Author: Gugu Lourie
The Internet of Things (IoT) will, as it grows, automate and inform an increasing number of operations, applications and processes. By Eckart Zollner, Head of Business Development the Jasco Group With no dedicated infrastructure in place for IoT – i.e., to send, receive or transport IoT signals – it is critical that first movers in South Africa begin to more fully explore the possibilities. The decisions they make now may well impact the cost and longevity of the solutions they are developing, and help determine the robustness of the foundations the country puts in place for IoT. In South Africa, IoT…
MTN continues to make strides in achieving its sustainability vision of protecting and creating economic value for the company and its stakeholders, through responsible environmental and social core business practices. The Group has released its annual Sustainability Report for 2015, which details how MTN is delivering on the three sustainability focus areas of creating sustainable economic value, reducing its environmental impact and delivering societal value in a sustainable and ethical manner. “Like all businesses, we face challenges from time to time. However, we are not deterred in our sustainability journey. As a major ICT role-player in emerging markets, we are…
No South African has to tolerate hate. This basic tenet of civilised society is applicable now more than ever as the country explores ways to battle racism, xenophobia and other forms of hate speech. In the online environment, we have a useful tool in the take-down procedure of South Africa’s Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA). “It is pertinent to remind South Africans of this valuable tool as government prepares to introduce hate crimes legislation into Parliament, which will include a specific focus on hate speech,” said ISPA chair, Graham Beneke. Hate speech is usually defined as speech that offends, threatens,…
HP unveiled a new Pavilion PC portfolio in a bold color palette featuring new convertibles and notebooks with sleek designs and more power ideal for students, millennials and families. The company said in a statement that the new portfolio lets customers reflect their sense of style and delivers the power they need to be productive and entertained at a price that delivers value. “Some customers want thin and light PCs for on-the-go while other customers want power and performance to create and store,” said Louis Perrin, director, consumer products, Personal Systems EMEA, HP Inc. “HP’s redesigned Pavilion PCs offer affordability…
African countries are sitting on up to $5 billion (R75 billion) of value in potential 4G spectrum sales, according to a new report released by research firm Xalam Analytics. The report, “The Africa 4G Spectrum Value Report: 4G Spectrum Valuation, Outlook, and Business Models in African Markets” examined 60 transactions in African markets over the past ten years, covering more than 1000 MHz of 3G and 4G spectrum. The report also provides projected value ranges for upcoming and/or anticipated 4G spectrum auctions, including for markets such as Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt and Senegal. “Surprisingly, buyers and sellers of African spectrum…
WeThinkCode_, a newly established tech institution officially launched their campus on Wednesday and announced the 120 coders who will be the first to complete their two-year course. By Staff Writer 70 000 jobs in South Africa remain vacant due to a skills shortage of coders. WeThinkCode_ in a joint venture between founders Arlene Mulder, Camille Agon, Justinus Adriaanse and Yossi Hasson, was opened in response to this demand. “We aim to equip students with the skills to become world class digital problem solvers. And so tonight, we are pleased to reveal the most talented coders who partook in an intense…
Nigeria’s telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is in the process of auctioning spectrum in the 2.6GHz band. 2.6GHz is a so-called 4G band, allowing the winning bidder to roll-out 4G next generation mobile networks across the country. Telecoms research firm Xalam Analytics recently issued a report titled The Complicated Dynamics of Nigeria’s 2.6 GHz Auction. The research firm argued that there “is much riding on this auction; we find the probability for disappointment in the returns from this auction to be fairly high – but this is not merely a matter of value”. The 2.6 GHz auction is the…
Today in Johannesburg, Uber has launched its first green service and is counting on Joburgers to take a ride towards greneer mobility in the city of gold. The pilot-project, dubbed uberGREEN, offers 100% electric rides with the BMW i3 and Nissan LEAF, at uberX prices. According to a statement from Uber today, Top Uber riders and WRewards members will have access to UberGREEN from Wednesday 4th May to Sunday 8th May. It will then open up to everyone in Johannesburg from Monday 9th May to Friday 3rd June. UberGREEN will only be available between 7:00AM to 7:00PM every day. “As UberGREEN is still a…
Consumers are installing apps on their devices, without being aware of the potential consequences, they simply go through the motions of clicking ‘next’ and ‘agree’, without understanding what they could be signing up to, Kaspersky Lab has discovered. A shocking 63% of consumers globally neglect to read the license agreement carefully before installing a new app on their phone and one-in-five (20%) never read messages when installing apps; Kaspersky Lab’s “Are you cyber savvy?” Quiz, which questioned 18,507 consumers globally about their online habits, found that an alarming number of consumers are leaving their privacy – and the data on their…
In another significant move to strengthen customer focus through a more flexible and agile operating model, Telkom Group’s Openserve wholesale and networks division has announced that it is peering at Africa’s largest Internet eXchange Point (IXP), NAPAfrica. By Staff Writer As Africa’s largest IXP, NAPAfrica is four times the combined size of all the continents’ exchanges and regionally services multiple countries included South Africa. Its rapid growth has proven that peering exchanges are a much-needed facility in the African Internet ecosystem. Based within Teraco, Africa’s largest vendor-neutral data centre, NAPAfrica is excited to offer Openserve access to its lower cost…