Author: Duncan McLeod

Welcome to the 100th episode of TalkCentral. Join Duncan McLeod and Regardt van der Berg for this landmark edition of TechCentral’s long-running podcast. In the show this week, Duncan and Regardt chat about the startling revelations from Vodafone this week about the ability of governments in many

Newly appointed Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane has appointed Marian Shinn as the party’s spokesman on telecommunications and postal services. Shinn had been shadow communications minister before President Jacob Zuma split the

French carrier Wi-Fi specialist Nomosphere, part of the Nomotech Group, has announced plans to expand in South Africa. It will open a subsidiary in Johannesburg, its first office outside France, as it looks to take advantage of an expected boom in Wi-Fi demand in Africa. Wireless Access

Regulators and policy makers across Africa need to work with the telecommunications industry to harmonise radio frequency spectrum for broadband. Doing so will help drive down costs, especially of handsets, says Magnus Mchunguzi, who is MD of Ericsson in South Africa. Working together on

MTN and Simfy Africa have signed a deal to offer the streaming music service’s product to the mobile operator’s customers at a discount. MTN will offer the streaming service to its customers for R49/month. “All customers will have the opportunity to try the full service, and enjoy all of

JSE-listed technology firm Morvest is getting into … bedding. The company told shareholders on Tuesday that its subsidiary Morvest Retail, through its business Whoohaa, will buy “certain business assets and business liabilities” of well-known mattress maker Simmons for R75m

Telkom’s share price has smashed through the R40/share barrier following a positive trading update released last week. It’s the first time Telkom has traded at these levels since late 2009 after the company disposed of its 50% stake in mobile operator Vodacom. The counter has been on a tear in the past year

Well-known technology industry entrepreneur Willem van Biljon has joined Takealot.com, the e-commerce website that recently announced it had secured about R1bn in new funding, as co-CEO and chief technology officer. Van Biljon co-founded Mosaic Software, the company

More than a decade after sci-fi blockbuster Minority Report introduced us to gesture-based computer interfaces, the Leap Motion Controller made its retail debut last year to much fanfare. Now, a new, more advanced version of Leap Motion’s gesture control software is in the works. TechCentral played around

There’s a nasty sting in the tail of Cell C’s new 66c/minute prepaid calling plan. The operator has quietly introduced an out-of-bundle charge of R2/MB for data on the plan, more than double the 99c/MB it charges on its “99c For Real” prepaid option. An observant TechCentral reader noticed the higher out-of-bundle rate