President Jacob Zuma on Thursday told a press conference in Pretoria that he had heard from his communications minister, Siphiwe Nyanda, that there was a “problem” involving the department’s director-general, Mamodupi Mohlala. “The minister in passing indicated there is a problem. He has not given a proper and formal report. Once this happens, we move in,” Zuma said.
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There’s finally some good news on the Seacom front. If all goes according to plan, the undersea cable system will be fully operational again from tomorrow (Friday). According to a Seacom spokesman, physical repairs to the submarine cable are in the final stages of completion. “The entire system is currently undergoing testing before the cable is lowered back into the water,” the spokesman says.
Vodacom will make a decision about what to do with its troubled business in the Democratic Republic of Congo by the end of this year, says the group’s CEO Pieter Uys. “The company is still running and there is a board meeting coming up soon,” Uys says. He doesn’t say what will be discussed at the meeting.
A triumvirate of Sentech executives has been appointed to lead the troubled state-owned broadcast signal distributor until a full-time CEO can be appointed. TechCentral has learnt from sources at Sentech that a caretaker team has been appointed, led by acting chief operating officer Dingane Dube.
In spite of a solid performance in mobile data, SA’s largest telecommunications operator, Vodacom, has reported flat group revenue growth of 3% in the first quarter of its 2011 financial year. The company released its trading statement for the three months ended 30 June 2010 on Thursday, saying that although international markets are stabilising, weaker African currencies and a strong rand hampered growth.
Want to phone someone on Vodacom? Rather than dialling “082”, you may soon have to dial “882” instead. Draft regulations governing the phone numbering scheme SA uses could mean that every phone number in the country will have to change. The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) has released draft numbering plan regulations that could result in South Africans having to learn a raft of new dialling codes if fully implemented.
Clay Shirky, celebrated author of Here Comes Everybody, a book on how the Internet is changing social behaviour, is a keynote speaker at the inaugural Tech4Africa conference, to be held in Johannesburg in August. Shirky, who divides his time between consulting, teaching and writing on the social and economic effects of communication technology, is a sought-after international speaker.
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) has withdrawn plans to hold a high-profile radio frequency spectrum auction. The spectrum, in the 2,6GHz and 3,5GHz bands, is ideally suited to providing the next generation of wireless broadband services. The decision to postpone the auctions follows a recent meeting between Icasa and communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda in which the minister is understood to have raised concerns that the auction process was not in line with government’s policy on spectrum management.
As Neotel gears up to launch its first prepaid consumer products in the next few weeks, the telecommunications operator has announced it has concluded a deal with JSE-listed Blue Label Telecoms to take the offerings to market. Blue Label will offer Neotel’s prepaid products through its retail points of presence across the country. The products are expected to be launched next month.
Tired of cellphone spam and unwanted SMS subscription services? Here’s your chance to do something about it. Well, kind of. The Wireless Application Service Providers’ Association (Waspa), an industry body of mobile marketers created to self-regulate the industry, has invited public comment on proposed amendments to its code of conduct aimed at protecting consumers of mobile content and services.