The MVNO trap deepens as the battle moves to data

The MVNO trap deepens as the battle moves to data

South Africa’s banking MVNOs were conceived as a defensive weapon. Banks watched mobile operators build payments platforms, accumulate transaction data and push into financial services from the connectivity side. The mobile virtual network operator was the answer: own the mobile relationship, generate behavioural data between transactions and build switching costs that make the customer harder…

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Africa: The Untold Story of the Battle of Adowa – How Anti-Imperialism Can Be Rebuilt From the Ground Up

Africa: The Untold Story of the Battle of Adowa – How Anti-Imperialism Can Be Rebuilt From the Ground Up

I. Magdala The mountainside fortress is called Magdala. It is perched above the Ethiopian highlands, a stone fist raised against the sky. In its austere regality an eleven-year-old boy named Sahle Maryam witnessed the brutal birth of modern statecraft in 1855. His captor, Emperor Tewodros II, was a brilliant but volatile unifier who dreamed of…

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SCA ruling awaited in Telkom-SIU battle

SCA ruling awaited in Telkom-SIU battle

Telkom failed to get its African operations to run profitably. (Graphic: Nicola Mawson | Official images and Freepik) A ruling is awaited from the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) after it heard an appeal by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and president Cyril Ramaphosa against a 2023 High Court judgement that blocked a probe into…

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South Africa’s new fibre broadband battle

South Africa’s new fibre broadband battle

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…

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