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Why Africa Urgently Needs Affordable Broadband Internet, Especially Now
Sourced from Getty Images. The director of Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Jean-Paul Adam, told journalists during a virtual press briefing on 10 June 2020 that Africa contributes less than 1% to the world’s digital economy, which accounts for about 15% of global GDP. He says the continent needs about $100 billion to achieve universal, affordable and good quality internet access by 2030 (according to the World Bank). Presently, only 17.8% of households in Africa have the internet at home and the continent accounts for only 21% of worldwide internet users. It is estimated that over a quarter of a billion school children in Africa have been affected by COVID-19 and most of them lack the digital tools to continue their e...
Frogfoot Extends Free Fibre Speed Upgrades Indefinitely
“With many employees still having to work from home or take turns going to the office so that social distancing guidelines are adhered to, high-speed, reliable, and affordable Internet access becomes just as critical as water or electricity. This Double Up promotion is vital to mitigate against some of the economic impact the lockdown will have on South Africans,” says Shane Chorley, Head of Sales and Marketing at Frogfoot Networks. Having the whole family at home places huge pressure on the available bandwidth, with parents having to carry on with work while children will want to learn, play and keep in touch with friends and classmates. With this in mind, fibre becomes the ideal method of connectivity for remote workers using cloud-based productivity tools and applications and uploading ...
Infobip Launches Conversations – a Connected Customer Experience for Contact Centres
Conversations, a new contact centre solution enabling businesses to integrate the world’s most popular communication channels, has been launched by Infobip. Infobip is a global cloud communications company that enables businesses to build connected customer experiences across all stages of the customer journey at scale. Conversations is a scalable digital cloud contact centre solution that enables businesses to deliver omnichannel support for customers through a single interface for agents. Messaging services such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Live Chat, SMS and in-house chatbots can all be managed through Conversations. Provisioned through the cloud, Infobip offers a marked differentiator – omnichannel connectivity (CPaaS) with contact centre software stacked ...
MultiChoice Adds Netflix and Amazon Video Prime Streaming for Subscribers
Image sourced from The Vanguard Nigeria South African tv dish satellite operator MultiChoice will soon be adding both streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to its DStv platform. This comes as the pay-TV operator continues to show growth in the market, adding roughly another 900,000 DStv and GOtv subscribers over its last financial year. MultiChoice already offers its own subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service. Now, the company seems set to add another swathe of subscribers to its already robust base of 19.5 million users, according to its latest financial results. By adding these two international streaming services to its existing platform with DStv, MultiChoice seems set on continuing its mission as a “super aggregator” – a tactic used by other pay-tv pla...
Lonestar Cell MTN and Access Bank Partner to Make Money Transfers Easy
Sourced from The Techie Guy Lonestar Cell MTN has announced that Access Bank customers can now connect their bank accounts to their MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) accounts – this means that customers can conveniently send money from their MoMo accounts directly to their bank accounts. To use this service, Access Bank customers need to visit their nearest branch to link their bank account to their Mobile Money account and then simply dial *156*7# on their phones and follow the prompts. Customers will need to have their bank account numbers on hand to complete the setup process. Access Bank customers who are not yet registered on MoMo can join with a free sign-up process. All they need to do is visit any Lonestar Cell MTN service centre or registered MoMo agent with a valid identification card to h...
Twitter Tests New Feature Recommending Users Read Articles Before Sharing Them
Image sourced from Mission Statement Academy Hugely popular social media platform, Twitter is now testing a new feature that recommends users read the entire news article before sharing it via retweeting. The company relayed this information via a tweet on their official support account. The feature is being tested on Android devices and will prompt users asking if they’d like to open the article before they share it if they haven’t opened the article on Twitter. “Sharing an article can spark conversation, so you may want to read it before you Tweet it,” the company says. “To help promote informed discussion, we’re testing a new prompt on Android, when you retweet an article that you haven’t opened on Twitter, we may ask if you’d like to open it first.” Sharing an article can spark convers...
Over 1 Million South Africans Use National Department’s COVID-19 HealthCheck Tool
South Africa’s National Department of Health (NDoH) has confirmed that over 1 million South Africans have already used their COVID-19 digital self-assessment tool called HealthCheck. The HealthCheck self-assessment tool allows for early detection, mapping and management of COVID-19 cases using USSD and the official COVID-19 WhatsApp Service (COVID-19 CONNECT). The tool comes at a crucial moment in the South African government’s COVID-19 response – when certain aspects of the country’s lockdown have been relaxed and more responsibility is being placed on individuals to ensure their own health when going back to work or school and engaging in outdoor activity and other areas of public life. Members of the public will be able to use HealthCheck to self-assess their COVID-19 risk by completing...
TikTok Set for Explosive Growth in South Africa, says Expert
Sourced from Cosmico South Africa’s largest annual study of social media trends has revealed that Facebook remains the social platform of choice for marketing – but TikTok is rising fast among both brands and consumers. According to the 2020 edition of the SA Social Media Landscape, released this week by World Wide Worx and Ornico, almost a third of major brands intend to become active on TikTok, which is also the fastest growing social media platform among consumers. Fewer than 20% of brands have used it in the past year, but none believe they are doing so very effectively. These numbers are likely to change significantly during 2020. It is estimated that around 6-million South Africans are already using the platform. Nine out of ten major brands – just more than 89% – indicated they were...
7 Must-Have South African Apps to Simplify Your Life
Sourced from The Verge and Shutterstock. Sometimes we’re told about a really great app, that, once downloaded, just takes up space on your phone. There are, however, some incredibly useful apps out there for South Africans, and usually by South Africans too. Below is a list of 7 really helpful apps that South Africans will miss if they ever see their phones without them. These apps are set to save you stress and save you time. 1. Lockdown Bozza Information about the lockdown and each of its phases tend to fly fast and loose on social media and on news outlets across the country, but this app is a one-stop for all of the lockdown’s rules. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_0dc.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_0dc.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } The app’s tagline is “I am the Lockdown Bo...
Amazon Won’t Allow Police to Use it’s Facial Recognition Technology
Image sourced from Detroit Metro Times Amazon has announced that it will implement a one year ban on law enforcement from using its facial recognition platform, Rekognition. “We’re implementing a one-year moratorium on police use of Amazon’s facial recognition technology. We will continue to allow organizations like Thorn, the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Marinus Analytics to use Amazon Rekognition to help rescue human trafficking victims and reunite missing children with their families,” reads a statement from the tech giant. In the last decade, incredible milestones in the development of facial recognition technology have been achieved – often due to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. However, according to The Verge, “the technology — because i...
Cloud Tech Helps With The Transition into a New Normal
Sourced from PC Mag With companies needing to support remote working strategies and with a rise in demand for cloud-based business continuity tools and services during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is expected that the global cloud market size will grow from $233 billion in 2019 to reach $295 billion by 2021. The importance of the cloud can no longer be debated. Instead, the focus shifts to optimally integrating it into the business strategy to ensure business sustainability. The research suggests that companies are using cloud automation and increasing their online presence by developing e-commerce websites on cloud platforms to decrease the impact of COVID-19 on productivity and operational efficiency. Cloud-driven market /* custom css */ .tdi_3_eee.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_ee...
1Life, Samsung and LifeQ Launch “Life Insurance Ecosystem”
1Life, Samsung South Africa and LifeQ have partnered to launch life insurance ecosystem, 1Life Pulse. This initiative is backed by wearables and app technology and enables consumers to grow their life insurance cover by “making better choices”. 1Life Pulse acts as a lifestyle monitor and management system that tracks and guides heart, activity and sleep – monitoring overall wellbeing. Every time a consumer chooses to get a little extra sleep or go for a walk, for example, they’re likely to grow their life cover by up to R216 per day, or up to R6 560 per month, starting from day one. Over two years, policyholders are able to grow their additional life cover by up to R200 000, as they grow their wellbeing. All qualifying new 1Life policyholders that take out cover for R1 million or more...
