At Home

Sony Mobile Communications has opened a Sony Xperia mobile store at Vodacom World in Johannesburg. The store showcases the company’s latest Xperia Smartphones together with the wide range of Sony products. The store is the first of its kind in the Middle East and Africa, it is not confirmed if the company will open another store of this type in SA or Africa.

A small community television station in Cape Town, Cape Town TV, has lost half its viewership, because the channel it was on was reallocated for digital TV. The station was moved from channel 38 to channel 67, in March, but the new frequency is not suitable, as its reach is limited and viewers had to purchase more expensive aerials and boosters. – ITWeb

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Jeff Fletcher, three6five" src="http://www.iweek.co.za/images/stories/2010/Oct/jeff_fletcher.jpg" />Shifting e-mail infrastructure to the cloud when it is time to refresh servers and licences could save firms as much as 70% of the cost of the replacement cycle, says Jeff Fletcher, co-founder of independent networking services company three6five. Fletcher explains that savings will be companyand need-specific, but will aid operational and capital expenses if an entity is at refresh stage. – ITWeb

Mobile threats – both offline and online – are prevalent and growing. With these threats growing, it is important to consider a mobile security application for a mobile device, says Craig Hockley, McAfee’s regional director for SA and sub-Saharan Africa. He explains that most people nowadays rely on mobile phones to communicate, socialise, work, store pictures and contacts, and even do online tasks like banking and shopping, yet they don’t often protect them. – ITWeb

The Direct Marketing Association of SA (DMASA) is still interested in running a national opt-out registry at no cost to government, or citizens. DMASA COO Alastair Tempest says someone has to run the national list and the DMASA would be willing to handle the registry. Tempest says the concern is that if someone else handles the database, the 61 000 consumers who have opted out on the DMASA’s list would have to reregister, as it cannot pass over the information. – ITWeb

Low-cost airline Mango has equipped all six of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft with in-flight WiFi. To celebrate the completion of the fleet roll-out, Mango and G-Connect are offering on-board connectivity at R1 for a day pass and R2 for a week’s access pass throughout the month of October, on all flights. – ITWeb

Vodacom has introduced a new, low-cost smartphone, running on the Android operating system, in a bid to include those who are “missing out on the smartphone journey”. The Vodafone Smart II is available on a special launch deal, on the Top Up 99 Yebo4Less package, at R79 per month. “The recommended selling price on prepaid is R1 299. Prepaid pricing may vary at the retail outlets,” says Vodacom. – ITWeb

Local telecommunications infrastructure provider Link Africa has acquired the exclusive rights to technology that will enable it to construct a fibre network underground, using municipal sewers and storm water drains as conduits. The company has acquired the patents for Focus technology – tools that will enable the deployment of fibre-optic networks in existing underground municipal service networks in SA and beyond. – ITWeb

Into Africa

Former World Bank VP for Africa, Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, has been appointed to the board of Bharti Airtel. Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and MD of Bharti Airtel, said the changes have been effected in line with company’s strong corporate governance culture, saying this would ensure the mobile network giant and Singtel had distinct representatives on the boards of Bharti Airtel and Bharti Infratel. – ITWeb Africa

Multinational power and automation technology company ABB has set up offices in Mozambique. “The country has a wealth of natural resources and considerable hydropower capabilities. It is already a net exporter of electricity and is expected to play a pivotal role in power trade,” said ABB. – ITWeb Africa

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, says the country’s active mobile telephone lines as at August stands at 105.2 million. The data revealed that mobile network operators in the country added over 1.8 million new lines in August alone, increasing the subscriber base from 103.4 million active telephone lines in July to over 105.2 million at the end of August 2012. – ITWeb Africa

Abroad

Amazon.com received approval from the US Federal Communications Commission to sell its high-end Kindle Fire 4G tablets. Amazon unveiled the new tablets last month, but the devices had not secured FCC clearance. FCC approval is required for wireless communications devices to assure they operate safely and do not improperly interfere with other signals. – Reuters

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Jack Dorsey, Twitter" src="http://www.iweek.co.za/images/stories/2010/Oct/Jack_Dorsey.jpg" />Twitter founder and executive chairman Jack Dorsey said he has trimmed his role at the micro-blogging service as he devotes the majority of his time to Square, the payment start-up where he is chief executive. Dorsey transferred all of his employee supervision to Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo in January as part of a pre-arranged transition process. – Reuters

ZTE, China’s second largest telecom equipment maker, said Cisco Systems has terminated its agreement with the company. Cisco ended a longstanding sales partnership with ZTE after an internal investigation into allegations that the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker sold Cisco networking gear to Iran. ZTE added that the move will have little impact on its business. – Reuters