| Though SA's telecoms sector boasts the continent's most advanced networks in terms of technology deployed and services provided, delays in suitable frequency spectrum allocations are inhibiting next-generation technologies from growing. This is according to a report published yesterday by Research and Markets, giving an overview of trends and developments in the local telecommunications market. The research firm says that, in a virtually saturated voice market, four mobile networks - Vodacom, MTN, Cell C | | The Internet economy of G20 nations is expected to almost double in size between 2010 and 2016, and is projected to reach USD4.2 trillion in 2016. According to research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the digital economic growth driver will be a "dramatic" increase in the number of users around the globe, which will surge from 1.9 billion users in 2010, to a projected three billion users in 2016. However, while Internet users in SA will almost double in the next four years, the country is set to miss | | JSE-listed Telkom will appoint a MD for its mobile division as part of a restructuring of the units leadership team, the group said on Thursday. Group CEO Nombulelo Moholi said in a statement the mobile business has matured and was geared to offer several new propositions. "Delivery on our mobile investment features high on the corporate agenda. It is an appropriate time to reconfigure the Telkom Mobile top leadership team," she said. In line with this, Telkom initiated a process to appoint a MD who will | | The Department of Communications is still aiming to achieve 100 percent broadband penetration by 2020, a promise initially made by former minister of communications Radhakrishna "Roy" Padayachie, and affirmed on Tuesday by Dina Pule, who has been in the role since October 25 2011. With multiple new undersea cables coming online in the next year and a half, more people will have access to broadband and hopefully at lower prices, which are still regarded as among the highest in the world. Where the Seacom | | MTN is increasing the download speed for users of its "uncapped" Internet products who reach fair-use limits. This follows a fourth-month trial, which ends this month, in which it offered uncapped mobile broadband without any limitations. MTN, which is the only mobile cellular operator in SA to offer uncapped plans, says that from 1 February users of its "Uncapped Lite" packages will be able to download data at speeds of up to 256kbit/s, from 128kbit/s now, once they reach a 3GB monthly usage allowance. |
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| BSkyB has launched a 100 Gigabit optical network for Sky Broadband customers, the first optical network to hit that speed in the UK. The network is aimed at allowing customers to rapidly download large files, including high definition videos. BSkyB is aggressively improving its technology capabilities. Yesterday it announced a multimillion pound purchase of a stake in Zeebox, in a bid to be at the centre of customer searches to buy products seen on television. The Sky Broadband unit, which has over three | | The European Commission (EC) has launched a new action plan that seeks to double the volume of e-Commerce in Europe by 2015, which will apparently require "serious broadband bandwidth" to deliver. The new plan, which forms a part of the wider Digital Agenda and Single Market Act, proposes 16 targeted initiatives that could see online trade and services eventually account for more than 20 percent of growth and net job creation in "some" Member States. Thankfully that includes the UK, as well as Germany, | | Cable operators delivered the fastest average broadband download speeds in 2011 -- with major MSOs easily blasting by rival telco and satellite Internet services -- according to data from independent testing firm Ookla. For the full year, the six fastest residential Internet service providers in the U.S. based on average download speed were Comcast, Charter Communications, Cablevision Systems, Time Warner Cable and Insight Communications. That's according to Ookla's Net Index service, which has measured h | | Virgin Media is planning to whip its broadband into a wild gallop in a 110m upgrade that will produce a top speed of 120Mbps. The company won't be charging its existing customers for the new speeds, and folks who have an old modem incapable of handling the super-fast internet Ö such as those on the 20Mbps package will get a new one free. The smokin' hot broadband speeds were enough to prompt praise from UK prime minister David Cameron, who reckons the upgrade will boost the economy. One of the government | | Giving customers instant and reliable access to the internet is now a "basic essential" for Highland businesses, an award-winning island restaurant owner has said. Shirley Spear, who runs The Three Chimneys on Skye with her husband Eddie, also said social network sites had helped to boost trade. The couple are among businesses and individuals in the north exploiting communication technology. But the Spears and others have also been frustrated by poor connectivity.
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| Google has changed its privacy policy, streamlining it across its multiple services including search, email, video and social networking sites. More than 60 different policies will be combined into one that will go into effect 1 March, the company said. Google said the new policy will give people more relevant search results and help advertisers find customers. Google has previously faced criticism over the sharing of users data. "We're rolling out a new main privacy policy that covers the majority of of | | The crackdown on file-sharing site Megaupload is expected to do little to reduce overall piracy of music, software and Hollywood movies, while potentially stifling emerging means of distributing content online. In the wake of last week's surprising indictment of the digital storage company and seven executives, other companies have begun changing their policies even as Megaupload officers maintained their innocence in a first court appearance in New Zealand. Filesonic.com stopped allowing people to download | | Facebook estimates that it benefits the UK to the tune of more than 2bn a year, including the development of an almost ã500m "app economy" that has sprung up around the world's most popular social networking website. The company commissioned a study by Deloitte, which concluded that Facebook supports 35,200 UK jobs and fuels 2.2bn to UK GDP each year, and published the document at the DLD conference in Munich on Tuesday. Deloitte's estimates looked at the direct economic impact of Facebook Ö such as | | Google has announced that uploads to YouTube now total one hour of video every second. "Can you imagine how many 'Nyans' that is?" the company ask in a blog post announcing the milestone, referring to the mind-numbing "Nyan Cat" video that has been watched over 60 million times. On a separate website, "One Hour Per Second", Google answers that question in an animated flood of stats. "In 24 seconds of uploads to YouTube," one stat notes, "one full day elapses and the Nyan Cat says 'Nyan' over 345,600 times | | The arrest of Megaupload's founders has led to other file storage sites taking action in an apparent attempt to protect themselves from legal action.Filesonic has disabled its sharing functions, allowing users to access only their own files. Uploaded.to has blocked US access to its site entirely, with a message saying "sorry about that". Experts said that the sites were attempting to show that they were taking piracy seriously. "If those websites are found to be communicating the works - ie facilitating |
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