Author: Duncan McLeod

In the podcast this week, a discussion about the week’s big technology news, including fresh details on Huawei’s HarmonyOS and how criminals are destroying South Africa’s mobile infrastructure.

The Chinese technology giant will pay software developers to build apps for its new operating system, HarmonyOS, which will run on a range of devices from smartphones to smartwatches.

At least 500 Vodacom base stations in South Africa are targeted each month by criminal syndicates, with batteries and copper cables the main target, the company said on Thursday.

Vodacom wants to switch off its 2G voice network to focus on newer broadband technologies, including 3G and 4G/LTE, joining rival Telkom in announcing plans to migrate users off the now-25-year-old legacy technology.

Vodacom said on Thursday that there is no reason to delay the licensing of 5G spectrum in South Africa, arguing that its urgent allocation is needed if South Africa is going to take advantage of the fourth Industrial Revolution.

In this episode of the podcast, Jonathan Ovadia, co-founder and CEO of Ovex, a relatively new cryptocurrency exchange based in Cape Town, joins TechCentral’s Duncan McLeod for a discussion on the crypto market.

Regulators, including Icasa and the Competition Commission, will have to be pragmatic and lenient about a looming expanded tie-up between Cell C and MTN South Africa if the former isn’t going to go to the wall.

MTN South Africa is making “good progress” in its plans to relaunch mobile money services in South Africa, according to group CEO Rob Shuter.

Cell C said late on Thursday that it is up to date with all payments to MTN South Africa for its national roaming agreement.

Cell C has missed several payments to national roaming partner MTN South Africa, underscoring the dire financial straits in which the country’s third-largest mobile operator finds itself.