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28
May 2010 |
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Telkom is paying a security company R6,6-million a month to monitor a copper-cable alarm system that it bought outright three years ago for R180-million and should be monitoring itself. Sources close to the utility told the Mail & Guardian that the alarm system, bought from Radio Surveillance Security Services (RSSS), was meant to be implemented in Telkom's control room but that this had never happened. Last week the M&G reported that an internal Telkom report had fingered three senior staffers for alleged... |
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28
May 2010 |
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In an extraordinary admission to the telecommunications and broadcasting industry, outgoing Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) chairman Paris Mashile said on Thursday evening that the regulator had "failed" the sector, adding that he would take personal responsibility for the poor performance. "I concede we have failed you and, at the end of the day, I am accountable," he told delegates at an Icasa stakeholders event on Thursday evening in Sandton. "I would like to beg your pardon and ask ... |
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27
May 2010 |
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World Wide Worx on Thursday released a report stating that the use of mobile internet services has exploded in South Africa, although less than half of urban cellphone users who have internet-capable phones use the internet. This emerged from the "Mobile Internet in South Africa 2010" study, conducted by World Wide Worx and backed by First National Bank. The study was conducted face to face among urban cellphone users aged 16 and older, representing 16-million South Africans. The report shows that usage ... |
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26
May 2010 |
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A Lynnwood law firm became so fed up with Telkom's promises to fix its faulty telephone lines that it asked the Pretoria High Court for an urgent order compelling the communications giant to restore them. According to court papers, Ross & Jacobs Attorneys was without a telephone line for several days after a cable was damaged during construction on the N1. Telkom officials at first promised that they were attending to the damaged cables and later that they had been fixed and needed to be tested. When the... |
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26
May 2010 |
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"Bill shock" is a growing problem for SA travellers. They go overseas, and, before they know it, they've run up a bill of thousands of rand - without even making a phone call. The problem is, as with roaming voice charges, the mobile operators impose exorbitant fees for roaming data - in some cases more than R100 000/GB! And with smartphones, which are constantly polling the network looking for updates to e-mail and other services, consumers can quickly run up monster-sized bills. MTN, for instance, charges... |
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26
May 2010 |
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Algeria's foreign minister ended speculation on Wednesday that MTN might try to buy Djezzy, the local subsidiary of Egyptian Telecom giant Orascom. Mourad Medelci said during a visit to this North African nation by President Jacob Zuma that "concerning Orascom, the page is turned with South Africa." Algeria made known May 3 that it was prepared to buy Djezzy, using its pre-emption rights when it learned Orascom's parent company was in talks with MTN over possible sale of all or some of Orascom Telecom's... |
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25
May 2010 |
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Vodacom is ditching its 24,9 percent stake in iBurst parent Wireless Business Solutions Holdings to increase its chances of being awarded radio frequency spectrum that will allow it to build a fourth-generation (4G) cellphone network. But black shareholding requirements could trip it up. The mobile operator confirmed last week that it would sell WBS so as to be eligible to bid for spectrum in the 2,6GHz and 3,5GHz radio frequency bands that it could then use to build a network using long-term evolution... |
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25
May 2010 |
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Two of Telkom's top executives, Thami Msimango and Naas Fourie, have taken voluntary retrenchment packages that the telecommunications utility has been offering as part of its downsizing exercise. Both will leave at the end of May, along with 132 other staff who also accepted voluntary retrenchment packages, Telkom CEO Reuben September announced in an e-mail circulated to the group's staff at the end of last week. Msimango is MD of Telkom's international business unit, Telkom International, and has spent... |
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25
May 2010 |
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Telkom has tasked a forensic investigator to look into allegations that high-level management staff colluded with security companies hired to protect Telkom's copper assets. The nature of the accusations is unclear. However, it appears staffers have been accused of corruption and fraud, by paying security companies exceptionally high retainers, for services that have not been rendered, and possibly receiving kickbacks from the payments. Telkom has already sustained massive losses from cable theft and the... |
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24
May 2010 |
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SA's mobile telephony offerings may not be as expensive as the general perception may suggest, and while there is potential scope for further reduction in pricing, the issue does warrant broader consideration. This is one of the key findings of a new white paper, SA Telecoms in 2010: High Stakes for the Big Winners, published by telecoms advisory group Delta Partners. "From a consumer perspective, the comparative effective rate per minute supports the commonly held view that prices remain relatively high... |
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24
May 2010 |
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Until now, the fastest broadband the company has provided download speeds of up to only 4Mbit/s. Its two other "broadband" packages offer downloads of just 512kbit/s and 384kbit/s. The telecommunications operator has been working to upgrade its access network - the bit that connects consumers to its telephone exchanges - so that it can begin offering higher-speed broadband using asynchronous digital subscriber line (ADSL) technology. It has installed fibre-optic cables closer to peoples homes so that it ... |
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24
May 2010 |
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Plans are afoot to make Cape Town a wirelessly connected city, says Western Cape premier Helen Zille. This is on the back of the city lighting up the first circuit of its fibre optic network. Speaking to ITWeb at the official opening of the Telkom/IEEE exhibition in the mother city yesterday, Zille said that IT was key to the Western Cape's economic future and, while success has been seen on the municipal side, the provincial plan is to update the systems currently in use. "Last week, we lit up the first ... |
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24
May 2010 |
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In a statement on Monday, ISPA said the 'Telkom tax' was one of the factors still keeping broadband prices artificially high. "There is scope for line rental charges to be restructured and reduced," ISPA said. In particular, consumers should not be forced to take a voice line to access an Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL). "We applaud the many steps that the South African broadband market has taken forward in recent months, especially with competition in the undersea cable market driving bandwidth... |
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24
May 2010 |
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After less than a year at the helm, iBurst CEO Jannie van Zyl will leave the company at the end of this month. The resignation follows speculation that shareholders did not see eye-to-eye with Van Zyl. The company will not say why Van Zyl is leaving so suddenly, but adds he will be "pursuing other opportunities". Thami Mtshali, executive chairman of the iBurst Group, will take on the role of iBurst CEO, supported by the executive group of Gary Barnett, Sasan Parvin, Clinton Holroyd, Pearlene Singh and new... |
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24
May 2010 |
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iBurst CEO Jannie van Zyl has resigned. TechCentral reported on Friday that Van Zyl was set to leave the company after he fell out with at least one of the shareholders in iBurst parent company, Wireless Business Solutions (WBS) Holdings. "Jannie van Zyl, a key figure in the SA telecoms landscape, has decided to leave iBurst as group CEO to pursue other opportunities. Van Zyl officially leaves iBurst at the end of May 2010," the company says in a statement. WBS chairman Thami Mtshali has been appointed... |
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