Author: Gugu Lourie
Vodafone-backed AST SpaceMobile is preparing to launch a space-based mobile network targeting 49 largest countries in the equatorial regions, including Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya, and Tanzania – from 2023. These markets are served by Vodafone affiliates Safaricom and Vodacom. The AST SpaceMobile project launched in March is backed by Vodafone and Rakuten. AST SpaceMobile will be the first service of its kind to connect standard mobile phones at 4G and 5G speeds using AST SpaceMobile’s patented space-based network. The first tranche of AST SpaceMobile’s launch plans will involve the use of 20 satellites to offer seamless,…
Zimbabwean telecoms billionaire Strive Masiyiwa has been appointed to the board of Netflix, says the streaming giant. Masiyiwa replaces Susan Rice who has resigned to join US president-elect Joe Biden’s administration. He owns Liquid Group, Liquid Telecom South Africa, and the Econet Group – a telecommunications and technology group with operations and investments in 29 countries in Africa and Europe. Also recognised globally for his leadership contributions in a number of areas outside of business including his mentorship of millions of young entrepreneurs across Africa, who will create jobs for the next generation. “We are delighted to welcome Strive to the…
Telkom announced on Monday that it is supporting the green economy in the township of Khayelitsha in Cape Town. South Africa views a green economy as a sustainable development path based on addressing the interdependence between economic growth, social protection, and natural ecosystem. Telkom has made a commitment to keep four Buy Back Centres in Khayelitsha connected to the internet in order to remain operational after the launch of a recycling project called GreenUp. A buy back centre is a depot where individual waste collectors, reclaimers and street waste pickers can sell their recyclable waste. GreenUp is a tripartite initiative between the…
Absa has partnered with local training NGO WeThinkCode_(WTC_) to probe the transformation of South Africa’s digital skills landscape by focusing on practical ways of reforming youth employability. Together, they are rewriting the future of technology students by focusing on candidate selection and matching, a demand-led curriculum, retention and ultimately the employment of graduates. This collaboration looks beyond potential candidates being strong in maths and science, for example, to see if they show other aptitudes for coding and programme design. The relationship between Absa and WeThinkCode_ has deepened since they first partnered in 2016 and the collaboration is tailored to become…
The Nigerian government has initiated a review of subscriber registration and ordered mobile operators, such as MTN, to suspend sale of new SIM cards. In a statement on its website, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said in line with the government desire to consolidate the achievement of the SIM Card registration exercise of September, 2019, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), has directed the NCC to embark on another audit of the Subscriber Registration Database again. “The objective of the audit exercise is to verify and ensure compliance by Mobile Network Operators with the…
Seacom announced on Thursday it has tapped Oliver Fortuin, MTN Group Chief Enterprise Officer, as its new CEO. Fortuin, who will replace Byron Clatterbuck, will take over the reigns on January 4, 2021. He has worked for over two decades in the ICT sector, across South Africa and the rest of Africa, with industry-leading organisations such as IBM, BT, and, most recently, MTN. “The Seacom team has built an excellent data connectivity platform in the markets where we operate. We now hope to expand upon this, as well as to develop more industry-leading services that today’s corporate customers in Africa…
South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has no dedicated staff assigned to assist with the grant funding appeals process of the Special R350 COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD). Bridget Masango, a DA Shadow Minister of Social Development, reveled on Thursday that SASSA was relying on 10 staff members to deal with appeals, in addition to their other responsibilities. “That is 10 people who need to assess thousands of rejected applications.” This was revealed in a Parliamentary question submitted by the DA to the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu. In winding down the system, both the final payment date and…
The shares of Etion spiked Wednesday on anticipation of the struggling JSE-listed company announcing disposal of its various operating subsidiaries/divisions. The diversified digital technology company announced the end of October 2020 that it is considering selling off business units to create shareholder value for its investors. Etion stock open on Wednesday at 35c share, up 2.94% giving the company R191 million market value. The stock has spiked 17% in the past seven days. In the past 30 days, Etion stock swelled by more than 112% and more than 200% in the past 90 days. “The upward stock push driven by…
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has issued its 2020 South Africa FinTech study, which points out that the financial technology market is growing fast. The study uncovered that there are 220 active and operational FinTechs in South Africa and this number is expected to grow as technology adoption increases. The pace of change and innovation in the FinTech space in South Africa is rapid and on the rise. It has become even more so in the last year as the effects of the global coronavirus pandemic drove widespread digital adoption and catapulted upstart FinTech firms into the mainstream. This…
Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has signed her performance agreement with President Cyril Ramaphosa promising to cut data prices by 50%. “As stated in the State of the Nation Address on 13 February 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed performance agreements with all Ministers to strengthen the capacity of the State and increase accountability, “These agreements – which are based on the targets contained in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework – will be made public so that the people of South Africa can hold those who they elected into office to account. The agreement between Ndabeni-Abrahams and President Ramaphosa was signed on…