Vodacom hunts for future growth
Vodacom expects demand for data to offset a decline in voice revenues in the next few years, but with the margins on data slimmer and the price of data being driven down by a competitive market, the operator is also hoping so-called “over-the-top” services – content, social networking and financial services are three examples
Pay TV: the price of pick and choose
US senator John McCain has introduced a bill that proposes forcing cable television operators to allow Americans to subscribe to only the channels they choose rather than having to pay for bouquets of channels, many of which they never watch. The prospect of paying only for the channels
Northern provinces to get fibre
Limpopo and Mpumalanga are to get a high-speed broadband network after state-owned infrastructure company Broadband Infraco said it intends rolling out fibre-optic networks in the provinces. Broadband Infraco CEO Puleng Kwele says the “northern ring capacity
Neotel is not for sale – Tata
India’s Tata Communications has rubbished talk that it plans to sell its South African subsidiary, telecommunications operator Neotel. Company spokesman Rozzyn Boy on Friday said Tata had no intention of selling the company. “We don’t have any plans to sell Neotel, no
Orange in Africa IT services push
Orange Business Services, the IT services arm of giant French telecommunications operator Orange, is gearing up to help South African multinationals wanting to expand on the continent to do so. Jean-Luc Lasnier, GM for Orange Business Services in the
Google goes all in on music
Among the plethora of announcements at Google’s annual I/O developer event was one that should have music fans excited. The company is launching Google Play Music All Access, a streaming music service, beating rival Apple, which is said to be planning a similar product, to market. However, the
Battle lines drawn over digital TV
Kagiso Media, which has previously expressed interest in launching both free-to-air and pay-television services, says digital terrestrial broadcasting may be on the “brink of irrelevance” and the longer the process is delayed, the less likely new players are to be successful. CEO Omar Essack made the comments
But does it have Instagram?
“It’s all about the ecosystem.” That’s a catchphrase much bandied about these days. For mobile device manufacturers, having a range of quality software is as important as the hardware. Perhaps even more important. Two companies, Finland’s Nokia and Canada’s
The BlackBerry Q10 reviewed
For many die-hard BlackBerry users, the Q10 – not the Z10 released earlier this year – is the phone they’ve been waiting for. The Q10 is a strange beast. It offers a physical Qwerty keyboard and a square touch display in the age of the all-touch rectangle. And, despite its jaw-dropping price tag of R8 999, the Q10
Jo’burg fibre coming in July
The R1,2bn fibre-optic network that covers all seven of greater Johannesburg’s municipalities will go live on 1 July. The network, built by BWired, a partnership between Ericsson and the city, will connect government buildings and businesses and serve as a wholesale network for telecommunications operators
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