Author: Chris Anu

Uncapped fibre internet for R5/day? It’s a reality in parts of South Africa as broadband providers push affordable fibre into communities long underserved by traditional fixed-line networks. What was once the preserve of affluent suburbs is now creeping into dense urban and township footprints, powered by new pricing models, new deployment strategies and a business imperative to chase volume rather than high margins. The arrival of genuinely low-cost fibre marks a turning point in the country’s connectivity landscape. For years, mobile broadband – first 3G, then LTE – was the only scalable option for many lower-income households. Fixed-wireless access filled…

Unathi Thosago, new CIO of Parliament. Unathi Thosago has been appointed as the new chief information officer (CIO) for Parliament, effective early January. The appointment process was conducted by recruitment firm Revolution Human Capital. In a statement, the recruiter says Thosago’s appointment is testament to the critical role of strategic executive search in building a state that is secure, transparent and ready for the future.“Our firm was tasked with a mission that extended far beyond filling an executive role. We were entrusted with identifying the individual who would become the chief architect of trust for one of the nation’s most…

A TSCM fabrication plant in Taiwan Taiwan aims to build a “democratic” high-tech supply chain with the US and form a strategic AI partnership under the new tariffs deal it sealed with Washington last week, Taipei’s top negotiator in the talks said on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump has pushed the major producer of semiconductors, which runs a large trade surplus with the US, to invest more in America, specifically in chips that power AI. Under the terms of the long-negotiated deal, chip makers like TSMC that expand US production will incur a lower tariff on semiconductors or related manufacturing…

Amazon aims to increase global broadband access through a constellation of more than 3 000 satellites in LEO. Amazon is preparing to launch its low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite service in South Africa later this year, through local licensed partners.This is according to Helen Kyeyune, regulatory and licensing affairs lead for Sub-Saharan Africa at Amazon Leo, who shared some details on the local launch of Amazon’s LEO satellite constellation network. Kyeyune was among the stakeholders that presented submissions as part of ICASA’s consultation process on the Second Draft National Radio Frequency Plan 2025. The regulator hosted the two-day public hearings at…

The Sentech television broadcasting tower in Auckland Park, Johannesburg Communications regulator Icasa has published draft regulations that will, when introduced, significantly tighten oversight of Sentech’s terrestrial broadcasting signal distribution business, formally declaring the state-owned company to have significant market power across television, FM radio and AM radio transmission services. The proposed signal distribution services regulations, published in the Government Gazette on Friday, follow a multi-year market inquiry by the regulator into the structure and competitiveness of South Africa’s broadcast signal distribution market. Icasa has concluded that the relevant wholesale markets for terrestrial signal distribution are ineffectively competitive, largely because of…

Power utility Eskom expands support with a new customer service model. (Photograph: Pixabay.) Power utility Eskom is rolling out a new customer service model that features mobile customer hubs, digital platforms and self-service tools. This, after Eskom chairperson Mteto Nyati told ITWeb that leveraging digital technologies will be key to reducing operational costs and enhancing the overall customer experience.In a statement, Eskom says the new approach blends mobile “hub-on-wheels” units, community pop-ups, self-service platforms and selected permanent customer service hubs. See also These, it notes, will add to Eskom’s brick-and-mortar facilities, which continue to operate in strategic and accessible areas.…

The South African National Space Agency (Sansa) has warned that geomagnetic storm activity is expected to intensify over the next 24 hours following a powerful solar eruption that sent a cloud of charged plasma towards Earth. According to Sansa’s Space Weather Centre, the disturbance was triggered by a long-duration X1.9-class solar flare that erupted from the sun on Sunday evening, followed by an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME). The CME is expected to reach Earth from the early hours of Wednesday, where it will interact with the planet’s magnetic field. Sansa said the resulting geomagnetic storm could reach G4 (severe)…

A ruling finds homeowners’ associations can give permission for fibre to be laid. (Photograph: Freepik) Two key appeals set to be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) this year will determine whether homeowners can freely give permission for fibre rollout in their estates, or whether competitors must first seek approval from Telkom.This comes as there are two contradicting rulings over whether Telkom has rights to infrastructure in housing estates and whether smaller fibre companies must lease from the telecoms giant to roll out cable.There are more than 50 000 registered housing estates in South Africa containing millions of…

Authoritarian governments have long relied on a blunt but effective tool to silence dissent: switching off the internet. From nationwide blackouts during elections to targeted throttling of social media platforms during protests, cutting connectivity has become a depressingly familiar tactic across parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. A recent Reuters report on Iran’s escalating battle with Starlink highlights why that playbook is starting to fray. Tehran has spent years perfecting censorship and surveillance, yet it now finds itself struggling to contain a satellite-based internet service designed explicitly to bypass terrestrial controls. Starlink terminals, smuggled into the country and…

Ruth Hickin, VP of Workforce Innovation at Salesforce. Agentic AI can boost productivity in businesses by removing routine bureaucracy and ‘noise’ from the workplace, but this is only achievable with an AI fluent workforce, says Ruth Hickin, VP of Workforce Innovation at CRM technology firm Salesforce.The company says businesses are looking to emerge as agentic enterprises or those in which human employees and AI agents work together in a seamless, collaborative ecosystem. However, to achieve this goal, much will depend on their workforce’s ability to harness and apply agentic AI in their daily work.Salesforce says agentic AI is now part…