Author: Gugu Lourie

Vodacom – South Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator – announced on Thursday that its customer base was down by 9.9%, mainly driven by reduced gross connections in the prepaid segment during the period of restricted movement. The lockdown was imposed to curb the spread of the COVID-19 while giving the government time to prepare the healthcare system for the expected spike in virus infections. Lockdown Level 5 was introduced in South Africa on 26 March 2020 and now the country is in Level 3. Vodacom announced on Thursday announced its trading update for the quarter ended 30 June 2020. The company said…

A court case application by DG Murray Trust (DGMT) to compel mobile network operator MTN to zero-rate the local educational websites of public benefit organisations (PBOs) was withdrawn on Monday, with the trust saying the mobile phone operator is now fully compliant. The DG Murray Trust is a South African foundation committed to developing South Africa’s potential through public innovation and strategic investment. The trust is represented by Dunster Attorneys Inc, which has applied to the Western Cape High Court for the case to be heard on 3 August 2020. Also read: MTN Faces Legal Challenge Over Zero-Rating PBOs Websites…

Openserve – the wholesale connectivity division of Telkom – has disclosed reasons why it is discontinuing its copper-based broadband connectivity in South Africa. The South African telco first announced the transition from copper-based technology to wireless in 2015 noting that the migration would be done as a phased approach. Having successfully migrated over 96% of prepaid fixed-line customers, Telkom is now migrating postpaid fixed copper-based voice and/or DSL customers to fibre and wireless. Telkom today announced its financial results for the year ended 31 March 2020, which showed that fixed-line decline 29.3% to 1.6 million versus 2.2 million in the…

MTN has hit back at DG Murray Trust’s bid to ‘force’ the mobile phone group to zero-rate the local educational websites of public benefit organisations (PBOs). DG Murray Trust’s claims that its court bid follows three months of engagement with the three largest network operators (Vodacom, MTN and Telkom Mobile) urging them to zero-rate these sites as a matter of urgency to ensure that the poorest 50% of children have some access to educational resources during the lockdown and over the next few months. The trust also claims that Telkom and Vodacom have zero-rated PBOs websites but MTN is refusing…

MTN South Africa will face a legal challenge over its failure to follow its main rivals Vodacom and Telkom to zero-rate the local educational websites of public benefit organisations. The DG Murray Trust has launched a court application to compel mobile network operator MTN to zero-rate the local educational websites of public benefit organisations. The DG Murray Trust is a South African foundation committed to developing South Africa’s potential through public innovation and strategic investment. The trust is represented by Dunster Attorneys Inc, which has applied to the Western Cape High Court for the case to be heard on 3…

Crosscall has announced new smartphones, targeting South Africa’s agricultural and mining industries. A French specialist in outdoor mobile technology is bringing several of its new core smartphone range – four in total – to South Africa. Smartphones and accessories are available at Vodacom and MTN and via other channels. For more sales outlets click here. The company says while the new CORE range was designed primarily for professionals and thought out according to the specific uses of the various vertical business lines, it was essential that it could also satisfy the most demanding everyday users. Extremely versatile, the CORE range…

Wyzetalk, a global employee experience company that offers a mobile-first digital solution, has turned to Sinazo Sibisi to help large organisations improve communication, unleash innovation, and boost business performance as it embarks on a global expansion drive. South African-founded Wyzetalk, headquartered in The Netherlands is targeting expansion into the rest of Africa and other new markets. Sibisi has recently been appointed as Wyzetalk’s managing director of Africa, Canada, and Australia. Her role is to oversee Wyzetalk’s current business in South Africa as well as spearhead the expansion of its footprint across Africa and other new markets. With over 30 years…

Samsung has just published a white paper to discuss its vision for 6G connectivity. The white paper is titled ‘6G – The Next Hyper-Connected Experience for All’ claims that 6G technology could enable you to replicate yourself.  “With the help of advanced sensors, AI, and communication technologies, it will be possible to replicate physical entities, including people, devices, objects, systems, and even places, in a virtual world,” Samsung notes.  The company further explained that this digital replica of a physical entity is called a digital twin.  “In a 6G environment, through digital twins, users will be able to explore and…

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) on Thursday promised to speed up the payments for the R350 COVID-19 grant. The agency has disclosed that 85% of the UIF cases previously deemed not to be qualifying for the R350 COVID-19 grant qualify.  Unemployed South Africans who qualify to receive the grant are frustrated by the slow pace of approvals and payments made by SASSA. SASSA informed R350 COVID-19 grant applicants on Twitter today that applicants must be patient as the agency is about to finalise the payment backlog. Please note that SASSA is experiencing high application volumes. You’ll recieve outcome on your application in due…

South Africa’s AuthGate – an enabler for digital payment – is planning to expand into The Netherlands and Belgium. The FinTech startup founded in January 2018 sees significant opportunities in Europe. Sameer Jooma, who recently joined the board of AuthGate in 2020 as a non-executive director, says the company was registered in the Netherlands in 2019. “We see a significant opportunity in Europe with Open Banking initiatives like PSD2 (European regulation for electronic payment services) and have partnered with several payment processors to offer localised mobile payment acceptance solutions,” says Jooma. “Our products have been well received and we already…