Duncan McLeod is founder and managing editor of TechCentral. With more than 30 years of experience in technology journalism, he has worked for and contributed to a range of publications, including the Financial Mail, the Sunday Times and the Financial Times.
Three weeks ago, in mid-April, Absa became the last of South Africa’s big banks to launch a mobile transactional banking application for smartphones and tablets, beating at the finish line by First National Bank, Standard Bank, Nedbank and Investec. But Absa, South Africa’s
Just a day after it was revealed that a consortium led by MSG Afrika, backed with funding from MultiChoice, was making a bid to buy troubled pay-television operator TopTV, it has emerged that a second company, Wananchi Group, has submitted an expression of interest of its own
A Cell C complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority has resulted in Telkom’s mobile business, 8ta, withdrawing claims it made in an advertising campaign that it had South Africa’s lowest call rate, in the process earning a further warning from the authority. In its complaint
On 10 April, communications minister Dina Pule stripped her director-general, Rosey Sekese, of a range of key powers. In a letter signed by the minister, which TechCentral today publishes in full, Pule assigned all human resources matters to one of Sekese’s deputies, Gift Buthelezi, just as the the DG returned to
DStv operator MultiChoice, which is owned by media giant Naspers, has agreed to back a bid by a broad-based consortium wanting to buy into and rescue the financially troubled On Digital Media (ODM), owner of TopTV. A broad-based consortium led by businessmen
A consortium led by businessmen Given Mkhari and Malose Kekana has made an unsolicited offer to buy a stake in struggling pay-television operator TopTV, website BDlive reported on Monday. TopTV is owned by On Digital Media, which is currently trading under a “business rescue” in
Telkom’s mobile arm has introduced new contract plans that offer unlimited on-network mobile calls as well as unlimited calling to one user-designated fixed-line number. Some of the new Telkom Mobile “SmartPlan” and “SmartSaver” contract voice plans also offer access to free Wi-Fi
On a fairly quiet news week, the agenda was dominated by the launch of the Galaxy S4. Craig Wilson and Duncan McLeod chat about Samsung’s new flagship smartphone and consider what it means for the competitive landscape. They also look at the
Could MTN South Africa be falling victim to the fierce price competition in the mobile industry? Its latest subscriber numbers suggest this might be the case. In the first quarter of 2013, the operator shed 1,9% of its customers, dropping from 25,4m subscribers at the end of December 2012 to 24,9m at the end of
Altech will not give up on the idea of pursuing international acquisitions, despite the financial disaster it that has unfolded for it in East and West Africa in recent years. However, the JSE-listed technology group will take a breather before pursuing new deals, says CEO
