Southern Africa
Paratus and Telecom Namibia to Land Subsea Cable in Namibia
Telecom Namibia CEO, Stanley Shanapinda and Paratus Group CEO Barney Harmse Paratus and Telecom Namibia have agreed to land subsea cable, Equiano, in Namibia. This move is expected to provide Namibian networks with greater capacity, stimulate economic growth and support a competitive telecommunication sector. “This is a major milestone for Paratus,” says Paratus Group CEO, Barney Harmse. “We are honoured to be co-investing with Telecom Namibia on the Equiano subsea cable project because this matches our goals of delivering unlimited connectivity and building Africa’s quality network with all the Internet capacity it needs.” In 2019, Google first announced its subsea cable project would connect Africa with Europe, running along the west coast of Africa, between Portugal and South Africa. Th...
9 Ways to Save Electricity in South Africa
Image sourced from Brand South Africa In South Africa, load shedding is expected to continue as power demand exceeds supply and more downtime is needed for overdue maintenance of the system. It is estimated that load shedding could have cost South Africa as much as R338 billion over the past 10 years, according to a report from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). This includes loss of production, where most businesses use electricity for machinery, technology and light to complete the day’s work. To help keep the lights on, here are nine thoughts on how to save electricity: Turn off unnecessary lights and switch to energy-saving LED light bulbs. Additionally, use natural light wherever possible. Take shorter showers – save water as well as electricity. Turn the hot w...
Starlink Internet Service Available for Pre-Order in South Africa
Satellite internet service, Starlink is now available for pre-order in South Africa. The SpaceX subsidiary is offering a limited number of subscribers the chance to experience its high-speed, low-latency broadband beta service – said to be suited for areas where connectivity has been unreliable or completely unavailable. Starlink uses satellites that are over 60 times closer to Earth than traditional satellites, resulting in lower latency (the time it takes to send data from one point to the next) and the ability to support services typically not possible with traditional satellite internet. According to the company, during the beta phase, users can expect to see data speeds vary from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s and latency from 20ms to 40ms in most locations over the next several months. There will...
Nutanix Appoints New Systems Engineering Director for Sub-Saharan Africa
Nutanix has appointed James Sturrock as Systems Engineering Director for Western Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa (WEURSSA). He will be responsible for all technical resources in the WEURSSA region as they engage with end-users and channel and OEM partners. Commenting on his appointment, Sturrock says “I am thrilled to be taking on this new challenge at what is such a transformative time for Nutanix and the industry as a whole. With such a talented team around me and an unrivalled technology portfolio, I look forward to playing my part in advancing Nutanix’s leadership in hybrid cloud infrastructure.” Having joined Nutanix in early 2015, Sturrock has held various roles within the Systems Engineering team and was quickly promoted from Engineer to Manager and now Director. During his tenur...
Telkom Introduces Unlimited Voice Plans for South African Businesses
Telkom has introduced an unlimited voice plan offer for small businesses in South Africa. This product is expected to allow subscribers to save up to 30% on calls for just R199 per month. “Through the unlimited voice calls product, we are subsidising the Small & Medium Business customers who have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is aimed at helping small businesses to get back up on their feet by reducing their operational costs. Voice calling is a critical inout into an SME’s business operation,” says Dumisani Bengu, CCO at Telkom Business. “The price point is set at R199, which we believe many small businesses will be able to afford in order to gain access to unlimited voice calls every month,” he adds. The offer will be available until the end of July 2021 but due...
AstraZeneca Vaccine Only ‘Minimally Effective’ Against South African COVID-19 Variant, says Researchers
Image sourced from TimesLIVE The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has proven ‘minimally effective’ against the South African variant, according to the Wits Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics (VIDA) research unit. So far, South Africa has received one million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. In an official report, researchers from South Africa and the UK found that “viral neutralisation by sera induced by the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 coronavirus vaccine against the B.1.351 coronavirus variant were substantially reduced when compared with the ‘original’ strain of the coronavirus”. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_ec0.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_ec0.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford, Sarah Gilbert revealed that efforts are alrea...
Why SMEs are the Lifeblood of the South African Economy
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent a staggering 98% of business in South Africa today. The fact that SMEs also employ between 50 and 60% of the country’s workforce and are responsible for a quarter of the job growth in the private sector – according to McKinsey – means they truly are the backbone of the South African economy. Yet it is SMEs that have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdown regulations have wreaked havoc, with the cash flows essential to sustaining smaller businesses completely drying up in some instances. Tragic stories of once-thriving businesses having to close their doors litter the financial landscape, and certainly, the virus could not come along at a worse time for owners already grappling with a precarious economy prior to its arrival. Bu...
Gijima’s T-system SA Take Over is Approved by Competition Commission
Gijima has announced that the T-system South Africa (TSSA) acquisition has been approved by the Competition Commission. This deal is expected to position Gijima as the largest Black-owned ICT company in Southern Africa, with about 500 new employees joining Gijima in March. TSSA has been operating in South Africa for over 20 years, providing ICT networks, applications and solutions to a number of industries. Although the announcement was made in October, after a long period of negotiations, the acquisition was still subject to approval from the Competition Commission. This game-changing deal will enable Gijima to have access to international IP, TSSA’s global Cybersecurity Security Operations Centre (SOC), certificates, expertise and best practices. Further, the acquisition of T-Systems bus...
OPPO Partners with MTN to Offer Affordable Range of Devices
OPPO has joined forces with MTN South Africa to introduce the A15 and A53s devices. This collaboration is said to make state-of-the-art technology available at more affordable rates. Here’s a closer look at the OPPO A15 and A53s devices: OPPO A15 OPPO A53s Screen Size and resolution 16.52” with 1600 x 720p HD+ 6.5” with 1600 x 720p resolution Camera 13MP Main Camera 13MP Triple Rear Main Camera Storage 2GB + 32GB 4GB + 128GB Operating System ColorOS 7.2 based on Android 10 ColorOS 7.2 based on Android 10 Colour Dynamic Black, Mystery Blue Electric Black, Fancy Blue Processor MediaTek Helio P35 Processor Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon “Having OPPO’s high-end and superbly crafted handsets available at MTN stores offers our customers a wider selection of affordable devices th...
MediaTek Helio G95 to Power Gaming Devices in South Africa
Image sourced from 9to5Google MediaTek has launched its gaming chip, the Helio G95, in South Africa. Enhanced with MediaTek HyperEngine gaming technology, the G-series chip features multi-camera support, unrivalled connectivity, and AI Super-Resolution for video streams. The MediaTek Helio G95 is expected to offer gaming enthusiasts faster performance and high-end features like advanced multi-camera photography – up to four cameras with an integrated AI processing unit (APU). The chip is also equipped with an ultra-low-power, HDR10 standard display, which can be enhanced to approach HDR10+ quality in real-time. “South Africa is our top Smartphone market in Africa with annual shipments expected to grow towards 15 million in contrast to some decline globally. We have been actively enabling A...
Telkom Group Appoints New CFO
Telkom has announced the appointment of Dirk Reyneke as Chief Financial Officer – to be taken on with immediate effect. He succeeds Tsholofelo Molefe who has resigned to join MTN Group. According to TechCentral, Reyneke was previously CFO of Telkom’s wholesale division, Openserve, and before that, he was CFO of its property business, Gyro. He was also a director of finance and operations at ABSA. The company has also announced changes to its board which include naming Kholeka Mzondeki as the chair of its social and ethics committee, Fagmeedah Petersen-Cook to a member of the nominations committee and Keith Rayner to the investment and transactions committee. Airtel Africa and Telkom Under Investigation by the Communications Authority of Kenya Airtel Africa and Telkom have been placed under...
