February 13th will see the launch in South Africa of Digital Radio using the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) format. Aldred Dreyer, chairman of the DRM South Africa Group, the organisation that’s spearheading the development, roll-out and promotion of DRM radio in the country, has confirmed the trial will commence which follows the granting of a […]
South Africa’s communications regulator ICASA has published draft regulations designed to tighten pricing operations at Sentech, which is the government-owned transmission business. Sentech handles the nation’s transmission of broadcast TV and radio signals. The publication of the new draft rules, in the government’s official Gazette, follows on from a one-year investigation into Sentech’s pricing structure. […]
South African–born Elon Musk has worked hard over the past few months in attempts to gain permission to launch SpaceX’s Starlink broadband–by–satellite service in South Africa. But far from nearing those permissions, there are signs that he still has a mountain to climb. Local reports say that political party Rise Mzansi’s leader, Songezo Zibi, and […]
A fall of a few thousand in any market for a pay-TV organisation is a worry. Multiply that to a total of 2.8 million cancellations over the past two years and it shows that South Africa’s DStv, even under its new Canal+ owners, has a mountain to climb. But the numbers are worrying. Back in […]
South Africa has amended its ‘Black Economic Empowerment’ (BEE) rules, allowing Starlink to operate via rural school internet investments instead of insisting on the traditional – and to date rigid – 30 per cent equity stake for local people and businesses. The decision could pave the way for rapid satellite broadband rollout amid digital divide […]
November 2025 marked 15 years of the Netflix ISP Speed Index – a monthly readout on which Internet Service Providers (ISPs) provide the best prime time Netflix streaming. Starting in 2026, the streaming giant says it will continue publishing monthly performance data on the ISP Speed Index site, but these updates will shift to a […]
Canal+ is in a carriage dispute with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) in South Africa. The latest threat is that if the dispute is not resolved then a slew of channels will disappear from DStv. This would include Discovery and CNN. Twelve channels are involved in the initial dispute, and the current position is that the […]
Sphere Abacus (SA) has secured worldwide distribution rights to award-winning Australian producer Easy Tiger’s thriller series Treasure & Dirt, produced for the ABC in association with the BBC and the South Australian Film Corporation. Based on the novel by Chris Hammer, bestselling author of Scrublands, Treasure & Dirt stars Michael Dorman (Territory), Liv Hewson (Yellowjackets), Sarah Peirse […]
South Africa’s Vodacom Group has signed what it described as a “pivotal” agreement with SpaceX’s Starlink. Starlink is not yet approved to launch its direct-to-device activity in the country. “Integrating Starlink’s satellite backhaul into Vodacom’s mobile network will accelerate network coverage expansion while increasing network performance in rural areas,” Vodacom said in a statement. Vodacom […]
Local reports in South Africa say that Communications Minister Solly Malatsi is poised to give a policy direction which will permit SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system to operate in the country. Malatsi’s move will have to be approved by the nation’s regulator Icasa and will likely to require Starlink to invest in local businesses in order […]