Global Tech - Afrikan Heroes

Bitcoin Surge Defies Macro Peril

February 26, 2023

The concern that bitcoin and other tokens should be beating a hasty retreat appears unfounded as macro events seem to suggest that they’re extending their 2023 rebound.

This is amid fears about further interest rate hikes; a fizzling US stock rally and a US crypto crackdown all suggest bitcoin and other tokens should be beating a hasty retreat. Instead, they’re extending their 2023 rebound.

Bitcoin’s year-to-date gain has now reached 50% after a further jump in February, contrasting with a retreat in global equities this month courtesy of a macroeconomic environment replete with growth and inflation concerns.

This divergence has dented a positive correlation between shares and crypto that sprouted in the pandemic. A 40-day correlation between bitcoin and the S&P 500 has slid below 0.3 to the lowest since 2021 from a May record above 0.8. A reading of 1 implies assets are fluctuating in lockstep and minus 1 signifies the opposite.

This divergence has dented a positive correlation between shares and crypto that sprouted in the pandemic

Other relationships have shifted, too: a once deeply negative 40-day correlation between bitcoin and a dollar gauge is rapidly disappearing, while January’s tight tie between treasuries and the largest digital asset has dissipated.

“Crypto has been decoupling from traditional assets in 2023” and “crypto-specific events increasingly drive the market”, digital-asset research company Kaiko wrote in a note.

An array of assets including digital tokens surged in January, but the risk rally outside of crypto snapped this month as data including strong US jobs figures dashed hopes for an imminent peak in borrowing costs.

Crypto is outpacing traditional assets as a result. The S&P 500 has returned a smidgen over 6% this year, the Nasdaq 100 almost 13% and gold about 1%. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 100 Index of leading tokens is up 40%.

Endogenous drivers

Some commentators contend that endogenous drivers in the digital-asset industry are influencing speculative bets on tokens. Hong Kong, for instance, stirred optimism by pivoting in October to a pro-crypto stance and on Monday outlined a plan to allow retail investors to trade larger coins.

Adam Farthing, an analyst at crypto market maker B2C2, said 59% of flows from the Asia-Pacific region were buyers, compared to 55% in Europe and the Middle East, and slight selling pressure from the US where regulators have turned up the heat on the sector in the wake the collapse of the FTX exchange.

Another crypto theme is the next upgrade of the ethereum blockchain — the biggest commercial highway in the virtual-asset industry. The so-called Shanghai upgrade will allow investors to withdraw ether coins they had locked up to help operate the network in return for rewards, a process called staking.

Smaller tokens from applications that try to make it easier to harness staking rewards have surged. Examples include Lido DAO and Rocket Pool’s RPL, which are up 200% and 150% respectively in 2023, according to data from CoinGecko.

Innovation “will allow crypto to decouple from traditional markets,” said David Moreno Darocas, research lead at market intelligence firm CryptoCompare.

So-called halving events — set intervals where the rewards paid out to crypto miners are slashed by 50%, reducing the new supply of tokens — are also rippling through digital-asset markets. The litecoin token’s halving is due in coming months and it has gained about 35% this year. Bitcoin’s halving is expected in 2024.

“Unless there is a material escalation in macro instability, we expect crypto to revert to be driven by sector-specific factors,” said Richard Galvin, co-founder of fund manager Digital Asset Capital Management.

Crypto correlations can turn on a dime and some argue bitcoin has surfed a short squeeze and is vulnerable to rising rates. Higher borrowing costs and a series of blowups lopped $1.5-trillion off the market value of digital tokens last year.

Many investors remain wary, but those who are interested are coming off the sidelines and appear to be “buying for price appreciation and diversification”, said Alkesh Shah, head of crypto research at Bank of America.

Retail-investor demand is helping, added JPMorgan Chase & Co strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou. “This positive retail impulse year-to-date is naturally more dominant in crypto given the absence of institutional investors at the moment” post-FTX, he said.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Tether Tightens Grip Over Unstable World of Stablecoins

February 23, 2023

Alex Miller, CEO at bitcoin developer network Hiro

The world of stablecoins is suddenly looking shaky. Seismic shifts may be afoot in the US$137-billion market after New York-based Paxos Trust Company, which mints Binance’s stablecoin, said it would cease issuing new BUSD tokens after US regulators labelled the asset an unregistered security.

The US move has left investors questioning the future shape of the market for stablecoins, tokens that are usually backed by traditional assets like dollars and US treasuries to tame the wild swings that characterise cryptocurrencies.

The immediate impact hasn’t been negative for the stablecoin market as a whole, though; it’s actually seen its total value grow by $2-billion since the Paxos announcement on 13 February.

There’s way too much demand for dollar-based stablecoins for them to go away

“There’s way too much demand for dollar-based stablecoins for them to go away,” said Alex Miller, CEO at bitcoin developer network Hiro.

Instead rivals are vying to cash in on the woes of BUSD, the world’s third biggest stablecoin, whose market value has shrunk to $12.9-billion from $16.1-billion, with its market share narrowing to 9.4% from 12.1%, according to CoinGecko.com.

Market leader tether (USDT) has been a big beneficiary, adding $1.9-billion to its market capitalisation to hit $70.3-billion since the news. It now commands 52.6% of the stablecoin market, up from just over 51%.

Circle’s USD coin, the second biggest stablecoin, edged up over $700-million to $42-billion, lifting its market share to 31.3% from 30.9%.

‘And tether wins’

Stablecoins are a key part of the cryptosphere, with their steadier value meaning they’re used to facilitate transfers between cryptocurrencies or into regular cash. Traders also use these tokens to hedge their positions, and hence dwindling market value is associated with falling liquidity and leverage in the broader crypto market.

Markus Thielen, head of research and strategy at crypto firm Matrixport, said the Paxos announcement and subsequent slump in BUSD had caused a big shift in the stablecoin market. “And tether wins.”

Broader crypto market impact also seems to have been contained with bitcoin rising 14% over the past week to $24 902, shrugging off worries that central banks will keep raising rates.

Among the reasons for the sanguine reaction is that BUSD is largely used to trade on Binance, the world’s largest crypto trading platform, while its usage is limited in other parts of the crypto world, according to analytics firm Kaiko.

“While BUSD is used in DeFi, it is not systemically important to the ecosystem,” Kaiko’s Riyad Carey said.

The developments around Binance’s stablecoin have also boosted trading on competing platforms; since 1 February, Binance’s bitcoin liquidity is down almost 30% while US-based Coinbase is up nearly 15%, according to Kaiko.

Daily open interest for bitcoin to BUSD perpetual swaps has dropped from over 17 000 bitcoin at the beginning of February to 13 726 bitcoin, Binance data showed, pointing to traders withdrawing bets on future prices for BUSD.

While some uncertainty remains on the impact of the US Securities and Exchange Commission ruling on other stablecoins, the market appears to have adjusted, according to some crypto players.

“This is unlikely to represent a critical large structural change to the market, for now,” said Vetle Lunde, analyst at Arcane Research. He added: “Enforcement against USDC or the non-US domiciled USDT, could have more dramatic implications.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Openserve Fibre Customers Get Big Speed Boost

February 13, 2023

Openserve, the wholesale infrastructure subsidiary of Telkom, said on Monday that it will significantly boost line speeds across its fibre-to-the-home network from 1 April. The move comes after several other fibre network operators, including Openserve’s biggest rival, Vumatel, increased line speeds and/or cut wholesale prices to Internet service providers.

Openserve will boost its entry-level line speed from 25Mbit/s down to 40Mbit/s down while also doubling upload speeds from 10Mbit/s to 20Mbit/s. A symmetrical (same speed up and down) line that previously offered 25Mbit/s will be boosted to 40Mbit/s up and down.

The only plan that won’t be upgraded is Openserve’s 500Mbit/s offering, which offers a 500Mbit/s downlink and a 250Mbit/s uplink.

Openserve did not say whether it intends adjusting the wholesale prices it charges Internet service providers. In a statement, it said only: “Price adjustments for end customers will depend on their relevant ISP and will be communicated directly by the ISP.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Huawei Unveils Flagship Mate50 Pro

January 31, 2023

The HUAWEI Consumer Business Group has announced the launch of the latest member of its flagship Mate series, the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro and celebrates the fourth anniversary of the HUAWEI AppGallery in South Africa. The HUAWEI Mate50 Pro comes equipped with a range of cutting-edge technologies, breaking new ground, and expanding the scope of what users can expect from a smartphone.

Amongst its industry-first features, the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro also packs an Ultra Aperture XMAGE Camera, which boasts the first-ever 10-scale adjustable physical aperture and the most versatile photography capabilities ever seen on a HUAWEI Mate smartphone. In terms of performance, the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro is armoured by the ultra-reliable “Kunlun Glass”, which boosts drop resistance by 10 times. The smartphone’s design represents a major step forward in smartphone aesthetics, thanks to the symmetrical Space Ring Design.

Future-facing features that elevate performance and user experience

The HUAWEI “Kunlun Glass” consists of 10 quadrillion-level nanocrystals, the result of composite ion strengthening, which make it more resilient and drop resistant as verified by the first-ever five-star glass drop resistance certification from Switzerland’s SGS. This makes the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro models the first smartphone to ever achieve this certification. The smartphone supports IP68-rated water resistance of up to 6 metres underwater, allowing it to easily handle wet and dusty environments.

The HUAWEI Mate50 Pro display provides a window into a crystal-clear world. Combined with the P3 wide colour gamut, fine-tuned colours are calibrated to ensure absolute authenticity. The smartphone comes with a 6.74-inch HUAWEI FullView Display, a screen resolution of 2616 x 1212 pixels and a high refresh rate of 120Hz and 1440Hz PWM dimming, to reduce flickering and relieve eye fatigue.

In addition, the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro packs a 4700 mAh battery within its slim body. It offers 66W HUAWEI SuperCharge wired and 50W HUAWEI SuperCharge wireless fast-charging solutions to strike an optimal balance between battery life, fast charging and portability. Moreover, with an innovative low-battery Emergency Mode that activates when the battery level falls to 1%, SuperEnergy Boosting enables the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro to extend standby time by three hours or 12 minutes of call time.

The SuperStorage feature removes duplicate files in an imperceptible way and compresses rarely used apps. This preserves up to 20GB of space (on a phone with 256GB of ROM), leaving more room for the abundance of photos and videos that today’s users capture.

The ground-breaking Ultra Aperture XMAGE camera

HUAWEI launched its very own mobile imaging brand “XMAGE” in 2022, with the goal of offering consumers a new shooting paradigm that fuses science with culture and aesthetics with technology, for an improved shooting experience. The HUAWEI Mate50 Pro features a cutting-edge Ultra Aperture XMAGE camera with a 10-size adjustable physical aperture, which incorporates key advances to the optical system, mechanical structure, imaging technology and image processing. The smart aperture adjusts to match the aperture size with the scene and shooting scenario identified in Auto mode. Switching to Professional mode allows you to manually adjust the depth of field and degree of blur.

What’s more, the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro has advanced hardware and algorithms that are deeply embedded to enhance static image shooting. The Ultra Aperture Camera comes equipped with an F1.4 large aperture, working with the XD Fusion Pro image engine and high light intake to set the image brightness, light and shadow details, as well as cold and warm comparisons to perfection.

Portrait mode applies natural background blurring to make the subject stand out from their surroundings. Night mode captures photos with highly distinct bright and dark regions, even in dimly lit environments. The periscope telephoto camera supports a zoom range of up to 200x, bringing scenes from the great beyond right in front of your eyes.

The wide-angle macro camera magnifies details from tiny worlds, presenting millimetre-level strands and dew droplets with outstanding clarity. The HUAWEI Mate50 Pro also supports macro video shooting and macro picture-in-picture (PiP) to accurately convey scenes in motion.

The first of its kind: A well-crafted classic design

In addition to the signature Mate Series design language of iconic symmetry and Space Ring Design, the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro makes use of the elegant Clous de Paris step-patterned embossing design for the first time ever, showcasing a new kind of ordered beauty that is crafted down to the last detail.

The HUAWEI Mate50 Pro has two different types of rear covers namely glass and vegan leather. The glass cover is available in two colours, Silver and Black, which gives the phone a distinct and elegant finish. The vegan leather version comes in Orange and is inspired by the radiant orange rays of the sun.

Being the first smartphone from HUAWEI to run on EMUI 13, which streamlines daily interactions with an effortless one-touch navigation, EMUI 13 introduces the Super Device SuperHub feature, which is an innovative file transfer capability. Users can simply press and hold on any text, pictures, videos and files, drag to the SuperHub’s floating window to store the files temporarily. Users can then switch to another application, select the files within the SuperHub for a seamless cut and paste. With the batch transfer capability, users can in addition use SuperHub for multi-files transfer between their smartphone, tablet and PC.

The HUAWEI Mate50 Pro comes pre-installed with HUAWEI AppGallery – the third-largest app marketplace in the world. Users can download a wide selection of global and Local apps. The HUAWEI AppGallery is available in more than 170 countries and has over 580 million active monthly users.

Launching alongside the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro, HUAWEI also introduced the new HUAWEI FreeBuds 5i and the HUAWEI MatePad SE 10.4-inch, which will be available for retail in South Africa in the coming months.

To pre-order the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro, visit the HUAWEI online store or go to selected network providers, including Vodacom, MTN, Telkom or Cell C. Pre order today in order to receive a free gift courtesy of HUAWEI.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Audi: The Philosophy Behind The Four Rings

January 30, 2023

By Kelechi Deca

Audi is a car company with a very interesting history. During its formative years, the founders went through a series of court cases to secure the brand name before setting off to focus on the business of car making.

Interestingly, the ‘all important’ brand name that they fought over, was not Audi, but Horch, named after August Horch, the key founder.

August Horch established the company A. Horch & Cie in 1899, after a series of disagreements with the Board, he left to establish another automobile company, but his former partners sued him for trademark infringement.

The German Reichsgericht (Supreme Court) ruled that the Horch brand belonged to his former company. Thus August Horch was prohibited from using “Horch” as a trade name in his new car business.

Defeated in Court, August Horch called a meeting with close business friends, Paul and Franz Fikentscher at the apartment of Franz Fikentscher where they discussed how to wriggle out of the brand name issue and get a new name for their planned motor company.

As they were deliberating at the top of their voices, Mr. Franz Fikentscher’s son who was doing his Latin assignment at the corner of the room came and interrupted their meeting. He said, “Father, wouldn’t it be a good idea to call the new company Audi as you are banned to use Horch? “Horch!” in German means “Hark!” or “hear”, which is “Audi” in the singular imperative form of “audire” – “to listen” – in Latin.

The idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting. And on 25 April 1910 the Audi Automobilwerke GmbH Zwickau was entered in the company’s register of Zwickau registration court.

Then in 1932, four different automobile engineering companies led by August Horch agreed to come together to compete in Germany’s top end luxury brand driven by a forward looking design and engineering philosophy that will anticipate what consumers dream of tomorrow, and incorporate it today. The four rings of the Audi logo each represent one of four car companies that banded together to create Audi’s predecessor company, Auto Union.

The company adopted the Four Rings which they said signifies the philosophy of progressive engineering behind the Audi marquee. The Four Rings symbolizes the amalgamation of four previously independent motor-vehicle manufacturers that share design and engineering philosophy. They are Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. These companies form the roots of what is today AUDI AG.

Audi has one of the most multi-faceted stories ever told in the history of the automobile. Thanks to his victorious involvement in the Austrian Alpine Runs, August Horch succeeded in making Audi internationally known in just a few years. Audi’s impact in the automobile industry has been legendary. It has always been ahead of others by pioneering concepts other companies are cautious to think of.

Audi was the first company to come up with the legendary quattro (all-wheel drive) technology with a drive train of viscous couplings and differentials on a fast car. Even though Subaru started the mass producing of AWD in 1972, Audi’s is quite different. Quattro means four in Italian.

Interestingly, the quattro by Audi is always written in a lower case “q” because of trade mark legal issues. Even after Volkwagen took over ownership of Audi, they were not allowed to use the term quattro on similar technology in VW cars; instead they used ‘syncro’ but later changed to 4motion.

Though many car companies have similar technology like the 4matic by Mercedes Benz, the Audi quattro remains innovative cutting edge because the manner power is shared through the diff-lock system from AWD to 4WD, where the All Wheel Drive does not have an adjustable drivetrain to make Rear Wheel Drive RWD or even 4X2.

If you have had the opportunity to drive Audi car with the quattro, and compare to other cars with the AWD especially when a slippery surface, or uneven ground calls the technology to report for duty, you’ll be in a better position to know why the quattro is said to have come before its time.

With other cars, you’d feel a drop in torque while handling a sharp corner. And you also feel that little struggle to maintain balance without tilting. Moreover, there’s always that click sound or feel of inertia as the engine is trying to distribute power to different axles.

But with Audi you don’t get these feelings. The smoothness is like slicing a knife through butter. The seamlessness with which it accelerates even on very tight bends can only come from near perfect engineering.

Over the years Audi has been led by a core philosophy of beautiful design, intelligent, state-of-the-art technology, top-of-the-line performance in every detail without a single compromise in quality. These values continue to drive Audi into the future. And also make its cars the most preferred by younger people because of its forward looking “anticipated engineering”.

Audi: Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning “Being Ahead through Technology”.

Kelechi Deca, a petrolhead, cafefile, wildlife and culture writer is a development journalist.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

South Africa Records Astonishing Rise in Contactless Payments

January 25, 2023

South Africa is leading the continent in contactless payments as more than 50% of FNB customers now tap to pay at the point of sale, marking an extraordinary rise in contactless payments since the Covid pandemic struck in 2020.

FNB said on Wednesday that the use of chip-and-Pin payments, where a customer inserts their bank card into a POS terminal, is declining rapidly.

“On credit cards and Fusion accounts, card swipes account for less than 1%, while contactless is more than 60% of all transactions,” the bank said.

“Consumers have shown a strong preference for contactless payments using their contactless-enabled cards or smart devices,” said FNB Card head of spend and customer value management Ashley Saffy in a statement.

“One of the key reasons is that contactless payments are more convenient and faster than swiping or inserting your card. They also provide a higher level of security, as they use near-field communication technology, which is less vulnerable to fraud than traditional contact-driven payment methods. Additionally, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the shift towards contactless payments, as they do not require physical contact between the customer and the POS.”

South Africans are not only using their contactless bank cards for payments, but also a wide range of digital card wallets, FNB said. These include FNB Pay, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay and Swatch Pay.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Why eSim is the Future of Mobile Telephony

January 13, 2023

A new study by Juniper Research suggests that the market for electronic Sims, or eSims, will mushroom from US$4.7-billion in 2023 to $16.3-billion by 2027.

This comes after Apple launched a version of the iPhone 14 in the US that does not have a physical Sim card – Americans wanting an iPhone must provision an eSim to use the phone as the device does not have a tray for physical Sims. Apple is expected to expand its eSim-only iPhone models to more markets, including Europe, later this year.

But the real market driver will be Android, Juniper’s research suggests, as Google – known for its Android-powered Pixel devices — and Korea’s Samsung Electronics follow suit. The number of active eSims in use around the world will jump from 986 million to 3.5 billion by 2027, Juniper researchers predict.

The number of active eSims in use around the world will jump from 986 million to 3.5 billion by 2027

The move could put telecommunications operators under pressure — they’re worried about the disruptive effects of eSims on their business models. As technology awareness grows, service providers must support eSim connectivity to prevent subscriber attrition.

According to Juniper, the next evolution will be iSim (integrated Sim), which removes the embedded Sim entirely, allowing manufacturers to produce smaller connected devices.

An eSim (embedded Sim) is a type of Sim card that is built into a device, rather than being a removable card. The Sim, or “subscriber identity module”, is a small chip that stores information such as the subscriber’s mobile phone number, contact list and security credentials, allowing the device to connect securely with a mobile network.

Integrated

An eSim is designed to be integrated into a device during the manufacturing process. This can be in the form of a chip embedded in the device or a firmware-based version. Since eSims are not physically removable, it makes it easier, in theory, for users to switch mobile providers without having to replace the Sim card.

One other advantage of eSim technology is that it could help to reduce the environmental impact of mobile devices. Physical Sim cards are made of plastic and are often discarded when a device is replaced, adding to the problem of electronic waste. eSims, on the other hand, have no physical components, so they don’t contribute to such waste.

eSims also have limitations. For example, not all devices support eSim, and the technology might not be available in all countries yet. In addition, they may require additional technical support and may not be compatible with certain mobile network providers.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

5G Pros and Cons

January 11, 2023

By Vishal Barapatre

Fast internet throughout South Africa is key to many benefits, including the ability to work remotely in remote areas, increased access to education and technology, and more. Increased bandwidth speeds are essential, as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) takes us into a more connected and digitised future. Fast Connectivity has become a basic need, and the adoption of 5G is critical given the faster bandwidth and lower latency it offers. However, there are complexities, pros and cons, and some concerns about health issues related to radio frequency radiation in this context. Here is an overview of the pros, cons and status of 5G in South Africa.

Why do we need 5G?

As we move forward, bandwidth is becoming of paramount importance. Fast Internet has become common place and many everyday applications rely on it. Bandwidth is also critical for new applications such as connected cars, which requires a fair amount of bandwidth to connect, and 5G would ensure connectivity while reducing latency. There are numerous applications for 5G, both at the business and personal level.

The pros

The fundamental advantage of 5G is higher bandwidth speed and lower latency. Every industry can potentially benefit from this, with connected devices and simply improving the everyday digital business processes.

There are whole new industries springing up on the back of fast internet, like the content streaming sector, which did not exist a decade ago and was only made possible by connectivity and bandwidth.

New industries and applications are constantly being innovated, which is critical for both economic growth and stability, and fast, ubiquitous Internet access is the foundation for this.

The cons

The biggest challenge currently is the need for additional infrastructure, which can be costly. 5G uses short-range frequencies and is powered by a new technology called millimetre waves (mmWave). Widespread coverage is essential for leveraging the applications of 5G, but these waves cover a much shorter distance when compared to 4G wavelengths. This, in turn, means that repeaters need to be closer together and more of them are needed, and it is not an easy technology to implement.

This leads to another challenge, which is cost. More infrastructure, which is expensive in itself, and requires complex implementation, makes 5G rollout expensive, placing a burden on telcos and infrastructure providers. Finally, there are concerns about the impact of 5G on security – as data is generated faster than usual and, often at the edge, security becomes decentralised, and lack of encryption could leave people and businesses vulnerable to cybersecurity threats.

What about health risks?

There are concerns that the close proximity of towers to each other and to residential and commercial areas will pose health risks due to the radiation emitted from the tower, which is currently being investigated in studies. There have also been studies on 5G’s predecessors and people living near base stations have confirmed an increase in cancer diagnoses. However, the studies have not confirmed and /or categorically stated that these networks are the cause. Therefore, research is important as we move into the next phases of 5G implementation.

South Africa’s 5G future

South Africa is still in the early stages of pervasive and ubiquitous connectivity. While our major cities are well-connected, much of the country still lacks connectivity, especially in rural areas. This is a massive disadvantage as we move further into 4IR and a digital world. These areas are also home to farms and mines, and these businesses would benefit immensely from connected technology.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is another area that needs fast connectivity to operate, and this network of sensors and edge devices could completely change the game for South Africa from a business and personal point of view.

In addition, connectivity will enable improved healthcare and educational opportunities. The widespread deployment of 5G can help to improve health, safety, and security in previously disconnected and underserved areas and make the benefits of technology available to all. Although more research is needed on potential health issues, the benefits of 5G rollout will help South Africa move forward and remain economically viable on a global scale.

Vishal Barapatre is the CTO, In2IT Technologies

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Direct Carrier Billing Industry Consolidates in Africa and the Middle East

December 27, 2022

The global rating of the region keeps stable at 2.8 points; 4 countries enter the DCB Index for the first time; Data shows promising DCB potential for countries such as South Africa, Morocco, UAE, Nigeria, and Congo

Evina a cybersecurity for Carrier Billing company and Telecoming ,a tech firm developing DCB experiences, released the 2022 edition of the DCB Index today. This initiative is part of the strategic alliance between the two companies to place Direct Carrier Billing at the forefront of the payments industry and reinforce their commitment to developing a transparent, secure, and stable mobile economy. The DCB Index provides insights into the Direct Carrier Billing market of countries in the Middle East and Africa region (MEA), ranking them according to their current DCB status and potential to further develop this growth-boosting mobile payment method.

Direct Carrier Billing is a payment technology that allows mobile users to pay for any service by charging the purchase to their carrier bill.

The classification ranges from 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest DCB potential. The ranking is based on 4 main factors: mobile players’ actions to prevent fraud on DCB, their bent to innovate in DCB, the country’s overall DCB penetration and the DCB growth potential.

For ready reference, the results of the Evina & Telecoming DCB Index reveal that South Africa is the leading country in the ranking, with the highest score (3.4 out of 5). All mobile operators are deploying DCB, and there is an overall increase in fraud protection compared to last year.

In the Middle East and North Africa, Morocco and UAE steal the show, surpassing last year’s leader Bahrain. Morocco (3.3) has significantly increased DCB deployment and invested in cybersecurity measures to protect this payment technology, while in UAE (3.2) all mobile operators offer end users DCB to pay for various types of services yet major organizations still have to implement adequate protection.

Nigeria (3.1) and DR Congo (3.0) follow close behind, differentiating themselves by opening more opportunities for DCB deployment and increasing their level of protection against fraud attempts on Direct Carrier Billing.

“The DCB Index seeks to provide the market with a standard indicator of an industry we know well. MEA is an extraordinarily dynamic and very mature region regarding mobile payments. In fact, the average level of innovation in DCB has increased by 13% compared to 2021 with the enlargement of new uses of this payment technology, such as sports subscriptions, that has grown considerably during the last year.”, said Roberto Monge, Chief Operations Officer at Telecoming. And he added, “we want to go along with operators and brands that wish to develop the market in a safe, sustainable, and profitable way. The countries analyzed have demonstrated their commitment to Direct Carrier Billing as a strategic growth lever for the so-called mobile economy in the region.”

David Lotfi, CEO of Evina explained that “the overall fraud prevention of mobile players across the Middle East and African region has increased by 0.2 compared to 2021, showing a collective willingness to safeguard the powerful payment tool that is Direct Carrier Billing. Businesses have yet to understand that DCB can become even more powerful than credit cards and that mobile operators already have all the advantages to elevate DCB and become the biggest fintech companies. DCB is without a doubt a major opportunity for the African continent alongside mobile money, if protected with the right cybersecurity solutions. This DCB Index has been created with the sole purpose of giving mobile players an overview of the development of DCB in the MEA region in order to better understand how to improve their business in their own country, or what conditions to consider when deploying in these countries.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

OADC Extends Africa’s Open Digital Infrastructure With Data Centres in Nigeria and South Africa

December 8, 2022

Africa’s digital transformation is being accelerated by transformational, pan-African, carrier-neutral data centre operator Open Access Data Centres (OADC), whose flagship data centre in Lekki, Lagos is now operational. The company’s rapid data centre rollout continues, with three new core facilities in South Africa and expansion of the existing OADC Durban facility. Together with OADC’s unique core-to-edge deployment in South Africa, this is enabling telcos, ISPs, cloud operators, the wholesale community and major enterprises to benefit from greater choice, a truly client focussed service experience and an extended African cloud ecosystem.

The first phase of OADC’s flagship facility, OADC Lagos, is now operational delivering customised colocation services to initial anchor tenants. Built on the largest (four hectares) single data centre (DC) campus in West Africa, OADC Lagos is a carrier neutral, Tier III, hyperscale DC designed with expansion capacity up to 20MW of site load across more than 7,200m2 of white space – sufficient for 3,200 racks. High-capacity international connectivity will be available directly from the facility as soon as the Equiano subsea cable goes live at the end of this year, and the data centre is fully interconnected to all cable landing stations and key data centres, enabling a wide range of organisations to extend their operations in Nigeria and into the broader West Africa region.

According to the OADC CEO Dr Ayotunde Coker : “OADC Lagos is our flagship data centre, offering tailored hosting/colocation solutions and high-availability interconnection to existing internet exchange points in Lagos. It also hosts the landing of Google’s 144 Terabit per second Equiano cable, delivering an open-access gateway to hyperscale international connectivity, and as such playing a crucial role in meeting Nigeria’s future international connectivity needs.

“OADC Lagos is integral to our unique, core-to-edge, open-access DC ecosystem. Key clients from the cloud and telco community have committed their expansion to OADC Lagos, while we also continue to progress our plans for nationwide deployment of core and edge DCs during 2023.”

OADC has also deployed a new core DC to serve the cloud ecosystem in Isando, Johannesburg. Configured with an initial 1,600 square metres of IT white space and up to 7MW of site load, OADC JNB1 has significant expansion capacity, enabling growth in line with client demand to 3,000 square metres and 15MW. Two new OADC DCs in Cape Town will be operational shortly, one coming online in Rondebosch in December, the second at Brackenfell in January 2023. Both facilities have been configured with an initial 1,000+ square metres of IT white space, can be scaled up to 800+ racks as demand grows and have site loads of up to 5MW and 3MW respectively.

To meet growing demand for world-class, carrier-neutral data centre services in Durban and across the wider KwaZulu Natal region, Phase 2 of OADC Durban will also be operational by mid-December 2022, adding a further 110 racks at this strategically important facility where the international 2Africa submarine cable is scheduled to land in January 2023.

Lagos is at the forefront of the growth in demand for capacity and data storage in Nigeria, which has the largest population in Africa, the largest economy and is the continent’s largest telecommunications market.

Because OADC is part of the WIOCC Group and a sister company of carriers’ carrier WIOCC, the resulting converged open digital infrastructure enables OADC clients to establish interconnectivity across Nigeria and to other key locations in Africa by taking advantage of WIOCC’s pan-African open hyperscale network infrastructure.

As well as OADC Lagos, OADC’s unique, core-to-edge, open-access DC ecosystem includes the expanded OADC Durban, two core DCs in Cape Town, one in Jo’burg and more than 30 50+ rack-capable OADC EDGE DCs across South Africa. These OADC EDGE DCs are the first phase of OADC’s African edge DC deployment, offering colocation (starting from ¼ racks), rooftop access and high-speed network interconnectivity between facilities on multiple routes and multiple 100Gbps. By mid-2023, there will also be 10+ OADC EDGE DCs in Nigeria.

By consolidating edge computing, edge DCs and hyperscale connectivity within a single ecosystem and integrating this with core DC deployment, OADC is creating an environment that enables 5G operators, ISPs and fibre providers to take advantage of business growth opportunities by rapidly and cost-effectively extending network reach into new markets.

As well as enabling operators to expand network coverage, OADC EDGE also delivers latency improvements from enabling content to be served locally, optimising end-client experience and underpinning successful rollout of new, time-sensitive applications. OADC EDGE facilities are secure and power-assured, offering enterprise clients an excellent option for off-site data storage, processing and disaster recovery. The ability to pre-process large volumes of critical data at the edge, before forwarding to larger, regional facilities, also improves efficiency and minimises network costs by optimising backhaul network expenditure.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry