TechCentral

MTN South Africa has launched Pi, a digital-only mobile operator that runs on MTN’s network but operates as a standalone brand, offering contract-free mobile and home 5G connectivity through a single app, with no call centres, no credit checks and no lock-in.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show, TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod talks to Divyesh Joshi, chief commercial officer at MTN South Africa, about the thinking behind the launch and what it signals about the direction of the local telecommunications market.

Pi’s pricing is aggressive: R79/month for 500 voice minutes and R199/month for 20GB of mobile data, for example, alongside home fixed-wireless broadband plans.

McLeod asks whether Pi is essentially MTN’s fightback against Telkom, which has been quietly gaining prepaid market share with competitive data pricing – and whether the launch is also a response to mobile virtual network operators like Melon Mobile.

The conversation explores what Pi means for MTN’s margins, particularly on voice, and whether the aggressive pricing on calls is an admission that voice has become a commodity in a market where many consumers have shifted to WhatsApp for calls.

McLeod also asks whether Pi represents MTN’s attempt to get ahead of a structural shift in how people consume telecoms services – drawing a parallel with MultiChoice’s failure to adapt quickly enough to changing market demands in the video entertainment space.

A key question is what happens to MTN’s existing SuperFlex product, which targets a similar customer base. Is Pi going to cannibalise MTN’s own subscribers?

Finally, McLeod and Joshi discuss MTN’s new eSim-based roaming deals, which offer data at R12/GB in markets like China and France – though curiously, roaming in eSwatini, where MTN has a subsidiary, costs R85/GB.

Don’t miss the conversation!

The South African Post Office has been in business rescue – a form of bankruptcy protection – since July 2023. Business rescue practitioners Anoosh Rooplal and Juanito Damons have made it clear to parliament that the entity will not survive liquidation unless a R3.8-billion bailout is received soon.

With some 5 500 jobs on the line, the big question is: is the Post Office worth saving? Rooplal spoke to TechCentral’s Nathi Ndlovu and was asked that question.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Rooplal talks about:

• The case for the bailout: The business rescue practitioners have already received R2.4-billion from government, while bailouts for the Post Office over the past decade amount to nearly R10-billion. Rooplal attempts to answer why this latest funding request is worth it.

• The current state of the Post Office: Rooplal outlines what the R2.4-billion tranche was used for and what the R3.8-billion request would do, if provided. He also details what the future state of the entity might look like and how, without much in terms of income, salaries are currently being paid.

• The need for a state-owned postal service: Even if national treasury were to agree to save the Post Office, does it have a place in a modern digital economy?

• External funding and asset sales: If the business case for the Post Office’s revival is so strong, why have the businesses rescue practitioners not sold or rationalised assets or gone to the open market for funding?

• Social grants and Post Bank: Rooplal explains what would happen to the many grant recipients processed via the Post Office should it not survive business rescue.

• Private sector partnerships: The department of communications & digital technologies in November issued a request for information seeking private sector partnership proposals. Rooplal explains the “chicken and egg” problem at the core those discussions.

• No more options: Chapter 6 of the Companies Act compels business rescue practitioners to file for liquidation if they see “no reasonable prospect” of rescue. Rooplal explains why he and his associate, Damons, are close to pulling the trigger.

Don’t miss the discussion! TechCentral

The South African Post Office has been in business rescue – a form of bankruptcy protection – since July 2023. Business rescue practitioners Anoosh Rooplal and Juanito Damons have made it clear to parliament that the entity will not survive liquidation unless a R3.8-billion bailout is received soon.

With some 5 500 jobs on the line, the big question is: is the Post Office worth saving? Rooplal spoke to TechCentral’s Nathi Ndlovu and was asked that question.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Rooplal talks about:

• The case for the bailout: The business rescue practitioners have already received R2.4-billion from government, while bailouts for the Post Office over the past decade amount to nearly R10-billion. Rooplal attempts to answer why this latest funding request is worth it.

• The current state of the Post Office: Rooplal outlines what the R2.4-billion tranche was used for and what the R3.8-billion request would do, if provided. He also details what the future state of the entity might look like and how, without much in terms of income, salaries are currently being paid.

• The need for a state-owned postal service: Even if national treasury were to agree to save the Post Office, does it have a place in a modern digital economy?

• External funding and asset sales: If the business case for the Post Office’s revival is so strong, why have the businesses rescue practitioners not sold or rationalised assets or gone to the open market for funding?

• Social grants and Post Bank: Rooplal explains what would happen to the many grant recipients processed via the Post Office should it not survive business rescue.

• Private sector partnerships: The department of communications & digital technologies in November issued a request for information seeking private sector partnership proposals. Rooplal explains the “chicken and egg” problem at the core those discussions.

• No more options: Chapter 6 of the Companies Act compels business rescue practitioners to file for liquidation if they see “no reasonable prospect” of rescue. Rooplal explains why he and his associate, Damons, are close to pulling the trigger.

Don’t miss the discussion!

Anton Fatti, chief technology officer of HealthBridge, says the doctor-patient relationship must remain at the centre of digital transformation in healthcare, even as AI reshapes how medical practices operate.

Speaking on TechCentral’s Meet the CIO podcast series, brought to you by NTT DATA, Fatti said AI and cloud computing are already easing the administrative burden on doctors and medical professionals, allowing them to spend more time with patients rather than on paperwork and back-office tasks.

Fatti joined Healthbridge as CTO in February 2025, bringing experience from senior technology leadership roles at the South African Revenue Service, where he served as chief technology and innovation officer, as well as at Discovery, where he was chief digital officer, and data business Lightstone, where he was CIO.

Healthbridge, founded in 1999, positions itself as a technology partner that helps medical professionals run their practices so they can focus on patient care. The company’s offerings have evolved significantly since its early days – from a pre-cloud, pre-AI era to a modern cloud-based software-as-a-service platform built in partnership with Google Cloud.

In the interview, Fatti discusses how the company has structured its innovation efforts. He also addresses which parts of clinical workflows are ready for AI automation today and which must remain human-led, and how far the industry is from AI playing a decisive role in diagnosis.

On the shortage of medical professionals in South Africa, particularly in certain specialities, Fatti explores how AI and other modern tools can make doctors more productive – and whether practitioners are receptive to adopting them.

He also shares his views on how policymakers should be thinking about AI in healthcare, the new skills emerging inside his teams and his approach to disrupting Healthbridge’s own business model before a competitor does. TechCentral

Anton Fatti, chief technology officer of HealthBridge, says the doctor-patient relationship must remain at the centre of digital transformation in healthcare, even as AI reshapes how medical practices operate.

Speaking on TechCentral’s Meet the CIO podcast series, brought to you by NTT DATA, Fatti said AI and cloud computing are already easing the administrative burden on doctors and medical professionals, allowing them to spend more time with patients rather than on paperwork and back-office tasks.

Fatti joined Healthbridge as CTO in February 2025, bringing experience from senior technology leadership roles at the South African Revenue Service, where he served as chief technology and innovation officer, as well as at Discovery, where he was chief digital officer, and data business Lightstone, where he was CIO.

Healthbridge, founded in 1999, positions itself as a technology partner that helps medical professionals run their practices so they can focus on patient care. The company’s offerings have evolved significantly since its early days – from a pre-cloud, pre-AI era to a modern cloud-based software-as-a-service platform built in partnership with Google Cloud.

In the interview, Fatti discusses how the company has structured its innovation efforts. He also addresses which parts of clinical workflows are ready for AI automation today and which must remain human-led, and how far the industry is from AI playing a decisive role in diagnosis.

On the shortage of medical professionals in South Africa, particularly in certain specialities, Fatti explores how AI and other modern tools can make doctors more productive – and whether practitioners are receptive to adopting them.

He also shares his views on how policymakers should be thinking about AI in healthcare, the new skills emerging inside his teams and his approach to disrupting Healthbridge’s own business model before a competitor does. TechCentral

Most security teams can tell you what they've deployed. Far fewer can answer the board's next question: are we actually less exposed than we were three months ago?

In many organisations, the gap between security activity and real risk reduction remains stubbornly wide, even as threats become faster, more adaptive and harder to spot.

In this episode of TCS+, Clare Loveridge and Jason Oehley from Arctic Wolf unpack what the 2026 Arctic Wolf Threat Report reveals about how the risk landscape is shifting, both globally and in South Africa.

They discuss whether organisations are genuinely becoming more proactive, how AI is changing the game for attackers and defenders alike, and why familiar blockers continue to undermine even well-funded security programmes.

The conversation also explores what it means to "end cyber risk" in practical terms, why continuous improvement matters more than one-off projects, and how organisations should think about residual risk — the portion that remains even after controls are in place.

The episode closes with a look at Arctic Wolf's cybersecurity warranty in South Africa and what role warranties can play in risk management when prevention alone is not enough. TechCentral

Most security teams can tell you what they've deployed. Far fewer can answer the board's next question: are we actually less exposed than we were three months ago?

In many organisations, the gap between security activity and real risk reduction remains stubbornly wide, even as threats become faster, more adaptive and harder to spot.

In this episode of TCS+, Clare Loveridge and Jason Oehley from Arctic Wolf unpack what the 2026 Arctic Wolf Threat Report reveals about how the risk landscape is shifting, both globally and in South Africa.

They discuss whether organisations are genuinely becoming more proactive, how AI is changing the game for attackers and defenders alike, and why familiar blockers continue to undermine even well-funded security programmes.

The conversation also explores what it means to "end cyber risk" in practical terms, why continuous improvement matters more than one-off projects, and how organisations should think about residual risk — the portion that remains even after controls are in place.

The episode closes with a look at Arctic Wolf's cybersecurity warranty in South Africa and what role warranties can play in risk management when prevention alone is not enough.

Access to stable, reliable, high-speed internet is crucial to participating in the modern economy. Although fibre connectivity offers the highest speeds and reliability, fibre penetration rates unfortunately remain relatively low in South Africa, leaving may would-be customers wanting.

Vox recently launched Kiwi, a wireless connectivity solution promising a fibre-like experience with speeds of up to 200Mbit/s. In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+, Theo van Zyl, head of wireless at Vox, provides more details about the Kiwi service and how it works.

Van Zyl delves into:

* The rationale behind building a wireless service that offer a fibre-like experience;

* Why customers should choose Kiwi over a 4G or 5G fixed-wireless solution;

* The technical innovations Vox took advantage of to get the speed and reliability Kiwi offers its customers;

* How Kiwi behaves in disruptive scenarios such as thunderstorms;

* The various tiers customers can subscribe to and the speeds they offer;

* The kind of spectrum Kiwi uses and how it does so efficiently;

* The installation process and the hardware involved; and

* Why the name Kiwi was chosen and its relevance to wireless technology.

Don’t miss in an interesting discussion! TechCentral

Access to stable, reliable, high-speed internet is crucial to participating in the modern economy. Although fibre connectivity offers the highest speeds and reliability, fibre penetration rates unfortunately remain relatively low in South Africa, leaving may would-be customers wanting.

Vox recently launched Kiwi, a wireless connectivity solution promising a fibre-like experience with speeds of up to 200Mbit/s. In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+, Theo van Zyl, head of wireless at Vox, provides more details about the Kiwi service and how it works.

Van Zyl delves into:

* The rationale behind building a wireless service that offer a fibre-like experience;

* Why customers should choose Kiwi over a 4G or 5G fixed-wireless solution;

* The technical innovations Vox took advantage of to get the speed and reliability Kiwi offers its customers;

* How Kiwi behaves in disruptive scenarios such as thunderstorms;

* The various tiers customers can subscribe to and the speeds they offer;

* The kind of spectrum Kiwi uses and how it does so efficiently;

* The installation process and the hardware involved; and

* Why the name Kiwi was chosen and its relevance to wireless technology.

Don’t miss in an interesting discussion!

In this thought-provoking episode of TechCentral's TCS+, Mpho Chitapi sits down with Dr Josefin Rosén, principal trustworthy AI specialist in SAS's Data Ethics Practice and co-author of the influential report Constraint to Capability: Flipping the Narrative on AI in the Global South.

What unfolds is a rich conversation that challenges long-held assumptions about Africa's role in the global AI ecosystem — and reframes governance, ethics and constraint not as obstacles but as strategic advantages.

The discussion explores how deeply regulated environments sharpen one's appreciation for integrity, accountability and human impact — principles that are now indispensable in the design of trustworthy AI systems. This sets the tone for a broader conversation on why governance-by-design, representative data and bias mitigation are not "nice-to-haves" but foundational to sustainable AI adoption, particularly for public-facing systems operating in diverse and unequal societies.

A central theme is "flipping the narrative" — moving away from the idea that the Global South must simply catch up, and instead recognising its unique opportunity to shape AI differently. Rosén offers compelling insights into Africa's position as the youngest continent, cautioning that demographic advantage alone does not automatically translate into leadership. The discussion interrogates what must change — across policy, education, data strategy and governance — for Africa's youth dividend to become real AI leadership, and why the window to do so is open but narrow.

Listeners are taken deeper into Africa's distinct AI opportunity set: smaller, more context-specific language models; mobile-first innovation; and the potential to build systems that are locally relevant, linguistically inclusive and ethically grounded from inception. Rosén underscores that when AI systems — especially those interfacing directly with the public — are not sufficiently representative of the people and environments they serve, trust erodes quickly. Integrity, reliability and contextual relevance are therefore not abstract principles but practical necessities for AI systems that aim to endure and scale responsibly.

The episode closes by exploring practical use cases and forward-looking responsibilities, asking who must do what next — from policymakers and universities to business leaders and technologists — if Africa is to seize this moment. The conversation leaves listeners with a powerful message: the future of AI in the Global South will not be determined by scale alone but by the choices made now around governance, representation and trust.

Don't miss it! TechCentral