South Africa’s communications minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has presented filings to the country’s High Court in Pretoria saying that the government will firmly oppose telco Telkom in its move to delay the planned spectrum auction. The move is dramatic given that the government holds more than 40 per cent of Telkom’s equity which seemingly has little […]
South Africa’s media and telecoms regulator, ICASA, has slammed telco Telkom for delaying a planned spectrum auction. “The authority is not surprised by Telkom’s relentless resort to litigation, the conduct stretching back seven years or more ago,” ICASA said in a statement. “Telkom appears hellbent on stalling the authority’s every effort to licence the high-demand […]
South Africa’s Telkom has thrown the regulator ICASA’s planned spectrum auction into considerable confusion. Telkom has filed a formal objection with the country’s high court over ICASA’s planned auction saying that it is not satisfied with the way ICASA is managing the process. The auction was due to open in March. According to the filing, […]
Amazon Prime Video in India will start streaming live cricket from January 1st 2022 with a test series between New Zealand and Bangladesh. In November 2020, Prime Video became the first streaming service in India to secure exclusive live cricket rights from a major cricketing board. As a part of the multi-year deal, international men’s […]
South Africa’s regulator, ICASA, has issued a fresh set of licences for 4G and 5G broadband expansion. The move was expected and comes ahead of a new auction of spectrum scheduled for Q1/2022. The issue of this temporary spectrum was made in response to legal threats from the cellular industry which is hard pressed to […]
Eutelsat Communications and Vodacom Tanzania PLC have signed a service agreement for packaged services to bring connectivity to underserved regions of Tanzania, leveraging Eutelsat’s Konnect high-throughput satellite. Following a successful Proof of Concept trial, Vodacom will commercialize services on the Eutelsat Konnect satellite under its own brand, building out its service offer to customers previously […]
South Africa’s telecoms regulator ICASA has made a number of provisional cellular spectrum awards. The licences are only good for seven months (starting on December 1st) and reflect the challenges created by the pandemic and the recommendation that people work from home. The provisional licences are until June 30th 2022, or three months after the […]
South Africa’s public broadcaster, SABC, has issued a Request for Proposals (RfP) from potential suppliers of a streaming service that forms a key part of the broadcaster’s future strategy. The 73-page RfP is designed to build on data and suggestions received a year ago from potential streaming technology suppliers. Currently SABC leaves its content to […]
South African broadcaster eMedia, which owns e.TV and supplies the free-to-air Openview portfolio of channels amongst other media assets, has reported a major increase in revenues and profits for its half-year to September 30th. The broadcaster described a 44 per cent jump in revenues as being “incredible”, helped by a resurgence in TV and radio […]
South Africa-based technology conglomerate Naspers reported that its first-half profits had risen 11 per cent helped by the company’s major stakes in Chinese internet giant Tencent (in which Naspers indirectly owns a 29 per cent stake). Naspers is Africa’s biggest company by market capitalisation but last year spun off its international businesses to an Amsterdam-based […]