At Home

The National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB) caused controversy with a call to outlaw cellphones in SA’s schools. In May, NASGB general secretary, Matakanye Matakanye, was outspoken on the issue of cellphones in schools, adamant that the devices were detracting from productive classroom activity. Matakanye says the body has commissioned its various structures to compile reports on how schools are experiencing the use of cellphones by their pupils. – ITWeb

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Alan Knott-Craig" />Cell C introduces a promotion offering customers five new contract packages that guarantee a new handset every 12 months and offer reduced data, SMS and MMS rates. Cell C CEO Alan Knott- Craig Snr says the promotion’s benefits are two-fold. “The beauty is not only in the guaranteed new handset that customers will receive at the beginning of every contractual 12-month period, but also in the reduced rates.” – ITWeb

Mobile Monday (MOMO) enjoys attendance of between 150 and 300 people per month at its Johannesburg and Cape Town events, and is expanding its operations to include Durban. The non-profit organisation was established to foster innovation in the mobile sector by hosting monthly meet-ups that facilitate networking between individuals and companies operating in the mobile space. – ITWeb

Cell C adds another 12 calling destinations to its 99c international call zone – taking the total number of overseas regions subscribers can call at the operator’s flat rate to 50. Cell C subscribers can make calls to – among others – Brazil, Indonesia, Spain and Finland at 99c per minute, on per second billing, and in or out of peak times. – ITWeb

MTN Business App of the Year awards were held in Johannesburg to recognise local innovation in the mobile application space. The judges sifted through over 160 entries, to shortlist three finalists in each of the 10 categories. First National Bank’s (FNB’s) Banking App application scooped the prize for “Best Overall App” along with “Best Consumer iOS App”, “Best Consumer Android App” and “Best BlackBerry App”. – ITWeb

Amith Maharaj

Vodacom Business partners with agricultural trade association Agri SA, in a bid to provide satellite-based communication solutions to Agri SA’s members and the broader local rural community. The agreement follows a resolution adopted by Agri SA’s congress last year, whereby the organisation was instructed to look into alternative telecommunication systems for rural users. – ITWeb

Mobile operator 8ta enters the mobile price war with the launch of an aggressively priced prepaid offer that effectively gives subscribers free, open-use airtime. “8ta More” rewards customers with instant airtime on a sliding scale when they recharge with R10 or more. 8ta’s senior managing executive, Amith Maharaj, said the new product would improve the average minutes of use in SA. – ITWeb

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Joe Botha" />South African cellphone users are, on the whole, dissatisfi ed with their networks, but passively so. This emerged from recent research by independent mobile ad network InMobi, which revealed 70% of the country’s cellphone users are unhappy with their current network. Research shows that South Africans see mobile (53%) as a more important method of paying bills and recharging, especially when compared to a PC (30%). – ITWeb

TrustFabric’ national opt-out list grows to 305 000 users after hitting the 200 000 mark in April, 12 months after its launch that coincided with the implementation of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). “Most people are frustrated with rising levels of spam, especially unwanted phone calls and SMS messages which are very intrusive and a big waste of productive time,” says TrustFabric CEO Joe Botha. – ITWeb

Into Africa

Zambia’s government approves technical and policy guidelines for its digital migration programme deadlines, 2013 and 2015. Amos Malupenga, permanent secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, says the approval of the policy guidelines means that government is ready to embark on the implementation of the digital migration exercise. – ITWeb Africa

MTN Ghana Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) opens a new Information Communication Technology (ICT) centre that is expected to serve almost 43 schools in Techimantia. Furnished with 22 desktop computers, a laptop, a projector, colour printer, photocopier, scanner and digital camera, the initiative is the third of 10 MTN and UNDP ICT centres of learning to be established across the country in less than 12 months. – ITWeb Africa

Ghana plans to place a ban on imports of used fridges, air-conditioners, television (TV) sets and electronic irons by January 2013. Executive secretary of Ghana’s Energy Commission, Dr Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah, says his country wants to cut back on electronic waste, while also preventing high energy-usage second-hand devices from entering the country. Ahenkorah says some second-hand TV sets consume about 10 watts of electricity just on standby mode. – ITWeb Africa

Rwanda’s government plans to list some 400 common services online, in a bid to give its citizens access to offerings such as medical records. Jean Philbert Nsengimana, the minister of youth information communication and technology, says the list of government services are still at draft level and not yet cleared for the public domain but it will include everything from birth to death registration. – ITWeb Africa

ZTE, China’s maker of phone equipments is building a $45 million information technology park in Ethiopia, as the East African nation intensifies plans to establish a technology-manufacturing sector. The company is building the infrastructure on a 200-hectare facility, on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. Ethiopia seeks to use the technology park to cash in on its low wage advantage as foreign technology firms continue to invest in East Africa. – ITWeb Africa

Abroad

Apple’s new version of its iPhone and iPad software will not include a pre-loaded app for popular Google video Web site, YouTube. Apple said its licence to include the YouTube app in the iOS operating system “has ended.” Apple noted that “customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser and Google is working on a new YouTube app to be on the app store.” – Reuters

Taiwanese computer maker Acer has urged Microsoft to reconsider its planned venture into the tablet market. Acer Chairman and CEO JT Wang says Microsoft’s plans to launch its own “Surface” tablet in October would be “negative for the worldwide ecosystem” in computing. Microsoft’s “Surface” tablet would enter the market in direct competition with Acer’s “Iconia” or Hewlett-Packard’s “TouchPad” tablets. – Reuters

eBay is testing a sameday delivery service with big retailers including Target, Best Buy and Toys “R” Us, as the world’s largest online marketplace steps up competition with rival Amazon.com. The move is the latest sign of eBay working closely with traditional retailers to help them tackle the threat of Amazon.com, which has been winning business from physical stores at a rapid clip. – Reuters

ASML, the chip equipment maker, signs up TSMC to further bankroll its research and development into costly next-generation chipmaking kit to make micro chips smaller, smarter and cheaper. ASML’s CEO Eric Meurice said he had asked its three biggest customers - Intel, TSMC, and Samsung Electronics - to help fund its costly R&D and invest in up to 25% of its shares. – Reuters