Text messaging may be dying out as a means of communication in many parts of the advanced world, but it may yet prove to be a vital life-saver in flood-prone African villages. An early-warning system that aims to capitalise on the explosive growth of mobile phone
On the eve of an historic court battle between Icasa and mobile operators MTN and Vodacom, the communications regulator has revealed in papers filed at the high court in Johannesburg that it intends reconsidering its proposed cuts to call termination rates. In an answering affidavit submitted to the high court, Icasa says it has
It is no exaggeration to claim that the coming week will be make or break for affordable mobile communications in South Africa – quite possibly for the next 20 years. On 1 April 1994, Vodacom and MTN launched a service in South Africa, a launch brought forward to support the Independent Electoral Commission in managing the first
South African game developer Thoopid, of Snailboy fame, has released a new game called Tap the Coin. It is available for iOS (iPhone and iPad) and is free to download. An Android version has also just been launched. Tap the Coin requires the player to tap coins while bouncing forward to progress. It gets challenging when coins, which are
Neil Young is angry. As he paces the stage at this year’s South By Southwest music conference he growls and spits about the cheapening of an art form, and the hollowing out of an industry by uncaring corporations. But he’s not talking about the record labels — he’s talking about MP3s. For more than a decade, Young has been
Gijima executive chairman Robert Gumede wanted to buy Independent News & Media South Africa but withdrew for what he has termed “sound commercial reasons”, he has revealed through his lawyers. Gumede, who has threatened to sue the newspaper publishing company over an article that appeared a fortnight ago in its flagship Sunday
The war of words that erupted between MultiChoice and communications minister Yunus Carrim this week is extraordinary. It is also, unfortunately, very damaging. It is unusual in South Africa – or most countries, for that matter – for a large company to take on a cabinet minister directly, aggressively and in public like this. One has to
MultiChoice “cannot speak for the poor” and “has no mandate from them”. It also can’t speak for consumers, from whom it makes “super profits”. That’s the latest broadside directed against MultiChoice by the ministry of communications as the war of words between the Naspers-owned pay-television operator and communications minister
MultiChoice has upped the ante further with communications minister Yunus Carrim over government’s policy on the use of encryption in digital terrestrial television. In a statement, it has accused the minister of not telling the truth when he claimed that MultiChoice and its partners were misrepresenting the situation. Tensions between
Vodacom intends expanding the size of its network in Gauteng dramatically in the next financial year, with plans to add 555 4G/LTE towers in the province by the end of March 2015. The expansion, which also includes the deployment of new 2G and 3G sites, forms part of
