Field data experts are the modern day pioneers of Africa, and the means they use to provide real world verification of maps and collect road names and points of interest holds key messages for understanding your working environment, writes ETIENNE JONKER, Field Data Capture Manager for TeleAtlas Africa

When you switch on your navigation device to help get yourself from point A to point B and you reach your destination with ease, take a minute to think about how the mapping information was gathered before being displayed on your device.

With the road network changing by up to 40% annually of its coverage in terms of both new names and changed roads, one of the key challenges facing map builders is keeping data accurate and up to date. The first step in building and maintaining an accurate map involves collecting geographic information. Field teams play an essential role in providing real world verification of maps being built and in collecting attribute information such as road names, land use and points of interest.



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Posted in the category: Insight, Strategy, Technology

South Africa will need to become Internet savvy in order to compete globally, argues ADRIAAN GIE, CEO of Plusto.com, a business-to-business e-trading platform launched to the SA, Indian and Chinese markets last month.

It is time for Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri to change her stance on South Africa’s telecoms legislation.

While South Africa may be a leader in internet connectivity across Africa, the country lags behind countries such as Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria in terms of market competitiveness.

A severely controlled and conservative telecoms legislation that repels competition leads to other service providers being shut out of the market while Telkom holds South Africans at ransom by charging exorbitant connectivity fees.

For too long the Minister has stifled economic growth in South Africa by refusing private companies entry to the market. If government’s focus is on increasing trade and commerce between South Africa and the rest of the world, then this is not the way to go about it. In addition, the price of broadband in South Africa is exorbitant compared with international standards:



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Posted in the category: Economy, Technology, Trends

Telecommunications giant Ericsson will offer live demonstrations of its offerings for the next generation in wireless broadband technology, Long Term Evolution (LTE) , at AfricaCom 2008 in Cape Town next week.

A wide selection of Ericsson’s solutions will be on show at AfricaCom 2008 in Cape Town on 18 and 19 November 2008., including its ‘Full Service Broadband’, Managed Services and Multimedia Solutions, together with live demonstrations of its HSPA, Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Convergent Charging options.

“The LTE demonstration is likely to generate quite a large amount of interest this year, in particular,” observes Aingharan Kanagaratnam, senior manager: Radio Access Sales Support, market unit sub-Saharan Africa, “since it will show what people will be using this technology for and the exciting possibilities that exist when bandwidth is no longer a limitation.”



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Posted in the category: News, Technology, Trends

The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly closed in Johannesburg last week with decisions on a wide range of issues that will change the future direction of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry .
The role of information and communication technology (ICT) in climate change stands out among a range of key issues that the global telecommunications industry body has agreed to tackle in the coming years.

Members of the International Telecommunications Union, spanning the global ICT industry and administrations from across the world, asked for increased emphasis on key areas such as ICTs and climate change, the deployment of IPv6, accessibility to ICTs for persons with disabilities, conformance and interoperability testing, and encouraging academic participation in the ITU’s work.

Malcolm Johnson, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) said in his closing speech: “We have received a strong message from our members that ITU is, and will remain the world’s pre-eminent global telecommunication and ICT standards body. And we also hear very clearly that ITU should continue on its mission to connect the world, and that bridging the standardization gap - by increasing developing country participation in our work - is an essential prerequisite to achieve this goal.”



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Posted in the category: News, Technology, Trends

Part of the solution to South Africa’s skills shortage is for companies to retain key staff. Or, as Kumba Iron Ore’s HR head puts it, “You don’t want to get into a situation where skills recycling is constantly taking place, with companies poaching each other’s skilled staff”

There is a great need to move Human Resources into a position where practitioners are in a position to add value to business.

This was the key message delivered by Kumba Iron Ore general manager of HR, Fergus Marupen, at last month’s 28th Annual Assessment Centre Study Group Conference held in Stellenbosch.

Speaking at the opening session, he said : “Too often in the past HR has been relegated to a department that reports to the financial manager and not to the head of the organisation, and this has hindered its ability to attract talented people and keep them.”



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Popularity: 95% [?]

Posted in the category: Economy, Insight, Strategy