Two of South Africa’s biggest online retailers, Takealot.com and Kalahari.com, surprised just about everyone this week when they announced plans to merge their operations. The proposed deal is surprising because, until now
Browsing: Duncan McLeod
Was Microsoft really that desperate to distance itself from what commentator Paul Thurrott calls the Windows 8 “Frankenstein’s monster” that one full version number for the next version wasn’t enough? Microsoft announced this week that
Should South Africa’s mobile operators extend their offerings beyond telecommunications and into a broad range of value-added services such as financial services, media and e-commerce, or should they be low-margin “dumb pipes” over
South African couch potatoes have never had it so good. In the past fortnight, two new video-on-demand offerings have been launched, one using broadband connections to deliver entertainment into
Cell C’s leadership team must feel like it’s on a roller coaster ride it can’t get off. One moment it’s shrieking in delight as its regulator, Icasa, gives it a significant price advantage over its bigger rivals; the next it’s crying out
Over the past 20 years, Telkom has been through the wringer. It’s been abused by politicians and by greedy foreign investors, and it’s made spectacular strategic and operational mistakes that have cost it billions. But somehow, through all of this, it’s arrived at a point today under
Icasa is set to crack open South Africa’s free-to-air television industry to more competition. As South Africa moves to digital broadcasting, the communications regulator is planning to license a third terrestrial player to compete head-on with the SABC and e.tv. If it goes ahead, which
Expect high drama in South Africa’s mobile industry in coming weeks as Icasa readies new regulations governing call termination rates. What the communications regulator decides will have a big impact not only on the financial health of the
As the debate over network neutrality rages in the US, South African Internet service providers, through their industry association, have urged communications regulator Icasa to steer clear of crafting regulations dealing with the contentious issue — at least for now. But what’s
How is this for ambitious? Vodacom in South Africa is hoping to sign up 10m subscribers to its M-Pesa mobile banking and payments platform within the next five years. To put that in context, the cellular operator managed to