Author: Gugu Lourie
MTN and the Nigerian authorities may reach an out of court settlement over the dispute regarding a proposed $3.9 billion fine over the failure by the mobile phone operator to register subscribers. By Gugu Lourie The hearings of the dispute were expected before the Federal High Court in Lagos, Nigeria in the morning, Friday, 22 January 2016. However, MTN informed investors by midday on Friday that the judge adjourned the matter to 18 March 2016 in order to “enable the parties to try and settle the matter. If the parties are unable to reach a settlement the matter will then…
Not satisfied with its status as Africa’s biggest cloud-based solutions provider to the Accounting profession, GreatSoft is setting its sights on Australia and the Unites States in an ambitious expansion effort after making strategic acquisitions. By Gugu Lourie
The South African gaming industry is growing quite substantially. A relatively not so popular sport, Digital Gaming South Africa is slowly finding its rightful place and attracting big corporate sponsors.
MTN says it operates a clean business in Cameroon, despite that country’s anti-corruption board saying that the mobile network owes R1.5bn in taxes. By Gareth van Zyl, NewsAgency A probe by Cameroon’s National Anti-corruption Commission (CONAC) into the country’s telecoms sector claims that MTN and Orange each respectively owe nearly 52bn CFA francs (R1.5bn) and 48bn CFA francs (R1.3bn) in taxes and royalties, according to a Reuters report. Other carriers such as Camtel and Viettel were also implicated as CONAC’s study found that a total of 176bn CFA francs (R4.9bn) had gone unpaid from various companies, Reuters reported. But MTN says…
South African-based MTN and French-based Orange owes Cameroon nearly R2.7 billion (100 billion CFA francs) in taxes, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The Central African nation’s corruption board told the news agency that an inquiry into the sector, carried out by the anti-corruption commission known as CONAC, found that taxes totaling 176 billion CFA francs had gone unpaid from various companies, including Camtel and Viettel. MTN told Reuters that it had not been informed of any fines against its Cameroon business, but said it was looking into the matter. CONAC told Reuters that MTN owed nearly 52 billion CFA francs in taxes…
A media alert sent out by Parliament on January 14 about a meeting to discuss possible regulation of over-the-top (OTT) services like WhatsApp was unauthorised, according to an MP. By Gareth van Zyl, NewsAgency Last week, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services issued a media alert on behalf of its chairperson and MP Mmamoloko Kubayi about a planned meeting on January 26 to discuss OTT services. The media alert said that “mobile operators are requesting that Parliament consider passing a policy or regulations of data services on mobile networks such that they generate revenue for carrying the data services on…
The City of Cape Town is planning to make its public transport system greener by getting electric buses for the MyCiti service. By Thulani Gqirana, NewsAgency Mayor Patricia de Lille said in a statement on Wednesday that a tender for the procurement of a fleet of 12-metre electric buses would be advertised by the first week of February. “Cities across the world will soon reach a point where alternative fuel for public transport is no longer a choice but a prerequisite, and as such the City of Cape Town has decided to expand our current fleet of diesel buses with electric…
Tuluntulu, a mobile streaming platform app that enables its users to watch TV anywhere and anytime, continues to grow in popularity in Africa while video-on-demand (VoD) is still in its infancy as customers are still deciding on whether to embrace VoD. By Gugu Lourie Dubbed the ‘perfect platform for content owners’, the app has now been downloaded over 320,000 versus 210, 000 times in September 2015 in about 154 countries. The most popular being South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya. The app enables users to have great content in the palm of theirs hands 24/7 whether they’re on a long…
A large banner of the South African flag has been draped down the side of the same building which held the “Zuma Must Fall” banner in Cape Town last week. By Naledi Shange, NewsAgency But the City of Cape Town says it has no idea who is responsible for the latest display at the corner of Kloof and Buitensingel streets. “No application was made to the City [to have the banner erected],” said spokesperson Priya Reddy. “We will investigate whether it is in contravention with any of our bylaws and if it is, the matter will be handed over to…
It comes as a shock to many when they realise that the apps and content on their computers and mobile devices are not their property to do with as they wish. This mostly becomes an issue when someone dies and the relatives try and get access to apps, accounts and content. By David Glance A Canadian widow for example, recently tried to get her deceased husband’s Apple ID password in order to continue using apps on their shared iPad. The widow, Peggy Bush, ended up being told by Apple support that she would need to produce a court order before they…