TechCentral

South Africa’s mobile operators want tougher Sim registration, but not on the terms communications regulator Icasa has proposed.

Draft amendments to Icasa’s numbering plan regulations, published for comment last month, would require a fingerprint or face check against home affairs records for every new Sim, reactivation and Sim swap. Subscribers would be capped at five numbers per operator, and operators would have two years to re-verify existing customers.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Nomvuyiso Batyi, CEO of the Association of Comms & Technology (ACT), tells Duncan McLeod why the industry body won’t support the rules as drafted. ACT, which represents Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Cell C, Rain and Liquid Intelligent Technologies, has spent two years working with the justice department on amendments to Rica, the Sim registration law, and its members agreed an industry framework in June.

Batyi says Icasa officials sat in meetings where that work was presented, so the draft came as a surprise. The industry framework would allow 20 Sims per person per network rather than five. It also targets informal dealers who sell Sims pre-registered in their own names.

Batyi explains why prepaid customers are the hard part – some traders in rural areas still register Sims over 2G connections – and what it will cost to query the home affairs database. She warns that forcing every subscriber to re-verify risks repeating the failures of digital migration, and describes the fraud driving the debate, from WhatsApp scams and stolen phones to one-time Pin fraud.

Don’t miss the discussion! TechCentral

South Africa’s mobile operators want tougher Sim registration, but not on the terms communications regulator Icasa has proposed.

Draft amendments to Icasa’s numbering plan regulations, published for comment last month, would require a fingerprint or face check against home affairs records for every new Sim, reactivation and Sim swap. Subscribers would be capped at five numbers per operator, and operators would have two years to re-verify existing customers.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Nomvuyiso Batyi, CEO of the Association of Comms & Technology (ACT), tells Duncan McLeod why the industry body won’t support the rules as drafted. ACT, which represents Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Cell C, Rain and Liquid Intelligent Technologies, has spent two years working with the justice department on amendments to Rica, the Sim registration law, and its members agreed an industry framework in June.

Batyi says Icasa officials sat in meetings where that work was presented, so the draft came as a surprise. The industry framework would allow 20 Sims per person per network rather than five. It also targets informal dealers who sell Sims pre-registered in their own names.

Batyi explains why prepaid customers are the hard part – some traders in rural areas still register Sims over 2G connections – and what it will cost to query the home affairs database. She warns that forcing every subscriber to re-verify risks repeating the failures of digital migration, and describes the fraud driving the debate, from WhatsApp scams and stolen phones to one-time Pin fraud.

Don’t miss the discussion!

AI is the defining technology of our era. At one extreme, it fuels fears of job losses, robot wars and computers ruling over human beings. At the other, it holds out hope: curing diseases such as cancer, bolstering global food security and even freeing people from the need to work.

Old Mutual was the headline sponsor of this year's Singularity Summit South Africa, held on 21-22 October at the Sandton Convention Centre, where these questions took centre stage.

In this episode of TCS+, Celiwe Ross, group chief human capital and corporate affairs officer at Old Mutual, looks back at the summit. She discusses how companies, their managers and employees should approach integrating the technology as AI becomes more deeply embedded in the workplace.

In the interview, Ross discusses:

- Why a 181-year-old insurer sponsors a future-focused event like the Singularity Summit, and how Old Mutual's founding story shapes its approach to disruption;

- How AI is changing the role of the chief human resources officer, from workforce planning to the design of work, reskilling and organisational change;

- Why leaders should look at AI through three lenses: the work, the worker and, only later, the workforce;

- How AI could eventually change a company's operating model, and why that is still a distant reality, especially in South Africa;

- Why experimentation is essential to building an AI strategy;

- The usage trap: why some organisations have high adoption rates that do not translate into productivity gains or a return on investment;

- Emerging global trends in the use of AI agents, and what South Africa can learn from them;

- How Old Mutual is approaching AI training;

- Why judgment, empathy and vulnerability are becoming more important leadership skills, and how organisations can help people build them; and

- Where South Africa and Africa stand on AI adoption.

Ross also argues that, done properly, AI should create more opportunities and career paths, not fewer, and that leaders should approach the AI debate in terms of capacity rather than headcount.

Don't miss the discussion.

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TCS+ episodes are sponsored TechCentral

AI is the defining technology of our era. At one extreme, it fuels fears of job losses, robot wars and computers ruling over human beings. At the other, it holds out hope: curing diseases such as cancer, bolstering global food security and even freeing people from the need to work.

Old Mutual was the headline sponsor of this year's Singularity Summit South Africa, held on 21-22 October at the Sandton Convention Centre, where these questions took centre stage.

In this episode of TCS+, Celiwe Ross, group chief human capital and corporate affairs officer at Old Mutual, looks back at the summit. She discusses how companies, their managers and employees should approach integrating the technology as AI becomes more deeply embedded in the workplace.

In the interview, Ross discusses:

- Why a 181-year-old insurer sponsors a future-focused event like the Singularity Summit, and how Old Mutual's founding story shapes its approach to disruption;

- How AI is changing the role of the chief human resources officer, from workforce planning to the design of work, reskilling and organisational change;

- Why leaders should look at AI through three lenses: the work, the worker and, only later, the workforce;

- How AI could eventually change a company's operating model, and why that is still a distant reality, especially in South Africa;

- Why experimentation is essential to building an AI strategy;

- The usage trap: why some organisations have high adoption rates that do not translate into productivity gains or a return on investment;

- Emerging global trends in the use of AI agents, and what South Africa can learn from them;

- How Old Mutual is approaching AI training;

- Why judgment, empathy and vulnerability are becoming more important leadership skills, and how organisations can help people build them; and

- Where South Africa and Africa stand on AI adoption.

Ross also argues that, done properly, AI should create more opportunities and career paths, not fewer, and that leaders should approach the AI debate in terms of capacity rather than headcount.

Don't miss the discussion.

--

TCS+ episodes are sponsored

Small and medium enterprises are under constant pressure to stay nimble and competitive in a tough economic climate, and technology that runs smoothly is a big part of how they manage it.

In this second episode of the Mac for SME series, brought to you by iStore Business, Sudesh Pillay, executive head of iStore Business South Africa, and Kevin McLennan, founder and CEO of PR and marketing firm The Prophecy Group, discuss the value of the Apple ecosystem as a productivity driver for small businesses.

Pillay and McLennan delve into:

● Why seamless IT experience is important for SMEs where resource maximisation is key to success;

● How quickly technology is changing, and whether investing in the Apple ecosystem can futureproof hardware against advances in AI;

● The support available to SMEs when upgrades become unavoidable;

● Whether moving employees to a new operating system is as daunting as it sounds;

● How important native data protection is for small businesses that struggle with security and compliance; and

● Which software subscriptions, beyond AI tools, small businesses can avoid paying for.

Don’t miss the discussion.

--

TCS+ episodes are sponsored TechCentral

Small and medium enterprises are under constant pressure to stay nimble and competitive in a tough economic climate, and technology that runs smoothly is a big part of how they manage it.

In this second episode of the Mac for SME series, brought to you by iStore Business, Sudesh Pillay, executive head of iStore Business South Africa, and Kevin McLennan, founder and CEO of PR and marketing firm The Prophecy Group, discuss the value of the Apple ecosystem as a productivity driver for small businesses.

Pillay and McLennan delve into:

● Why seamless IT experience is important for SMEs where resource maximisation is key to success;

● How quickly technology is changing, and whether investing in the Apple ecosystem can futureproof hardware against advances in AI;

● The support available to SMEs when upgrades become unavoidable;

● Whether moving employees to a new operating system is as daunting as it sounds;

● How important native data protection is for small businesses that struggle with security and compliance; and

● Which software subscriptions, beyond AI tools, small businesses can avoid paying for.

Don’t miss the discussion.

--

TCS+ episodes are sponsored

Phone calls, e-mails and in-person conversations were once the only ways businesses could talk to their customers. Social media changed that. Marketing, customer acquisition, sales and support now happen across a growing number of channels. That brings clear benefits, but it can also leave businesses with a fragmented communication ecosystem that hurts the customer experience.

In this episode of TCS+, Natalie van der Merwe, head of telephony at Vox, unpacks why an omnichannel approach matters, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Topics covered in the discussion include:

* What "omnichannel" means and why businesses need it now

* The benefits for SMEs and their customers

* How customer expectations of business communication have changed

* Why continuity across channels matters to customers

* What a poor or disconnected experience can cost in loyalty and reputation

* How a fragmented communication ecosystem disrupts a business internally

* Whether SMEs are right to see omnichannel as complex

* The role of AI in business communications

* Why customers should be involved in designing new channels

* The regulatory considerations businesses should keep in mind about the kinds of data exchanged on different platforms

Van der Merwe also explains how to make the business case for investing in omnichannel, and advises SMEs on how to start improving their communication ecosystems.

TCS+ episodes are sponsored TechCentral

Phone calls, e-mails and in-person conversations were once the only ways businesses could talk to their customers. Social media changed that. Marketing, customer acquisition, sales and support now happen across a growing number of channels. That brings clear benefits, but it can also leave businesses with a fragmented communication ecosystem that hurts the customer experience.

In this episode of TCS+, Natalie van der Merwe, head of telephony at Vox, unpacks why an omnichannel approach matters, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Topics covered in the discussion include:

* What "omnichannel" means and why businesses need it now

* The benefits for SMEs and their customers

* How customer expectations of business communication have changed

* Why continuity across channels matters to customers

* What a poor or disconnected experience can cost in loyalty and reputation

* How a fragmented communication ecosystem disrupts a business internally

* Whether SMEs are right to see omnichannel as complex

* The role of AI in business communications

* Why customers should be involved in designing new channels

* The regulatory considerations businesses should keep in mind about the kinds of data exchanged on different platforms

Van der Merwe also explains how to make the business case for investing in omnichannel, and advises SMEs on how to start improving their communication ecosystems.

TCS+ episodes are sponsored

Réan van Niekerk

Metacom has spent 25 years designing its own routers and running private networks for some of Africa's biggest retailers, without a cent of venture capital.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show, founder Réan van Niekerk tells Fanie van Rooyen how the Cape Town company came to connect more than 6 000 ATMs, every Pep store in Africa and, by his account, well over half the communications Eskom uses to monitor and control electricity distribution.

He explains why Metacom designs its hardware in-house instead of buying white-label Asian routers, and why one box per store works better than equipment from four suppliers. He also says satellite services such as Starlink would be a "wonderful supplier", not a threat.

Van Niekerk also discusses enterprise technology spending in 2026, the AI-driven memory shortages that now force Metacom to order some components a year ahead, the company's cautious approach to AI, which keeps humans on its support lines, and why Africa is not one market. TechCentral

Réan van Niekerk

Metacom has spent 25 years designing its own routers and running private networks for some of Africa's biggest retailers, without a cent of venture capital.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show, founder Réan van Niekerk tells Fanie van Rooyen how the Cape Town company came to connect more than 6 000 ATMs, every Pep store in Africa and, by his account, well over half the communications Eskom uses to monitor and control electricity distribution.

He explains why Metacom designs its hardware in-house instead of buying white-label Asian routers, and why one box per store works better than equipment from four suppliers. He also says satellite services such as Starlink would be a "wonderful supplier", not a threat.

Van Niekerk also discusses enterprise technology spending in 2026, the AI-driven memory shortages that now force Metacom to order some components a year ahead, the company's cautious approach to AI, which keeps humans on its support lines, and why Africa is not one market.