Southern Africa
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...
Mobile in Africa Introduces the Best Tech for Every South African
With a wide array of global tech competitors making a name in the South African market, big brands are losing their foothold and market share to younger, more agile and much more affordable brands. High-end, high-price isn’t necessarily what South Africans are after in the current economic climate, so it is the responsibility of tech brands and distributors to be innovative and globally savvy to meet the needs of all South Africans. Mobile in Africa, the official distribution partner of Xiaomi, has made it their mandate to keep up with tech trends and provide a diversity of IoT products catering to every budget. Mobile in Africa’s devotion to bringing top tech and the pinnacle of new, exciting and affordable technology to every South African has seen the addition of more and more impressiv...
MultiChoice South Africa Appoints New CEO
Image sourced from The Vanguard Nigeria MultiChoice Group has appointed Nyiko Shiburi as the new CEO of its South African (MCSA) operations – effective from 1 December 2020. Until now, Shiburi has been the Regional Director of MultiChoice Africa: Southern Region — a role that spans nine countries. “Nyiko is an extremely experienced leader and has successfully navigated the complexity of multiple territories and businesses, working with deeply skilled teams within the organisation as well as a multitude of stakeholders in our ecosystem,” says MultiChoice Group CEO, Calvo Mawela. As the new CEO of MCSA, Shiburi will be expected to further drive the growth and momentum of the South African business. Fhulufhelo Badugela will assume the role of Regional Director of MultiChoice Africa: Sout...
Stripe to Acquire Nigeria’s Paystack
Sourced from Redbubble and iStock. Stripe has revealed that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Paystack, a payments collection company based in Lagos, Nigeria. According to an official statement, Paystack works with more than 60,000 businesses in Nigeria and Ghana to securely collect online and offline payments. It also processes more than half of all online transactions in Nigeria and has plans to expand across the continent, having recently started a pilot with businesses in South Africa. Stripe and Paystack have been working closely together for some time. In 2018, Stripe led Paystack’s Series A financing round and has provided ongoing guidance as the company rapidly scaled. “In just five years, Paystack has done what many companies could not achieve in decades. Their tech-firs...
Uber Launches Medication Delivery Service in South Africa
Sourced from CNet. Uber South Africa and Medicare have partnered to launch an over-the-counter medication delivery service. “We strongly believe in reinventing pharmacy, and thanks to this partnership with Uber Eats this is made possible,” says Tim Knapp, CEO of Medicare. “Getting the medication South Africans need, when they need it, without the risk of leaving their home is just the beginning as we continue to explore how best we can bring access, convenience and reliability in our everyday needs.” According to Uber, the medication available will include both schedule 1 and 2 medicine. And consumers will be required to present their IDs on collection. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_93c.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_93c.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “Seeing how quickly locals...
Rain Announces Appointment of New CEO
Image sourced from MyBroadband Rain has announced the appointment of Brandon Leigh as its newest CEO – effective from 1 March 2021. Leigh will be taking over from the telco’s current CEO, Willem Roos, who will move to a non-executive role from 1 March 2021. “Willem joined rain in January 2018 and played a key role in taking rain from a start-up business to an established player in the telecommunications industry in South Africa,” says Paul Harris, Rain chairman. “When Willem joined, we agreed to a three-year tenure, and so it is natural that Brandon, as an original founder, resumes the CEO role. Brandon has been the visionary behind rain and the ideal person to continue growing the business.” Harris adds, “We also have a six-month handover period ensuring a smooth transition.” According to...
Vodacom and Rain Partnership Constitutes a Merger, According to Telkom
Telkom has approached the Competition Tribunal to declare the suite of spectrum arrangements between Vodacom and Rain as a merger – something that it believes should have been notifiable in terms of the Competition Act. The Telco says that the merger is notifiable because “the multiple agreements between Vodacom and Rain grant Vodacom use and control over the deployment of Rain’s spectrum, including the planning, rollout, maintenance and service of its radio access network”. According to Telkom’s Group Executive for Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations, Siyabonga Mahlangu, Vodacom’s ability to control Rain’s spectrum entrenches its position as a dominant player in a highly concentrated market. “It is important that the effects of spectrum arrangements on competition are scrutin...
Telkom to Launch Local Streaming Platform
Telkom is expected to launch a new streaming platform called TelkomONE in November 2020. The video service will host a variety of local South Africa content including music, education and series. “TelkomONE is a proudly local and South African service and naturally, we want to host and showcase outstanding content by content producers from our very own shores, including filmmakers, videographers, writers and directors on the platform,” says Wanda Mkhize, Executive of Smart Home & Content at Telkom. TelkomONE will be available on Web, App and Streaming Box and comes in daily, weekly and monthly subscription packages over and above a free section with a wide range of TV channels available to customers from most major networks. Mkhize goes on to say that the telco is looking for fresh cre...
Xiaomi Introduces 2 New Smartphones in South Africa
Xiaomi has introduced two new smartphones to the South African market – the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Redmi Note 9. Here’s a closer look at the latest additions to the Xiaomi Redmi Note series Featuring an impressive quad-camera setup in the rear, the Redmi Note 9 Pro’s 64MP main lens captures crisp, ultra-high resolution images in all lighting conditions while its 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens enables stunning large group images without compromise. A 5MP macro lens and 2MP depth sensor round out the rear camera, letting users take stunning close-up shots with fantastic bokeh. On the front, the device sports a 16MP in-display camera for high-quality selfies. Its new slow-motion selfie mode captures hilarious slow-motion videos. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_1d1.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_1d1...
Liquid Telecoms Appoints New CEO
Liquid Telecom has appointed Deon Geyser as its new CEO – effective 1 January 2021. Geyser holds a master’s degree in engineering management as well as bachelor’s degrees in Electronic Engineering and IT from the University of Johannesburg. Prior to joining LTSA, and in his 18-year career, he has held senior management positions at Siemens and Millicom International Cellular (Tigo). His most recent position being that of Head of Southern Africa and Vodafone Africa for Nokia since 2014. “We are delighted to welcome Deon to Liquid Telecom South Africa,” says Group COO, Ahmad Mokhles. “He is a proven leader and his strong knowledge of both the local market and the continent, extensive management experience in both the public and private sector and the track records in digital transformat...
MTN Named Best Mobile Network in South Africa
MTN has the best mobile network in South Africa, according to findings from the Q3 2020 Mobile Network Quality Report. The report, from MyBroadband Insights, shows that South Africans had an average mobile download speed of 29.16Mbps and an average upload speed of 11.46Mbps. To determine the best mobile network in South Africa, a “Network Quality Score” out of 10 was calculated for each network using download speed, upload speed, and latency. MTN reigned supreme with a Network Quality Score of 9.68, followed by Vodacom on 5.99, Telkom on 5.16, Cell C on 4.27, and Rain on 3.74. Here’s a closer look at the mobile network rankings: /* custom css */ .tdi_3_1f1.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_1f1.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Network Operator Download Speed (Mbps) Upload ...
