tech news
Telkom South Africa Awarded Mobile Communication Services Contract by National Treasury
Telkom has been appointed as one of the official service providers, under the RT15-2021 Transversal contract, to provide government institutions with Mobile Communication Services for the period commencing 1 April 2021 and ending 31 March 2026. The Transversal Contract RT15-2021 is a 5-year tender that offers the successful mobile service providers the opportunity to service the South African government with all its mobile and enterprise solutions including hardware and software as well as accessories. “We couldn’t be prouder to be selected as a worthy partner by the National Treasury to back our country by being its enabler in excellent and secure communications and empower the National Treasury in fulfilling its social and economic duties efficiently; all the while also contributing to t...
Huawei Mate40 Pro Officially Launches in South Africa
Huawei’s newest flagship smartphone – the Mate40 Pro – is officially available in South Africa. The device incorporates Kirin 9000, the world’s first 5nm 5G SoC; Ultra Vision Cine Camera technology and user-friendly AI. The Mate40 Pro comes with the Huawei 88° Horizon Display, an ultra-curved display featuring an 88-degree arc. The practically invisible edges allow for a wider perspective that lends itself to a more immersive visual experience. The streamlined display fills the frontal view of the device, and extends beyond the edges, sitting flush with the mid-frame to produce a more comfortable hold. The smartphone sports the highly advanced 5nm Kirin 9000 flagship SoC, which packs more than 15.3 billion transistors. The cutting edge 5nm Kirin 9000 is manufactured with one of the industr...
5 Things to Do After a Ransomware Attack
In South Africa, 42% of ransomware victims pay the ransom to restore access to their data. Yet for 19% of those, paying the ransom did not guarantee the return of stolen data. However, as public awareness of potential cyber threats grows there is the reason for optimism in the fight against ransomware. Ransomware is a type of malware which criminals use to extort money. It holds data to ransom using encryption or by locking users out of their device. According to a report from Kaspersky, whether they paid or not, only 24% of victims were able to restore all their encrypted or blocked files following an attack. 61% lost at least some files, 32% lost a significant amount, and 29% lost a small number of files. Meanwhile, 11% who did experience such an incident lost almost all their data. “Thi...
NuovoPay Partners with Angaza to Drive Smartphone Accessibility
NuovoPay, a solution pioneering in de-risking device financing for OEMs, telecom carriers and device financing institutions has now joined hands with Angaza, a leading provider of software technology designed specifically for last-mile distribution businesses. Growing Demand for Smartphones The global market for affordable smartphones is steadily expanding, with Africa observing a large spike in demand for smartphone devices in late 2020. Nearly 22.9 million smartphones shipped to Africa in Q3 2020 alone despite COVID-19 restrictions, according to research from Global Market Intelligence firm, IDC. The demand for affordable technology in Africa, most notably for smartphones, is colossal and can be largely attributed to growing e-learning needs. Smartphone technology is known to provi...
MTN MoMo Extends Partnership with Pick n Pay South Africa
MTN MoMo (Mobile Money) has revealed that its South African subscribers will now be able to cash-in and cash-out at Pick n Pay stores across the country, offering consumers a secure and cost-effective means of transacting that also alleviates the risks of managing cash. “We’re pleased to extend our relationship with Pick n Pay by offering quick and convenient cash-in and cash-out services to our 2,8 million MoMo subscribers through Pick n Pay stores,” says Felix Kamenga, Chief Officer of Mobile Financial Services at MTN SA. “Until now, MoMo customers have only able to cash-out through bank EFTs, at an MTN store or via a MoMo agent. Adding Pick n Pay to our offering will create greater convenience and accessibility for our customers – many of whom need to factor transport ...
South African National Treasury Awards Vodacom New Mobile Services Contract
The South African National Treasury has awarded Vodacom with a new mobile communication services contract. “Truly, we are excited to continue our partnership with government for another five years and we will deliver to accelerate its digitalisation programme through the new RT15-2021 transversal contract,” says Chief Officer for Vodacom Business, William Mzimba. “Through the previous contract, we successfully delivered significant financial benefits in costs savings, expedited and streamlined procurement of services and ushered unprecedented digitalisation of government departments, agencies, State-Owned Entities and municipalities” The RT15 served as a platform for Vodacom Business to support government and amplify their productivity while increasing efficiency. To achieve the expec...
Cell C Appointed as Preferred Service Provider to South African Government
Image sourced from Town Press Cell C has been appointed as one of the preferred service providers to the South African Government for the delivery of mobile communication services. This is for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2026. The mobile communication services contract is known as RT15-2021 and was previously held exclusively by Vodacom for a five-year period. “This award marks a significant milestone for Cell C and is testament to our understanding of the needs of government and tailoring innovative solutions that matter to them, with extra value,” says Douglas Craigie Stevenson, CEO of Cell C. “It reflects the confidence in our brand and the tenacity of the company. I’m extremely proud of the effort our team put into Cell C’s proposal.” In awarding the tender the National Treasur...
LinkedIn is Testing ‘Social Audio Experience’ to Rival Clubhouse
Image sourced from Search Engine Journal LinkedIn is testing a ‘social audio experience’, according to TechCrunch. This feature would allow app users to “connect with their community” across its network. Different to Clubhouse or other rivals being built by Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn believes its audio networking feature will connect with users’ professional identity, “not just a social profile”. “We’re seeing nearly 50% growth in conversations on LinkedIn reflected in stories, video shares, and posts on the platform,” says LinkedIn Spokesperson, Suzi Owens. “We’re doing some early tests to create a unique audio experience connected to your professional identity. And, we’re looking at how we can bring audio to other parts of LinkedIn such as events and groups, to give our members ...
MTN South Africa Appointed as Mobile Provider to Government
MTN South Africa has been appointed by the National Treasury as the new mobile provider to the Government. The contract allows for all entities of state to “utilise the contract for mobile communication services, which will further assist with cost containment”. The scale of the government’s requirements is expected to allow MTN to develop systems, innovative pricing and products that will not add value to South Africa and also significantly improve on existing mobile telecommunications service delivery. “We are both humbled and honoured by the faith National Treasury has shown in MTN with this critical partnership over a five-year term. A huge team at MTN spent months analysing the state’s requirements and then developing the very best solutions to not only meet those expectations, but to...
iOCO Brings Fortinet’s Secure SD-WAN to Local Financial Services Institution
iOCO, the ICT services business of the JSE-listed EOH Group, has been chosen to assist a large financial services company in the implementation of its software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN) rollout. This has allowed the firm to take a bold move forward in its stated aim of building a network incorporating the ‘modernised branch of the future’. Brett van Rensburg, Sales Director for iOCO’s Compute division, says: “Having recently undertaken a rigorous year-long request for proposal (RFP) process to choose our SD-WAN providers, we were duly impressed with the Fortinet Secure SD-WAN offering. “This new project with the financial services company has now allowed us to test the scope and breadth of the Fortinet solution, with truly impressive results. The top benefits that Fortine...
Visa Could Soon Allow Users to Settle Payments with Cryptocurrency
Image sourced from Headquarters Office Visa has revealed that it could soon let customers settle transactions using cryptocurrency. According to Reuters, the company has launched a pilot programme that uses USD Coin – a stablecoin that is pegged directly to the US dollar – across its payment network. “We see increasing demand from consumers across the world to be able to access, hold and use digital currencies and we’re seeing demand from our clients to be able to build products that provide that access for consumers,” says Cuy Sheffield, Head of Cryptocurrency at Visa. This comes shortly after crypto-enthusiast and Tesla founder, Elon Musk confirmed that the electric car company will now accept Bitcoin as a form of payment – news that has caused the price of Bitcoin to rise 5%. ...
Why Private Cellular Networks are Critical to Trade
Increases in global development and international populations have put bigger demands on trade and in turn, ports and shipping. To manage the boom, ports are improving operations and efficiency with automation, powered by 5G-ready private cellular networks. According to the World Bank, trade represented more than 60% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019. And 90% of the world’s trade is facilitated by the shipping industry, according to the International Chamber of Shipping. The vast importance of future ports to shipping makes them a vital element for the function of the global economy. According to statistics data from the United Nations Conference on Trade Development, of the four main types of shipping vessels (oil, bulk cargo, general cargo, and globally standardised cont...
