The week in review

Wednesday, 14 July 2010 00:00 Written by Compiled By Martin Czernowalow

Rob DaviesRob Davies

AT HOME

THE COMPANIES and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) is furiously trying to find a solution to get its cancelled IT overhaul project back on track. The agency has to have an enterprise content management system in place by October when the new Companies Act comes into play.

If it fails to meet this deadline, it will not be able to cater for the functions of the new Companies Act. Analysts have called on trade and industry minister to assure the public that the office is being cleaned up and that measures are being put in place to make sure it runs efficiently. - ITWeb

DR STEPHEN Mncube has been appointed as the new chairman of the Independent Communications Authority of SA with immediate effect. Mncube succeeds in the top position and will serve a five-year term to 2015. Mncube previously held the positions of chairman of the National Information Technology Forum, chairman of , and as the manager of the Development Information Business Unit at the Development Bank of Southern Africa. - ITWeb

Mashudu TshivhaseMashudu Tshivhase

ICT FIRM African Legend (AL) Indigo has sold its BEA Systems unit to South African Oracle specialist firm . Roughly 200 employees and the solutions have been transferred to the JSE-listed EOH for an undisclosed amount. AL Indigo chairman says the business unit represents a limited space for the company to play in, and it was decided it would be best to dispose of the unit. - ITWeb

has once again been the victim of its own erratic billing system, which cut off about 20 000 contract customer subscribers recently. The company encountered a problem that resulted in some of its contract customers reaching a credit limit imposed by the billing system, explains , CIO of MTN SA. This resulted in 20 000 customers being cut off from making calls, despite having paid up. - ITWeb

WHILE PAY-TV newcomer Super5Media remains silent as to why it has missed its June unveiling, says it has issued an extension on the company`s commencement date, which should result in a September launch. In terms of ICASA regulations, a licensee can apply for an extension and, on good cause shown, the date for commencement can be extended. Super5Media hopes to come to market with three offerings, including Internet services, IPTV and a satellite service. -  ITWeb

COMMUNICATIONS minister has left the growing spat between himself and the Congress of South African Trade Unions () general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi to the ruling party. The Cosatu leader recently slammed corrupt ministers and purportedly alluded to Nyanda as being among them. The decision was made in light of a plan of action taken by the `s National Working Committee, which condemned Vavi`s "unsubstantiated utterances" and decided to have the ANC leadership deal with the matter politically. - ITWeb

THE ROAD Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has added the World Cup to its list of reasons for delaying the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act. Together with the , the RTMC has postponed the implementation of the Act and says an exact date for rollout will be revealed soon. The allocation of demerit points to infringers will be introduced on a national basis from 1 April 2011, and these will reflect against the driving licences of infringing motorists on the National Contravention Register on eNatis. - ITWeb

SUPERSPORT has introduced a new high-definition (HD) channel, to launch on 13 August. The channel will be broadcast across the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, excluding Nigeria. Communications manager at SuperSport International Clinton van der Berg says the sports broadcaster had invested in HD equipment for the World Cup. "SuperSport has a brand new HD studio, purpose-built for the World Cup - the biggest on the continent and state-of-the-art." He says the HD studio was cost-heavy, but it will have a life well beyond the World Cup. - ITWeb

UNDERSEA CABLE operator confirmed on 6 July that it experienced a break in its East African connection, north of the Kenyan port of Mombassa. The privately-operated cable company sent out a statement saying investigations indicated that a repeater had failed on segment 9 of the Seacom cable, which is offshore to the north of Mombassa. While the repair itself was expected to take only take a few hours, the overall process was expected to last a minimum of six to eight days. - ITWeb

INTO AFRICA

WHILE Nigerian-owned Main One undersea cable going live last week is good news for the continent, its impact in the short-term won`t be that strongly felt, says Mike , CEO of Gateway Communications. Main One is a privately owned system that runs on the African West Coast from Nigeria and Ghana, and runs for about 7 000km with initial landings in Portugal. The system has a capacity of 1.92 Terabits per second. - ITWeb

NAMIBIAN-BASED Trustco Group International is going back to court to force the South African Broadcasting Corporation () to cough up more than the R24.7 million it has been ordered to pay, after breaching a contract. The Namibian company, which is also listed on the JSE, initiated arbitration proceedings claiming damages from the SABC several years ago. Trustco`s claim is based on the SABC repudiating a contract that related to a wireless agreement for a game show signed in March 2004. - ITWeb

FITCH RATINGS says despite strong mobile sector growth over the past five years, African telecoms investment continues to face many risks common to emerging markets. Fitch says a lack of regulatory certainty on progressive issues, such as additional spectrum allocations and re-farming, mobile termination, and number portability, could hinder financing opportunities for the sector. There are also signs that parts of the sector are overheating, particularly in mobile markets where too many operators exist. -  Reuters

TUNISIA has seen the opening of its 13th "cyberpark" in Medenine, in southern Tunisia. These cyberparks offer remote workspaces and currently employ 900 people and are home to 90 companies. Two more cyberparks are planned for later this year. - Tunisia Online News

ABROAD

US PRESIDENT announced nearly $800 million in loans and grants for the build-out of broadband networks to reach homes, schools and hospitals. The grants and loans, which will be matched by another $200 million in private investment, is part of Obama`s roughly $800 billion federal stimulus package, which includes $7.2 billion for broadband expansion projects. Obama says the 66 new infrastructure projects will directly create 5 000 jobs and help spur economic development in some of the nation`s hardest-hit communities. -  Reuters

APPLE came clean about an embarrassing software glitch that overstates network signal strength in its hot-selling iPhone 4, as complaints mounted about the phone`s wraparound antenna. Apple admitted its signal strength miscalculation dates back to its original 2007 iPhone. It promised to fix the glitch in a few weeks, but did not directly address concerns that its antenna design causes reception problems for iPhone 4, its newest phone. - Reuters

DELL has agreed to acquire privately held Scalent, a maker of data centre software, for an undisclosed amount. Dell expects the deal to close in the current quarter and said the deal will help it solidify an important component of its enterprise solutions portfolio, working with its existing line of servers, storage and network platforms. Scalent, which was founded in 2003, provides software for automating infrastructure in data centres. - Reuters

AMAZON.COM cut the price on its most expensive Kindle electronic reader, the latest salvo in a price war in response to Apple`s pricier tablet computer. It was the second price cut for the online retailer`s line of e-book readers in as many weeks. Previously, Amazon cut the price of its cheaper Kindle with a six-inch screen to $189, hours after bookstore chain Barnes & Noble lowered the price of its "Nook" e-reader to $199. Both had cost $259. Amazon and Barnes & Noble could be forced to cut prices further on their devices to compete with the iPad. -  Reuters

 



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