Author: Gugu Lourie
The country’s communications watchdog – the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)- announced late on Wednesday that Pakamile Pongwana has agreed to step down as a CEO. On July 6, ICASA announced that Pongwana was placed on precautionary suspension pending an internal disciplinary process. “The Council of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) notifies all stakeholders and the media of its mutual separation with the chief executive officer, Pakamile Pongwana,” said ICASA in a statement. The communications watchdog added that its chief operations officer, Willington Ngwepe, will continue serving as the acting CEO until such time a…
The railway networks are becoming connected or turned into digital railways as operators embark on a mission to upgrade old engineering with digital technology. The objective is to bring the industry into the 21st century dominated by sensors and Internet of Things (IoT), which create higher levels of railway operation efficiencies. The Centurion-based Ansys, which develops technology based solutions for enterprises is with reason excited about this development. “The railways are also, by the way, talking about digital railways. We are smiling,” Ansys boss Teddy Daka told Techfinancials in an interview. Asked whether the company was smiling all the way…
The mining industry may be struggling at the moment and several miners are seeking ways to exit, but for South Africa’s Ansys boss Teddy Daka the capital-intensive sector is alluring to his firm, which develops technology based solutions for enterprises, including the resources market. “If I look at our business from a vertical perspective, mining is one vertical that we are interested in,” Daka told Techfinancials this week in an interview held at the offices of the company’s manufacturing subsidiary Parsec in Centurion. “I know mining is not as sexy as it used to be and we have seen disinvestment…
The African streaming industry could be in for an even greater shake up as US-based streaming player MatrixStream seeks to collaborate with Telcos and Internet service providers (ISPs). The US-based firm wants to help African services providers, especially mobile phone operators and ISPs, to crack the video streaming market by bringing new OTT (Over the Top) end-to-end HD (high-definition) streaming Internet Protocol television (IPTV) services to the market. The firm provides wireless IPTV solution offering HD streaming over wireless 3G, 4G and LTE networks. IPTV viewers can enjoy HD videos on either MatrixStream’s HD set-top boxes, Android smartphones, Apple iPhones,…
The Ministry of Public Service and Administration has rejected reports that Minister Faith Muthambi has employed relatives in her private office. “The ministry would like to put it on record that none of the support staff mentioned in the Sunday Times story are friends or relatives of the Minister. “The ministry is dismayed at these misleading reports and wants to further state that it is incorrect to suggest that the Minister is not following public service prescripts with regard to the appointment of support staff in the ministry. “In accordance with Section 9 of the Public Service Act, 1994, read with Regulation…
South Africa’s big four mobile operators – Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom – are spending more than R32 billion on network infrastructure upgrade in 2017. The figure is likely to balloon to more than R100 billion if you include fibre network providers such as Vumatel, Seacom, Dark Fibre Africa, Fibrehoods, Vox, Frogfoots, OpenServe, Smart Village and Rain, etc. MTN is the biggest spender with R11.5 billion, followed by Telkom’s R8.6 billion and in the third position is the country’s biggest mobile phone operator Vodacom at R8.5 billion and in fourth is smaller Cell C at R3.5 billion. With all…
The Internet of Things (IoT) is no longer the stuff of science fiction but an essential part of the reality of our everyday lives. It is going to transform the way we interact with different things and creating this change is impossible without developers. Therefore, the IoT space is a developer driven industry. Applications developers are already creating solutions for smart homes and cities, connected cars and streets, etc. Vula Telematix is creating a blanket coverage of the country with its IoT network to empower local applications developers to create intelligent solutions to be connected to its network. Vula Telematix…
You may have heard of the next best thing in agriculture, or the future of agriculture – that is the efficient way to adapt smart and modern farming practices. While there is a lot of technology in use to make modern agriculture more efficient, the Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming more popular and relevant to African farmers. Vula Telematix, which is building an IoT-focused wireless network using technology from US-based specialist Ingenu, is running several projects around the country to deliver precision farming. The firm says the goal of precision agriculture is to define a system to support whole…
The Impulse Duo Wireless earbuds are comfortable in-ear and make listening to music a pleasure. This is no surprise as the Impulse Duo Wireless headphones are produced by iFrogz, a Nasdaq-listed ZAGG’s brand specialising in creative mobile accessories. iFrogz has created a niche for itself as a provider of budget-friendly buds but still making you look as if you are using premium audio wireless earbuds. For R459 at Takealot and Música Stores, the Impulse Duo Wireless earbuds are one of the most affordable headphones offering premium sound in the market. They are much less than several Bluetooth audio devices currently priced above…
President Jacob Zuma has survived yet another attempt by opposition parties attempt to unseat him from power. This vote was held through a secret ballot. It was the eighth motion of no confidence against Zuma. Twitter Reacts: Total Votes: 384Yes 177 (46%)No 198 (52%)Abstain 9 (2%)The ANC is dead, today was the official murder just because of a Rapist #ZumaVote— Baxolile Nodada (@BaxNodada) August 8, 2017 #ZumaVote. ANC doesn't care about us.ANC my foot pic.twitter.com/ue5ZSvZnPw— Mmatodzi. (@99vhap) August 8, 2017 All the hope most of us had in our leadership,constitution and country has officially been lost.#ZumaVote pic.twitter.com/7m2NBEedoQ— Reba (@RebaMokgoko) August…