Author: Chris Anu
GSMA appoints Bharti Airtel Group’s Gopal Vittal as board chairperson. The GSM Association (GSMA) has announced Gopal Vittal as the new chairperson of its board, for the remainder of the board term, until the end of 2026.In a statement, the GSMA says Vittal has served on the board for eight years, including as deputy chairperson since 2023 and more recently as acting chairperson since mid-January.Vittal will oversee the strategic direction of the organisation, including completing the transition to 5G Standalone, driving new revenue models, and harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and the GSMA Open Gateway initiative, to ensure…
Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber The department of home affairs has announced a “comprehensive upgrade” to its digital identity verification system. The system, called Abis (Automated Biometric Identification System), is used by various institutions in the public and private sectors where checking an identity against the national population register is important. “The roll-out of a reliable, efficient and secure verification service supports both the public and private sectors to improve service delivery. This marks the most significant upgrade to the home affairs verification service since it was launched, and will dramatically reduce waiting times whenever a client needs to verify…
Strive Masiyiwa, founder and chairman of Cassava. Cassava Technologies plans to build Africa’s first artificial intelligence (AI) factory in SA. The secure facility will be powered by Nvidia AI computing technology.According to a statement, the new plans form part of the company’s strategy to upgrade its local data centres, to provide African businesses, governments and researchers access to the latest AI computing capacity. This will help clients develop smarter AI products, streamline operations and stay competitive in a fast-changing world, it says.The new AI factory will provide the supercomputers and software needed to train AI, while keeping data within Africa’s…
The new Honor Magic7 Pro is redefining mobile photography with its advanced AI Super Zoom. Designed to revolutionise how users capture live events, travel adventures and everyday moments, this cutting-edge device ensures no detail goes unnoticed. From the glamour of Durban July to the high-energy atmosphere of Oppikoppi, South Africa’s biggest cultural and sporting events require more than just a standard smartphone camera. With AI-powered zoom technology, distance is no longer a barrier – every shot remains sharp, vibrant and rich in detail. What makes Honor’s AI Super Zoom different? Smartphone zoom has always been a trade-off between getting closer…
SNAP services. South Africa’s data centre market has seen substantial growth in recent years. This expansion has been largely driven by factors such as digital transformation, cloud computing and the need for robust infrastructure. By 2029, the market is projected to reach a size of $3.70 billion This expansion in the market has attracted a surge of new investors. Over the last few years, the market has seen the arrival of major hyperscale providers such as AWS, Microsoft, Huawei, Oracle and Google. These developments have drawn investments from leading international colocation players like Vantage, NTT and Equinix, with more considering…
The Kusile power station east of Pretoria. Image (c) NewsCentral Media Eskom has added 800MW of new generation capacity to the national grid after successfully bringing Kusile power station’s final unit, unit 6, online. It marks a “crucial step towards completing one of South Africa’s largest infrastructure projects and is a key milestone in Eskom’s strategic objective of adding 2.5GW of new capacity to the grid by March 2025”, the company said in a statement on Sunday. “Kusile power station will contribute a total of 4.8GW to the national grid once all units are fully operational, making it South Africa’s…
Broadcaster Etv argued that “millions” of households risk being without access to TV services if the 31 March analogue switch-off deadline is upheld. Minister Solly Malatsi is adamant there was sufficient consultation with industry stakeholders, as government looks to move ahead with the 31 March deadline for South Africa’s analogue switch-off (ASO).This is according to the minister’s answering affidavit submitted to the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, as broadcasters seek legal intervention in SA’s analogue switch-off deadline. The country’s decade-long broadcasting digital migration (BDM) project is again before the courts, as eMedia-owned Etv, joined by public interest non-government organisations Media…
Discovery Bank CEO Hylton Kallner believes technology is fundamental to the company’s success. Kallner, an actuary who joined Discovery in its early days as a medical insurance company and who has held various senior leadership roles over the years, tells TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod about the group’s decision to launch a bank when it did. He shares how the business is doing – spoiler: it’s trending well ahead of schedule – and what comes next. He tells the TechCentral Show about: How Discovery Bank is doing financially and how it’s tracking against its business plan; Its client base – who…
The .africa domain name is now available on US-based web hosting company GoDaddy. Registry Africa has announced the .africa top-level domain is now available on US-based web hosting company GoDaddy.It says making the .africa domain available on GoDaddy will increase Africa’s digital ecosystem and cater to the rising international demand for connectivity with the continent.“Having GoDaddy as our registrar increases our market reach and puts .africa at the top shelf for users to access,” says Lucky Masilela, CEO of Registry Africa. The official registry operator and administrator of the .africa domain name launched in 2017.GoDaddy, headquartered in Arizona, is regarded…
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Tuesday the company was well placed to navigate a shift in the artificial intelligence industry, in which businesses are moving from training AI models to getting detailed answers from them. Huang, speaking at the company’s annual software developer conference in San Jose, California, defended the company’s lead in selling costly AI chips to customers, which has recently been questioned by investors after China’s DeepSeek made a competitive chatbot with allegedly fewer AI chips. But his presentation failed to reassure investors. Nvidia shares fell 3.4%. The chip index closed down 1.6%. The computation we need…