technology news
Fixed Wireless Access Unlocks a World of Opportunity
5G networks are now being built out, with performance and capacity gains available to be tapped by new use cases. One of the first will be fixed wireless access (FWA). Around half of all households in the world – over 1 billion – do not have a fixed broadband connection. Given the current speed and capacity of cellular networks with LTE and its evolution to 5G, there are opportunities for operators to deliver broadband services to homes and small and medium-sized enterprises economically using FWA. Fixed wireless access (FWA) connections are forecast to grow threefold and reach close to 160 million by the end of 2025, accounting for 25 percent of total mobile network data traffic globally, according to Ericsson Mobility Report. FWA in the broadband context /* custom css */ .tdi_3_acf.td-a-...
Only 20% of the Cybersecurity Workforce is Represented by Women
Women represent around 20% of the global cybersecurity workforce, according to a report released by Cybersecurity Ventures. This comes a mere two years after Frost & Sullivan pointed a menacing finger at the 1.8 million vacant cybersecurity seats by 2020 and the dearth of skills and people within an incredibly critical industry. There is a lack of female representation within this industry and a lack of actual skills needed to populate the growing number of requirements from organisations facing a rising cyber threat. The answer, according to Anna Collard, MD of KnowBe4 Africa, is to encourage women to cross-skill and expand into cybersecurity roles and to make the industry more welcoming as a whole. “Cybersecurity isn’t just ones and zeros, it’s the people factor, it’s understanding t...
Telecom26 Provides Connectivity To HIV and COVID-19 Testing Programmes Across Africa
Telecom26 has partnered with SystemOne to enable real-time test result communication, timely containment and treatment actions for infectious disease programmes in Ghana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The testing programmes are being implemented in conjunction with each country’s Ministry of Health and build upon SystemOne’s existing work across Africa tackling numerous diseases including TB, HIV, Ebola and now COVID-19. However, unreliable bandwidth and patchy connectivity are problems encountered by eHealth programmes across these countries. The traditional route is to buy local SIMs to provide device connectivity. Unfortunately, this limits users to one mobile network operator (MNO) – and adds juggling multiple SIMs across devices to find the strongest local network to a long list of headach...
130 Twitter Accounts were Affected by Unprecedented Hack
Sourced from Wired. Twitter fell victim to a major hack that saw 130 high-profile accounts – belonging to the likes of Elon Musk, Bill Gates, former US President Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos and Apple, amongst others – targetted, although it’s reported that no passwords were stolen. Hackers used these accounts to promote a bitcoin scam where users were urged to send $1000 worth of the crypto to a specific account that was listed in the tweet, they would then receive double their payment in return. Image sourced from The Hacker News The unprecedented attack is ‘one of the most widespread and confounding hacks the platform has ever seen’, according to The Verge. Twitter has since confirmed that they are working on the issue and have “locked accounts that were compromised and will ...
6 Terms You Have To Know To Trade Forex
Right now, a lot of people around the world are looking for new ways to invest. Market upheaval around the world has shaken confidence in traditional stocks, and as some alternative markets have shown resilience, there’s some understandable curiosity about how to invest more creatively. For some, this has translated to more interest in cryptocurrency. We mentioned when discussing ‘The Value of Digital Currency During the Age of COVID-19’ that some are now looking to fund their businesses with digital assets. And the same is true of portfolios. Bitcoin and its fellow cryptocurrencies have performed fairly well in this difficult time, prompting some investors to go ahead and give them a shot.That said, cryptocurrency is still a fairly bold option for a lot of people. They may ...
Vodacom Introduces Data Bundles for the Google Play Store
Vodacom and Google have introduced new Play Store data bundles that will allow customers to browse, download and update their favourite apps, without the anxiety of additional data costs. This collaboration is said to make Vodacom the world’s first mobile network operator to implement such a service. “Vodacom prides itself on being a leading digital telco that strives to offer innovative services, solutions and continuous value for all our customers. We’re extremely proud to be the first telco in the world to offer Google Play Store bundles, enabling our customers to connect to the apps they love on the Google Play Store on the Vodacom network,” says Zunaid Mahomed, Vodacom’s Group Digital and Fixed Officer. “As we continue our pricing transformation journey, we have set our sights on redu...
Microsoft Unveils Two New Surface Devices in South Africa
Microsoft has introduced its newest additions to the Surface range – the Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3 – for both commercial and consumer customers. The devices will be available for consumers in retail from Incredible Connection stores and Vodacom from 29 July. The Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3 are said to continue the brand’s tradition of best-in-class productivity, security, mobility and speed, and introduce new processors and modern connectivity options in a world of remote work and learning. “Rapid and continuous change define modern living and working – and the shift to remote working and education requires the right tools to stay productive and connected securely,” says Vithesh Reddy, Consumer and Channel Marketing Director at Microsoft South Africa. “Microsoft’s Sur...
Altaro VM Backup: the Competitive Advantage
Anton Jacobsz, Networks Unlimited CEO Finding a reliable backup and replication solution for Hyper-V and VMware can be a difficult exercise. The partnership agreement between African value-added distributor, Networks Unlimited Africa, and Altaro, a leader in backup solutions for managed service providers (MSPs), IT resellers and IT departments, provides easy and affordable protection of Hyper-V and VMware virtualised environments. A virtual machine (VM) is a software computer that, like a physical computer, runs an operating system and applications. The virtual machine is comprised of a set of specification and configuration files and is backed by the physical resources of a host. VMware backup is the copying of data on a virtual machine in a V...
Numerous High-profile Accounts were Hacked on Twitter
Image sourced from Mission Statement Academy Twitter fell victim to a major hack that saw verified high-profile accounts – belonging to the likes of Elon Musk, Bill Gates, former US President Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos and Apple, amongst others – taken over. Hackers used these accounts to promote a bitcoin scam where users were urged to send $1000 worth of the crypto to a specific account that was listed in the tweet, they would then receive double their payment in return. Image sourced from The Hacker News The unprecedented attack is ‘one of the most widespread and confounding hacks the platform has ever seen’, according to The Verge. Twitter has since confirmed that they are working on the issue and have “locked accounts that were compromised and will restore access to the original account...
Only 44% of South Africans are Optimistic about the Future of their Business
Sourced from Women in Tech Africa. To lay bare the scale of challenges small businesses are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to understand their ongoing challenges and areas for further support, Facebook published the Global State of Small Business Report. Compiled in partnership with the World Bank and the OECD, it surveyed over 30,000 small business owners and employees from around the world in over 50 countries. In South Africa, the survey reveals that despite the challenges, SMBs are optimistic, but that there is a long-term jobs crisis on our hands. Over 44% of operational SMBs on Facebook feel optimistic about the future of their business, with 42% of female-led SMBs on Facebook (and 66% of male-led SMBs) currently operational or engaging in revenue led activities. /* custom ...
SAP Appoints New Regional President of Africa
Image sourced from BCTech Report SAP has appointed Claudio Muruzabal as the new President for the EMEA south region that comprises of Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa – he replaces Steve Tzikakis. Prior to joining SAP, Muruzabal was CEO of NEORIS, a global management and IT consulting business. As a visionary in the role of technology-driven innovation in business, he has enjoyed great success in SAP’s Latin America region which he joined in 2015 as President of SAP Latin America and the Caribbean. A strong advocate of education, entrepreneurship and the promotion of diversity, Muruzabal has been recognized as one of the HITEC Top 50 Most Influential and Notable Hispanic Professionals in the IT Industry in Latin America and Spain and in 2019. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_495.td-a-rec...
Syinix Launches Kenya’s 1st Android TV
Electronics company, Syinix has officially launched a new range of Android TVs in Kenya – marking the first time this kind of technology has entered the local market. Dubbed the Syinix A20 series, these TVs come as 32”, 43”, 50” and 55” screens with prices relative to the sizing. The A20 TVs are Syinix’s first truly frameless screens with a screen to body ratio of 96%. Syinix says that this range offers breathtaking quality with the HDR (High Dynamic Range) advanced image processing technology, that can let users see richer and more realistic colours. The other goal of the HDR is to maintain as much of the original image quality as possible, all the way through to the living room. The new Android TVs are also compatible with Google Assistant, which means users can quickly find and play the...
