Author: Duncan McLeod

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Duncan McLeod is editor of TechCentral.

Seven years after it was forced by the competition authorities to abandon a deal to acquire listed IT services group Business Connexion, Telkom is back for another go. The telecommunications operator has offered BCX shareholders R6,60/share, a 20% premium over the share price at close of trade on 14 April when the company issued

The set-top boxes that South Africans will need to watch digital terrestrial television should be given away for free to poor people because, by the time the country has finally migrated from analogue to digital broadcasting, anyone who can afford a set-top box will already

After a lengthy pilot project, Standard Bank has commercially launched SnapScan, a smartphone-based payments system that removes the need for consumers to carry either cash or bank cards, allowing them to make payments using only their phones. Consumers from any bank, not only

Residents of the Johannesburg suburb of Parkhurst have asked for proposals from telecommunications service providers to wire up homes and businesses in the upmarket area to high-speed fibre-optic broadband infrastructure. The Parkhurst Residents and Business Owners Association (Praboa) has put out a request for proposal for fibre-to-the-home

Profits at Nashua Mobile plunged by 41% year on year in the six months to 31 March 2014, falling from R101,8m to R60,4m, parent Reunert disclosed in its interim results on Tuesday. This was on the back of a 2% decline in revenue, from R1,85bn to R1,81bn, at the independent cellular service provider, whose customer base Reunert has

Delays by government in creating a policy for the licensing of additional spectrum needed to build next-generation mobile broadband networks forced Vodacom into making an offer to buy rival telecommunications operator Neotel. Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub says mobile

Vodacom has revealed that the Competition Commission has decided to investigate a complaint lodged by Cell C, in which the smaller mobile operator has accused its larger rival of abusing its dominance in contravention of the law. “The group received a complaint from the Competition Commission in which it is alleged that Vodacom

South African smartphone users on Vodacom’s network use an average of 253MB/month each, while tablet users consume an average 743MB/month each, the mobile operator has revealed. In the financial year ended 31 March 2014, Vodacom increased the number of smartphones and tablets on its network by 23,5% to 7,8m. “Demand for

Vodacom intends increasing group capital expenditure by 20% in the financial year ended March 2015. It proposes increasing its capex investment from R10,8bn in 2014 to R13bn this year. However, it has warned that the planned investment could be affected negatively. “This will be informed by the final outcome of the mobile termination rate

After many months of negotiation, Vodacom and Neotel are finally getting into bed with each other. Vodacom has reached an agreement with Neotel’s shareholders to buy 100% of the company, including shareholder loans against it, for a total cash consideration equivalent to an enterprise value of R7bn. The deal, if it gets the necessary regulatory