Southern Africa
Telkom Launches Mobile Streaming Service in South Africa
Telkom has partnered with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to launch a new streaming channel, TelkomONE. The mobile operator channel will house SABC’s television channels 1, 2, Sport and Education as well as all 19 SABC radio stations. The five-year partnership, a first-of-its-kind for the SABC, is expected to showcase South Africa’s most-watched TV programmes and most listened to radio platforms, on one online platform. “We are excited about the opportunity to provide South Africans with free access to watch their favourite SABC content, online, when and wherever they want,” says Sipho Maseko, Telkom’s Group CEO. “TelkomONE will make it possible for subscribers to pause, go back into the programme guide (time-shift) and instantly watch a scheduled TV show they may have mi...
Mara Phones Unveils its First Store in South Africa
Mara Phones has officially opened its first experience store at the Maponya Mall in Soweto, South Africa – exactly one year after it launched the country’s first smartphone manufacturing facility. According to the company, this marks a step in the right direction for Africa’s home-grown smartphone brand – noting that it hopes to open 50 Mara Experience Stores, both company-owned and independently operated, before the end of 2022. “The launch of the first Mara Experience Store cements our commitment to expand our retail footprint in South Africa and to make it easier for customers to experience and purchase our smartphones,” says Sylvester Taku, Head of Growth at Mara Phones South Africa. “Opening the first Mara Experience Store in Soweto’s first mall makes a positive statement about our be...
4 Ways to Safely and Securely Navigate Black Friday Online
Black Friday in 2020 is expected to see more South Africans than ever before shopping, and paying, online. According to a recent McKinsey & Company consumer sentiment survey, 40% of consumers intend to continue online shopping spend even when the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Thomas Pays, CEO and co-founder of digital payments company Ozow, says the sharp rise in online shopping and eCommerce has highlighted the need for innovative technology-driven solutions that allow shoppers to shop and pay safely online – including consumers who don’t have credit or debit cards. With this year’s Black Friday deals running over four weeks at many retailers, Pays’ says the way to successfully navigate Black Friday responsibly relies on four factors: Stick to a plan and set budget. The overwhelming numb...
Huawei Announces Watch GT 2 Pro Launch Date
Image sourced from Android Authority Huawei has announced that it’s Watch GT 2 Pro will officially launch in South Africa on Saturday, 7 November. The latest addition to the Watch GT series boasts a long-lasting two-week battery life and a broad range of exercise and health functions, as well as offering professional guidance and intelligent smart control features. This flagship smartwatch launches with a rugged design featuring premium materials, including a sapphire watch crystal, titanium case and skin-friendly ceramic case back that combines with another sapphire glass black to enhance monitoring accuracy and wearing comfort. Additionally, Watch GT 2 Pro supports apps to provide a convenient means for users to get even more features. Huawei also plans to further augment the smart ...
Subscription Platforms may not “React Kindly” to SABC’s Proposed TV Licence Fees, says Attorney
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has plans to push new regulations that would call for South Africans to pay TV Licence fees for using private subscription services, like Netflix and DStv. And that these platforms would have to collect the TV licences on behalf of the public broadcaster. According to Ian Jacobsberg, Director for Corporate, Mergers, and Acquisitions at Tabacks Attorneys, this is a desperate attempt to address the SABC’s dire financial plight without addressing the reasons that created it in the first place. “The low levels of collections the SABC has achieved to date may largely be attributed to public resistance to funding what is seen to be endemic wastage and corruption, and there is understandably considerable resistance to widening the revenue base if ...
Huawei to Launch the P smart 2021 in South Africa
Huawei has revealed that the latest addition to its P smart range – the P smart 2021 – is set to launch in South Africa on 6 November. This entry-level smartphone is expected to be packed with a super-fast Huawei SuperCharge for quick recharge speeds, an enduring battery life that keeps up with the youth’s busy lifestyle, a smarter camera that allows users to effortlessly capture what they see and a beautiful big display for immersive viewing. The Huawei P smart 2021 is also said to not cut corners when it comes to its camera. This smartphone inherits many of the clever camera tricks from Huawei’s mid- to high-end models, which means it’s sure to make a big splash with its photographic capabilities. The Huawei P smart 2021’s Kirin chipset and RAM allow multiple apps to run smoothly at the ...
Teraco Begins Construction on Africa’s Largest Single-Site Data Centre
Teraco has revealed that construction has commenced on a new hyperscale data centre with 38 megawatts (MW) of critical power load in Ekurhuleni, South Africa. The facility, known as JB4, is scheduled for completion in the beginning of 2022 and is expected to be the largest data centre in Africa. “South Africa is strategically located at the tip of the African continent and as a result, is positioned as a technology and data centre hub for sub-Saharan Africa. This is further underpinned by growing undersea and terrestrial fibre connectivity to the rest of Africa,” says Jan Hnizdo, CEO of Teraco. “The continued increase of cloud adoption in Africa is also being enabled by investments in critical infrastructure, including hyperscale data centre facilities such as JB4. This will enable global ...
Telkom and Frogfoot Partner to Increase Fibre-to-the-Home Coverage
Telkom has chosen Frogfoot to be its third party fibre network operator as of 2 November 2020. The Fibre-To-The Home (FTTH) provider has an expansive fibre footprint in South Africa with more than 220 000 homes passed. “We are proud of this collaboration with a credible fibre provider that has over 15 years’ experience in the telecoms industry,” says Gugu Mthembu, Executive: Brand and Product Segments at Telkom. “The partnership will widen our reach in the areas where OpenServe fibre currently does not exist, meaning Telkom’s competitive offerings will now become available to customers we couldn’t reach previously. However, we will not be leaving behind our existing customers with services running over the copper infrastructure within the Frogfoot footprint.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_4...
Paxful and Uhuru Wallet Join Forces to Ease Money Transfers
Paxful has partnered with Uhuru Wallet to add a new payment method to its platform. This collaboration is expected to give South Africans access to the crypto economy, making it easier to make money transfers. The cost of financial transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa can be sky-high. Fortunately, the global crypto-currency space is providing African users with a cheaper alternative for personal and business-related transactions across borders. A recent report by the blockchain forensic and research group Chainalysis on cryptocurrency use around the globe revealed that monthly crypto transfers under $10,000 to and from Africa jumped more than 55% in a year, reaching $316 million in June 2020. The number of monthly transfers nearly doubled, surpassing 600,000 transactions with mos...
Huawei Introduces Petal Search to South Africa
Huawei has announced the launch of its search engine app, Petal Search, in South Africa. The service is now officially available in 170 countries across the globe, supporting more than 50 languages. This addition to the Huawei Mobile Services ecosystem allows users to instantly find the information they need. In addition, with the cooperation with global and local partners, Petal Search is vigorously developing local life search services, to provide users with a rich location-based and scenario-based search experience. When a user looks up local live content, Petal Search provides high-quality and most popular localized information, such as personalized recommendations or nearby foods, worth visiting local attractions, and shopping discounts. Huawei Launches Petal Maps and Huawei Doc...
Africa CDC warns of possible second wave of virus infection
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Friday urged the African continent to brace itself for possible second wave COVID-19 infections. According to Africa CDC, the number of confirmed cases in the African continent has reached 1,759,794. The continental disease control and prevention agency said in a statement that the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 42,336 as of Friday afternoon. A total of 1,438,841 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent so far, the Africa CDC said. The most COVID-19 affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria. The Southern Africa region is the most COVID-19 affected region both in terms of the number of confirmed posit...
LG Introduces New Noise Cancelling Earphones
LG has introduced a new addition to its LG Tone Free lineup – the LG FN7. These earphones are expected to add Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) to provide even greater listening pleasure and enhanced personal audio experience. “LG has always striven to deliver more options to consumers and with our newest TONE Free earbuds we are expanding our lineup to audiophiles who desire the very best that audio technology has to offer,” says Park Hyung-woo, head of LG’s audio and video division. The LG Tone Free FN7 sport adjustable ear gels with patented twist-fit Vortex Ribs design deliver a tighter in-ear seal to minimize outside noise seepage. With ANC activated, environmental noises are now almost completely neutralized, making every note and voice sound clearer, more natural, without losing the d...
