No image available
/ 2 February 2007

Platinum-plated Parreira

Okay. You are one of the country’s top earners, raking in a touch under R2-million a month. You are only here until 2010 and so may want to rent rather than buy a joint to call home. New Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira is reportedly looking to rent a house for R60 000 a month.

No image available
/ 18 January 2007

The cellphone freebie wars

Fancy a new quad bike, a laptop with printer, television, hi-fi, DVD player, camera, home theatre system, PlayStation, Xbox 360, skottel braai, pair of sunglasses or Game shopping vouchers? In the rush to capture new cellphone customers in the saturated South African market, operators and service providers are bundling expensive free gifts with contracts to entice new subscribers.

No image available
/ 9 January 2007

From the cradle to the market

Technological innovation is key to South Africa’s growth strategy, helping the country achieve international competitiveness and growing the local knowledge economy. The Innovation Hub in Pretoria, where start-up businesses are busy developing cutting-edge technologies, is at the forefront of local technological advancements.

No image available
/ 15 December 2006

Wireless in eThekwini

While customers in Tshwane are browsing and downloading to their hearts’ content, residents within the eThekwini municipality can expect a service that will offer broadband access and domestic voice calls for as little as R150 a month. The race to deliver cheaper broadband and telephony services to residents via municipal net works is alive and kicking.

No image available
/ 8 December 2006

Number portability a non-event

Mobile Number Portability is a non-event, with operators experiencing a number of system problems and consumers reluctant to make the switch. MNP, which was introduced on November 10 after numerous delays, allows consumers to switch operators while keeping their number.

No image available
/ 1 December 2006

The Hatfield connection

The Pretoria suburb of Hatfield is leading the pack in the race to bring affordable internet access to broadband-starved South Africa. Residents and business owners in Hatfield can sign up for 1GB of wireless broadband for a mere R180 a month, or a 3GB service for R350, thanks to a network set up by internet service provider (ISP) Neology as a proof of concept.

No image available
/ 27 November 2006

You’ve been Voiped!

A dual pricing system, which South African cellphone operators have threatened to use to protect themselves against cannibalisation of voice revenue, has not been sanctioned by the communications regulator. This dual pricing system would allow the cellular operators to charge one price for normal data traffic, such as email, browsing and downloading, and then bill traffic that was identified as voice-over internet protocol.

No image available
/ 27 November 2006

Thanks for the memory stick

While purists still cling to their vinyl collections and scoff at the CD-buying masses, a local independent record label is breaking new ground by releasing its latest offering in a new format, a USB memory stick. Is this a trend that could reshape the way record labels deliver music to the fans, or is this just a clever marketing strategy targeting the iPod generation?

No image available
/ 10 November 2006

Banks middle-finger Tito

Tito Mboweni has come up against a new enemy in his battle to curb the credit-spending splurge. The banks. Flying in the face of the Reserve Bank governor’s attempts to bring down consumer spending and debt, South Africa’s banks are going into overdrive by offering consumers new lines of credit in an attempt to grow their books.

No image available
/ 27 October 2006

All aboard the Gautrain boom

Property owners in the close vicinity of the proposed Gautrain railway stations are sitting on hot assets, with prices rising by up to 25% in the past year. The <i>Mail & Guardian</i> surveyed a number of real estate agents who operate in the Rosebank, Sandton, Midrand and Rhodesfield areas this week, the majority of whom were overwhelmingly positive that property prices were set to boom.

No image available
/ 24 October 2006

Shop till the consumer drops

Poorly written legislation has historically allowed telecoms operators to play the competition authorities off against the communications regulator, creating a regulation void that gives rise to a phenomenon known as forum shopping. The recently promulgated Electronic Communications Act has made the problem worse.

No image available
/ 13 October 2006

Investment humdinger

General Motors is set to reap a giant-sized return on its investment into a Hummer assembly plant in Port Elizabeth. GM announced last year that it was investing $100-million (R773-million) into its South African operations, primarily in the production of the Hummer H3, a mid-size version of the vehicle Arnie Schwarzenegger made famous, the Hummer.

No image available
/ 10 October 2006

My 18c tax bill

The annual taxation cycle is one of my pet hates. I know that the deadline is drawing nearer, but I tend to put off sending in my forms until the last minute, when it becomes a dash for the nearest post office. Then you wait to find out if you owe money or you have paid too much over the past year.

No image available
/ 5 October 2006

What World Cup?

With just over 1 300 days to the World Cup kick-off, there are no signs of development in Bertrams, the run-down suburb adjoining the Ellis Park Stadium that hosts the opening event for 2010. Dilapidated and broken buildings house unemployed South Africans, refugees and illegal immigrants who pay between R200 and R1 000 rent per month, while the street corners are teeming with drug dealers who have been chased from the CBD.

No image available
/ 2 October 2006

Prognosis: burnout

In the face of serious shortages of medical professionals, the nurses at Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein put on a brave face. "We must do our best and pray to God to help us, so that nothing ever happens to patients because of staff shortages," says chief professional nurse Dipuo Konote. "We do our utmost best."

No image available
/ 29 September 2006

The day the music died

A war of words has erupted among Moshito board members over claims of bad corporate governance and a lack of accountability. Moshito Music Conference and Exhibition, which represents the South African music industry, is supposed to act as a clearing house, allowing its members to communicate on matters affecting the music industry.

No image available
/ 29 September 2006

Local, lekker and booming

While the global music industry is haemorrhaging and shrinking at alarming rates, South Africa’s music industry is booming — thanks in no small part to the phenomenal performance of locally produced music. On the whole South Africa’s recorded music market grew by 22% last year in the number of units sold.

No image available
/ 26 September 2006

‘Free up cell cartel’

Regulator Icasa, Cell-C, second network operator Neotel and the country’s internet service providers are putting new energy into tackling the interconnect regime that rakes in R5-billion to R6-billion a year each for cellphone giants Vodacom and MTN. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa and most of these smaller telecommunications players support a new regime where interconnection fees will be charged at cost.

No image available
/ 18 September 2006

Cellphone shackles stay on

Dissatisfied South African cellphone users who have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to jump ship to another operator while keeping their number, will have to wait another two months. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa announced this week that mobile number portability would once again be delayed.

No image available
/ 12 September 2006

From India with love

The second network operator is finally here, and it’s called Neotel. Managing director Ajay Pandey announced its first offerings in the wholesale market last week and said consumers and businesses could expect services by early next year. Pandey is a telecommunications sector veteran of 23 years, having honed his skills and expertise in the Indian telecoms sector.

No image available
/ 4 September 2006

ARVs become big business

Africa’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer has five times as many South African patients using its anti-retroviral (ARV) products as it had just more than a year ago. Sixteen months ago Aspen Pharmacare won a 58% stake of the government’s ARV tender, worth R1,2-billion in turnover to Aspen over three years.