South Africa, where 80% of the adult population owns a cellphone but the median income is a mere R3 000/month, poses specific challenges to tech companies trying to make inroads into the cellphone market. For many, the solution has come in the form of apps that allow
A month ago, Bloomberg proclaimed the chairman of Tencent, Ma Huateng, to be China’s richest man, with a wealth of US$13bn based on Tencent’s Hong Kong-listed shares, of which he owns 10%. His family name Ma means horse, so the Internet
Cellphone tower management company IHS has secured US$490m in new funding, made up of $420 in equity and $70m in debt, as it expands its operations across Africa. Existing shareholders in IHS are contributing to the fund-raising
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Gijima has welcomed a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe into a department of land reform project. “We welcome this investigation to remove any internal or external doubt or innuendoes, which would impact on the reputation of the department of rural development and land reform, as well as
South Africa’s telecommunications industry has never been in such a heightened state of flux as it is today. The regulator, Icasa, has managed to enrage the two biggest operators, MTN and Vodacom, which have both now lodged voluminous applications at the high court in an effort to get new call
There is no direct link between mobile termination rates and retail prices. That’s the assertion of MTN South Africa CEO Zunaid Bulbulia, who on Sunday again questioned the move by communications regulator Icasa to cut the rates. In a statement, Bulbulia urges MTN subscribers to “let the facts
Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko has blasted his rivals at Vodacom and MTN, Shameel Joosub and Zunaid Bulbulia, accusing them of “standing in the way of South Africa’s future” by taking communications regulator Icasa to court over mobile termination rates. In an open letter to the Vodacom
MTN contesting communications regulator Icasa’s new reduced interconnect call rates is a high-stakes game that is going to leave no one in the cellphone sector untouched, experts have warned. “This is the first time that MTN and Vodacom have been staring down the barrel of a gun,” said analyst
Cell C has said it is “disappointed” in Vodacom over its decision to file papers against communications regulator Icasa, joining MTN in what may become a groundbreaking court case in South African telecommunications. Cell C chief legal officer Graham Mackinnon tells TechCentral that the
