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85% of industrial businesses to increase digital investments - Aveva

By: Schalk Burger 12th October 2021 A survey done by industrial software multinational Aveva shows that 85% of industrial businesses plan to increase their investment in digital transformation over the next three years to tackle climate change, embrace automation and unlock the performance benefits of advanced technologies. The... →

MTN clinches best network rating again

By: Natasha Odendaal 11th October 2021 Telecommunications group MTN has retained the crown of best mobile network in South Africa with a network quality score of 9.58 in the third quarter of 2021. The MyBroadband Mobile Network Quality Report shows that Vodacom secured a network quality score of 6.25, followed by Telkom with 5.18,... →

European Service Module for US-led Orion crewed space programme delivered by Airbus

By: Rebecca Campbell 11th October 2021 The second European Service Module (ESM) for the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) -led Artemis crewed spaceflight programme was successfully delivered by air to Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre, in the US state of Florida, on Friday. The ESM is the responsibility of the European... →

A photo of the complete ESM-2 at Airbus’s Bremen facility

Photo by Airbus
The complete ESM-2 at Airbus’s Bremen facility

Alaris announces firm intention with consortium for buy-out offer, delisting

By: Creamer Media Reporter 11th October 2021 Radio frequency technology group Alaris Holdings has announced that a consortium plans to make an offer to acquire the entire issued share capital of Alaris, excluding treasury shares, not already held, and delist the company from the JSE. The consortium, comprising Tadvest, CRH Investments,... →

Digital skills development platform provides low-bandwidth access to critical training

By: Schalk Burger 8th October 2021 The Nedbank DigiSkills online training platform aims to upskill and create sustainable income opportunities for 1 000 South Africans by the end of this year, with plans to grow this number to 5 000 in the longer term. The low-bandwidth platform offers five free online short courses and learning... →

Machine learning can enhance manufacturing productivity

By: Nadine Ramdass 8th October 2021 The South African manufacturing sector is diverse and contributes 11.8% to gross domestic product and 10.3% to employment. Although these figures are small, compared with the figures of other countries, embracing machine learning could enhance the sector and assist in its growth, says University... →

Teraco completes phase 1 of CT2 data centre to meet enterprise demand

By: Schalk Burger 7th October 2021 Data centre and interconnection services company Teraco has completed Phase 1 of its CT2 hyperscale data centre, in Brackenfell, Cape Town, to support growing demand by enterprises and cloud providers for data centre capacity. CT2 offers highly resilient and secure co-location facilities in line... →

Teraco's CT2 data centre, in Cape Town

MTN appoints Adekunle Awobodu as digital, fintech CFO

By: Schalk Burger 7th October 2021 Telecommunications multinational MTN Group has appointed Adekunle Awobodu as its digital and financial technology (DigiFin) CFO. His responsibilities include ensuring the growth of these platforms in line with the group’s strategic intent as set out in its 'Ambition 2025: Leading digital... →

MTN DigiFin CFO Adekunle Awobodu

Sansa to host programme office for Earth observation data and products service for Africa

By: Rebecca Campbell 6th October 2021 The South African National Space Agency (Sansa) has been appointed as the Programme Management Office (PMO) for Digital Earth Africa. The latter entity has been established to make Earth observation data easily available and to provide ‘decision-ready’ products to African countries and... →

City launches e-Joburg portal

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 6th October 2021 City of Johannesburg executive mayor Mpho Moerane on October 6 launched e-Joburg, a municipal bill presentation and payment portal. The e-Joburg platform is a self-service portal that enables ratepayers, homeowners, companies, property managing agents and tenants to view and download their... →

Google to invest $1bn in Africa over five years

By: Reuters 6th October 2021 Google plans to invest $1-billion in Africa over the next five years to ensure access to fast and cheaper internet and will back startups to support the continent's digital transformation, it said on Wednesday. The unit of US tech company Alphabet Inc made the announcement at a virtual event... →

South Africa’s digital migration accelerates

By: Natasha Odendaal 6th October 2021 South Africa’s long-delayed transition from analogue broadcasting to digital terrestrial television (TV) under the broadcasting digital migration (BDM) programme has been accelerated, with an ambition of concluding the analogue switch off (ASO) across all nine province by the end of January 2022.... →

MTN Uganda to float 20% of shares on Uganda Securities Exchange

By: Creamer Media Reporter 5th October 2021 Telecommunications group MTN Uganda plans to proceed with an initial public offer (IPO) and subsequently list on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) following approval from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and USE for MTN Group to sell 20% of its shareholding in MTN Uganda to the public. The... →

Hormone therapy does not increase the risk of dementia in older women – UK researchers

By: Rebecca Campbell 1st October 2021 The most comprehensive study yet undertaken, incorporating the most reliable risk estimates so far achieved, has shown that hormone replacement therapy (HRT), also known as menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), did not increase the risk of dementia in women. The research team was led by Dr Yana... →

Altron to sell Altron People Solutions business

By: Natasha Odendaal 1st October 2021 JSE-listed Allied Electronics (Altron) has split its Altron People Solutions business and sold them to two buyers, effective October 1, after holding it for sale over the past year. The Altron People Solutions’ Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Customer Experience Technology business has... →

Icasa set to auction spectrum from March 2022

By: Natasha Odendaal 1st October 2021 The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) is preparing to start the auction of the high demand spectrum from March 1, 2022. A new roadmap envisages the publication of invitation to apply for the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) spectrum by December 10, 2021. →

European-Japanese probe to make its first flyby of Mercury on Saturday morning

By: Rebecca Campbell 30th September 2021 The European Space Agency (ESA) has highlighted that its joint space mission with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa), BepiColombo, will make its first flyby of the planet Mercury in the early hours of Saturday morning, South African (and Central European) time. Saturday (October 2)... →

Photo by European Space Agency
An artist’s impression of BepiColombo during its first Mercury flyby

2Africa now extends to the Arabian Gulf, India and Pakistan

By: Natasha Odendaal 28th September 2021 A new segment has been added to the 2Africa subsea cable system, bringing the total length of the 2Africa cable system to over 45 000 km and making it the longest subsea cable system ever deployed. The new 2Africa PEARLS branch extends to the Arabian Gulf, India and Pakistan, the 2Africa... →

BLSA CEO bemoans Icasa’s decision to end emergency spectrum

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 27th September 2021 Businesses will now have to contend with the prospect of a major cut in bandwidth for those who connect through cellphone networks, as regulatory body Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) is moving ahead with a plan to terminate access to emergency spectrum at the end of... →

Busi Mavuso

Industry developed through strategy

By: Anna Moross 24th September 2021 While the Aluminium Federation of South Africa’s (AFSA’s) role in the South African Aluminium Industry Roadmap (SAAIR) has been to promote the roadmap and ensure that policymakers are aware of the envisaged, ambitious deliverables, there have been major challenges and milestones, including... →

MUZI MANZI At the height of the pandemic, the LME's aluminium prices plummeted to a low of $1 425/t in April of 2020, resulting in increased stockpiles

Cybersecurity becoming part of industrial practices as digital applications and risks multiply

By: Schalk Burger 24th September 2021 As industrial facilities and systems become increasingly connected to capitalise on digital capabilities, countering cybersecurity risks is becoming part of industrial best practices and digital technologies are being subjected to the same rigorous safety and security standards as other... →

Company highlights advantages of aluminium for industry

By: Anna Moross 24th September 2021 Water-jet cutting company MAXJET GLOBAL highlights why aluminium is becoming one of the main materials used in the aerospace, automotive and signage industry and the steps taken to process aluminium through water-jet cutting. →

An image of the water-jet cutting machinery

WATER-JET CUTTING When using precision water-jet cutting and profiling with aluminium, there are different steps in the process of implementation for different projects

Telkom to list mast and towers unit

By: Natasha Odendaal 22nd September 2021 Telecommunications group Telkom is pursuing a separate listing of its masts and towers business, Swiftnet, on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. A final determination on the listing of the Telkom subsidiary, which is under management by Gyro, will be made by the end of the financial year. →

Digital authentication solution wins MTN enterprise app award

By: Schalk Burger 21st September 2021 The biometric digital authentication and automated onboarding solution of technology company iiDENTIFii has won the Best Enterprise Solution award of the MTN Business App of the Year Awards 2021. While technically complex, the solution assures that an individual is a real person and present at... →

New working group to encourage smartphone increase for the unconnected

By: Natasha Odendaal 20th September 2021 Vodafone Group and the United Nation’s (UN’s) International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have partnered to launch an initiative aimed at identifying policy, commercial and circular-economy interventions to increase smartphone access. Of the 3.7-billion not connected to the Internet, 3.4-billion... →

SA telcos moving aggressively to add fintech offerings to mobile money base

By: Natasha Odendaal 17th September 2021 South Africa’s major telecommunications companies are accelerating their financial technology (fintech) strategies and betting big on Africa’s untapped digital economy potential to bolster dwindling traditional revenues in an ever-evolving digital era. Boasting huge volumes of customers with... →

Image of Engineering News and Mining Weekly cover

Digital Cloud base solution manage remote breath alcohol testing

By: Khutso Maphatsoe 17th September 2021 Breathalyser specialist Alcohol Breathalysers is in the early stages of rolling out its iSober Breathalyser App & Cloud Service which is a breath alcohol test management tool and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store, Apple App Store or Huawei App Gallery. This application (app) is a new... →

CONNECTIVITY Employees use their smartphone to connect to the app using Bluetooth

Major international telescope being built in South Africa by local artisans

By: Rebecca Campbell 16th September 2021 An international radio telescope array project, led by the US National Science Foundation, is being built in South Africa’s radio astronomy reserve in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape province by local artisans, and has already started doing valuable science, the South African Radio... →

Latest Altron Fintech index reveals short-term credit decline hurts economy, jobs and taxes

By: Natasha Odendaal 16th September 2021 A decline in the extension of short-term credit in South Africa has impacted the economy through loss of sales, fewer jobs and lower tax collections, Altron Fintech's inaugural Altron Fintech Short-term Credit Impact (AFSCI) Index shows. The AFSCI Index, unpacking the economic impact of... →

Liquid connects the DRC, Congo Brazzaville with high-speed connectivity

By: Natasha Odendaal 16th September 2021 Technology group Liquid Intelligent Technologies has bridged communications between Kinshasa and Congo Brazzaville after leveraging wireless optical communication technology (WOC) from Project Taara at X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory, to deliver affordable high-speed connectivity to communities in... →

SA’s quantum technology initiative, led by Wits University, to side-step competitors

By: Rebecca Campbell 15th September 2021 The South African Quantum Technology Initiative (SA QuTI), headed by the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), does not intend to directly take on the major international quantum technologies competitor countries. “South Africa cannot compete with the billions of euros invested in quantum... →

Science and Innovation Department grants funds to Wits University for quantum research

By: Rebecca Campbell 15th September 2021 The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) has awarded R8-million in seed funding to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) to implement Phase 1 of the South African Quantum Technology Initiative (SA QuTI). Wits had already set up its own WitsQ quantum research initiative and is the... →

Nokia, ATU team up to drive Africa’s digital transformation

By: Natasha Odendaal 15th September 2021 Information and communication technology (ICT) group Nokia and the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to drive digital transformation and the knowledge economy for socioeconomic development across Africa. The two parties aim to leverage the... →

Bytes COO steps in as interim CFO

By: Donna Slater 14th September 2021 JSE-listed software, security and cloud services company Bytes Technology Group CFO Keith Richardson has informed the company of his intention to retire after having served nearly three decades with the company. Current COO Andrew Holden will assume leadership of Bytes’ finance function as... →

African Rainbow Capital’s portfolio expands on back of fair value gains

By: Donna Slater 14th September 2021 JSE-listed African Rainbow Capital’s (ARC’s) intrinsic portfolio value increased by 16.3% from R10.55-billion as at June 30, 2020, to R12.27-billion as at June 30, this year. Net fair value gains accounted for R909-million of the increase and net investments for the remaining R810-million... →

Vodacom installs new solar-powered sites to reduce carbon emissions

By: Natasha Odendaal 14th September 2021 Information and communication technology giant Vodacom has invested more than R8-million to install new solar-powered sites in Polokwane, Vereeniging and Bloemfontein as the company continues to secure alternative energy sources to power its operations where feasible. The three new solar-powered... →

ABB launches new Digital Solutions Centre in Johannesburg

By: Simone Liedtke 9th September 2021 Automation company ABB on September 9 unveiled its new South African Digital Solutions Centre, which aims to help companies across industries to overcome their most pressing technology and digitalisation challenges. The centre, which is based at ABB’s Longmeadow facility, in Johannesburg, gives... →

ABB's new South African Digital Solutions Centre

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