It’s almost the end of another year. It has become something of a tradition for me to use this column…
Browsing: Duncan McLeod
Is it all going pear-shaped for Telkom? For many years, SA’s fixed-line operator was able to generate billions of rand in profits for its shareholders. But now it appears to be facing a perfect storm of competition, regulation and market change
Rupert Murdoch, the leader of News Corp, is on a mission to get people to pay for his company’s journalism. He ’s even threatening to pull News Corp content off Google and to do an exclusive deal with Microsoft instead. Has he lost the plot?
The department of communications has called a colloquium this week to seek public input on national broadband policy. Previously, it would have been little more than a talk shop. But something constructive may flow out of this meeting. Communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda has breathed fresh life into a ministry left moribund by his predecessor, the late Ivy Matsepe- Casaburri
New legislation meant to fight crime is having a deleterious effect on mobile operators. Vodacom, MTN and Cell C saw new connections to their networks fall off a cliff at the beginning of August. It’s hard to see how the gain is worth the pain. “I told you so!” That’s what Alan Knott- Craig, the former CEO of Vodacom Group, is probably muttering under his breath
Telkom faces the possibility of potentially crippling fines for alleged anticompetitive abuses in the Internet market. If the company is forced to cough up, creative uses that benefit consumers should be found for that money
Windows 7 has landed. After months of hype, Microsoft has finally delivered its newest PC operating system. Reviewers are raving…
This week, Amazon.com’s Kindle e-book reader went on sale in SA and around the world. E-books are finally coming of age. Here’s why you’re going to want to buy one and why you may be better off delaying your purchase for a short while. If anyone has any doubts that the future of book publishing is electronic, consider this: where Amazon stocks both
Cellular operators were set to receive a grilling in parliament this week. Politicians want mobile interconnection fees to come down. But it’s far from clear if the basic cost of calls will also fall. Can politicians avoid the temptation of interfering further?
Some commentators have speculated that the failure of talks between MTN and India’s Bharti Airtel points to a more protectionist approach by government. If so, it’s troubling. The country ought to be opening up to investors, not scaring them away