Millions more for Gauteng Online

MTN pilots high speed network

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Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: MTN is set to pilot a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in Gauteng – a move it says will revolutionise the provisioning of broadband services in SA. The LTE rollout and pilot test, which MTN is undertaking in partnership with Huawei and Ericsson, will see selected MTN customers with provisioned dongles navigating on an ultra-high speed network that boasts speeds of up to 70Mbps across over 100 sites MTN’s pilot network encompasses over 100 LTE [...]

Reichelt leaves CellC

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Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: CellC has announced that CEO, Lars Reichelt, would be leaving the company immediately, citing personal reasons. Reichelt joined the mobile operator in March 2009, taking over from Jeffrey Hedberg who left CellC to join the board of Virgin Mobile South Africa. “Lars has indicated his wish to resign for personal reasons and, after discussions about the way forward, the board has agreed to accept his resignation,” Cell C said. The CellC board had nominated [...]

Millions more for Gauteng Online

The Gauteng government will spend R400 million on education – with priority being given to the unfinished Gauteng Online schools project.

As part of plans by the Gauteng Department of Finance (GDF) to accelerate the implementation of Gauteng Online - the remaining 595 computer labs will be completed in this financial year.

The Gauteng Online schools project is a provincial project to build iLabs in schools and provide learners and teachers with

connectivity. The project aims to improve the quality of education in the province by using Internet and e-mail to improve curriculum delivery in schools.

According to a report by the auditor general released in December 2010, 1 455 of the targeted 2025 schools were completed.

MTN upgrades KZN network

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Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: MTN is upgrading its network across KwaZulu-Natal – but says subscribers should expect minimal service interruptions in the region. The mobile operator says the upgrade, which began today, is aimed at improving its quality, capability and efficiency The upgrade, which will begin around the Shaka Rock area and extend to outlying areas in Ballitor, will last a few months and will be carried out from 08:00 to 17:00 during working hours. “MTN’s [...]

WASPA refutes database bid claims.

The Wireless Application Service Providers Association of South Africa (WASPA) has denied that it is bidding for a contract to provide services for a “Do Not Contact” (DNC) registry - saying it does not have the capacity and mandate to perform such tasks.

WASPA chairman, Leon Perlman, says the organisation is not in the running for the tender despite reports that it is.

“The Wireless Application Service Providers Association of South Africa (WASPA) is not tendering or planning to tender for the contract to be the service provider responsible for maintaining South Africa’s ‘do not contact’ (DNC) registry,” he said.

RICA violations will be punished

Government has welcomed the final number of RICA registrations – but warned that anyone who violates the Act will be prosecuted.

Speaking during a briefing earlier this morning, the Department of Communications (DOC) and Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJCD) welcomed final registrations for the Regulation of Interception and Communications Act (RICA).

On 30 June, Cell C reported it had registered 99.99% of contract customers, while 97% of prepaid subscribers were registered. MTN had 99.5% of contract subscribers registered and 97% of prepaid subscribers had complied.

Vodacom recorded 98.98% contract subscriber registrations and 95.2% of prepaid subscribers had complied.

Adding value to govt through cloud computing

In today’s connected world, every citizen needs access to essential government services. They expect instant results anytime, anywhere. From making communities and borders safer, to improving education, vital care and other services, the government CIO needs to harness technology best practices to build more efficient, streamlined and secure infrastructures.

Police, fire and emergency response organisations are forced to depend on the

latest technology to communicate quicker, better allocate resources and share information more securely to improve citizen safety and reduce the negative impact of accidents and disasters.

Completing the cycle; justice organisations, including courts and correction facilities, must track offenders, manage secure records and share information between jurisdictions and with public safety organisations.

Absa CashSend transactions pass R500m

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Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: Absa has announced that customer transactions for its cardless ATM offering, Introduced in late 2008, CashSend enables Absa individual customers – who do not have bank accounts - to send money from the cellphone banking platform, any  ATM and from Internet banking channels to anyone in the country, both banked and unbanked. Absa says transactions have surged to approximately 100 000 each month. Though the service was initially aimed at entry-level banking [...]

Technology, social media boost learning

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Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: Fundamental shifts in the way teaching and learning take place will provide educators with an opportunity to take on the new challenges that technology and social media tools offer. Speaking at the Intel ICT in the Classroom conference at St John’s College in Johannesburg yesterday, UK based social media consultant, Jane Hart, noted that educators should not see changes in the teaching landscape as a threat. “The first step to technology will [...]

mHealth needs to be network neutral to flourish

As we’ve started to see in South Africa and across the rest of the continent, the potential for mobile-enabled healthcare is enormous.

Evidence from the GSMA Mobile Health Summit held in Cape Town at the start of June shows that mobile operators are currently leading the pack in this space. Going forward, however, it is vital that the balance of power shifts from the mobile industry to the healthcare sector, to allow the burgeoning mHealth sector to reach its full potential.

For the moment it is appropriate that mobile operators drive mHealth initiatives in order to demonstrate to the healthcare sector what can be done if they tap into the power of mobile. Partnerships between operators and the healthcare industry to develop mHealth applications will act as a catalyst for this new industry.