At Home

Robert Venter, Altron

After Nashua Mobile said it would sell its MTN and Vodacom subscriber bases before eventually shutting down, Altech Autopage, a subsidiary of JSE-listed Altron, said it sees an upside in being the only independent third-party provider in the cellular space. Altron CEO Robert Venter said Autopage has an advantage as it’s the only independent service provider left in the market. – ITWeb

According to hosted call centre technology provider 1Stream, Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) is a disruptive technology that will make the roll-out of new call centre services even faster – and provide easy new ways for customers to call in. “This is one of the most exciting technical innovations we’ve seen in a long time,” says 1Stream director, Jed Hewson. – ITWeb

Business analytics company SAS SA has launched a local hosting centre, aiming to offer its clients more control over their data. Dubbed the Johannesburg Centre, SAS says the facility will “assume responsibility for the management and maintenance of the systems and software, ensuring higher uptime rates and data security.” The OnDemand solution will give clients unlimited access to services, the company says. – ITWeb

MB Technologies is taking a majority stake in Cloud On Demand for an undisclosed amount. The deal follows MB Technologies’ successful buyout of SecureData for R85 million in a move that saw the security company delisted from the JSE. Cloud On Demand has already moved into MB Technologies’ new office and warehouse facilities and is “well on its way” to being integrated in the group, it says. – ITWeb

Andile Ngcaba’s Convergence Partners, which manages investments in ICT projects, says it has secured a R400 million long-term funding facility from Nedbank Capital for its investment portfolio arm, Convergence Partners Investments (CPI). The funding will be used by CPI to fund the next phase of its investment life cycle, primarily its commitment to the recently launched Convergence Partners Communications Infrastructure Fund. – ITWeb

Rising volumes of electronic waste (e-waste) has prompted Samsung SA to partner with Makro and Desco in an effort to combine resources and expertise to create a joint recycling programme. The partnership will provide an opportunity for South Africans to dispose of used electronic goods in an environmentally responsible manner. According to Samsung, an estimated three tonnes per month per bin will be collected during the campaign period. – ITWeb

The City of Cape Town was named top municipality in the African Utility Week Awards that were held recently at the CTICC in Cape Town. “We’re absolutely delighted,” said Gisela Kaiser, the City of Cape Town’s executive director for Utility Services, after receiving the award for top municipality. The other finalists in this category were the eThekwini, Durban and Nelson Mandela Bay Municipalities. – ITWeb

Mobile operator Vodacom will accelerate its long-term evolution (LTE) investment roll-out, and its entire network will be LTE-ready by the end of August. The group, which released its results for the year to March, aims to more than double its LTE sites, from almost 1 000, by the end of next March, CEO Shameel Joosub" rel=tag>Shameel Joosub said. – ITWeb

Into Africa

According to Portugal Telecom’s financial results, lower contributions from international operations in Namibia and Angola have partly hit the company revenue. The results point to a net loss of 15 million euros in the first quarter, while revenue has fallen almost 4% to 690 million euros. Portugal Telecom holds a 34% stake, as well as a management contract, in Namibia’s largest mobile network operator, MTC. – ITWeb Africa

Kenya’s biggest mobile network, Safaricom, has posted a Ksh 23 billion ($264 million) after tax profit, representing a 31.1% increase in earnings compared to last year’s Ksh 17.5 billion. The company said mobile Internet revenue grew by 41%, earning the company Ksh 9.3 billion in revenue, while M-Pesa revenue grew by 22%, bringing in revenue of Ksh 26.6 billion. – ITWeb Africa

Prepaid subscribers on Zimbabwe’s second largest mobile network, Telecel, are able to partially browse Facebook for free thanks to a promotion offer. Telecel says in a press statement that this promotion can be accessed via the Facebook Zero Web site (zero.facebook.com) and that it is supported on browsers such as Opera Mini. But Telecel notes not all aspects of the promotion are free. – ITWeb Africa

Technology giant IBM is helping the Zambian ministry of health provide citizens with improved access to 200 lifesaving drugs. IBM technology will be used to provide a real-time view of drug usage and stock, while analysing data to identify trends and forecasts to prevent gaps in the medical supply chain. – ITWeb Africa

Algeria has awarded global digital security firm Gemalto with a contract to assist with the country’s electronic passport programme. Gemalto is set to provide the Algerian government with its embedded ‘eTravel’ software and special passport covers. Algeria’s e-passports consist of electronic chips and biometric features aimed at reducing identity theft and fraud. – ITWeb Africa

Faster access to online content in Africa is on the cards thanks to pan-African service provider Seacom announcing its working relationship with global network provider Level 3 Communications. Level 3 Communications is set to deploy its content delivery network nodes into data centres connecting to the Seacom African Internet Protocol and Multiprotocol Label Switching network. – ITWeb Africa

Italian telecommunications firm Vuetel Italia is to focus more on developing its market presence in Africa after inking an outsourcing deal with service provider Epsilon. Vuetel Italia provides voice and data services connecting Western Europe to Africa. Vuetel also has plans to launch retail services in the Middle East and Africa with local partners, while also serving existing retail customers with its international infrastructure. – ITWeb Africa

Nigerians and Kenyans are “more risk accepting” compared to South Africans when it comes to online shopping and using different modes of payment options for purchases, according to Ericsson head of mobile commerce sales EMEA, Rajiv Bhatia. “People in Nigeria and Kenya find that the convenience of just ordering things online and getting them delivered is worth the risk sometimes,” said Bhatia. – ITWeb Africa

US-based mobile broadband firm xG Technology is eyeing the African market after signing a letter of intent with Shoreline Energy International. xG plans to deploy mobile broadband networks across Shoreline’s different sectors and regions through its product xMax, a low-cost mobile broadband solution. Shoreline has holdings in various industries including power, construction and technology, and subsidiaries in Nigeria, Uganda, Angola and Kenya. – ITWeb Africa

Abroad

Kazuo Hirai, Sony

Sony could take on an equity partner in its TV unit, which has racked up losses every year for a decade, but the Japanese consumer giant was not thinking about selling or exiting the business, its chief executive said. Sony plans to turn its struggling TV business into a separate entity, which fired up speculation about a sale, which CEO Kazuo Hirai sought to dispel. – Reuters

Google plans to offer WiFi network hardware and software at a discount to small and mediumsized businesses. Google would provide commercialgrade WiFi access equipment at a steep discount and Web-based software for businesses to manage the WiFi network from anywhere, the blog report said, but it did not provide specific pricing details. – Reuters

Microchip Technology said it would buy Taiwanese wireless products maker ISSC Technologies to gain ground in a technology that helps connect everything from cars to light bulbs through the Internet. Microchip, which makes memory and analogue chips, has been trying to cash in on the “Internet of Things”, like other technology companies such as Intel, Cisco Systems and Nvidia. – Reuters

Facebook has changed a privacy setting on its social network, limiting the audience that sees new users’ first posts in a reversal of a feature that critics had said forced people to overshare personal information. The change to the default setting, which Facebook quietly implemented, is the result of feedback from users, Mike Nowak, a Facebook product manager, said in an interview with Reuters. – Reuters

China Mobile has awarded its second batch of 4G telecoms equipment contracts, with ZTE and rival Huawei Technologies securing the bulk of the deal. The company awarded ZTE and Huawei 34% and 31% of the batch, respectively. Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent SA both won 9% of the batch, while Nokia secured 8%, the sources said. – Reuters