Author: Duncan McLeod

On the eve of an historic court battle between Icasa and mobile operators MTN and Vodacom, the communications regulator has revealed in papers filed at the high court in Johannesburg that it intends reconsidering its proposed cuts to call termination rates. In an answering affidavit submitted to the high court, Icasa says it has

The humble video store isn’t dead, provided it adapts to the times by taking advantage of modern technology, says Barry Hilton. The South African comedian has an idea he thinks can save the DVD rental industry. And he’s not joking. Hilton, known for his comedic sketches that poke fun at South African society, says video stores have

Gijima executive chairman Robert Gumede wanted to buy Independent News & Media South Africa but withdrew for what he has termed “sound commercial reasons”, he has revealed through his lawyers. Gumede, who has threatened to sue the newspaper publishing company over an article that appeared a fortnight ago in its flagship Sunday

The war of words that erupted between MultiChoice and communications minister Yunus Carrim this week is extraordinary. It is also, unfortunately, very damaging. It is unusual in South Africa – or most countries, for that matter – for a large company to take on a cabinet minister directly, aggressively and in public like this. One has to

MultiChoice “cannot speak for the poor” and “has no mandate from them”. It also can’t speak for consumers, from whom it makes “super profits”. That’s the latest broadside directed against MultiChoice by the ministry of communications as the war of words between the Naspers-owned pay-television operator and communications minister

MultiChoice has upped the ante further with communications minister Yunus Carrim over government’s policy on the use of encryption in digital terrestrial television. In a statement, it has accused the minister of not telling the truth when he claimed that MultiChoice and its partners were misrepresenting the situation. Tensions between

Vodacom intends expanding the size of its network in Gauteng dramatically in the next financial year, with plans to add 555 4G/LTE towers in the province by the end of March 2015. The expansion, which also includes the deployment of new 2G and 3G sites, forms part of

The personal computer business is in a poor state worldwide, and the Africa and Middle East region has not been shielded from the slump. The latest data from research firm International Data Corp (IDC) shows the PC shipments in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey declined by 14,3% year on year during the fourth quarter of 2014, to 4,5m

MTN has defended its two-page newspaper advertisement at the weekend in which it said sarcastically that it was “guilty” – of doing many things right by consumers and the country. It says the ad campaign was in response to a “virulent attack” by Cell C on its brand and reputation

Netflix, Apple, Google and other online streaming video providers are the real threat to MultiChoice in South Africa’s subscription broadcasting industry, the pay-television operator’s CEO says. Imtiaz Patel, who heads up MultiChoice South Africa Group, tells TechCentral