Author: Chris Anu

Andre Eksteen, senior product manager – FTTB at Vox. Internet and communications firm Vox is confident its latest partner programme, launched in November 2025, will help niche ISPs in SA bypass barriers to entry – including the need for substantial capital investment – by providing access to extensive network infrastructure, peering agreements and technical expertise.According to Vox, ISPs must source high-quality network equipment as well as business support and operations support systems at competitive prices, and build a skilled technical team to manage complex networks.The company adds that these service providers must also deal with high interconnect costs and negotiate…

The rise in the cost of education in South Africa continues to outpace consumer price inflation, with combined tuition and boarding fees at the 10 most expensive schools in the country rising by around double that of other goods and services on an annualised basis. Barring some shuffling in the middle, TechCentral’s list of the 10 most expensive private schools in the country has not changed much between 2025 and 2026. KwaZulu-Natal boys’ schools Hilton and Michaelhouse remain the most expensive in the country, both – along with Roedean and St Andrews Grahamstown at number three and four, respectively –…

FlySafair sends about 900 000 SMS messages every month to passengers and crew. (Image: BulkSMS) In the fast-paced world of air travel, where timing and accuracy can make or break a customer’s experience, FlySafair continues its operational communication through its long-standing partnership with BulkSMS.com. Since its very first passenger flight took to the skies on 16 October 2014, FlySafair has used SMS as one of its cost-effective channels for engaging passengers and managing travel updates.Today, the airline sends approximately 900 000 SMS messages every month to passengers and crew – an average of 32 000 per day – ensuring travellers…

Today, 5 January 2026, South Africa marks 50 years since television was launched in 1976 – a milestone that invites a hard look at what television has been in this country: late to arrive, tightly controlled, briefly reimagined, then captured again, and now increasingly sidelined by streaming and smartphones. This is the first in a series of articles TechCentral is publishing this week to mark the anniversary of the launch of television broadcasting in South Africa on 5 January 1976. Subscribe to our daily e-mail newsletter. Television’s late arrival in South Africa was a political choice – anxiety about moral…

ICT tenders: Currently under business rescue, SAPO is seeking a single service provider to deliver managed WAN and telephony services. It’s an auspicious start to the new year for the ICT industry as last-minute invitations posted on National Treasury’s eTenders Portal during the closing weeks of 2025 provide opportunities to dig in to. Interestingly, many of these feature compulsory briefings, indicating specialised or complex requirements.The South African Post Office (SAPO) takes the headline of the first issue of the year with its request for proposals on managed wide area network and telephony services.Currently under business rescue and having recently lost…

JSE-listed technology group iOCO is stepping up its share repurchase programme, acquiring a further 2.34 million ordinary shares between 29 November and 31 December 2025, at prices between R3.98 and R4/share. The total value of the latest buybacks was R9.4-million, excluding transaction costs. The repurchased shares are being held as treasury shares. Since the programme began on 1 August last year, the company has bought back 4.29 million shares, representing about 0.7 % of its issued share capital, and currently holds 6.38 million shares in treasury. The board said it believes the repurchases are in the best interests of the…

ITWeb contributor Phillip de Wet. 2026 is going to be quite something.The good old CES in Las Vegas is going to show just how much artificial intelligence (AI) we now have at the edge. Memory shortages are going to bite everywhere. We’re going to see new chip approaches allowing cool new systems. There will be a lot of pressure to open up app stores and social media protocols, and every other closed ecosystem that acts as a platform.But my bet for the big tech story of 2026 is mundane compared to all of that: AI regulation. Of the kind that…

Ongoing confusion within South Africa’ electrical sector has led to claims that all Schuko sockets are banned. The reality is far more nuanced, and the misunderstanding is affecting product sales, certificate-of-compliance approvals and appliance imports. There’s a fundamental misreading of the specifications. Many people assume all Schuko-style plugs and sockets are illegal. That’s incorrect and is causing unnecessary disruption across the supply chain. Traditional earthed Schuko plugs and sockets, with exposed earth contacts on the sides, are prohibited in South Africa. The side-contact earth design, standard in Europe, has the risk of becoming live due to adverse conditions that are…

Nkosinathi Temba, co-founder and CEO of Thito.io. South African education start-up Thuto.io is expanding its footprint, offering a platform that combines AI-driven learning, real-time progress tracking, and a digital allowance system to address gaps in student motivation and academic accountability.The platform was developed by Nkosinathi Temba, co-founder and CEO, who began working on the system in 2022 with pilots running through 2025.“Thuto was built to make learning feel personal, supportive, and human again — rewarding effort, building financial literacy, and giving students real-time feedback that strengthens their belief in themselves,” says Temba in an e-mail interview with ITWeb.Thuto.io targets learners…

This Monday marks 50 years since television was officially launched in South Africa – on 5 January 1976, a lifetime ago. South Africa was late – very late – to launch television. While many countries embraced TV in the 1950s and 1960s, apartheid-era government concerns about foreign cultural influence and social change delayed its introduction by decades. When broadcasts finally kicked off in the mid-1970s, they did so under the tight control of the SABC, initially offering a single channel with limited broadcasting hours and heavy government oversight. Today linear TV coexists uneasily with on-demand services, social video and mobile-first…