technology news
Prepaid Electricity Consumption: The Connection Section
Prepaid electricity consumption is a sensible option for many people, under a number of different circumstances: for the home or business owner, for the tenant, for the owner of an Airbnb property, for example. But how do you know what to look for when you first set out to share in the benefits offered by prepaid electricity consumption? Your metering company should be rock-solid A prepaid electricity sub-meter is a device that helps users control and regulate the usage of electricity. It works much like a prepaid cellphone, whereby you pay upfront before you use it, therefore eliminating large unexpected monthly bills. And as with your cellphone service, you want to know that you are signing up with a good provider. Here are some points to ponder when choosing your electricity sub-meterin...
MÉTISS Undersea Cable Connects South Africa to Mauritius
MÉTISS is a 3,200 km subsea fibre optic cable system that connects South Africa to the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar, Reunion and Mauritius – it lands in Amanzimtoti and is backhauled by Liquid Telecoms to Teraco’s data centre in Durban. With MÉTISS consortium members having the infrastructure in both the Teraco Durban (DB1) and Johannesburg (JB1)data centre facilities, the Indian Ocean Islands have direct access to Teraco’s ecosystem of over 300 networks, 130 IT service providers, 50 global content providers, and the key global cloud providers says Michele McCann, Head of Interconnection and Peering at Teraco. The availability of a new cable servicing the Indian Ocean Islands region widens the addressable market for content and cloud providers in South Africa. It adds new r...
Africa Tech Week Day 1: Unlocking Africa’s Tech Potential
Africa Tech Week has officially kicked off. The two-day virtual summit hosted a galaxy of out-of-this-world speakers, including the panel discussion by Marian Croak, VP of engineering at Google and Lindiwe Matali founder and CEO of Africa Teen Geeks. Marian and Lindiwe delved into how important it is for individuals, especially young girls, and women to have mentors. Starting with Inequality Marian motivationally advised that one should “find a sense of strength within one’s self and reiterated that if you are not failing you are not learning. Yemi Keri, CEO of Heckerbella and co-founder of Rising Tide Africa, was quoted saying that, “the more female investors we get on the continent the more we will reduce the funding gap for female entrepreneurs.” Yemi also spoke on the reasons inv...
New M-PESA Update Allows Users to Send Money to Multiple People
Sourced from Tech Weez. Safaricom has introduced a new M-PESA app feature that allows users to send money to up to five people at the same time. According to Gadgets Africa, a big reason why the telco may have introduced this feature is to make it easier for companies to pay employees via the app. “Most times you’d have to send them their dues one by one which can be tedious. Now this update should help ease that pressure. We’re not sure yet if it lets you select different amounts for different people but if that’s the case it’s even better.” MTN Bids for Ethiopian Telco Licence Alongside Vodacom and Safaricom MTN Group has reportedly made a bid for an Ethiopian telecommunications licence alongside Vodacom Group and Safaricom. Finance ministry adviser, Brook Taye says that the consortium o...
Are All Satellite Internet Services Created Equal?
Are all satellite services created equal? Are the low latency services promoted by Starlink the holy grail to a mass market for satellite broadband? What is really required to support business connectivity requirements, and what are the real details to be considered? As media awareness grows and the market realises the potential of satellite services, it is becoming increasingly important to discuss architecture specifics in order to guide application design and network implementation considerations. Smart Satellite Services Current satellite services are much more advanced than previous generations. It is no longer just about the myths that satellite is slow, expensive, and has a latency problem. Satellite platforms have evolved way past those days and are now advanced IP connectivity sol...
Here’s How Much it Costs to Recover from a Ransomware Attack in 2021
Sourced from International IDEA The cost of an average ransomware attack has more than doubled in a year, increasing from $761,106 in 2020 to $1.85 million in 2021. According to “The State of Ransomware 2021” report from Sophos, the average ransom paid is $170,404. While the number of organizations that experienced a ransomware attack fell from 51% of respondents surveyed in 2020 to 37% in 2021, and fewer organizations suffered data encryption as the result of a significant attack (54% in 2021 compared to 73% in 2020), the new survey results reveal worrying upward trends, particularly in terms of the impact of a ransomware attack. “The apparent decline in the number of organizations being hit by ransomware is good news, but it is tempered by the fact that this is likely to reflect, at...
Infobip Appoints Former Microsoft Heavyweight to Board
Infobip has appointed its new Vice President of Planning and Strategy Implementation, Marin Bezić to the Board of Directors. An experienced management consultant with a deep understanding of the sector and expertise in building out bluechip tech organisations, Bezić is ideally suited to help define and support the company’s long and short term strategic business objectives as the Group continues to extend its global footprint. He will be responsible for optimising business management including enhancing the Go-To-Market framework and overseeing revenue operations. Previously at Microsoft, he was central to product development and the force behind Microsoft’s first business intelligence application. “I’m excited to be a part of Infobip’s story. The feeling is very similar to the beginning o...
Uber Won’t Charge Trip Cancellation Fees in Kenya
Sourced from CNet. Uber revealed that it will no longer charge fees to Kenyan users, specifically in Mombasa and Nairobi, who cancel their rides. In an email to users, the ride-hailing platform says, “At Uber, we are always monitoring rider experience, market dynamics, and fare structures. This is to ensure our app continues to be a reliable and affordable option for you. With this in mind, we are removing all trip cancellation fees.” “Please note this has been implemented across all our products in Nairobi and Mombasa. As always we will continue to monitor your experience on our app, to ensure Uber remains your first app of choice.” This comes shortly after the company announced the expansion of its services throughout the country. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_f22.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: lef...
500,000 People Pre-Order’s SpaceX’s Internet Service Starlink
SpaceX’s satellite Internet service – Starlink – has recorded more than 500,000 orders and deposits from customers. 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. “To date, over half a million people have placed an order or put down a deposit for Starlink,” says Siva Bharadvaj, SpaceX operations engineer. “With every launch, we get closer to connecting more people across the world.” According to Business Insider, the company launched 60 more Starlink satellites into orbit using one of its Falcon 9 rockets, completing its 10th Starlink mission of 2021 and its 26th m...
3 Things to Consider When Adopting SaaS
Sourced from Business News Daily Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provides organisations with enterprise-level scalability and a rich environment via a cost-effective model, allowing smaller businesses access to technology that typically used to be bespoke for enterprise customers. While SaaS was initially designed to service the Small and Medium Business (SMB) market, it has subsequently evolved to a point where large enterprises are seeing the value of this model. The fact that the model lends itself to scale up or down means that organisations of all sizes can benefit from SaaS or Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS). Reprioritise Technology Resources The main benefit of adopting SaaS or BaaS is that companies typically gain on economies of scale, while the cost to entry is lower than an outright pur...
MTN Group Reports Service Revenue Growth in 2021
Sourced from TheTechieGuy (https://thetechieguy.com/) MTN Group has reported strong operational and financial performance for the first quarter of 2021. “The MTN Group has delivered a solid Q1 2021 trading performance, with service revenue and EBITDA margins expanding on the back of continued commercial momentum and resilient networks,” says MTN Group President and CEO, Ralph Mupita. He adds that the Group’s Ambition 2025 strategy had gained execution traction during challenging COVID-19 macroeconomic conditions in the quarter. In constant currency terms, service revenue grew by 17.8% to R42.3 billion at end-March 2021, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 21.3% and the EBITDA margin widened to 44.2% from 42.7%. “The overall Group results were suppo...
Samsung Unveils High-Resolution 2021 Monitor Lineup
Samsung has unveiled its new full lineup of 12 High-Resolution monitors across three series – the S8, S7 and S6. This 2021 portfolio is expected to deliver life-like picture quality and enhanced convenience with advanced ergonomic design, making it an ideal addition to any workspace or at-home setup. All models deliver more than 1 billion colours for a vivid and vibrant image, enhanced by HDR 10 technology. The displays feature colour vividness and clarity through a 178-degree wide viewing angle designed for professional work environments, delivering an uncompromising viewing experience from any angle. “As demand for higher resolution monitors continues to increase, Samsung plans to continue to lead the market by unveiling new products that meet our customers’ needs,” says Nivash Ramsern, ...
