Author: Chris Anu

MTN South Africa is beefing up security at customer touchpoints in an effort to fight fraud and make its services more efficient. The telecommunications operator, which is owned by JSE-listed MTN Group, said on Wednesday that it will deploy a digital ID system with real-time biometrics across all its stores nationwide. The roll-out follows a six-month pilot in 20% of the company’s stores, where the biometric identification system “significantly improved onboarding efficiency and reduced identity fraud”. This biometric system not only simplifies onboarding; it also assists in fraud prevention The new system allows for real-time fingerprint and facial recognition during…

Former Dimension Data chairman Jeremy Ord and Sonja De Bruyn, co-founder of Identity Partners. A war of words has broken out between former Dimension Data (DiData) executives and their former empowerment partner, Identity Partners, over the sale of The Campus office park in Bryanston, Johannesburg.Tensions escalated after former executives – Jeremy Ord, Grant Bodley, Saki Missaikos, Steven Nathan and Doc Watson – issued a statement yesterday condemning Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) for what they describe as false allegations of fraud made against them by the Japanese multinational, which acquired DiData nearly 15 years ago.NTT, in a statement to ITWeb…

Ghana has demanded that the local unit of MultiChoice Group to reduce subscription fees by 30% by 7 August or risk suspension of its broadcasting licence, Daily Graphic reported. The country wants the operator of DStv to reduce prices to align with what it charges in other peer markets and to reflect recent gains in the local currency, the Accra-based state-owned newspaper reports on its website, citing minister of communication, digital technology innovation Samuel Nartey George. The company’s 15% price hike in April was unwarranted at a time that the cedi was appreciating, Graphic cited George as saying. The company…

Cisco notes that it has engaged with data protection authorities and notified affected users where required by law. US-based networking giant Cisco has reported falling victim to a vishing attack, a type of social engineering scam where attackers use voice calls to trick people into giving up sensitive informationIn a statement, the company says on 24 July, Cisco was made aware of an incident involving a bad actor targeting a Cisco representative through a voice phishing attack, also known as vishing.As a result, the actor was able to access and export a subset of basic profile information from one instance…

Telkom Group CEO Serame Taukobong Telkom’s strong financial performance in its 2025 financial year has continued into the new year, with the partially state-owned telecommunications group on Tuesday reporting good growth in its mobile and fibre businesses. In a trading update, Telkom Group CEO Serame Taukobong said the company’s data-led strategy “continues to be the competitive advantage enabling us to sustain our momentum into FY2026 and the increased contribution by mobile data and fibre-based services to total revenue is consistent with the assumptions supporting our medium-term objectives”. Telkom said group revenue in the first quarter — ended 30 June 2025…

Telkom says it expects continued growth. Telkom has kicked off its financial year on a strong note, continuing its positive momentum with a 1.1% increase in group revenue to R10.8 billion for the first quarter.The JSE-listed telecommunications firm today published its trading update for the first quarter ended 30 June.According to the company, key growth areas include a 7.8% rise in mobile service revenue from Telkom Consumer and an 11.3% increase in fibre data revenue from Openserve.Group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed 6.5% to R2.8 billion, driven by structural cost efficiencies and a 1.4 percentage point…

Growth at Checkers Sixty60 continues to outpace rival Pick n Pay’s asap! in the online grocery delivery space. According to a trading statement by Checkers parent Shoprite Holdings on Tuesday, online sales through Sixty60 rose 48% year on year in the 52 weeks to 29 June 2025. Pick n Pay also released a trading statement on Tuesday and, in the 17 weeks to 29 June 2025, sales through asap! rose at a slower 33% year on year. Supermarkets RSA, extended its unbroken market share gains to a fifth consecutive year Shoprite said expanding its physical footprint and the stores from…

Henry Dhliwayo, head of the global markets retail business at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking. Standard Bank plans to consolidate its existing retail online share trading platforms under its Shyft global money app.The move has been prompted by client feedback, prevailing industry trends and a review of the existing online retail trading platforms, says the big-four bank. Its online retail trading platforms comprise WebTrader, Auto Share Invest and Online Share Trading (OST).The migration will take effect over the course of 2025 and 2026, according to the bank. “We are making direct contact with clients on the migration,” says Henry Dhliwayo,…

MultiChoice Group has announced details for the first time about its plans to restructure the shareholding in its main South African operation to facilitate the JSE-listed broadcaster’s sale to France’s Groupe Canal+. The move comes 10 days after the two companies secured the green light from the Competition Tribunal for their transaction to proceed. The merging parties have agreed to a special shareholding structure in South Africa to comply with South African legislation that prevents foreign entities from holding more than 20% of the voting rights in locally licensed broadcasters. Although the 20% restriction is likely to be lifted to…

ICASA requires information on the development of an automated spectrum management system. It’s a busy week on National Treasury’s eTenders Portal; however, the ICT industry is not favoured. This means the industry will largely need to look to lower-value municipal advertisements for opportunities. Amid this quiet backdrop, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) takes the top spot with a request for information on the development and implementation of an automated spectrum management system. In its tender documentation, the regulator explains the procurement of such a system is designed to enhance its capability to efficiently manage the radio frequency…