Author: Gugu Lourie
Metrofibre Networx, a tech company led by ex-Absa boss Steve Booysen, has secured a lucrative contract to be the preferred fibre supplier to Kyalami Estates, the company announced on Thursday. By Staff Writer The deal is a big win for Metrofibre, one of South Africa’s fastest growing fibre company, against its smaller and bigger rivals. Situated in Kyalami in Gauteng, Kyalami Estates was one of the first security estates established in South Africa and today the residents in its some 1100 homes enjoy 24-hour controlled access in an environment where urban convenience is housed in a rural environment with extensive parklands and…
The Automobile Association (AA) said that it is disappointed that the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) has decided to go the legal route before resolving their e-toll billing problems. In an attempt to force Gauteng road users to pay their fees on the controversial tolling system, Sanral appointed a debt-collection agency to manage this process for them, the AA said. Sanral has been sending an SMS to an undisclosed number of Gauteng road users, which reads: “We have noted your refusal to pay your outstanding e-toll balance. Your vehicle details are being submitted for listing, and legal action will commence…
Batman. Superman. Iron Man. What do all of these characters have in common? We have all sat in our comfy seats at the movie theatre and watched them defeat numerous super villains with their superhuman strength and indomitable will. We have watched them save the world from impending doom. We have watched them take the law into their own hands. We have watched them do all of this in the name of the “greater good”. They are vigilantes. We call them heroes. By Amy Eliason, an Associate at Webber Wentzel Yet, these characters dwell in the realm of fantasy. We…
In a move aimed at bringing affordable broadband to Small and Medium Business Services (SMBS) industry, Telkom is offering a million megabytes of free Internet data to customers in this segment of the market. By Staff Writer This deal that is available until 31 March 2016 is equivalent to 1000GB of data. The telco said in a statement that the offer, which is subject to the signing of a new broadband bundle contract, is priced from R249/month over 36 months for its ADSL line of up to 2Mbps including a SoftCap data allocation of 10GB/month, in addition to the…
Fed-up songwriters have issued mobile network MTN a ‘take-down’ notice to remove music from its stores as of today. By Gareth van Zyl, NewsAgency Non-profit organisation the Composers, Authors and Publishers Association (Capasso) is accusing MTN of owing songwriters R1m in unpaid royalties for 2014. Capasso is further accusing MTN of failing to declare music sales data and earnings to songwriters for 2015. And now the copyright body wants MTN to “cease the use, sale and other exploitation of musical works owned or represented by Capasso members” by Wednesday, February 10. The mobile network sells music via services such as its…
Thanks to the advancement of ICT on the continent, Africa is in a strong position to capitalise on forecasts that the machine-to-machine (M2M) sector will generate $40 billion in global services revenue by 2019. By Kees Snijders, MD of Flickswitch. Machine to machine refers to direct communication between devices using any communications channel, including wired and wireless. Forming part of the Internet of Things, M2M enables systems to communicate with other devices anywhere in the world. Africa has an enviable reputation of using technologically-driven solutions to overcome many of its challenges. And while not all countries share the same priorities,…
The use of an SMS that directs Gauteng e-toll users to pay outstanding fees is illegal, said the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) on Wednesday. Outa, which changed its name from Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance recently, said it needed the public to “register their dissent” so that it can begin “a mass-action campaign to put a halt to Sanral’s intimidating messages”. Sanral (the SA National Roads Agency) has been trying to encourage user compliance ever since Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a revised e-toll payment plan to appease road users last year. That was the carrot. Now Sanral…
The Western Cape government is unable to deliver eLearning to disadvantaged schools as crime is stopping contractors from deploying broadband. Western Cape Premier Helen Zille said in her latest newsletter that the city has committed enormous resources to achieve its eLearning into its education system, “so that the “digital divide” does not drive further inequality in our society”. The provincial government’s eLearning requires every school to have free internet access, which in turn requires that they are all linked to Broadband. By the end of this year almost every school in the Western Cape should be linked to broadband, but the province is…
The days of using paper tickets at parking bays could be numbered if a local startup has its way. Mobile application KaChing officially went live on Tuesday and promises a cashless, ticketless parking system that allows drivers “seamless entry and exit to malls”. By Gareth van Zyl, NewsAgency The application is available on the Google Play Store for Android devices and the Apple Store for iPhones. Jaco Marais, managing director and co-founder of KaChing, explained to Fin24 how the technology works. “How it works is that you download the application from the Apple Store or the Android Google Play store and then…
The fastest man alive, Usain Bolt, will debut tonight in Telkom’s new advertising campaign for its Boltspeed fibre. Telkom’s partnership with one of the most recognised sporting heroes in the world, created an ideal platform to showcase the very best in broadband, Telkom’s Boltspeed Fibre. The launch of the Boltspeed Fibre TV commercial follows hot on the heels of Telkom’s recent announcement that it has also launched South Africa’s largest ever fibre trial campaign. Telkom is offering more than 11 000 DSL customers across the country, the opportunity to experience Boltspeed Fibre, at no additional cost. Through the trial,…