Company News
Nokia and NASA to Build First Ever LTE Network on the Moon
Nokia and NASA have joined forces to deploy the first-ever LTE network on the moon – a major step towards a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface. The end-to-end LTE network – pioneered by Nokia Bell Labs’ – is expected to be ready in late 2022. Nokia is partnering with Intuitive Machines for this mission to integrate it’s technology into their lunar lander to deliver it to the lunar surface. The network will self-configure upon deployment and establish the first LTE communications system on the Moon. The network is expected to provide critical communication capabilities for many different data transmission applications, including vital command and control functions, remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation and streaming of high definition video. /* custom css */ .tdi...
Gozem Acquires Delivroum App in Togo
Gozem has announced that it has acquired Delivroum, a food delivery app in Togo. This transaction combines the strength of Gozem’s transportation network with the breadth of Delivroum’s restaurant network, in the hopes of creating an unparalleled food delivery platform in Togo. Founded in 2018 in Lomé, Delivroum was the first dedicated food delivery app in the West African country. And thanks to the Delivroum acquisition, Gozem will be able to broaden its delivery offerings in Togo, to add meal delivery to a bundle of services that includes delivery of groceries, cooking gas bottles, and various other e-commerce items. In the near term, Delivroum operations will not be impacted and Delivroum customers cankeep ordering meals via the Delivroum app as usual. “For Delivroum, it’s a natural ste...
MultiChoice South Africa Appoints New CEO
Image sourced from The Vanguard Nigeria MultiChoice Group has appointed Nyiko Shiburi as the new CEO of its South African (MCSA) operations – effective from 1 December 2020. Until now, Shiburi has been the Regional Director of MultiChoice Africa: Southern Region — a role that spans nine countries. “Nyiko is an extremely experienced leader and has successfully navigated the complexity of multiple territories and businesses, working with deeply skilled teams within the organisation as well as a multitude of stakeholders in our ecosystem,” says MultiChoice Group CEO, Calvo Mawela. As the new CEO of MCSA, Shiburi will be expected to further drive the growth and momentum of the South African business. Fhulufhelo Badugela will assume the role of Regional Director of MultiChoice Africa: Sout...
Stripe to Acquire Nigeria’s Paystack
Sourced from Redbubble and iStock. Stripe has revealed that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Paystack, a payments collection company based in Lagos, Nigeria. According to an official statement, Paystack works with more than 60,000 businesses in Nigeria and Ghana to securely collect online and offline payments. It also processes more than half of all online transactions in Nigeria and has plans to expand across the continent, having recently started a pilot with businesses in South Africa. Stripe and Paystack have been working closely together for some time. In 2018, Stripe led Paystack’s Series A financing round and has provided ongoing guidance as the company rapidly scaled. “In just five years, Paystack has done what many companies could not achieve in decades. Their tech-firs...
Silver Peak SD-WAN Capabilities Facilitate your SASE Journey
There are many acronyms in the world of IT, and SASE – the Secure Access Service Edge – is one of the latest that is gaining traction. It comes from a Gartner report published a year ago, and has been gathering strength ever since. The report is entitled ‘The Future of Network Security is in the Cloud’, and in it, the global research and advisory firm introduces the term to describe the need for the combination of wide-area network (WAN) transformation together with security transformation at the edge, to enable enterprises to realise all the benefits of moving applications and workloads to the cloud. This is according to a recent Silver Peak blog written by Derek Granath, Silver Peak VP of product marketing, who explains that SASE (pronounced ‘sassy’) involves a certain amount of ne...
Mastercard’s Girls4Tech Programme Reaches 1 Million Milestone
Mastercard has revealed that its science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programme, Girls4Tech, has reached its initial goal of educating one million girls. The programme has a new and inspiring ambition to reach five million girls by 2025. The programme, which launched in 2014, offers activities and curriculum built on global science and math standards. Starting as a hands-on, in-person session run by employee volunteers, the programme has expanded into new topics such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. “Our goal is to build foundational STEM knowledge and develop critical 21st-century skills girls need for their studies and career success. Our programme sparks their curiosity in STEM and teaches them real-world applications of those skills,” say...
Liquid Telecoms Appoints New CEO
Liquid Telecom has appointed Deon Geyser as its new CEO – effective 1 January 2021. Geyser holds a master’s degree in engineering management as well as bachelor’s degrees in Electronic Engineering and IT from the University of Johannesburg. Prior to joining LTSA, and in his 18-year career, he has held senior management positions at Siemens and Millicom International Cellular (Tigo). His most recent position being that of Head of Southern Africa and Vodafone Africa for Nokia since 2014. “We are delighted to welcome Deon to Liquid Telecom South Africa,” says Group COO, Ahmad Mokhles. “He is a proven leader and his strong knowledge of both the local market and the continent, extensive management experience in both the public and private sector and the track records in digital transformat...
MTN Appoints New CEO in Liberia
MTN has appointed Rahul De – current CMO of MTN Nigeria – to CEO of its operations in Liberia – starting 1 November. replaces Uche Ofodile who departed Lonestar Cell MTN in July to become the CEO of MTN Benin. With 23 years of experience in the telco space, ranging across multiple geographies, De has spent the last two decades in senior leadership roles driving growth and leading business transformation. “I would like to congratulate Rahul on his appointment,” says Ralph Mupita, MTN Group president and CEO. “Rahul is a seasoned leader renowned for driving innovative digital and FinTech advancement in our business and in the telecommunications industry.” De joined MTN in 2011 as Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Ghana, a position he held for over four years before he joined MTN Nigeria in 2015...
MTN Named Best Mobile Network in South Africa
MTN has the best mobile network in South Africa, according to findings from the Q3 2020 Mobile Network Quality Report. The report, from MyBroadband Insights, shows that South Africans had an average mobile download speed of 29.16Mbps and an average upload speed of 11.46Mbps. To determine the best mobile network in South Africa, a “Network Quality Score” out of 10 was calculated for each network using download speed, upload speed, and latency. MTN reigned supreme with a Network Quality Score of 9.68, followed by Vodacom on 5.99, Telkom on 5.16, Cell C on 4.27, and Rain on 3.74. Here’s a closer look at the mobile network rankings: /* custom css */ .tdi_3_1f1.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_1f1.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Network Operator Download Speed (Mbps) Upload ...
DStv Launches ‘Add Movies’
DStv has launched ‘Add movies’ – a new movie offering that allows Compact Plus, Compact, Family and Access customers to sign up for DStv’s dedicated movie channels previously only available to Premium subscribers. This offering is available on M-Net Movies 1, M-Net Movies 2 and fliekNet for an additional R99 per month. The entertainment company says that Add Movies “gives subscribers more choice and control to structure their entertainment needs, including the flexibility to add on this service from month-to-month”. While Yolisa Phahle, CEO of General Entertainment & Connected Video at MultiChoice Group says that Add Movies was developed in response to customers’ appetite and interests. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_1e0.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_1e0.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 ...
Cell C and Facebook Launch Public WiFi Hotspots in SA
Image sourced from Town Press Cell C and Facebook have partnered with the Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM) in the Western Cape of South Africa to launch express public access hotspots – part of a plan to roll out Wi-Fi hotspots across the country. The move is said to be part of an ongoing initiative by Cell C to deploy free WiFi hotspots to marginalised communities, students and anyone in need of free, reliable connectivity. The Saldanha Bay Municipality is the second Municipality to make its infrastructure available to the Programme, after The City of Cape Town. “We are currently rolling out to all the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in the metro, and looking for new opportunities that are aligned to the Municipal Model,” says Schalk Visser, Cell C’s CT...
MTN Joins Forces with the Telecom Infra Project
MTN Group has teamed up with the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) to support the evolution of its communication transport infrastructure – something the telco hopes will become a platform for ‘future revenue growth and profitability’. “Our partnership with TIP will drive the specific requirements of our network to meet our subscriber demands, setting us apart on our network scalability and adaptability,” says Charles Molapisi, MTN Group CIO. Through the partnership, communication transport capacity will be deployed to support traffic growth over the next three years. In addition, it aims to provide support for new services as part of the evolution of 5G and new enterprise services. It will also reduce the time to market through more focused agile service provisioning. “Through the use of open p...
