TechCentral

The big mobile network operators in South Africa “have never shown a willingness to … accommodate smaller players”, so the notion that they should be entitled to “Fair Share” is “difficult to swallow for smaller operators who have been at the end of their [unfair] business practices”.

That’s the view of Dominic Cull, a leading specialist South African ICT lawyer and regulatory adviser to the Internet Service Providers’ Association (Ispa), who was speaking to the TechCentral Show (TCS) in an interview (published below).

Cull’s criticism of Fair Share – at least in the form being advanced by the large telecoms operators – comes as the Association of Comms & Technology (ACT), a lobby group that represents the country’s largest telecoms providers, agitates for its adoption by policymakers in South Africa.

Fair Share is an idea that has gained traction among operators in Europe, where margins have been pressured in a competitive market. They argue that so-called OTT – “over the top” – companies, which include streaming video providers such as Netflix, Disney+ and TikTok, should contribute a “fair share” to the development of broadband infrastructure.

Critics have said this is simply a move by infrastructure providers, which have experienced margin compression with the move from voice to data services, to try to claw back lost profits.

Speaking at last month’s Datacentrix Showcase 2024 event in Sandton, ICT industry stalwart Andile Ngcaba – who founded Convergence Partners – said the move by ACT to pressure policymakers and regulators over “Fair Share” is not needed or wanted in the South African context.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” said Ngcaba, who is a previous policymaker in South Africa and who served as director-general of communications in the Nelson Mandela administration.

In the interview with TCS, Cull echoed this view and said ACT’s lobbying for Fair Share is partly aimed at “catching the ear” of newly appointed communications minister Solly Malatsi and influencing what is included in forthcoming amendments to legislation that governs the ICT sector in South Africa.

In this episode of TCS, Cull chats about:

• Whether ACT has a point about Fair Share;

• How big content players impact smaller operators and internet service providers, and why the call for Fair Share is coming from the industry’s biggest players;

• The investments by the OTT players in both terrestrial and subsea fibre infrastructure, including Google’s investment in the Equiano cable and Meta Platforms’ involvement in 2Africa;

• Whether mobile network operators doomed to become low-margin “dumb pipes” like other utility industries. Can they somehow avoid that fate?

Don’t miss the discussion, and if you enjoyed it, check out our December 2023 interview with Dominic Cull on Starlink in South Africa.

What does it take to build and maintain South Africa’s largest wholesale telecommunications network? Robert Jorge, chief network officer at Openserve, unpacks what is involved in this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+.

In the latest in a five-part series of interviews with Openserve executives – you can find the other episodes in the series here – Jorge shares what is involved in building a modern telecoms network and how the company makes the technology decisions it does.

Jorge unpacks:

• What sets the Openserve network apart from other networks in South Africa;

• What the network looks like – from fibre to the home to national backhaul routes to international subsea cables;

• How Openserve’s network teams measure success – including a look at how the company measures reliability and how it achieves high availability through network design principles;

• The project to remove legacy copper infrastructure – which is outdated, expensive and prone to theft – from the Openserve network;

• The impact of load shedding and load reduction on the company’s infrastructure, and what it has done to cope with unreliable electricity supply; and

• What advances in technology mean for the future of the Openserve network – and what this means for businesses and consumers.

It is a fascinating discussion – do not miss it! TechCentral

What does it take to build and maintain South Africa’s largest wholesale telecommunications network? Robert Jorge, chief network officer at Openserve, unpacks what is involved in this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+.

In the latest in a five-part series of interviews with Openserve executives – you can find the other episodes in the series here – Jorge shares what is involved in building a modern telecoms network and how the company makes the technology decisions it does.

Jorge unpacks:

• What sets the Openserve network apart from other networks in South Africa;

• What the network looks like – from fibre to the home to national backhaul routes to international subsea cables;

• How Openserve’s network teams measure success – including a look at how the company measures reliability and how it achieves high availability through network design principles;

• The project to remove legacy copper infrastructure – which is outdated, expensive and prone to theft – from the Openserve network;

• The impact of load shedding and load reduction on the company’s infrastructure, and what it has done to cope with unreliable electricity supply; and

• What advances in technology mean for the future of the Openserve network – and what this means for businesses and consumers.

It is a fascinating discussion – do not miss it!

Super Group, the New York-listed parent of Betway and other online betting brands, has achieved significant gains in efficiency and productivity through its partnership with Workday, the cloud-based enterprise software company.

The company has deployed Workday’s software, and Neil Greybe, its human resources information systems manager, tells TechCentral’s TCS+ business technology show about how it has derived significant value from the investment – including in improved consistency, simplification, integration, prioritisation and change management.

Greybe is joined on this episode of TCS+ by Workday South Africa MD Kiv Moodley, who expands on the relationship between the two companies.

In the discussion, the two chat about:

• Greybe’s role at Super Group and the company’s focus areas;

• Workday’s presence in South Africa and its strategic priorities for this market;

• The vision and strategy for Workday, and how that ties in with the Changemakers theme of this series of TCS+ interviews with Workday and its clients;

• Greybe’s top priorities in his role at Super Group, and how these tie in with the role technology can play in supporting and growing the business;

• Super Group’s relationship with Workday and how the company uses the software in its day-to-day operations;

• The value that Super Group has derived from its investment in Workday; and

• Workday’s role as a “trusted adviser” to its clients, including Super Group.

Don’t miss a great discussion! TechCentral

Super Group, the New York-listed parent of Betway and other online betting brands, has achieved significant gains in efficiency and productivity through its partnership with Workday, the cloud-based enterprise software company.

The company has deployed Workday’s software, and Neil Greybe, its human resources information systems manager, tells TechCentral’s TCS+ business technology show about how it has derived significant value from the investment – including in improved consistency, simplification, integration, prioritisation and change management.

Greybe is joined on this episode of TCS+ by Workday South Africa MD Kiv Moodley, who expands on the relationship between the two companies.

In the discussion, the two chat about:

• Greybe’s role at Super Group and the company’s focus areas;

• Workday’s presence in South Africa and its strategic priorities for this market;

• The vision and strategy for Workday, and how that ties in with the Changemakers theme of this series of TCS+ interviews with Workday and its clients;

• Greybe’s top priorities in his role at Super Group, and how these tie in with the role technology can play in supporting and growing the business;

• Super Group’s relationship with Workday and how the company uses the software in its day-to-day operations;

• The value that Super Group has derived from its investment in Workday; and

• Workday’s role as a “trusted adviser” to its clients, including Super Group.

Don’t miss a great discussion!

Former Britehouse CEO Scott Gibson was recently appointed as chief executive of enterprise asset management company Pragma. He is the guest in this episode of the TechCentral Show (TCS).

Gibson, who also previously headed Dimension Data’s (now NTT Data’s) global digital practice, tells TCS about his appointment and why he decided to join Pragma, which develops a software platform in South Africa that it exports to companies around the world. Gibson plans to step up that internationalisation effort as CEO.

“Pragma’s software competes comfortably with the world’s top brands, such as SAP, Maximo and IFS Ultimo. I plan to use my experience growing software businesses to help Pragma achieve its international expansion goals,” he says.

Co-founder and outgoing CEO Adriaan Scheeres, who led Pragma for 34 years, will remain a shareholder and member of the board.

In the interview, Gibson chats about:

• Pragma’s history and what it does;

• The size of the business, and the opportunities he sees abroad for the company;

• Its clients;

• The trends in the enterprise software market; and

• The application of artificial intelligence.

Don’t miss the conversation! TechCentral

Former Britehouse CEO Scott Gibson was recently appointed as chief executive of enterprise asset management company Pragma. He is the guest in this episode of the TechCentral Show (TCS).

Gibson, who also previously headed Dimension Data’s (now NTT Data’s) global digital practice, tells TCS about his appointment and why he decided to join Pragma, which develops a software platform in South Africa that it exports to companies around the world. Gibson plans to step up that internationalisation effort as CEO.

“Pragma’s software competes comfortably with the world’s top brands, such as SAP, Maximo and IFS Ultimo. I plan to use my experience growing software businesses to help Pragma achieve its international expansion goals,” he says.

Co-founder and outgoing CEO Adriaan Scheeres, who led Pragma for 34 years, will remain a shareholder and member of the board.

In the interview, Gibson chats about:

• Pragma’s history and what it does;

• The size of the business, and the opportunities he sees abroad for the company;

• The firm's clients;

• The trends in the enterprise software market; and

• The application of artificial intelligence.

Don’t miss the conversation!

Openserve, South Africa’s biggest telecommunications infrastructure provider, has been through enormous changes in the nine years since it became a separate brand and a subsidiary of the Telkom Group in 2015.

In the latest podcast in a five-part series of interviews with Openserve executives, the company’s CEO, Althon Beukes, tells TechCentral’s TCS+ about these changes and what they have meant for the company and the broader market, including its internet service provider partners.

Beukes provides an overview of these changes, including the recent spinoff of Openserve into a separate subsidiary within Telkom.

In the interview, Beukes reflects on:

• The changing dynamics of the telecoms infrastructure market in South Africa;

• Why there’s been a slowdown in the roll-out of fibre-optic networks;

• How Openserve is performing considering the broader market context;

• How load shedding and load reduction have impacted Openserve, and the investments it has made to overcome the challenge;

• The shift away from legacy copper technologies and the big growth in next-generation services, and what’s driving that demand;

• The potential for industry consolidation – and why much depends on the outcome of the ongoing Competition Tribunal investigation into Vodacom’s acquisition of up to a 40% stake in Vumatel parent company Maziv;

• What Openserve would like to see flowing from the Competition Tribunal process; and

• Openserve’s future plans, including where it’s headed in the coming years.

Do not miss a fascinating discussion – and the rest of the interviews in the series. TechCentral

Openserve, South Africa’s biggest telecommunications infrastructure provider, has been through enormous changes in the nine years since it became a separate brand and a subsidiary of the Telkom Group in 2015.

In the latest podcast in a five-part series of interviews with Openserve executives, the company’s CEO, Althon Beukes, tells TechCentral’s TCS+ about these changes and what they have meant for the company and the broader market, including its internet service provider partners.

Beukes provides an overview of these changes, including the recent spinoff of Openserve into a separate subsidiary within Telkom.

In the interview, Beukes reflects on:

• The changing dynamics of the telecoms infrastructure market in South Africa;

• Why there’s been a slowdown in the roll-out of fibre-optic networks;

• How Openserve is performing considering the broader market context;

• How load shedding and load reduction have impacted Openserve, and the investments it has made to overcome the challenge;

• The shift away from legacy copper technologies and the big growth in next-generation services, and what’s driving that demand;

• The potential for industry consolidation – and why much depends on the outcome of the ongoing Competition Tribunal investigation into Vodacom’s acquisition of up to a 40% stake in Vumatel parent company Maziv;

• What Openserve would like to see flowing from the Competition Tribunal process; and

• Openserve’s future plans, including where it’s headed in the coming years.

Do not miss a fascinating discussion – and the rest of the interviews in the series.

Herman Maritz, one half of the pair that developed the ESP load shedding app (formerly known as EskomSePush), is grateful that Eskom may finally have load shedding licked – even if that means fewer people are using the app.

Maritz, who returns to the TechCentral Show (TCS) – he was last a guest in 2021 – reflects on the past four-and-a-half months without load shedding, and what that’s meant for ESP – apart from giving himself and his business partner, Dan Southwood-Wells, to focus on other projects.

In this episode of TCS, Maritz unpacks the impact of the suspension of load shedding, what that’s meant for advertising and subscriptions on the platform, and what’s next for ESP.

He also chats about:

• How ESP is helping communities with load reduction;

• How they’re using generative artificial intelligence in the app; and

• The opportunities to launch the software in new markets.

Lastly, he reveals a few interesting statistics about ESP, including the number of times the app has been downloaded (it’s a staggering number). TechCentral