Author: Gugu Lourie

Are you in need of a flash drive, which can free up and expand your memory and storage on your iPhone, iPad and personal computer (PC), making it easy to access and transfer photos and videos between devices wherever you are? Try SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive it works on your iPhone, iPad and PC. By Gugu Lourie The SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive on review offers 32GB of memory. The US-based manufacturer also has USB’s that can expand memory and storage of Iphones, Ipads and PCs by up to 128GB. The iXpand is a plug-and-play design – no need for complicated…

As thousands of EFF marchers arrived in Sandton on Tuesday afternoon, the party’s leader Julius Malema had harsh words for the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) after a fence was erected at the entrance of its building. By Thomas Hartleb, Lizeka Tandwa and Ahmed Areff, News24 Agency “You are so racist, you do not even belong to South Africa,” he said. “You lock us here [when] we got permission to come here. You treat us like criminals because we are black.” He asked police outside the JSE why they allowed “these whites” to treat them like that when the party had…

The South African Post Office (Sapo) plans to pay its employees the remaining 30% of their salaries on Wednesday October 28. By Gareth van Zyl Sapo revealed last week that its negative financial position meant that it could only pay salaries in two batches: 50% by October 25 2015 and the balance on 31 October 2015. Then on Monday, Sapo said it paid its workers 70% of their salaries last week and planned to pay the outstanding 30% on October 31. Now, Sapo has made another change to its salary payments for the month of October. “As a consequence of around-the-clock…

Wireless ISP, BreedeNet says its business providing high speed Internet to rural areas has been boosted since it joined the 180 member strong community at NAPAfrica, Africa’s largest Internet exchange (IXP), based at Africa’s only vendor neutral data centre, Teraco. By Staff Writer Coert Smit, Network Operations Director, BreedeNet says that as a rural Wireless ISP the company is constantly striving to reduce costs and find creative ways to bring value to its clients. “We are not situated in the metro areas and as a result bandwidth and Internet breakout is always extremely expensive. Our plan was to expand…

The recent introduction by Vodacom of a prepaid data roaming solution could have a significant impact on the machine-to-machine (M2M) market in Africa. By Kees Snijders, MD of Flickswitch While Vodacom is not the first operator to go the prepaid data roaming route, the announcement reflects the need to provide companies who are reliant on M2M solutions, including vehicle telemetry, with a more cost-effective offering. For us, the added benefit is that we can provide our clients with a managed prepaid SIM solution meeting their unique requirements. By virtue of the fact that Vodacom is now the first operator covering…

Innovation was the unspoken theme at the first day of the 10th annual GovTech conference, currently underway at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban. By Staff Writer In his address opening the conference yesterday morning, the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Siyabonga Cwele highlighted government’s efforts to create a digitally-savvy citizenry, to drive South Africa’s transition to a knowledge economy. “We have begun implementing the first phase of the SA Connect policy to rollout broadband infrastructure by conducting pilots in eight rural districts. We are finalising plans and funding options for the second phase, which…

Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services is coming to more than 10 000 Pretoria East homes  by end December 2015. By Staff Writer Openserve, the wholesale division of Telkom, announced on Tuesday that FTTH services will be launched in Pretoria East suburbs such as Faerie Glen, Garsfontein, etc. Openserve was launched earlier this month as part of Telkom’s ongoing efforts to strengthen customer focus. “Openserve is committed to Telkom’s goal of reaching one million homes with fibre access by 2018 and already has the largest fibre network in the country,” said Openserve MD Alphonzo Samuels. “We want to significantly impact broadband in South…

DStv Compact and Extra customers will soon have access to DStv’s best entertainment when it’s most convenient to them. By Staff Writer DStv Catch Up allows customers to ‘catch up’ on their favourite series, movies, documentaries and sports events when it suits them. It’s a great way to not miss a single second of entertainment and to discover the great content available on DStv. A selection of the most popular shows –  like Isibaya, The Road and Generations, as well as a selection of the best soccer and other sporting highlights is automatically sent to customers’  DStv Exploras – ready and waiting for them to watch whenever they have the time. Up to 150 hours of…

The City of Cape Town is planning to introduce biofuel and electric buses in the future to deal with gas emission in the city. By Staff Writer Currently, 97% of public transport across the world operates on diesel, contributing to pollution and climate change. Worldwide there are 1,3 million deaths due to traffic accidents annually and a further 3,1 million deaths from particle emissions – meaning one out of eight deaths is related to poor air quality. Biofuel, such as biogas or biodiesel, is produced from renewable resources: plant biomass, vegetable oils or treated municipal and industrial waste –…

OTEL, South Africa’s telecoms firm, is opening up regional opportunities for Western Cape entrepreneurs interested in staking their claim in the lucrative telecoms sector. By Staff Writer OTEL is a licensed business-to-business provider of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) solutions that enable corporate voice and data applications such as high-speed broadband Internet, web-enabled office switchboards, Cloud-based back-up solutions, and voice calling applications that cost a fraction of what businesses would outlay to traditional telecoms providers. The company claims that its nationwide dedicated network and cutting-edge technology positions it as one of South Africa’s leading wholesale telecoms providers. “New entrants…

MTN said on Monday its Nigerian division has been hit with a $5.2 billion (R71 billion) fine by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country’s telecoms watchdog. By Gugu Lourie The mobile phone operator inform investors that the fine relates to the timing of the disconnection of 5.1 million MTN Nigeria subscribers who were disconnected in August and September 2015 and is based on a fine of N200, 000 for each unregistered subscriber. “MTN Nigeria is currently in discussions with the NCC to resolve the matter in recognition of the circumstances that prevailed with regard to these subscribers. We will continue…

How to protect authors after Google Books wins its ‘fair use’ case, again. As this continue to be debated in US courts think of our own writers in South Africa such as Songeziwe Mahlangu. Napo Masheane. Yewande Omotoso. Lesego Rampolokeng. Phillipa Yaa de Villiers. Pumla Gqola. Maxine Case. Thando Mgqolozana. Shafinaaz Hassim. Lebo Mashile. Niq Mhlongo. Cynthia Jele. Sifiso Mzobe. Mary Watson. Angela Makholwa. Siphiwo Mahala. Angelina Sithebe. Kgebetli Moele. Ndumiso Ngcobo. Futhi Ntshingila. Nthikeng Mohlele. Sihle Khumalo. Google’s efforts to scan millions of books for an online library have passed another legal hurdle with the United States appeal court…

JSE-listed global internet and media company Naspers has offloaded a $201 million (R2.7 billion) Czech-based online retailer. By Staff Writer The South African-based firm sold its shareholding in online retailers in Netretail and Heureka to Czech-based investment firm, Rockaway Capital. “For Naspers, the transaction forms part of an ongoing strategy to optimise its group structure. Naspers acquired Netretail (a Czech-based online retailer) and eMAG (the Romanian based internet retailer) in 2012, with a plan to merge the two assets and create a leading ecommerce platform across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE),” Meloy Horn, head of Investor Relations at Naspers, said in a statement.…

While the software and computer services sector of the JSE shrinks everyday – owing to technology firms voluntarily delisting  or being gobbled up by bigger rivals – prolific technology dealmaker Sbu Shabalala somehow keeps creating value for shareholders. By Gugu Lourie Shabalala’s latest foray into the world of auditing and accounting saw him spend about R217m buying CQS Investment, which has footprints in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Founder and CEO of Adapt IT, Shabalala, believes his latest buy is a  direct fit in the company’s acquisition strategy of buying niche businesses. Soft spoken, Shabalala, laughed…

Reaching every customer using mobile technology has become one of the most relevant communication tools today. This is where USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) plays a significant role in providing marketers with an interactive and real-time platform for engaging one-on-one with their customers. By Tony Smith,  managing director at Oxygen8 SA This very popular and consumer driven platform allows users to access various services through the use of a code on their mobile devices. It is fast, simple and cost effective. The use of USSD has taken mobile marketing to another level. Through USSD, companies can create mobile surveys, polls and…

#AnythingCanHappen this summer if you #Believe in Cell C. You can win prizes worth over R20 million and even stand a chance to win R100 000 cash every week this summer with Cell C. By Staff Writer Cell C, South Africa’s third mobile phone operator, is launching its 2015 summer campaign that debuts this Sunday on television, radio and in print media. The campaign highlights some of the amazing things that can happen when people truly believe in realising their goals and ambitions and put the power in their hands. Over the course of the 14 week campaign, which runs until…

The landmark deal clinched by MTN with the Grammy award winner and British singer and songwriter Adele is an indication that the mobile phone operator, which has been promoting music streaming and caller tunes on its platform, is changing the face of the music industry in Africa. By Gugu Lourie To call MTN a music company would be stretching it at this juncture. Sure, MTN is a mobile phone operator, but it also plays in other adjacent markets such as video-on-demand (VOD) and fibre-to the-home (FTTH) services, but it can’t be classified in the same category as Sony Music or Apple…

JSE-listed global internet and media firm Naspers on Friday announced a $1.2 billion (R16 billion) deal to become the largest shareholder in Avito, an online classifieds platform in Russia. By Staff Writer Naspers is buying shares from existing shareholders to increase its stake from 17.4% to 67.9% on a fully diluted basis. Naspers initially invested in Avito, Russia’s largest generalist classifieds platform, in 2013. Since then the company successfully expanded into classifieds verticals and is now also a leading player in five key verticals: General Goods, Auto, Real Estate (including Domofond), Jobs and Services. With around 35 million unique monthly visitors…

MTN has clinched a landmark deal that gives it the global exclusive rights to caller back ring back (CRBT) to Adele’s much-anticipated single titled “Hello” which will be released today. By Staff Writer Larry Annetts, Sales and Marketing Executive for MTN South Africa, says MTN is the only telco that has exclusive CRBT (CallerTunez) rights globally. This is the first time ever that Adele has sanctioned the use of her music through this format. “Hello” is the single taken from Adele’s highly anticipated new album titled ‘25’ set for worldwide release on the 20th November this year. ‘Hello” launches as…

While MTN has advanced to become the most admired and most valuable brand in Africa within the Brand Africa 100 list, toppling Coca-Cola, 77% of the continent’s top 100 brands are foreign. By Ujuh reporter The foreign domination “needs to change if we are to own our future and to ensure we own our markets and capture the profits emanating from these,” says Omar Ben Yedder, African Business Group Publisher. Yedder was speaking at the launch of the Report at 4th Annual Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands Gala Dinner in Johannesburg. Positioned as Africa’s largest mobile phone base…

Webfluential has relocated to new offices in Sandton, which will also accommodate marketers and influencers that use the platform. By Staff Writer The Webfluential campus is based at corner Katherine & West building in Sandton, located next to the Gautrain station to provide an easy commute for staff and visitors. Webfluential is a subscription-based online platform that connects brands with consumers through credible and most influential web users – not those who inflate their reach by buying followers. It uses an algorithm to distinguish real followers. “Influencer marketing is a new means of audience engagement which requires education for both…

 JSE-listed Cognition Holdings has snapped up the remaining 60.3% stake it didn’t own in BMi, a research firm specialising in consumer and industrial research. By Gugu Lourie  The firm that operates quietly to provide telecoms and IT solutions to big telecommunications operators said it would pay R11 million for buying the stake from The Tandem Trust, Gareth Pearson and Dana Braithwaite. The transaction will be facilitated through an issue of Cognition shares at R2 valued at more than R7.4 million and R3.7 million in cash. Cognition currently owns 39.7% of the issued shares in BMi Research. In July 2014,…

In the business world, the ebb and flow of prosperity depends upon two forces: disruptive technology and competitive advantage. During the industrial era, for example, competitive advantage emanated from business efficiencies such as Henry Ford’s production line assembly system, which revolutionised the automobile industry and manufacturing processes globally. By Uriel Rootshtain, Application Services Group Lead at Microsoft SA By the advent of the information age, technology was not just being used to drive production efficiencies, it also drove information efficiencies as well. The competitive advantage began to shift to businesses’ access to information, but the cost of obtaining said information…

MTN South Africa is  strengthening its market position after it reported on Thursday that its customers rose 2%  to 29,1 million in the quarter  to end-September driven by pre-paid market. By Gugu Lourie The cellphone operator attributed this growth to a 3,1% rise in the pre-paid subscriber base, supported by the continued success of attractive below-the-line campaigns. The contract subscriber base recorded a 2,6% decline to 5,2 million due to the disconnections of approximately 90 000 low-cost router SIMs recorded on the Autopage subscriber base and low availability of handsets. The mobile phone operator has been losing customers to rivals – Cell C and…

South Africa’s Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene announced on Wednesday that R1 billion would be allocated to rollout broadband and broadcast digital migration. By Staff Writer The revised MTEF (medium-term expenditure framework) shifts about R9 billion from within existing baselines to priority programmes, said the ministry. “About R1 billion will be shifted for the rollout of broadband infrastructure and broadcast digital migration,” said Nene, during tabling in parliament of the medium term budget policy statement on Wednesday. The statement added that about R4.8 billion is reprioritised for upgrades and maintenance of the national and provincial road networks, R1.4 billion has…