IT News
Airtel Africa and Mukuru Partner to Facilitate Money Transfers within Africa
Airtel Africa and Mukuru have partnered to enable Mukuru customers to instantly send cross-border transfers directly to Airtel Money customer wallets in 12 African countries. This partnership will be particularly beneficial for customers making intra-Africa payments from Southern Africa where Mukuru has a leading presence. Customers also benefit from no longer having to physically go to an Agent to receive cross-border payments. Once Airtel Money customers receive the funds, they can be used to pay utility bills, goods and services, transferred to family or can be cashed out at any of Airtel Africa’s exclusive branches, kiosks and agents. “This partnership empowers those without a bank account to be included in the formal financial ecosystem and to move money conveniently, seamlessly and s...
Tarsus On Demand Achieves VMware Cloud Verified Status
Tarsus On Demand has announced that it has achieved VMware Cloud Verified status. The Cloud Verified badge signals to customers that Tarsus On Demand offers a service running on top of the complete VMware Cloud infrastructure. The company has a history with VMware that spans 8 years and currently hosts and provides the full remit of VMware Cloud Infrastructure and VMware Cloud Services within its environment to its resellers, cloud service providers and partners. “We are delighted to be one of four partners in Southern Africa to be VMware Cloud Verified. This badge not only speaks to the fact that VMware trusts us to deliver on its cloud services but also offers our customers the peace of mind they require when ensuring cloud portability between their environment and a trusted VMware infra...
Westcon-Comstor Appoints New Commercial Director
Global technology distributor, Westcon-Comstor Sub-Saharan Africa has appointed Dorio Bowes to the position of Commercial Director for Westcon Southern Africa. In his role, Bowes will be responsible for oversight of the Westcon business unit portfolios, including Collaboration and Networking, Cybersecurity and Microsoft solutions, and identifying collaborative opportunities across vendor technologies. This includes driving unique solution and value-led services and product offerings that will provide the Westcon channel with a strategic advantage in addressing opportunities for the South Africa and SADC territories. “Solution selling and value-added services are quintessential to the success of the modern distributor, and I am delighted to welcome Dorio as an executive member to the W...
Twitter Sheds New Light on Unprecedented Hack
Image sourced from Mission Statement Academy Twitter has revealed that the hackers who accessed 130 high-profile accounts – belonging to the likes of Elon Musk, Bill Gates, former US President Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos and Apple, amongst others – were also able to access a number of DM inboxes. In an official tweet, the social media platform says that up to 36 of the 130 targeted accounts, including 1 elected official in the Netherlands, were affected. We believe that for up to 36 of the 130 targeted accounts, the attackers accessed the DM inbox, including 1 elected official in the Netherlands. To date, we have no indication that any other former or current elected official had their DMs accessed. — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 22, 2020 According to The Verge, hackers were able to...
Networks Unlimited Africa Embraces the Power of Three with its Value Offering to Partners
Anton Jacobsz, Networks Unlimited CEO There is a mysterious alchemy about the number three. As the saying goes, ‘Good things come in threes’ – which is why Networks Unlimited Africa is embracing this ‘magic number’. “A triangle, with its three sides, is one of the most stable shapes that you will find, which is why it’s used in building bridges and other structures where supporting a lot of weight is required,” says Anton Jacobsz, CEO at this leading value-added distributor in the sub-Saharan Africa market. “In the world of colour, we find three primary colours that make up all the rest – red, yellow and blue. In sport, we invariably award medals to the top three competitors, while in photography and design, artists often work in the rule of thirds for perspective. And so here ...
Sony Introduces its New Truly Wireless Earbuds
Sony Electronics has launched the latest addition to its Truly Wireless product range – the new WF-XB700 EXTRA BASS earbuds. The new earbuds are said to be designed to provide the perfect, hassle-free music listening experience for people on the go. The earbud’s bluetooth technology removes the need for wired connections for ease of use while the Ergonomic Tri-hold structure creates a comfortable fit. Featuring Sony’s EXTRA BASS technology, the XB700 earbuds create precise, punchy rhythms that lift every track and maintain vocal clarity for a superbly rich, well-rounded listening experience. Music-lovers can enjoy up to 18 hours of their favourite tracks thanks to the handy charging case, while just 10 minutes of quick charging provides 60 minutes of music playback. The earbuds have an IPX...
Facebook’s Investing $57 Billion in Africa’s Economy
Facebook released findings from The Impact of Facebook’s Connectivity Initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa, a study conducted by Analysys Mason that highlights how Facebook investments in infrastructure and connectivity across the region will deliver over $57 Billion in Economic Benefits over the next five years (2020–2024). According to The Economist Intelligence Unit – Inclusive Internet Index 2020, over 800 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are unconnected to the Internet. Facebook’s infrastructure investments and connectivity initiatives include the following: Investing in Infrastructure that supports Internet connectivity Submarine cables – Will enable an increase in the supply of international bandwidth, reduction in costs for ISPs and resulted in a combination of more connectiv...
Has South Africa Run with 5G Before it could Walk?
A number of South African telecommunications companies have recently launched local 5G networks. “The decision to introduce 5G means the service provider has determined that there are enough people in one place who are able to pay for super-fast wireless internet. Yes, it is a great technology. It is fast. It is the cream of mobile terrestrial telecoms and it serves the elite few who can afford it,” says Victor Stephanopoli, COO of MzansiSat. When 2G was introduced to South Africa in 1992, 2G networks were the first to offer data services and SMS text messaging. 2G was followed by LTE, which became 3G and which offered faster data transfer and video calling, making it preferable for smartphones. In 2012, 4G was launched in SA, initially only covering small areas in Johannesburg. Stephanopo...
Openserve Supports Increased Internet Consumption Amidst Pandemic
South African-based infrastructure provider, Openserve has launched another data-led wholesale broadband proposition called Openserve Pure Connect. The genesis of this proposition lies in utilising the value of both copper and fibre infrastructure to connect more households to the internet. Seeing the value that the vast copper and fibre network plays in the greater connectivity ecosystem, Openserve CEO, Althon Beukes, says that “the wholesaling of the hybrid copper and fibre broadband access product compliments Openserve’s overall fixed broadband strategy which is focused on providing fast and consistent connectivity to as many people as possible”. The demand for affordable broadband connectivity has significantly grown as consumers adapt to the prolonged effects of COVID-19. The new norm...
Bitcoin could Rank as the 8th Largest Bank Globally, Research Says
If Bitcoin were a bank, it would rank as the eighth largest bank globally with a market cap of $169.01 billion, according to data gathered by Buy Shares. Bitcoin continues to lead the cryptocurrency sector towards mainstream adoption on a global scale by directly competing with traditional players like banks. The asset’s high cap correlates with its impressive 27.18% ROI on a Year-to-Date basis. Bitcoin beats traditional markets in ROI From the data, JP Morgan Chase’s cap of $433.5 billion, makes it the biggest bank in the world. Bitcoin would also rank lower than the Bank of America with a market cap of $306 billion. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_52f.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_52f.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } ICBC ranks third with a capitalization of $290.9 billion follo...
Huawei Launches HMS Core 5.0 for Developers
Sourced from Getty Images. Huawei has officially launched Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) Core 5.0 for global developers on the official developer website. HMS Core 5.0 introduces services in seven main areas including App Services, Graphics, Media, AI, Smart Device, Security, and System for developers to make the most of Huawei’s “chip-device-cloud” capabilities. HMS Core, integrated with Huawei’s chip-device-cloud capabilities, provides core mobile services for developers. When HMS Core 4.0 was launched back on 15 January 2020, it not only improved existing HMS Core services such as the Push Kit and In-App Purchases, but also introduced new services including the Map Kit, Machine Learning (ML) Kit, Scan Kit, WisePlay DRM, and more. With HMS Core 5.0, more than 20 additional capabilities – s...
Telkom to Transition Customers from Copper-based Internet to Fibre
Image sourced from My Broadband Telkom has announced that it is transitioning its South African customers from copper-based internet to new-generation fibre technology in all fibre-ready regions. The telecommunications provider says that it is currently hard at work upgrading its customers from copper ADSL internet to fibre-based internet. This migration applies to all customers residing in fibre-ready regions around the country where the current DSL infrastructure overlaps with the FTTH footprint. Telkom notes that fibre promises a significant improvement in users’ connectivity experience and assures customers that they will receive the support that they need to undergo the upgrade with minimal stress and disruption. “With technology advancing so rapidly, we want to help keep our customer...
