Author: Gugu Lourie

Telkom puts fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) rollout on the fast-track. As part of its goal to reach 500 000 homes with fibre by the end of 2016, Telkom is aiming to connect more than 12 000 Bryanston residents to FTTH by March 2016, making it the largest fibre open access suburb to date. By Gugu Lourie The suburb of Bryanston has been announced by Telkom as the newest and lucrative market for its highest-speed residential broadband or FTTH services and the residents would be pleased that the fibre roll out has already started. “We are rolling out fibre to all of Bryanston as part of our aggressive…

One of the biggest advantages of smart metering is the ability for power utilities to dynamically regulate the levels of demand, via real-time pricing incentives to consumers. Price incentives enable utilities to achieve greater operational efficiencies, culminating in a state of ‘responsive demand’ – where the country’s power requirements are perfectly balanced with the generation of electricity. By Martin Vergunst, Business Solutions Executive at T-Systems South Africa One of the biggest challenges currently facing our utility is the fact that demand levels are not easy to predict or to measure in real-time, and are impossible to control. Both prepaid token…

Small medium enterprises (or SMEs) in South Africa do not have any options in terms of intelligent software that can give them the same benefits enjoyed by big companies with big budgets. In particular, I am referring to enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. By Phehello Mofokeng, director of Geko Labs, a Johannesburg-based ERP integration and implementation firm. In today’s highly competitive marketplace, the implementation of ERP enables companies to turn their growth strategies into profit, track expenditure, monitor time spent on projects or work and cut costs. But the moment one mentions ERP, many SMEs are consumed with fear and envy.…

Governments will have to invest in the fight against cybercrime if we are to mitigate the increasing risks brought on by the Internet of Things (IoT). By Jason Jordaan, principal forensic scientist at DFIRLABS. If our South African law enforcement is to stand any chance in winning the battle against these highly skilled criminals, they will have to invest in hiring people with high-tech skills. While a lot of work has been done towards a new cybercrime and cybersecurity bill for South Africa, we do not only need policies that address cybercrime robustly and openly, but also highly skilled law…

South Africa’s FitKey, an app that connects users to a range of geo-located exercise classes, has received investment from Cape Town based entrepreneur and angel investor, Justin Stanford. By Staff Writer The FitKey app that entered beta in May this year is poised to open to the public and expand across the country. It allows the user to join an extensive range of fitness and exercise classes without being locked into a specific contract. Stanford and FitKey co-founders, Evan Walther and Joshua Shimkin, signed the final agreements in August this year. The pre-seed investment from Stanford puts the startup…

South African-based Tuluntulu – a mobile streaming platform app that enables its users to watch TV anywhere and anytime – has now been downloaded over 210,000 times in 154 countries. By Gugu Lourie Tuluntulu is popular with users in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Mozambique and Ethiopia. The company has also enticed users from Zimbabwe. The cumulative usage numbers of the app since launch has reached over 6.4 million screen views, more than 1.3 million sessions, with 210,000 active users and over 83% returning users. The app receives 35 000 monthly unique users and over 880,000 screen views…

“Laptops are one of the most requested and fastest selling items on Gumtree,” says Claire Cobbledick, head of marketing for Gumtree South Africa.”By Staff Writer South Africans are enjoying greater access to broadband via free wi-fi initiatives and urban hotspots, so it is no surprise that laptops and PCs are a hot commodity – particularly second hand ones. “Laptops are one of the most requested and fastest selling items on Gumtree,” says Cobbledick. “There is constant churn in the category which is why it’s important to price your second hand computer correctly To assist prospective buyers and sellers, Gumtree…

A company led by ex-Absa boss Steve Booysen is aiming for a slice of the booming fibre market in South Africa, which has seen new players emerge such as Vumatel. By Gugu Lourie Metrofibre Networx, which is led by Booysen as a CEO and executive chairman, is supported by its active shareholder – Sanlam Private Equity (SPE). In 2013 Sanlam invested in the managed open access fibre network and broadband fibre provider and has representation on the Metrofibre board. Sanlam invested in Metrofibre to grow its own fibre network, marking its first investment of this nature. Metrofibre, which was founded in…

Age-old industries that once stood as surely as stone masonry are suddenly shifting like sand under our feet. For example, Uber has rapidly risen to become the world’s largest taxi company – without actually owning any cars. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the biggest accommodation provider, owns no real estate. By Kim Andersen, account CTO at T-Systems South Africa These dramatic shifts in the global business landscape – caused by new technologies, increased globalisation, and the arrival of the millennial generation – create unprecedented risks and opportunities for organisations in almost every vertical. The companies…

Strategic IT is a term that is easily bandied about but only deserves the monicker once business leaders adopt a significant mind-set change. And this change is based on one of the most hotly contested debates within organisations: budget. By Sameer Deans, general manager at ThoughtWorks The argument over allocation of the IT budget in particular is all too often constrained by a mentality that views IT projects as an expenditure item rather than a value-adding service that can help the business grow revenue. The grappling over scarce resources between the business and IT is an age-old tussle that destroys…

The Wi-Fi Forum of South Africa (the Forum) chairman Andile Ngcaba has called on telecommunications operators to embrace open access to their networks and stop holding South Africa back. By Gugu Lourie Ngcaba, also a chairperson of global technology group Dimension Data Middle East and Africa, says operators restricting access to their networks is counter-productive and is holding South Africa back from achieving universal access and poverty-beating economic growth. He previously called for the adoption of open access model in licensing high-demand spectrum in the so-called “digital dividend” and 2.6GHz bands to be able to provide broadband access to…

The veil of secrecy around the placing of orders for 1,5 million set-top boxes (STBs) to three suppliers, in the first phase of producing 5 million free STBs and antenna to identified poor households as a key element of South Africa’s migration to digital broadcasting, must be lifted. By Marian Shinn, DA’s Shadow Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services. My call last week to Minister of Communications, Faith Muthambi, to clarify the status of these orders has gone unheeded. My request to Mr Zami Nkosi, CEO of the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) which is managing the…

“We’d like to Tell-Com-Petitors off but their customers already did,” says Cell C in an advert placed in the Sunday Times newspaper, taking a veiled jibe at Telkom after it aired a radio ad saying Cell C’s contract buy-out plan doesn’t offer real value. By Gugu Lourie Taking a veiled jibed at Telkom, Cell C said on Sunday in an advert published in the Sunday Times that a competitor recently aired a radio ad saying contract buyout doesn’t offer real value, which is not true at all. “Now, the rules say that we’re not allowed to mention their name…So…

The new gold iPhone 6s crocodile embossed leather and Swarovski style crystal logo collection will set you back close to R43, 000.00 ($3,198.64). While the new gold iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus Diamond RockStar limited edition is priced at R158, 000.00 (R11, 860.00). By Gugu Lourie Goldgenie has expanded its range of iPhone 6s customisation designs to incorporate crocodile embossed leather. It also includes custom 24K Gold finish with the Apple logo encrusted with Swarovski style crystals. iPhone 6s Crocodile Skin This iPhone 6s Crocodile Skin is priced at R43, 000.00 ($3,198.64). Each phone is presented in…

Telkom, South Africa’s largest fixed-line telephone group, has launched a new summer ad and continues with its theme of featuring babies that talk high-tech to illustrate the ease of use it offers consumers who use its products. By Gugu Lourie Telkom promises customers a 2015 summer with unlimited calls and data to surf the internet with ease on its unlimited network. The ad posted on its YouTube channel yesterday, continues on reinforcing Telkom’s new brand campaign with the tagline “Tomorrow Start Today”. The featuring of babies that talk high-tech reinforces the concept of “tomorrow” and evoke emotions of hope…

BMW South Africa is making public charging for its electric cars and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles easily accessible to encourage South African to purchase these innovative cars. It has installed the first phase of public charging infrastructure in Melrose Arch precinct, Johannesburg. By Gugu Lourie The first BMW South Africa public charging infrastructure, which is targeting 150 electric vehicles, is located in the heart of Melrose Arch shopping precinct opposite the Protea Fire and Ice Hotel. The public charging station can charge an electric vehicle like the BMW i3 to 80% battery charge in under two and a half…

Vodacom Business Africa is placing Machine-to-Machine (M2M) services expansion at the heart of plans to grow its market share in the continent. By Gugu Lourie Vodacom Business Africa wants to leverage its parent company Vodafone’s infrastructure and that of its stand-alone subsidiary XLink Communications – a provider of wireless data M2M services. 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…

It’s the middle of the month, and “ping” there’s that dreaded alert from your inbox, proudly announcing your cell phone invoice has arrived. What to expect, as you scratch your head and reluctantly click the cursor over the attachment? It opens up and you’re in shock – bill shock. By Staff Writer One of the biggest complaints received on a monthly basis in the telecommunications industry are billing complaints, 60% of which are based on bill shock, specifically data usage. The proof is in the “Hellopeter” pudding as the complaint statistics prove this trend does not only fall at…

The draft Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill currently out for public comment is timeous in that it proposes legislation that will bring South Africa in line with international laws governing internet-based crimes. However, the Bill is excessively far-reaching – beyond practical plausibility in many instances – and it grants a concerning level of discretion to the State’s security cluster. By Mongezi Tshongweni, executive: legal and regulatory affairs at Internet Solutions At present, South Africa has no legislation that addresses cybercrimes, whether it is to describe what constitutes a cybercrime, how to enforce the law governing cybercrime, or to determine appropriate correctional…

One of the main benefits of cloud computing is agility. For a start-up or SME, being able to adapt to uncertain market conditions or quickly change direction of their business to better fit with the needs and wants of customers is critical. Being able to quickly change their strategy is leading to many smaller organisations taking on older, more established players which is disrupting many, often decades old, industries. By Attila Narin, head of EMEA solutions architecture and business development at Amazon Web Services Over the past few years we have seen cloud computing is becoming the new normal for…

The Universal Services and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) has hit back at Marian Shinn, DA’s Shadow Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, for alleging that BUA Africa is not one of the 26 South African companies awarded a share of the R4,3 billion Set-Top-Boxes (STB) manufacturing and distribution tender. By Gugu Lourie In an article published on Tuesday by TechFinancials.co.za, Shinn said the Democratic Alliance has uncovered a press release  from Chinese telecommunications giant Shenzhen Skyworth Digital stating that it has, through “its factory in Johannesburg – co-owned by local company BUA Africa – successfully completed its first shipment, delivering a…

The greatest barrier to extending internet use in South Africa, and indeed in most African countries, is the cost of data. In South Africa one gigabyte of data on mobile networks – the only means of accessing the internet for most – is R149 (pre-paid). This means that for millions of people in the country data is a luxury. By Indra de Lanerolle So when mobile operators start giving some of this valuable commodity for free it warrants attention. From July, the country’s third-largest mobile services provider Cell C started offering some services such as Facebook and Wikipedia for free without paying…

The Democratic Alliance has uncovered a press release  from Chinese telecommunications giant Shenzhen Skyworth Digital stating that it has, through “its factory in Johannesburg – co-owned by local company BUA Africa – successfully completed its first shipment, delivering a total of 70 000 set-top boxes (STBs) across South Africa”. By Marian Shinn, DA’s Shadow Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services. BUA Africa is not one of the 26 South African companies awarded a share of the R4,3 billion STB manufacturing and distribution tender managed by the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) in April 2015. While BUA Africa did…

MTN, South Africa’s second biggest mobile phone provider that has failed to clinch a radio access network (RAN) sharing deal with Telkom, believes the information memorandum relating to the licensing of the radio frequency spectrum allocation issued by ICASA provides much-needed clarity.  But the telco is still studying the contents of the memorandum. By Gugu Lourie MTN said on Tuesday it welcomed the industry’s watchdog, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), publication of the information memorandum relating to the licensing of the radio frequency spectrum. “The publication by ICASA provides much-needed clarity that is required.  MTN…

Telkom is fast-tracking its goal to reach 500 000 homes with fibre by the end of 2016. The telco announced on Tuesday that its open access fibre broadband network would include more than 25 additional areas, suburbs and communities by the end of September 2015, which includes suburbs of Atholl, Bryanston, Dunkeld, Forest Town, Menlo Park, D’urbanvale, Oude Westhof, etc. By Staff Writer The news follows CEO Sipho Maseko’s commitment on 7 September, at the annual Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference, that Telkom fibre would be accessible to one million homes by March 2018, with half a million homes…