The apparent collapse of pay-TV operator Super 5 Media is unfortunate. It means less chance of the kind of rivalry that fosters innovation and drives down prices. At the top end of the market, however, competition to DStv may come from a less obvious source. Super 5 Media, formerly known as Telkom Media, was cursed almost from the start. When Telkom, under former CEO Reuben September, decided to end its investment, the writing was already on the wall.
South Africans once regarded Neotel as having the real potential to offer a competitive alternative to Telkom in residential services. But as the company releases an uninspired prepaid retail offering this month, that dream already appears to have faded.
SA’s cellular communications market is about to get a big shake-up as two players, one new, Telkom Mobile, and one reinvigorated, Cell C, get ready to go toe to toe with each other and incumbents MTN and Vodacom. SA’s smallest mobile operator, Cell C, has never had an easy time of it. Launched a decade ago after a particularly troubled birth, the operator has faced an uphill battle against dominant incumbents MTN and Vodacom.
Deputy home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba wants to introduce legislation that will compel Internet service providers to block pornographic material online. It’s all in the name of protecting the children, of course. According to a Sapa wire report last week, Gigaba intends “fast-tracking the passage of a yet-to-be-drafted law that will compel In- ternet service providers to filter content pro- vided to users to ensure it does not contain any pornography”.
Three years ago, when the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) licensed three new pay-TV players, most of us couldn’t wait to see something super. Four new companies were given a chance to bring new shows to SA’s TV screens. Most importantly, they were supposed to provide competition to the incumbent monopoly, MultiChoice.
When it comes to the latest handsets, consumers want to know more about the software they’re buying than the hardware specifications of the phone itself. This is driving big competitive changes in the smartphone market and reshaping an industry. A few years ago, buying a cellphone was a relatively trivial exercise.
When I arrived at Jeremy Ord’s office last Friday — the day after news that the group he cofounded and now chairs, Dimension Data, was being bought out for R24,4bn by a Japanese corporate giant — he was looking relaxed. Having just flown back from London that morning, Ord appeared a little tired but entirely laid-back in jeans, takkies and an old jumper. The TV in his office, tuned in to the British Open, had the attention of the 54- year-old golfing and cycling enthusiast.
When former head of the SA National Defence Force, Gen (Ret) Siphiwe Nyanda, was appointed as minister of communications last year, there was much grumbling. “What does a military man know about communications?” quickly became the general sentiment.
Choosing a database product to keep all your important data safe can be a very simple task, or a tremendously complicated and fractious ordeal. It is easy when you don’t have a choice. Many applications are written to work with only one database. When you choose the application, the database is chosen for you.
Reuben September’s decision to step down early as CEO of Telkom wasn’t unexpected. All eyes are now on the board, which must appoint his successor. Will it make the right choice? Or will the decision be political? It was probably inevitable that September didn’t stick around at Telkom until his con- tract ended in November. When the board elected not to renew his contract, the long- serving Telkom executive took it badly, say company insiders.
