Between 2010 and 2013, investors will spend more on submarine cable systems in Africa than anywhere else in the world, a new report from TeleGeography shows. Investors are expected to pump almost US$2bn into new undersea cable systems serving Africa in 2012 and 2013, on top of the more than $1bn spent in 2010 and 2011. In the same period, investments
Author: Craig Wilson
More than half of SA’s population that is online at least once a week is willing to shop on the Internet, and the number is growing. Convenience is deemed more important than cost for most consumers and the trend is being driven by group-buying, airline tickets and digital media purchases. These are the findings of a new MasterCard
Five years ago, SA had one cable, Sat-3, running down Africa’s west coast and connecting it to the global Internet. Today the continent is surrounded by high-capacity cables, with plenty more, even bigger systems to come. There are now so many cables and such a great deal of capacity that Steve Song, author of the popular
With the abundance of cables landing on SA’s shores, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s one the most connected countries in the world. In a sense, it soon will be: there’s no shortage of international capacity on the way. What’s lacking is widespread local access to take advantage of it. The problem isn’t without solutions, but
At just under 2,3kg, Samsung’s Series 7 Chronos is a hefty machine, inside and out, but one that’s sure to turn heads. But with an equally hefty price, it will be interesting to see how well it competes with some of the slimmer competitors on the market, including Samsung’s own ultraportable Series 9 range. In SA, the Series 7 carries a sizeable
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) has hit back at a recent report by Research ICT Africa, which criticised the authority over higher retail and wholesale mobile call rates, saying the report fails to consider various costs that affect SA operators. “SA’s prices are comparatively high; the authority has no
With the explosion of tablets and smartphones, employees increasingly want to use their own devices in the workplace. This is leading to a consumerisation of enterprise IT but there are many misconceptions about it and its implications for companies, a new report has found. The biggest misconception is that companies are resisting the trend
A new research study has found that SA has some of the least affordable prepaid mobile tariffs on the continent and is falling behind many of its neighbours because of high wholesale call rates between operators. The findings are contained in a Research ICT Africa policy brief, with research conducted over the past year
For many people, satellites are synonymous with television broadcasting. But they’re also gaining popularity as a means of delivering broadband. For emerging markets, like those in Africa, where terrestrial broadband solutions could take years to become ubiquitous, satellite is the only viable option. Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, GM for Africa
Telkom’s management team failed to follow internal tender procedures and is to blame for a court interdict on Friday that prevents it from continuing with work to improve its access network into homes and businesses. This is the allegation levelled against the operator by networking equipment vendor ZTE Mzanzi, a joint venture between China’s ZTE and local black empowerment