IT News
Networks Unlimited Africa keeps Value Offering Promises despite Lockdown Challenges
Anton Jacobsz, Networks Unlimited CEO Despite challenges of constraint, Networks Unlimited Africa has managed to maintain its standards during the lockdown in order to keep its unique partner offering intact. So says Anton Jacobsz, CEO at this leading value-added distributor in the sub-Saharan Africa market. He comments, “Networks Unlimited delivers products and solutions that are affordable, better than the competition, and with faster service delivery to our partners and end-users within the converged technology, data centre, networking, and security landscapes. “We are proud to have maintained our standards during the lockdown despite the difficult environment, especially during the initial phase of the early ‘hard’ lockdown. I commend the three general managers of our divisions and the...
Top 3 IT Security Threats in Africa
Sourced from IDG Connect There’s been an overall decrease in certain malware cases across sub-Saharan Africa, according to Kaspersky research. However, the human cyber threat remains rife and Africa is not immune to the evolving techniques of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), as well as the possibilities of being a future target of hacking-for-hire threat actor groups. Kaspersky research has found that globally, APT groups are evolving their techniques and are upgrading their toolset to continue stealing sensitive information. Furthermore, there has been a rise of hackers-for-hire or cyber mercenaries during the first two quarters of 2020. In fact, three cyber mercenary groups have been exposed across the world this year alone. As this activity has taken place outside of Africa, it’s sus...
Vodacom Partners with AFI to Drive Financial Inclusion in Africa
Vodacom has joined forces with AFI to drive financial inclusion across Africa through knowledge sharing with financial policymakers and regulators. According to the companies, the partnership, which runs until October 2021, should enhance select AFI member services and platforms with private sector insights. “AFI members in Africa are among the world’s pioneers in mobile money services, having fostered decades of ground-breaking innovations that have shaped the financial inclusion landscape across the continent and beyond,” says Dr Alfred Hannig, AFI Executive Director. Regulators in the region have turned the current pandemic into opportunities to accelerate financial inclusion and ensure that no one is left behind. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_891.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_891.t...
Trucaller Introduces 3 New Features
Truecaller has unveiled three new features for its global users; Call Reason, Schedule SMS and SMS Translate. Here’s a closer look at each of the new Truecaller features: Call Reason Call Reason enables users to set a reason for the incoming call, the receiver of the call will now have sight of why they are calling whether it be personal matters, business-related, or something urgent. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_512.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_512.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } This was one of the most requested features in 2020 from users around the world and it is expected to help increase pick up rates, especially when someone is calling from a new number. This feature will start rolling out immediately to all Android users and will be launching for iOS early next year....
LG Launches its Rollable OLED TV
LG officially launched the LG Signature OLED R (model RX) – the worlds first rollable TV – priced at $87 000. The tech company says that this TV is the very definition of exclusive, an exceptional feat of engineering. [embedded content] The LG Signature OLED R boasts a liquid smooth 65-inch flexible OLED display that leverages self-lighting pixel technology and individual dimming control to deliver supreme picture quality. The R in the name not only signifies that the TV is rollable but that the TV is also revolutionary in the home entertainment space, redefining the relationship between a TV that can disappear from view at the touch of a button and the surrounding space. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_69c.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_69c.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } LG...
OPPO to Introduce A93 Smartphone in Kenya
OPPO is set to introduce the A93 mid-range smartphone in Kenya. The device is equipped with a rear-quad-camera array, selfie lens and an AMOLED screen. Here’s a closer look at the A93’s Key Specifications Specs Weight 164g Dual SIM Yes Screen AMOLED6.43″1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~409 ppi density) OS Android 10ColorOS 7.2 Chipset Mediatek Helio P95 (12 nm) GPU PowerVR GM9446 Memory 128 GB RAM 8 GB Main camera Quad48 MP (wide)8 MP (ultrawide)2 MP (depth)2 MP (monochrome) Selfie 16 MP2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)PUNCHHOLE USB Type C Fingerprint reader In-display Battery and charging 4000 mAh18W fast charging Colours Metallic White or Matte Black colour options Price KES 33000 Availability and pricing The OPPO A93 will be available on 26 October for K33 000. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_5f3.td-a-rec-i...
Pick n Pay Acquires Bottles, an Online Grocery Service
Image sourced from Guzzle Pick n Pay has acquired Bottles – an online grocery delivery service. The agreement, which concluded on 20 October, is expected to strengthen what is said to be sub-Saharan Africa’s ‘largest and most popular online grocery business’. Bottles was launched in 2016 as South Africa’s first alcohol on-demand delivery app, and partnered with Pick n Pay in 2018. Its offer was the first of its kind to promise that orders would be fulfilled within 60 minutes. Following the prohibition on the sale of alcohol in March, Bottles re-purposed its app within four days, emerging with a new offer to deliver on-demand “Grocery Essentials” to customers. Since its move to groceries on 31 March, the app has achieved more than 700,000 downloads, with more than 350,000 registered users. ...
Basalt Technology Appoints New MD
Basalt Technologies has appointed Kyle Hauptfleisch at its new MD. Together with Wayne Zwiers, Basalt’s founder and CEO, Hauptfleisch is expected to lead the software development agency as it expands operations from Africa throughout the UK and Europe. Hauptfleisch has more than 15 years of senior management, business development, and general strategy experience, seven of which were at an executive level in both corporates and start-ups. His leadership experience spans various sectors, including publishing, media, and fintech. Notably, Hauptfleisch was the GM at a technology news company, Sales Director of the online division at one of the biggest media companies in Africa, and a founding partner at a boutique marketing agency that was acquired in 2016. More recently, he was CO...
Vodacom to Invest R320 Million into Rural Broadband Connectivity
Vodacom has revealed its plans to invest just over R320 million into network across KwaZulu Natal during 2020/2021. The lion’s share of the capital expenditure will go towards building new LTE base station sites in both urban and deep rural areas of the province. This network acceleration is expected to aid in removing barriers to communications, provide access to fast internet and help in driving digital inclusion among communities in deep rural areas of the province. The availability of high-speed broadband is critical to deep rural development, but research shows that deep rural communities are lagging behind in terms of broadband connectivity, excluding many from digital transformation. “We have always maintained that the key differentiator for us is the quality, strength and reliabili...
Cell C Reports R7.5 Billion Loss
Image sourced from Town Press Cell C has released its interim results for the six months to June 2020. This inside look at the telco shows that it made a R7.5 billion net loss after tax. This loss, according to a report by My Broadband, was due to a number of ‘once-off costs’, and also reflects impairments to the value of R5 billion. Normalised earnings showed a 64% improvement to R1.8-billion, reflecting the overall impact of the new management team’s strategic focus on optimising its network as well as its emphasis on more profitable customers. However, overall revenue was at R6.9-billion compared to the six months of the previous year (2019: R7.4-billion). More than 89% of its revenue comes from service revenue which was 6% lower at R6.5-billion, while hybrid and Fibre-to-Home saw an in...
Airtel Zambia and Ericsson Joined Forces to Champion eWaste Awareness
Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Zambia and Ericsson have partnered to launch the ‘Product Take-Back’ programme – an initiative that aims to minimize the potential impact of eWaste on the environment. eWaste, not recycled properly, is said to be an under-acknowledged environmental hazard around the world. The Product Take-Back programme is part of Ericsson’s Sustainability efforts geared towards taking accountability for environmental impacts of all products and services during their lifecycle. The programme is expected to ensure that end-of-life material is treated and recycled in an environmentally responsible manner. Airtel’s CEO and MD, Apoorva Mehrotra says, “Airtel is committed to being socially responsible. We believe that the adoption of responsible eWaste disposal techniques will hel...
Nokia and NASA to Build First Ever LTE Network on the Moon
Nokia and NASA have joined forces to deploy the first-ever LTE network on the moon – a major step towards a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface. The end-to-end LTE network – pioneered by Nokia Bell Labs’ – is expected to be ready in late 2022. Nokia is partnering with Intuitive Machines for this mission to integrate it’s technology into their lunar lander to deliver it to the lunar surface. The network will self-configure upon deployment and establish the first LTE communications system on the Moon. The network is expected to provide critical communication capabilities for many different data transmission applications, including vital command and control functions, remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation and streaming of high definition video. /* custom css */ .tdi...
