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SA lagging behind world in telecom pricing

By: System Author 30th April 1999 South Africa does not compare well with telecommunication price standards in other countries, where costs are falling dramatically, according to the latest yearly worldwide survey of telephone charges by National Utility Services (NUS) of South Africa. NUS provides a telecommunications, energy... →

Merger leads to creation of R&D powerhouse

By: System Author 30th April 1999 new giant in the power-generation industry has been announced with the merger between the power-generation divisions of ABB and Alstom to create a 50:50 joint company to be known as ABB Alstom Power. ABB South Africa communications manager Chesney Bradshaw refused to comment on the merger.... →

Voltage is upped on thriving expansion drive

By: System Author 30th April 1999 Medium-voltage (MV) specialist Marqott Holdings is conducting a thriving expansion drive, which is the culmination of more than 12 years experience in the industry. A contributing factor to this initiative is the fact that, through its subsidiary Marqott Power Industries, Siemens awarded the... →

Big breakthrough in heat-pump technology

By: System Author 30th April 1999 Generator-absorber heat exchange (GAX) is a breakthrough in thermally-activated heat-pump technology that promises to heat and cool more efficiently; that will last 20 years with minimal maintenance; and that is environmentally benign because it uses neither chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) nor... →

Solar roof development

By: System Author 30th April 1999 A solar roofing system, jointly developed by Gapp Architects and Urban Designers and Solar Heat Exchangers, is being used to roof part of a public bathhouse built for the Katorus Market Society. This society is a non-governmental organisation representing the townships of Katlehong, Tokoza and... →

$5-million global satellite contract won

By: System Author 30th April 1999 A US$5-million three-year contract for the installation of satellite services in Khartoum, Sudan, has been won by South African firm Hix Technologies. “Through this project we can gain the experience in satellite installation necessary in the future in South Africa, particularly because we... →

Star performance from South African satellite

By: System Author 30th April 1999 Stellenbosch University’s low-earth orbit Sunsat satellite has successfully passed most of its checks since entering orbit, Engineering News can today report. “We’re happy with progress, although glitches set us back a week, but we suffered no mission-critical failures and most... →

Telecom market set to reach R50bn by 2003

By: System Author 30th April 1999 A second fixed-line and third cellular operator should both be able to succeed in the South African communications market, BMI-Techknowledge director Andre Wills reports. “Our research indicates that the local telecommunications market should grow from a gross turnover of R20-billion in... →

SA power innovations galvanise the world

By: System Author 30th April 1999 South African technology for innovative applications and developments in the electric power-generation and transmission industry is typically leading-edge and highly-regarded internationally, says South African Institute of Electrical Engineers president Alf Schulze. “These latest... →

Cell costs approach fixed-line costs

By: System Author 30th April 1999 In the seven years since its launch, global systems for mobile communications (GSM) technology has achieved 150-million subscribers worldwide, with up to 60% penetration in countries like Finland, compared to about 6% in South Africa. Even the US, previously having to deal with nine operating... →

Madagascar dogged by poor infrastructure

By: System Author 30th April 1999 Madagascar is a country with a promising future, Siemens South Africa CE Dr Klaus Doring tells Engineering News. “I visited Madagascar in February, on an exploratory visit, to see if there were any opportunities there – we had a lot of support from the German ambassador there, who... →

NZ prisoner home-detention scheme by Oct

By: System Author 30th April 1999 IT seems as if South Africa is not alone in its quest to make its prisoners feel ‘right at home’ with an electronic home-detention electronic monitoring scheme to be implemented by the New Zealand Department of Corrections on October 1 this year. Operational adviser for the project... →

Adding sparks to big cordless debate

By: System Author 30th April 1999 SOUTH African consumers still associate cordless tools with second-rate performance and a lack of power, comments Peter Schneider in the April issue of The Home Handyman. Whereas every household in Australia has at least one cordless power tool, the situation in South Africa is quite different.... →

From the Archimedes screw to multistage impeller pumps

By: System Author 30th April 1999 The new release of All About Pumps is now available from the Animated Software Company. This program has received high praise from users and reviewers, and is quickly becoming a standard teaching tool in the pump industry. Available on CD-Rom for just US$59,95, All About Pumps teaches the... →

Pump company boosts quality

By: System Author 30th April 1999 Extensive applications knowledge and technical expertise has seen MAH Pump Sales & Installations maintain its solid reputation for consistently-high quality standards on all its installations. MD Michael Hartridge maintains that attention to detail on an installation, as well as a commitment to... →

Complete solution for power industry

By: System Author 30th April 1999 It is imperative that the quality of water in steam-generation plants is controlled to high standards. Burkert Contromatic has products suitable for this demanding environment, and it will be releasing 37 new products this year alone, one of which is Top Control. This is heralded by the company... →

New pressure-measurement transmitter

By: System Author 30th April 1999 Process field instrumentation specialist Endress+Hauser will be exhibiting an extensive range of process measurement instrumentation at the Process ’99 exhibition to be held in the MTN Sundome from May 18 to 20. Process ’99 will be a part of the Engineering Technologies ’99... →

Grants worth R31,5m approved

By: System Author 23rd April 1999 A TOTAL of 35 grants valued at R31,5-million were approved as part of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) support programme for industrial innovation (SPII) between October 1997 and March 1998. The department has released the fifteenth biannual report on the SPII, one of the... →

South Africa plans to rope in its drivers

By: System Author 23rd April 1999 The South African National Roads Agency (Sanra) has placed the first local order for a wire-rope safety fence system, which is a proved method of reducing fatalities from accidents occurring on motorways and dual carriageways in the UK. The Brifen wire-rope safety fence system, manufactured by... →

Black empowerment reaches billion-rand mark

By: System Author 23rd April 1999 One rand in every three being disbursed by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is going towards black economic empowerment. Chief financial director Gert Gouws reveals that 31% of total proposition approvals, worth more than R1-billion, have been directed towards empowerment schemes over... →

Like Topsy, Jhb airport just grows and grows

By: System Author 23rd April 1999 A R1,6-billion five-year master-plan for the further redevelopment and expansion in capacity of Johannesburg International Airport (JIA) has been announced by Airports Company South Africa (Acsa). The plan came into effect on April 1, and will be completed in 2004. Officially called the western... →

Website boosts small business sector

By: System Author 23rd April 1999 A novel way of bring- ing together small businesses and potential buyers using an Internet website known as the business referral and information network (Brain), has been launched by the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) centre for small business promotion. Brain functions as a... →

Voice for small companies

By: System Author 23rd April 1999 ORGANISERS of Electrics Africa, the international electrical exhibition, have created a village area of affordable stands for smaller South African companies. This will give suppliers the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits associated with full-scale participation at the event. “We... →

Satra will not stand in way of Telkom listing

By: System Author 23rd April 1999 The South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Satra) says it will not stand in the way if Telkom decides to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Last week, Engineering News reported that the South African government, through its Department of Communications, was... →

Maree sprinting towards ‘new’ kind of gold

By: System Author 23rd April 1999 World-renowned athlete Sydney Maree is sprinting towards a new kind of gold: microchips. Maree’s company, Emthonjeni (Zulu for ‘place of shelter’) Investments, has signed a deal with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to take over South Africa’s troubled... →

New kid arrives on the local telecom block

By: System Author 23rd April 1999 There is a new kid on the block in South Africa’s telecommunications industry in the form of Marconi Communications, which has boosted its commitment to the country with its purchase of Telephone Manufacturers of South Africa (Temsa). Marconi bought out the Siemens and Reunert shareholding... →

Laser device sniffs out explosives

By: System Author 16th April 1999 UK scientists have developed a laser device which can detect minute amounts of explosives and can offer airline passengers increased protection from terrorists. Physicists at Leeds University, in northern England, say the instrument is so sensitive it can detect explosives the size of a pin- head... →

Counting the future of telecom numbering

By: System Author 16th April 1999 The South African Telecom Regulatory Authority (Satra) has published a discussion paper on the future of telecom numbering in South Africa. All telecom services require numbers, whether it is a standard telephone, mobile, facsimile, pager, toll-free or any other type of telecom device. South... →

Novel plan to use powerlines for telecom

By: System Author 16th April 1999 In these dwindling days of the twentieth century it is already clear that information and communications is going to be the key technology for the new millennium. In a global world where similar products, prices and features will become commonplace, a company’s competitive edge will... →

Biotechnology funding is now available

By: System Author 16th April 1999 Although not plentiful there are a number of funding initiatives to support the development of a local biotechnology industry. This was what emerged from the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) conference on the commercialisation of biotechnology held last month. A presentation by... →

Steel processor secures 15-year gas supply

By: System Author 16th April 1999 A R25-million-a-year 15-year contract for the total gas requirements at Duferco Steel Processing in Saldanha Bay, Western Cape, has been awarded to industrial gas supplier Afrox. The joint-venture project between the Industrial Development Corporation and Swiss-based steel trader Duferco to... →

Transport empowerment project

By: System Author 16th April 1999 TRANSPORTATION company Haulcon has concluded two new agreements designed to give emerging entrepreneurs a viable entry into the road-haulage industry. “These agreements represent a significant development as they are large, detailed contracts,” says Haulcon director Lynn Combrink.... →

33-million rural market

By: System Author 16th April 1999 ABOUT 33-million people in South Africa have yet to be connected to a telecom network, reports the Institute for International Research (IIR). Instead of perceiving this as a problem, it is recommended that operators, service providers and their suppliers look to the future, take a longer-term... →

Satellite dishes supplied for Africa

By: System Author 16th April 1999 Telecom manufacturer and equipment supplier Skywave supplies satellite dishes to the local industry. Powder-coating of these dishes is carried out at the company’s powder-coating facility, featuring a camel-back oven and a motorised continuous line. The pretreatment process is available for... →

In-house satellite-dish tooling

By: System Author 16th April 1999 Supply of formed satellite dishes to telecom-equipment manufacturer and supplier Skywave has been entrusted to Schuurman Metal Pressings of the Cape Province since 1997. Schuurman Metal Pressings director Jurie Schuurman reports that the company feels proud to be associated as the company’s... →

Second telephony trial

By: System Author 16th April 1999 SATELLITE telecom provider Intelsat has announced that it has begun its second rural-telephony trial. This three-month trial is taking place in Senegal with the co-operation of Sonatel, the Senegalese signatory to the company. The trial will serve multiple villages, and is using two... →

Satellite data system

By: System Author 16th April 1999 SATELLITE-communications provider Infosat now offers a full turnkey service for installing and maintaining a satellite data system designed to unicast, multicast or broadcast large data files at high speeds over the Internet using the latest broadband satellite technology. Internet by satellite... →

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