The week in review

Pieter Streicher

AT HOME

South African amateur filmmaker Kjell Bismeyer's clip entitled "Elephants swimming by moonlight" has a secured a spot in the YouTube full-length film called "Life in a Day". The film, spearheaded by Google's YouTube, is a cinematic experiment that has collected over 4 500 hours of footage sent from thousands of people in 192 countries.

The ambitious project aims to capture and document a single day on planet Earth. Bismeyer is a manager at Naledi Bushcamp, a South African game lodge based in Limpopo. - ITWeb

SA`s SMS marketing is set to see major changes this year with the promulgation of two imminent laws - the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), and the Protection of Personal Information Bill (PPIB). So says Dr Pieter Streicher, MD at BulkSMS.com, who predicts that, thanks to the two laws, South African consumers will emerge as one of the most protected in the world. - ITWeb

Lars Reichelt

To increase the number of highly skilled scientists and engineers to support the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and Karoo Array Telescope MeerKAT, the National Research Foundation (NRF) has awarded 35 scholarships for the 2011 SKA Project Programme. This programme supports national diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students. According to the NRF, the 35 scholarships awarded are as follows: three are national diploma bursaries, ten undergraduate scholarships, six honours and BTech scholarships, 11 masters and five doctoral scholarships.  - ITWeb

MTN launched its third attack on Cell C`s advertising claims at the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The advert in dispute, which appeared in various newspapers towards the end of last year, was in the form of a letter written by Cell C CEO Lars Reichelt addressing the South African cellphone user. The advert markets the company`s new network speed, service and savings claims. - ITWeb

South African companies are increasingly embracing self-service as a strategic priority rather than treating it as an emerging technology. This is according to business development director at Consology, Kevin Meltzer, who says this is a trend that is expected to accelerate sharply during 2011. - ITWeb

The Department of Communications plans to roll out three e-Skills Knowledge Production and Coordination hubs across provinces in the country before the end of this current financial year. These follow the establishment of the hub in KwaZulu-Natal Province in December. The department says it is taking the opportunity to ensure that people have the necessary training to leverage technologies that enable communication, transactions and SME development, particularly in poor, rural communities.  - ITWeb

The JSE told shareholders that Spescom would no longer be included in the index, after being bought out by electronics firm Jasco. Jasco will remain listed in the FTSE/JSE Africa Index, a collaboration between the London-based FTSE Index and the JSE. Spescom`s removal from the index follows the completion of a deal between it and Jasco to merge. Jasco said in September last year that it would buy out Spescom to create a R1 billion merged entity in the converged telecommunications space. - ITWeb

Rapid expansion of third mobile operator Cell C`s new HSPA+ network is under way, as the company reports that coverage targets for the Gauteng region, as well as national coverage, have been met and exceeded. In November, Gauteng received full access to the network; however, coverage was limited to 62% of the population in the Johannesburg and Pretoria metro areas. - ITWeb

Telecoms incumbent Telkom and local Internet service provider (ISP) MWeb have yet to reach any resolution regarding MWeb`s unilateral demands for open peering. Despite MWeb`s good intentions for competition in the industry, analysts suggest the ISP may have to compromise on its standpoint first in order to break the stalemate with Telkom. - ITWeb

INTO AFRICA

Mobile phone service providers in Kenya have settled on 60 cents as the new rate they will be charging each other to terminate short messages. The move to reduce the rate from Sh2 per SMS follows a directive by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) director-general, Charles Njoroge. According to the CCK, termination rates are expected to fall to five cents by 2013. - Daily Nation

Nigeria internet Registration Association, managers of the Nigerian domain names (.ng), has released 50 000 free domain names for Nigerians as part of efforts to identify with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the country. Registration of free domains commenced formally on 31 December 2010 and will run until 21 March. - Daily Independent

Seven lucky subscribers of MTN Rwanda have each been given Rwf1 million in the company`s latest promotion called "Rurangiza Promotion". In the promotion, the telecom firm has lined up Rwf100 million to be won, with Rwf1 million for one daily winner and Rwf20 million for two monthly winners. "People have responded positively to the promotion, especially after witnessing that the promotion wasn`t a hoax," MTN`s COO, Andrew Rugege says.  - The New Times

Reporters Without Borders condemned the arrests and disappearances of bloggers and online activists across a number of Tunisian cities recently. The worldwide press freedom organisation has monitored at least five such cases but the list could well be longer. Police arrested the bloggers to question them about hacking into government websites by the militant group Anonymous, several sources told the organisation. - Reporters sans Fronti res

Safaricom in Kenya has stepped up its foray into mobile commerce by introducing M-Pesa-based booking of travel tickets and hotel accommodation, a new service that also promises to open additional revenue opportunities for the company`s agents. Although the telecommunications operator had introduced a similar ticket-payment service almost one year ago, the new system is an improvement on the earlier "Easy Travel" version in that it allows customers to obtain ticket printouts from Safaricom`s customer care shops and later from M-Pesa dealers. - Business Daily

The physical laying of the optic-fibre cable in Rwanda, which includes civil works, laying of ducts and installation of the fibre, is complete. This was revealed by Patrick Nyirishema, the deputy director of Rwanda Development Board (RDB) in charge of Information Technology, during an interview. "The work that has been completed also includes cross-border fibre installation at the Uganda and Tanzania borders," he said , adding that RDB`s target was to complete this by 31 December.  - The New Times

ABROAD

Advanced Micro Devices` (AMD) chief executive resigned recently. The world`s number-two maker of PC microprocessor chips says it is seeking a new CEO to boost the company`s growth, sending shares down nearly 4% in after-hours trading. AMD said the resignation of Dirk Meyer was the result of a "mutual agreement". - Reuters

Intel will pay graphics chip designer Nvidia $1.5 billion to license its technology, settling a legal dispute. The agreement was a major victory for Nvidia, sending its shares up 4% after hours in recognition of the value of its high-end graphics technology to Intel. - Reuters

China has arrested more than 4 000 people since November for violating intellectual property rights and will enforce tougher punishments to combat the "rampant" problem, a senior government official said recently. Gao Feng, deputy director of the Ministry of Public Security`s Economic Crimes Investigation Bureau, told a news conference that his agency had uncovered more than 2 000 cases since China launched a six-month campaign to beef up enforcement of intellectual property rights. - Reuters

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer" rel=tag>Steve Ballmer has ousted the head of the company`s server unit, marking the latest in a series of high-level departures as the software company tries to regain its leadership in the technology sector. An internal memo from Ballmer indicates Bob Muglia, a 23-year veteran of the company, was pushed aside in a disagreement over strategy. - Reuters

Web advertising firm Groupon has completed a $950 million round of financing. The financing consists of several venture capital firms and late-stage investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mail.ru Group, Maverick Capital, Silver Lake and Technology Crossover Ventures.  - Reuters

Nintendo plans to ship about 1.5 million units of the 3DS, a 3D-capable handheld game player, in Japan in the first month after its launch on 26 February, president Satoru Iwata says. "It`s important that we ensure a continuous supply," Iwata was quoted as saying by the Nikkei. - Reuters