Browsing: In-depth

The divide between emerging and developed markets in terms of smartphone penetration is set to grow wider, new research suggests. Telecommunications equipment company Ericsson expects that by 2018, almost all handsets in Western Europe and North America will be smartphones

Attila Vitai, the newly appointed MD of Telkom’s mobile division, has arguably one of the toughest jobs in South Africa’s telecommunications industry. It’s his task to turn the country’s fourth mobile entrant into a viable and, eventually, a profitable enterprise in what has become a highly competitive

MTN and Pick n Pay are poised to launch a mobile bank. Called Tyme, which stands for “take your money everywhere”, the venture will piggyback on the banking licence held by Bank of Athens. Tyme hopes to make mobile money transfers and mobile banking commonplace in South Africa, where consumers

Independent telecommunications tower operator, Nigerian-founded IHS Group, believes that half of the 170 000 base stations built by mobile operators in Africa will be considered for outsourcing within the next three to five years as pressure

Because of its spending on upgraded towers and other infrastructure, Vodacom wouldn’t have to spend heavily on equipment if it were allocated more radio frequency spectrum in new bands, group CEO Shameel Joosub says. Due to spectrum

Telkom was losing R144/month or more on every fixed-line in service as recently as a couple of years ago and the fixed-line operator estimates that local-loop unbundling (LLU) could lob as much as R2,2bn/year off its revenue line if the regulatory intervention is introduced

Independent power producers could provide more than 60GW of conventionally produced electricity, according to the department of energy. This is nearly twice the total capacity now produced by Eskom – and it could be brought to market for far less than what

The department of communications has set out a case for more muscular government involvement in the telecommunications industry to help ensure that access to broadband becomes universal in South Africa. The department’s chief director

From cameras that allow for the three-dimensional rendering of vehicles through to the hundreds of kilometres of fibre-optic cables that link the toll gantries and control offices, Gauteng’s e-tolls project is a marvel of modern technology. Alex van Niekerk

The resignation on Monday of Nombulelo Moholi has been met with dismay by industry analysts, who have praised the outgoing Telkom group CEO while at the same time expressing alarm and cautioning that government must announce its intentions for the company sooner rather