For some time now, the ongoing debate between over-the-top providers on one side and network operators on the other returns like a comet in an elliptical orbit. Each time it returns, the stakes appear to be higher as this “comet” gets closer and threatens to crash into planet ICT. MTN South Africa
Afrihost subscribers who buy broadband ADSL bandwidth from the company have complained vociferously in recent weeks about problems achieving advertised speeds using the Internet service provider’s backbone, with many saying the experience has fallen far short of expectations. The company’s CEO, Gian Visser
We have seen a number of good, low-cost smartphones hitting the market in the past year as network operators and manufacturers attempt to convert feature-phone users to a more updated platform, while unlocking the huge potential that smartphones hold for mobile data usage. It’s not just a clever business
Telkom has denied that it is underinvesting in its network after the company revealed on Monday that its capital expenditure in the six months to 30 September 2014 fell sharply, with capex-to-revenue coming in well below guidance provided previously. This fall in capex prompted analysts on Monday
In the past 20 years, Telkom has lost almost every aspect of the absolute monopoly it once held over South African telecommunications. First, it lost its supremacy over voice communication as cellular rivals challenged it for dominance and won. Today, the cellular operators carry the vast majority of
The business logic is clear; only the timing remains to be settled. Everything in telecommunications, including voice, will soon be data. In a world where everything is data, there will be two types of companies. And they will not be mobile operators. There will be content companies and there will be data
In this hour-long edition of the TalkCentral podcast, your hosts Duncan McLeod and Regardt van der Berg discuss – and sometimes rant about – the big news stories of the week. And there’s plenty to talk about. First up on the agenda is Telkom’s launch of LTE-Advanced and its decision
In a significant development, MTN has lodged objections at both communications regulator Icasa and the Competition Commission against Vodacom’s proposed R7bn acquisition of Neotel, putting a potentially big hurdle in the way of the conclusion of the deal. TechCentral has established that
Facebook and other so-called over-the-top service providers cannot put propositions on the table that are not profitable for mobile operators and doing so would be “contrary to our goal”. That’s the view of Chris Daniels, who heads Internet.org, the Facebook-led initiative to bring affordable Internet
As the debate over so-called over-the-top (OTT) service providers such as WhatsApp and Facebook continues to rage in the mobile telecommunications industry, MTN South Africa CEO Ahmad Farroukh has called for “balanced cooperation” between operators and OTT players. Farroukh says in a statement
