Telecommunications infrastructure theft and power outages continue to hold back connectivity in South Africa, with the cost burden on mobile and fibre operators more than doubling in a year. According to communications regulator Icasa’s latest State of the ICT Sector report, published last week, the rate of telecoms equipment theft grew significantly between 2024 and…
Gail Holt, Managing Director, Hardware Distribution. For ICT resellers and network operators, choosing the right distribution partner is one of the most important strategic decisions they can make. The right distributor doesn’t just move products – it delivers technical knowledge, reliable support, trusted relationships and consistent availability in an industry defined by rapid change and…
South Africa’s mobile operators carried 21.5% more voice traffic in 2025 than the year before but earned R10.4-billion less from mobile services, according to Icasa’s latest State of the ICT Sector report — the starkest illustration yet of the revenue squeeze being inflicted by so-called over-the-top (OTT) platforms and intensifying price competition. Total mobile services…
Gail Holt, Managing Director, Hardware Distribution. For ICT resellers and network operators, choosing the right distribution partner is one of the most important strategic decisions they can make. The right distributor doesn’t just move products – it delivers technical knowledge, reliable support, trusted relationships and consistent availability in an industry defined by rapid change and…
Shortages of chipsets and RAM caused by the AI data centre boom are beginning to affect the telecommunications sector, according to MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita. Responding to a question from TechCentral at MTN Group’s presentation of its annual results to 31 December 2025 on Monday, Mupita said MTN has seen the cost of computing…
On March 1, Huawei Northern Africa OTF (Operations Transformation Forum) 2026 was successfully held in Barcelona, Spain. With the theme “Unified Entry & All Intelligent Operations Ignite New Growth” the event gathered over 100 representatives from governments, operators, and industry organizations to discuss the digital and intelligent transformation of African operators and share…
Stakeholders in the oil gas sector have decried the continuous loss of jobs and investment in Africa due to lack of local value addition in crude oil production in the continent. The experts who spoke during the 9th Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES) said there is the need to finance refineries in Africa to increase…
Communications regulator Icasa has gazetted an update to its consumer-protection rules that will materially change how mobile data, voice and SMS bundles work – and sharply limit how operators bill customers once those bundles are depleted. Published in the Government Gazette on 23 January, the end-user and subscriber service charter amendment regulations introduce stricter requirements…
Carl Bosma, director for Risk Advisory Services and telecommunications lead at BDO SA. Cyber attacks, security breaches and technology disruptions are top global risks, and a reactive, compliance-led approach is no longer fit for purpose in today’s ‘permacrisis’ environment. This is according to new research from auditing and business services firm BDO. BDO Global’s 2025/26…
ACT CEO Nomvuyiso Batyi The Electronic Communications Act must be amended to accelerate connectivity in South Africa through better infrastructure investment, an industry lobby group has said. Nomvuyiso Batyi, a former director-general in the department of communications and now CEO of the Association of Comms and Technology (ACT), has said that despite progress, there are…
