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Technology & Communications News

Industry should use slowdown to train staff

By: Jessica Oosthuizen 16th November 2018 The construction industry should use recessions to train staff to gain a competitive edge when work volumes increase, says cement and concrete technical services provider The Concrete Institute’s School of Concrete Technology senior lecturer John Roxburgh. “It is crucial to have competent people... →

Business intelligence tools becoming more collaborative

By: Schalk Burger 16th November 2018 Business intelligence tools are adopting various collaboration features and tools to better match the collaborative aspects of business processes and workflows, says business information software firm AIGS Insights sales and marketing director Gustav Piater. Users need to be able to put their... →

VR reinventing education, training in organisations – BSC

By: Simone Liedtke 14th November 2018 Business Science Corporation (BSC) is reinventing itself as the world moves into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and is focusing on the use of virtual reality (VR) as a cost-effective method of training people. Skills development and the inadequacies of traditional safety training remain... →

MTN shares rise on report that Nigeria could reduce $10.1bn fine

By: Reuters 14th November 2018 Shares in South Africa's MTN Group rose 2.6% on Wednesday on a media report that Nigerian authorities could reduce the $10.1-billion sum they are demanding from the telecoms company in a dispute. The sum covers the return of funds transferred overseas by MTN and a separate $2-billion tax bill. →

Icasa calls for comment for IMT roadmap

By: Natasha Odendaal 13th November 2018 The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) on Tuesday called for public comment on its draft International Mobile Telephony (IMT) Roadmap. Stakeholders have until January 18 to give their views on the document that seeks to unlock universal availability of broadband... →

MTN aims to offer mobile banking in Nigeria next year

By: Reuters 13th November 2018 MTN Group will apply for a mobile banking licence in Nigeria and plans to launch the service there next year, its CEO said on Tuesday, further embedding the South African telecoms company in its biggest but increasingly problematic market. Nigeria announced last month that it would allow telecom... →

Telkom delivers strong H1, retrenchment, retirement costs cut earnings

By: Natasha Odendaal 13th November 2018 Voluntary severance package (VSP) and voluntary early retirement package (VERP) costs have dragged down the earnings of JSE-listed Telkom during the first half of the year. Headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months ended September 30 declined by 3.3% to 288c apiece owing to a... →

Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko and CFO Tsholofelo Molefe discuss the groups financial results for the six months ended September 30. Video and video editing: Darlene Creamer 13.11.2018

Vodacom posts H1 uptick

By: Natasha Odendaal 12th November 2018 JSE-listed Vodacom on Monday posted growth across the board for the first half of the 2019 financial year, with service revenue up 6.1% to R36.8-billion and group revenue up 5.6% to R44.4-billion. During the six months ended September 30, the group achieved headline earnings a share of 385c, a 6%... →

Mindworx, Rainmaker join forces to accelerate African businesses’ digital transformation

By: Simone Liedtke 12th November 2018 Business services consultancy Mindworx and UK-based digital and business transformation specialist Rainmaker Solutions have joined forces to accelerate the transformation of African businesses for the digital age. The partnership combines global innovation with local expertise and provides... →

Medical sector benefits from Free State additive manufacturing facility

By: Rebecca Campbell 12th November 2018 The only ISO13485-certified medical implants additive manufacturing (AM, also called 3D printing) facility in Africa is the Central University of Technology's (CUT's) Centre for Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing, or CRPM for short. (CUT is located in Bloemfontein.) "Naturally, our focus is on... →

Standard Bank launches Internet banking in Chinese

By: Simone Liedtke 9th November 2018 Financial services provider Standard Bank successfully launched its first Chinese Internet banking site in Angola this week. With more than 30 000 active Chinese-owned firms in Africa, Standard Bank believes it can grow Africa-China trade by building and managing an innovative and effective... →

Kubayi-Ngubane focuses on inclusivity, 4IR in discussions on STI White Paper

By: Marleny Arnoldi 9th November 2018 The South African National System of Innovation (NSI) is not yet fully inclusive and, since 1996, South Africa’s innovation performance, which is measured in patents and products, has been relatively flat, Science and Technology Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said on Friday. →

Science and Technology Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane discusses the draft White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation. Video and editing by Nicholas Boyd

Opic, Africell commit $100m to develop Africa’s telecommunications environment

By: Natasha Odendaal 9th November 2018 US development finance institution Overseas Private Investment Corporation (Opic) and mobile telecommunications operator Africell have signed a financing deal that will see $100-million injected into the development of the telecommunications sector in Africa. The growth capital facility, one of... →

Necsa’s annual report delayed to 2019 owing to auditing complications

By: Rebecca Campbell 9th November 2018 The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) has confirmed, in a press release, that the completion of its 2017/2018 audit has been delayed. Parliament has granted the corporation an extension until February 15, 2019, to present its 2017/2018 annual report. “I am proud to say that in the... →

Drones revolutionising Gauteng’s management of infrastructure projects

By: Rebecca Campbell 9th November 2018 The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (DID), with the assistance of the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ’s) Centre for Applied Research and Innovation in the Built Environment, is achieving unprecedented monitoring of the infrastructure development and construction projects that it... →

Modernisation presents opportunities in industry

By: Jessica Oosthuizen 9th November 2018 Despite the challenges experienced in the South African fluid power valve market, international motion and control technologies manufacturer Parker Hannifin believes that there is opportunity for further modernisation and development of fluid power valves. “The local fluid power valve industry... →

GROWTH OPPORTUNITY Parker Hannifin Sales Company South Africa has identified the integration of electronics into its range of hydraulic and pneumatic valve products as a growth opportunity

Improved performance, energy efficiency and fault-finding

By: Schalk Burger 9th November 2018 A new cloud-based analytical building optimisation platform for building management systems analyses building data, and helps property owners and managers to improve building performance, fault finding and corrective action, as well as reduce energy costs, says building technology multinational... →

Efficiency prominence increasing in South African businesses

9th November 2018 Energy solutions company Energy Partners Intelligence has developed a utility management platform that can display an organisation’s energy-related data in real time. The management tool, called GLO, is a Web- and mobile-based utility management software designed for real-time metering and data... →

Cities need to invest up to $5.4tn a year to develop resilient infrastructure

By: Schalk Burger 9th November 2018 All forms of infrastructure are critical for the expected global urban growth, yet cities face a $4.5-trillion- to $5.4-trillion-a-year investment gap to develop resilient infrastructure. Smart cities are a response to infrastructure and funding challenges, says consulting engineering firm WSP... →

ALISON GROVES A focus on sustainability will help build cities and spaces for rural communities that are liveable and resilient

Worldwide, 3D printing is now accelerating rapidly

By: Rebecca Campbell 8th November 2018 The global take-off of additive manufacturing (AM, popularly called 3D printing), it is now apparent, took place some six years ago. "2012 was a turning point in AM, globally," consultancy Wohlers Associates president Terry Wohlers tells Engineering News Online. "The technology really gained... →

Nigerian court adjourns case between MTN and attorney general to Dec 3

By: Reuters 8th November 2018 A Lagos judge on Thursday adjourned a hearing in a $2-billion dispute between South African telecoms firm MTN Group and Nigeria's attorney general until December 3. MTN faces a $2-billion tax demand from the country's attorney general, a claim which the company has said is without merit. The... →

South Africa's financial stability threatened by MTN's $10bn Nigeria bill – SARB

By: Reuters 8th November 2018 Billions of dollars in fines owed by South African companies MTN and Standard Bank to Nigerian regulators could increase the risk to South Africa's financial system, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said on Wednesday. The Nigerian central bank in August accused telecoms firm MTN and its... →

Dimension Data expands Silicon Cape partnership

By: Natasha Odendaal 7th November 2018 Information and communication technology (ICT) group Dimension Data has expanded its partnership with innovation ecosystem coordinator Silicon Cape after joining as a blue member of the organisation’s Africa-first membership. The Africa-first membership, launched in July, is an evolved model that... →

Etion secures new equity partner

By: Natasha Odendaal 7th November 2018 Clive Douglas Investments-represented Conexus Capital Growth Fund has secured a R27-million stake in revamped, diversified digital technology solutions provider Etion. The new equity partner had been issued 70-million shares in Etion at 39c apiece, representing 14.16% of the issued share capital... →

Vodacom, Telkom reach network sharing deal

By: Reuters 7th November 2018 South African telecoms firm Vodacom said on Wednesday it had entered into a roaming and facilities leasing agreement with Telkom, South Africa's biggest fixed-line operator. Vodacom said the multi-billion rand agreement would allow Telkom customers to roam on Vodacom's 2G, 3G and 4G networks with... →

Ayo to post higher earnings for FY18, but below forecast

By: Creamer Media Reporter 6th November 2018 JSE-listed Ayo Technology on Tuesday said it expects to report higher attributable net profit of between R142-million and R162-million for the financial year ended August 31, compared with the net profit of R16.7-million posted for the prior financial year. The group expects to report basic... →

Kenya's Safaricom takes M-Pesa global with Western Union

By: Reuters 6th November 2018 Kenya's biggest telecoms operator Safaricom on Tuesday unveiled a new service on its M-Pesa mobile financial services platform that will allow users to send money around the world in a partnership with Western Union. Started as a simple money transfer service 11 years ago to fill a gap in Kenya's... →

Ethos achieves first R700m investment under new large buyout fund

By: Creamer Media Reporter 6th November 2018 Private equity investor Ethos has invested R700-million in global financial technology (fintech) provider Channel VAS. The investment is the first under Ethos’ new large-buyout fund, Ethos Fund VII, which is seeking to attract R8-billion in capital commitments from local and institutional investors. →

South Africa elected onto international telecoms structures

By: African News Agency 6th November 2018 South Africa has been elected onto the executive council of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Dubai. Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services Dr Siyabonga Cwele led the SA delegation at the ITU... →

Don't leave half the world offline and behind, urges Web founder

By: Reuters 6th November 2018 British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web, appealed on Monday for companies and governments not to leave behind half of the world population yet to have internet access, which includes billions of women and girls. Berners-Lee told the opening of the Europe's... →

Safaricom plans M-Pesa entry in new African market by April

By: Bloomberg 2nd November 2018 East Africa’s biggest company by market value plans to introduce its M-Pesa mobile-money service in at least one other country by the end of its financial year in March. Safaricom Plc. intends to recruit people with mergers and acquisitions skills for the transaction so the company can “push the... →

New momentum for South Africa’s broadcasting digital migration

2nd November 2018 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Natasha Odendaal about the status of South Africa’s broadcasting digital migration plans and recent changes that have been announced to the delivery model for digital migration. →

New momentum for South Africa’s broadcasting digital migration

Space probe en route to Mercury

By: Rebecca Campbell 2nd November 2018 The joint European-Japanese twin-probe BepiColombo space mission, to the Solar System’s innermost planet, Mercury, was successfully launched from Kourou in French Guiana in mid-October. The spacecraft, built by Airbus and launched by an Ariane 5 rocket, has four main elements: the Mercury... →

South Africa moves to reboot digital migration after years of delay

By: Natasha Odendaal 2nd November 2018 Following years since embarking on, and the subsequent stalling of, South Africa’s migration from analogue to digital broadcasting, the Department of Communications (DoC) hopes to revive its momentum after revising its digital migration delivery model. The revised model approved by Cabinet in... →

Company uses technology to boost processes

2nd November 2018 Warehouse-based retailer The Warehouse Group, from New Zealand, is making strides in artificial intelligence (AI), with the launch of a new ‘Snap and Shop’ feature on the company’s mobile app, noted a release in August. This feature allows people to take a picture of items they like on their... →

Photo by Creamer Media
NEW TECHNOLOGY The Warehouse Group's new ‘Snap and Shop’ feature allows people to take a picture of items they like on their smartphones, and instantly matches them with thousands of available products in the company’s catalogue

Smart, self-managing lighting the future for municipalities

By: Irma Venter 2nd November 2018 The time of humans controlling light fixtures is fading rapidly, says BEKA Schréder product development manager Daniel Kasper. “The luminaire will control itself; it will react and adjust by itself to the conditions around it. Soon there will be no need for light switches.” →

Satellite connectivity can reduce sky-high Internet prices – MzansiSat

By: Schalk Burger 2nd November 2018 Accessible and affordable broadband Internet connectivity can be achieved through an infrastructure network that uses geostationary satellite technology to provide connectivity, says local satellite operator MzansiSat CEO Bart Cilliers. A study by Point Topic revealed that asymmetric digital... →

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