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.
Just a week after submarine telecommunications cable cuts off the coast of Egypt caused major disruptions to broadband services across Africa, Egyptian authorities have arrested three divers suspected of trying to sever the Sea-Me-We 4 cable system that runs through the region. There are no
Sipho Maseko is Telkom’s new group CEO and will take over from outgoing CEO Nombulelo Moholi next week, TechCentral has been told by three separate sources with ties to the telecommunications operator. An announcement about his appointment may be made as soon as this afternoon
Vodacom has hired a top expert in electronic payments and financial services to head its mobile commerce division. The telecommunications operator has appointed Herman Singh, formerly head of Standard Bank’s innovation arm, Beyond Payments, as its managing executive for mobile commerce. Singh
Zimbabwean-born Democratic Alliance MP and shadow communications minister Marian Shinn is no career politician, having joined parliament only after the last general election in 2009. For most of her life, she was involved in journalism and, later, public relations. Shinn, 62, grew up in
Samsung’s new top-end smartphone, the Android-powered Galaxy S4, has set the benchmark that other manufacturers, especially Asian rivals such as Sony, HTC and Huawei, are going to have to beat in 2013. The S4, launched at a no-expense-spared event in New York two weeks ago, packs the sort of technology into its
Vodacom is taking direct aim at its biggest rival, MTN, announcing a new prepaid tariff plan, Anytime Per Second, on Tuesday that competes head-on with MTN’s One Rate plan. MTN recently cut the price of its One Rate calling plan from R1,75/minute
A family trust controlled by Pinnacle Technology Holdings CEO Arnold Fourie has sold R33m worth of the company’s shares. Pinnacle announced on Tuesday that the Carmen Fourie Family Trust had offloaded 1,5m shares at a price of R22/share. At the end of the
Seacom has restored services for most of its customers across Southern Africa and East Africa, it said on Tuesday. This comes four days after several cable systems, including Seacom’s, were cut in the Mediterranean Sea. The company, whose cable system runs from
Altron and subsidiary Altech both cautioned their shareholders within moments of one another on Friday that they were in talks that could have an impact on the share prices of the two companies. The move has ignited speculation that Altron could have another go at delisting Altech, which
Telkom and the Competition Commission have dropped their separate applications to the competition appeal court related to last year’s decision by the Competition Tribunal to hand down a R449m fine on the telecommunications operator for past anticompetitive abuses. Competition Commission
