Telecoms companies rank last in customer sentiment for third consecutive year

South Africa’s telecommunications industry has ranked last for consumer sentiment for the third consecutive year. The latest PwC South African Telecommunications Sentiment Index for 2022, conducted... 

Cloud 23 achieves 80% customer base growth

Enterprise software management firm Cloud23 has achieved an 80% increase in its local customer base over the last year. Founded in 2021 by global technology executive Ram Ramakrishnan as an... 

New body to champion interests of junior mining sector poised for August launch

In an effort to better support South Africa’s junior mining industry and assist junior miners, as well as their suppliers and contractors, a new voluntary entity is preparing to launch. The Junior... 

Construction starts on Phase 2 of Lesotho Highlands Water Project

Phase 2 of the long-awaited Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) has broken ground. LHWP Phase 2, building on Phase 1 that was completed in 2003, includes the construction of the Polihali dam and... 

Salga launches forum to drive growth and sustainability in Gauteng province

A new forum has been launched in a strategic initiative to empower municipalities through intergovernmental collaboration and drive inclusive growth and enhance economic prosperity for the Gauteng... 

Amplats hands over water projects to Thabazimbi communities

Mining group Anglo American Platinum has handed over three new water infrastructure projects to the residents of Thabazimbi, in Limpopo. As part of the company’s social and labour plan commitments... 

TCTA unpacks progress being made on key bulk water projects

The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) has come a long way since being established in 1986 to fund and implement the South African portion of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), gaining... 

Telecoms body concerned about prospect of worsening loadshedding in colder months

The Association of Comms and Technology (ACT) is calling for urgent regulatory and government action on the loadshedding crisis in South Africa, fearing that the impact on an already hard-hit... 

Bayobab, Microsoft embark on connectivity partnership

Pan-African digital connectivity solutions company Bayobab, formerly MTN GlobalConnect, has entered into a strategic pan-African connectivity partnership with Microsoft to accelerate digital... 

R6bn to be spent on national broadband project

As the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) works to complete its South Africa Connect (SA Connect) programme, it is preparing to direct the State Information Technology... 

Saudi-developed solution could broaden access to sanitised water in Africa

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), in Saudi Arabia, is developing an energy efficient initiative that could assist hundreds of millions of people who lack access to clean,... 

Digital solutions key to improving service delivery in South Africa – Altron Karabina

Digital solutions can help South Africa improve service delivery and strengthen governance, says Altron Karabina senior specialist: key accounts manager Murunwa Mashamba. Critical to the success of... 

MTN GlobalConnect rebrands, partners for Pan-African terrestrial fibre project

Pan-African digital connectivity solutions company MTN GlobalConnect has rebranded as Bayobab to strengthen its commitment to digitally connecting Africa. In addition, the newly revamped company... 

Satellite services ‘primed’ to fill connectivity gap in Africa – Liquid

The role that satellite services can play in Africa’s journey to sustainable growth, inclusivity and economic prosperity cannot be understated, says Liquid Satellite CEO and Liquid Dataport chief... 

Social enterprise aims to equip 100 young people with water technology skills this year

Social enterprise Kusini Water is accelerating its Water Champions programme to train unemployed youth and unlock economic opportunities in communities, as it works to provide water access across... 

Mobile penetration approaching saturation point in most markets around the world – report

The latest GSMA Mobile Economy 2023 report reveals that the number of unique mobile subscribers will reach 6.3-billion by 2030, up from the more than 5.4-billion people globally that subscribed to... 

Mobile money accounts top 1.6bn, with 400m having been added during Covid pandemic

As the world moves towards a post-Covid era, mobile money services have continued to show resilient growth, with the number of registered mobile money accounts worldwide more than doubling to... 

Mine social labour plans embrace community cadet training

Many mines, continuously honing the skills development requirements of their Social Labour Plans, are partnering with the Murray & Roberts Cementation Training Academy to prepare unemployed youth... 

DWS to continue implementing interventions to ensure water security

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) will continue to progress many of its initiatives throughout 2023 to ensure South Africa gets back on track in terms of water security. Speaking during... 

Vodacom South Africa, WWF recommit to finding tech solutions to preserve oceans

Vodacom South Africa and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) South Africa has recommitted to its decade-long first-of-its-kind global partnership to leverage technology and education to protect... 

Minister emphasises need for speedy implementation of infrastructure projects

As the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) provides updates on the various infrastructure projects under way, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala says there is... 

MTN still South Africa’s most valuable brand

Telecommunications giant MTN has been named South Africa’s most valuable brand for the twelfth time in the past thirteen years, according to brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance’s latest... 

Clickatell launches chat commerce platform-as-a-service

Mobile messaging and chat commerce provider Clickatell has launched the first chat commerce platform-as-a-service (CCPaaS), which is expected to empower brands to capitalise on the opportunity of... 

MTN aims to be network of choice for South Africa’s wholesale market by 2025

Telecommunications group MTN’s National Wholesale unit is accelerating its position as the industry’s go-to network backbone partner as many public and private sectors prioritise network and... 

DWS calls on mines to register tailing dams on its database

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is calling on mining houses to register all their tailings or mine residue deposit dams that classify as dams with a safety risk on its database. This... 

Firms pledge billions worth of ICT investments in South Africa

Vodacom and Cassava Technologies are among a total of eight companies pledging a collective R81.056-billion of investments into global business services, information and communication technology... 

Pre-applications for hydropower generation water-use licences invited

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has opened the preapplications phase for independent power producers (IPPs) to apply for authorisations to use water resources, water courses and... 

IoT’s connectivity backbone impacted by loadshedding

A backbone of connectivity is critical to ensuring South Africans experience the true depth of the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT). Despite finally emerging on to the market as a... 

Cost efficiency key for industry

Reasonable costs to operate, reliability, productivity and efficiency are increasingly becoming standard requirements in industry operations as the world moves towards digitisation and automation.... 

DWS signs cooperation MoUs with two European countries

A new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between South Africa and Finland, while a standing MoU has been renewed with the Netherlands during the United Nations 2023 Water conference,... 

Rain to launch mobile service

Data-first mobile network provider Rain is planning to launch a mobile service to add to its established fixed (home) fourth-generation (4G) and fifth-generation (5G) service offerings. Rain... 

Netstar, Vodacom Business introduce free WiFi for minibus taxi commuters

Altron subsidiary vehicle tracking and telematics company Netstar and information and communications technology group Vodacom Business have partnered to deploy a free in-taxi connectivity service,... 

Blackouts affecting water availability – Tiger Brands

Food manufacturer Tiger Brands plans to invest more than R35-million in infrastructure, including an increase in on-site water storage capacity, at its manufacturing facilities to mitigate the... 

Preclinical care platform prototype to be trialled in Mpumalanga

Nonprofit organisation Rhiza Babuyile has started field testing, for one year, a new mobile preclinical care platform prototype unit in Mpumalanga. The mobile care platform, developed and handed... 

MTN ‘hardening’ its sites as vandalism, theft shift from opportunistic incidents to organised criminality

MTN South Africa has accelerated its drive to ensure a resilient network as many of its towers are, in some cases, completely stripped, with the company spending over R1.5-billion this year. Teams... 

Icasa soliciting stakeholders’ views on measures to mitigate impact of electricity crisis on telcos

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) is actively in the process of identifying the constraints service providers are facing, amid persistent loadshedding and identifying... 

Clearing alien plant species helps to increase runoff to major Eastern Cape dams

Gamtoos Irrigation Board’s (GIB’s) years-long government-funded drive to improve water security in the Eastern Cape by clearing invasive alien plant species in the catchment areas of dams supplying... 

Additional 8.56bn m3 of wastewater must be retreated each year to meet SDGs by 2030, says ABB

New research has revealed that global wastewater treatment capacity needs to increase by 8.56-billion cubic metres every year to meet the 2030 ambitions outlined in the Sustainable Development... 

Coca-Cola, partners rehabilitate 11 500 ha in water catchment areas

Coca-Cola South Africa, along with its partners, has collectively rehabilitated and improved land management practices across more than 11 500 ha as it reaffirms its commitment to conserving water.... 

Seacom goes live on Equiano cable, providing latency speeds of 110 ms between South Africa and Europe

Telecommunications and managed services provider Seacom has gone live on Google’s Equiano subsea cable following its landing in Cape Town, in August 2022. Seacom’s services through the cable, which...