As Internet access spread across the globe, a handful of giant American corporations ended up dominating industries. Google in search, Amazon in online shopping and Facebook in social networking. The one market that has proved consistently immune to these titans is China. Now, one of China’s homegrown Internet giants
Radio personality Gareth Cliff, who recently quit his job at national radio station 5FM to launch Cliff Central, an online radio start-up, has reportedly reached an agreement with MTN to offer his online broadcasts on an unlimited basis for a low fixed monthly fee. According to a report on business website BDlive, Cliff and MTN are set
In the days following this week’s general election – the most interesting since 1994 – the focus will shift to who president Jacob Zuma will name to his new cabinet. Whatever shuffling he decides to do, he should leave the communications portfolio in the hands
We’ve been gone too long, we know. But TechCentral is pleased to announce that its podcast, TalkCentral, is returning from this week with a new voice on the panel, Regardt van der Berg, who joins the editorial team from 1 May. In the first edition of the relaunched show, Van der Berg and co-host Duncan McLeod talk about the snowballing
South Africa’s mobile price war appears to be intensifying, with Vodacom announcing on Friday that it would cut its effective prepaid rate, on a promotional basis, to 50c/minute for customers who buy its new “Chat for 20” product. The new “promotional bundle” offers 20 voice minutes for R10 to call any network
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and its agent, Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), are railroading state welfare recipients into using Vodacom Sim cards through an exclusive partnership between the two companies. The partnership has the potential to drive millions of beneficiaries into Vodacom’s arms on the back
British telecommunications giant BT has named former IBM sub-Saharan Africa GM Oliver Fortuin as its new MD following the resignation of Keith Matthews. Fortuin, who was also a former GM of IBM’s PC Company in Africa, takes the top job at BT with immediate effect. Most recently, Fortuin, who has an MBA from Open University
Vodacom has quietly cut its prepaid call rate to 79c/minute on per-second billing, just weeks after MTN did the same. However, the new Vodacom rate is promotional, and expires on 14 July. If Vodacom makes the new 79c rate permanent – by filing the tariff with communications regulator
Independent mobile infrastructure provider IHS has completed its acquisition of more than 1 200 network towers from MTN. It has bought all of the mobile group’s towers in Zambia and Rwanda. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed. IHS subsidiaries in Zambia and Rwanda acquired ownership and
Pinnacle Holdings has confirmed weekend newspaper reports that it is being investigated by the Financial Services Board (FSB) because of a possible contravention of the Financial Markets Act related to share trading that took place in March 2014. The FSB is probing possible insider trading, Pinnacle said in a statement to
