth in 2013. But investors are starting to show similar zeal as revenue, headline earnings per share and mobile…

MTN’s third edition of the annual MTN 21km half-marathon has been growing steadily since inception and this year the race has boasted just over 6100 participants. In thanking participants Mteto Nyati: CEO of MTN South Africa expressed that he is humbled that members of the public, media and Gauteng community made the time to pledge support to this worthy cause by strapping on their running shoes and participating in the race to raise funds for the annual MTN 21 Days of Y’ello Care programme (an employee volunteerism programme). This year the participants enjoyed the clear and dry wintery Joburg weather…

Today marks twenty years since five Internet Industry representatives met at the offices of the The Internet Solution to form the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA). When the formation of ISPA was announced to the press a few days later, nine of South Africa’s then fledgling ISPs were identified as the founder members: The Internet Solution (IS), UUNet Internet Africa, Global One, PIX, Global Internet Access(GIA), LeClub Internet Access (LIA), Interlink, Planet Pinnacle and GEM Internet Company. Of these companies, only two exist today. The Internet Solution is now known as Internet Solutions, following a name change in the late 1990s,…

The ANC-governed Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality’s plans to offer free Wi-Fi to its residents has left bad blood in its wake. The opposition party DA has described the plans by the ANC as “an electioneering ploy” and told City Press newspaper that “it is an idea that the city stole from its own mayoral campaign”. Residents will have access top 1 000MB of data a month and, through the city’s partnership Spectrum Communication Specialists, they will be offered substantially lower data and internet voice calling rates once their free data is depleted. Their voice call are expected to…

Naspers through its Naspers Ventures division has invested $60 million (about R905 million) into a global marketplace for learning and teaching online firm Udemy. As a result of the strategic investments, Larry Illg – CEO of Naspers Ventures, is joining Udemy’s board of directors. This is Naspers Ventures second investment in EdTech: online learning marketplace. Last month the company led a $15 million Series B investment in social learning network, Brainly. Naspers also announces opening of San Francisco office – aimed at tapping U.S. technology companies for strong global growth. Naspers is one of the largest technology investors globally and has helped build…

“Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.” Muhammad Ali. MultiChoice will be paying tribute to the great sporting legend Muhammad Ali with a special pop-up channel on DStv channel 199. The channel will popped up on Saturday 4 June at 12:00 and run until next week Sunday. The channel will broadcast his greatest fights, interviews and documentaries about his life. DStv customers on the Premium, Extra, Compact, Family and Access channels will be able to tune in. The schedule for the channel will be available…

In cyberspace we are facing password fatigue, caused by having to recall (seemingly) endless streams of (apparently) unrelated numbers and letters at odd times. By Mike Johnstone One answer is to make those passwords longer and more incomprehensible. The logic here is that people have an unlimited capacity to remember such things, or perhaps they have an unquenchable desire to write passwords on yellow post-it notes. Why do we want or need passwords at all? We want to be assured that only the right people (ourselves) have access to the information contained in the systems we use. Witness the after-effects of…

The latest in our Computing turns 60 series, to mark the 60th anniversary of the first computer in an Australian university, looks at how we can better understand how the brain works (or goes wrong) by making a computer model of a brain. By David Grayden One of the greatest challenges of engineering, science and medicine is to understand the brain, which is the most complex organ and system known to humans. A lot is already understood about how individual neurons and their components behave (the microscopic scale). A lot is also known about what parts of the brain participate and…

With the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) Amendment Bill due to be passed in the next couple of months, continuing to invest in measures to ensure compliance as an Accountable Institution (AI) remains a top priority in the financial sector. By Mark Chirnside, CEO at ThisIsMe In broad terms, FICA provides for the establishment of a regulatory body and introduces mechanisms aimed at combatting money laundering and terrorism funding, mandating compliance by institutions that might otherwise be exploited for money laundering purposes. This has seen a number of local banks and many other financial institutions actively putting compliance strategies in place…