For the first time, more smartphones are being sold in South Africa than feature phones, new research shows. Samsung Africa vice-president and chief operating officer George Ferreira, quoting GfK market research, says 51% of mobile phones sold in South Africa in March 2014 were smartphones, with the rest made up of feature
MultiChoice and Samsung Electronics intend launching the pay-television operator’s DStv BoxOffice movie rental service on Samsung Smart TVs in about a month from now, TechCentral can reveal. “We have Smart Hub already on our TVs, but it’s limited,” says Samsung Africa vice-president and chief operating officer George Ferreira
Communications regulator Icasa has moved to deflect criticism that consolidation in South Africa’s telecommunications industry is a result of its failure to award new radio frequency spectrum licences. In a statement on Friday, Icasa says there have been “insinuations in the media to the effect that some of these developments are as a
Leading payment systems provider Net1 has ignored demands by the minister of social development to stop lending to social grant recipients and is continuing to grant loans to some of the country’s poorest citizens. Net1 UEPS Technologies wholly owns Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), which in 2009 was awarded a tender to distribute R10bn worth of social
The quaint “village” of Parkhurst is one of my favourite weekend spots and I often visit its pubs and eateries with the missus. So, as the resident of a neighbouring suburb, news that Parkhurst is planning to roll out fibre broadband to all homes and businesses piqued my interest. What was of particular interest was
Telkom’s second attempt in seven years at acquiring Business Connexion (BCX), the listed IT services group, will probably get the nod from South Africa’s competition authorities, analysts believe. Telkom on Thursday announced it had made a R2,7bn all-cash offer to buy out the JSE-listed IT services company. In 2004, Telkom bid
There is a certain irony in the fact that at the same time that our cellphone companies are announcing dramatic cuts to both their data and call rates in what appears to be a price war, we are also confronted by announcements on proposed tie-ups that, if concluded, will reduce competition in the sector. The irony is no coincidence. Cell C’s effort to win market
Telkom’s proposed acquisition of Business Connexion – its second attempt to buy the listed IT services company – will create an information and communications technology (ICT) company that will “address the technology and communications needs of South African businesses nationally”. That’s according to the
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) vowed on Thursday to resist job losses at Telkom after the company announced plans to retrench a thousand workers. “We will defend job losses. We want Telkom to engage us on what are the issues,” CWU deputy president Clyde Mervin told reporters in Johannesburg. He said the union could
Seven years after it was forced by the competition authorities to abandon a deal to acquire listed IT services group Business Connexion, Telkom is back for another go. The telecommunications operator has offered BCX shareholders R6,60/share, a 20% premium over the share price at close of trade on 14 April when the company issued
