For many technophiles, 2013 was a slightly disappointing year. Sure, there were one or two groundbreaking launches (such as Google Glass), but for the most part it was a year of consolidation rather than raw innovation. This year is likely to be more exciting as several waves of long-awaited
All indications are that Telkom is and will remain implacably opposed to the regulations introducing local-loop unbundling. This is deeply unfortunate – a drawn out legal process will not solve any of Telkom’s longer term problems. If past legal processes of this nature provide any guide, then by the time
The scene is set for a bruising showdown between Telkom and its regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), over local-loop unbundling. This is after the authority this week said it would disregard the fixed-line operator’s arguments about how much money it’s losing for each
I don’t know my Internet banking password. I don’t know my Facebook password either, or my Web e-mail password. I couldn’t even tell you the first three letters. And no, I don’t have them written down in a book or saved on my phone. Since two months ago, I only have two passwords to remember: the one
In the previous column, I looked at the merits of licensed versus unlicensed spectrum and suggested that there might be scope for some new approaches. I’d now like to turn to licensed spectrum and the process of auctioning spectrum which has become the dominant means of assigning popular licensed
Tensions are growing in South Africa’s mobile telecommunications industry as the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa gets nearer to publishing final regulations that will govern decreases in wholesale inter-network call charges over the next three years
Unmanned drones don’t have a very good reputation. They’re usually associated with assassinating terrorist leaders or spying on celebrities. But that may change when they start delivering birthday presents. Jeff Bezos, the irrepressible founder and chief executive of Amazon.com
Government should not impose an encryption system based on conditional access in the set-top boxes that taxpayers will subsidise for poorer households to receive digital terrestrial television. When it meets this week, cabinet should reject the idea, which has polarised the broadcasting industry
I always seem to be defending myself when the topic of cellphone or Internet addiction comes up. When it happens, everyone around the table turns to look at me first. Why is it that I have to explain myself? Yes, I have a smartphone and, yes, like many people, I use it a lot. Except
It’s a familiar story: a young computer nerd creates a new online service that attracts nearly a million customers in a couple of years and has earned tens of millions of dollars. Except that the service in this case – Silk Road – was not only secret, it was also illegal. Started in early 2011, Silk Road was designed as a marketplace
