Author: Chris Anu

MTN is the only South African mobile operator to receive recognition in Opensignal’s latest Mobile Network Experience Global Awards. The awards are Opensignal’s annual assessment of real-world experience across national mobile networks worldwide. The data used to determine the ratings is based on billions of measurements taken directly from user devices during the latter half of 2025. “Opensignal’s awards … recognise the operators that deliver the highest standards of performance and innovation,” said Shawn Heidel, president for network experience at Opensignal. Kenya’s Safaricom is the only other African operator in the ‘large land area’ category to garner recognition MTN South…

Karl Blom, partner at Webber Wentzel. Legal uncertainty around artificial intelligence, intellectual property and data security is growing. South African organisations should proceed carefully when deploying AI tools.This is according to Karl Blom, partner at Webber Wentzel, and Tristan Marot, innovation lawyer at Webber Wentzel Fusion.Presenting together at the ITWeb Data Insights Summit 2026 last week at The Forum in Bryanston, Blom and Marot said current law does not clearly address AI-generated work and could expose businesses to serious regulatory risk.“There’s a general acceptance that only real humans can own ideas at the moment,” Blom said. “This remains completely untested…

Vivo South Africa has officially announced the global launch of its latest X-series flagships: the X300 and X300 Pro. Celebrating vivo’s 30th anniversary, the series underscores the brand’s deep commitment to user-orientated innovation and technical excellence. Both models feature 200-megapixel Zeiss Ultra-Clear Imaging cameras, marking a transformative leap in smartphone photography. In addition to imaging, the X300 series also provides comprehensive upgrades across its operating system, performance, and design, offering a powerfully advanced and effortlessly comfortable premium experience, raising the bar for flagship excellence. Prominent Zeiss partnership and a leap in ultra-clear imaging The X300 Pro debuts with a 200-megapixel…

Innocent Mutimura. The pan-African telco, Paratus Group, opened its doors in Rwanda recently and is now pleased to announce the appointment of Innocent Mutimura as its Country Manager.Mutimura comes to the position with a wealth of relevant experience gained across the entire East African region, having held senior leadership positions with ISPs and telecommunications companies over the past two decades. As a satellite engineer by training, Mutimura has garnered his sales, technical and managerial abilities having pioneered many businesses from start-up to going concerns, and Paratus quickly pounced on securing a man of this calibre for the top position in…

China’s Lenovo Group warned on Thursday about mounting pressure on PC shipments as a worsening memory-chip shortage grips the industry. CEO Yang Yuanqing said in an interview after the company released third-quarter results that the world’s largest PC maker has raised prices to offset surging memory costs, while accelerating its push into the fast-growing AI inference market. “We expect PC unit sales to face pressure, but believe we can still grow revenue and maintain profitability,” Yang said. Lenovo unveiled new enterprise servers for AI inference workloads with AMD in early January The comments underscore the strain on PC manufacturers as…

Vincent Mabaso, head of channel: Africa at Check Point. Check Point Software Technologies has appointed Vincent Mabaso as head of channel for Africa as it looks to bolster its regional channel strategy, supported by three strategic acquisitions.Mabaso, who previously served as the company’s distribution manager, began his duties as channel head in November 2025. The company has now officially announced the appointment to its market.As channel head, Mabaso will lead Check Point’s regional channel strategy, with a mandate to accelerate the company’s partner-first model and expand delivery of its prevention-first, unified security platform across the continent. He is tasked with empowering partners to…

Spacecoin’s CTC-1 nanosatellite Internet shutdowns have become a tool for subversion in times of unrest. So far in 2026, Iran and Uganda both enforced severe internet blackouts to stifle dissent. Iran’s near-total shutdown masked a violent crackdown on inflation protests, while Uganda blocked access during its general election. Now US outfit Spacecoin is working on a decentralised low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network that isn’t – and can’t – be controlled by a single entity and where user access cannot be blocked. Spacecoin recently signed an agreement with the Midnight Foundation aimed at building a blockchain-based, peer-to-peer messaging system on top…

Cell C CEO Jorge Mendes. (Photograph by Nicola Mawson) Cell C’s maiden interim results for the period to end-November saw it deliver on its pre-listing statement, leading to a share price lift.“Delivering our first interim results as a listed company is an important milestone for Cell C. Our focus has been on executing with discipline, strengthening the fundamentals of the business and restoring financial stability,” says Cell C CEO Jorge Mendes.“These results reflect an intentional and sustainable strategy, positioning Cell C to deliver long-term value for shareholders, customers and partners.”Peter Takaendesa, chief investment officer at Mergence Investment Managers, points out…

US messenger app WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, has been completely blocked in Russia for failing to comply with local law, the Kremlin said on Thursday, suggesting Russians turn to a state-backed “national messenger” instead. “Due to Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law, such a decision was indeed made and implemented,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, proposing that Russians switch to Max, Russia’s state-owned messenger. “Max is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger, and it is available on the market for citizens as an alternative,” said Peskov. Critics say Max is a surveillance tool, something…

Zethu Lubisi, ICT manager for planning and governance at the University of the Witwatersrand. A lack of data literacy, not artificial intelligence (AI), poses the biggest threat to today’s workforce, according to Zethu Lubisi, ICT manager for planning and governance at the University of the Witwatersrand.Speaking yesterday at the ITWeb Data Insights Summit at The Forum, in Bryanston, Lubisi said organisations are creating unnecessary fear by framing AI as a job killer, while failing to equip employees with the skills and confidence needed to work with data-driven technologies.“We are constantly being told that AI is going to take our jobs,”…