Tony Howard has been appointed as Independent Newspapers’ deputy executive chairman, the company said on Tuesday. The position of group CEO would fall away immediately as a result of Howard’s appointment, executive chairman Iqbal Survé said in a statement. Howard was the
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
The humble video store isn’t dead, provided it adapts to the times by taking advantage of modern technology, says Barry Hilton. The South African comedian has an idea he thinks can save the DVD rental industry. And he’s not joking. Hilton, known for his comedic sketches that poke fun at South African society, says video stores have
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
Somalia will be getting access to next-generation 4G/LTE services through Glocall Telecoms LLC, which has announced plans to deploy a network in Mogadishu. Glocall Telecoms and its subsidiaries plan to deploy the 4G network to schools, government buildings, businesses and individuals. Somalia is one of the world’s least connected
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
With 45 days to go before the national elections, political parties have intensified their campaigning. On Saturday, the Democratic Alliance launched its online advert which featured the party’s spokesman Mmusi Maimane in president Jacob Zuma’s home village, Nkandla. The advert, which is slightly longer than a minute, focused on the
