PlayStation 3 flop?

The PlayStation 3 gaming console launched this week in SA, without much fanfare and hype. Officially it hit the shelves in the early hours of this morning, but it seems local distributors haven't exactly flooded the market.

However, Budget Technologies owner Shannon Rogotzki, whose company is one of the PS3 resellers, says only 5 000 units have been brought into the country. This was confirmed by another source, who attended the media launch earlier in the week.

The word is there may be a shortage, although more consoles are expected in SA quite soon.

So why does David Hadassin, CEO of Ster-Kinekor Games, the official and primary importer and distributor, refuse to reveal the stock numbers?

Statistics revealed by ITWeb this week show the contribution of SA's telecoms sector to gross domestic product (in percentage terms) has remained unchanged from that of three years ago.

Analyst house BMI-TechKnowledge says telecoms revenue last year stood at R103 billion, or 6% of the country's R1.65 trillion GDP, the same percentage as 2003.

If the operators are not growing faster than our economy in general, then perhaps our phone network operators aren't ripping us all off quite as much as we think.

One of these operators, Vodacom, came under fire this week for allegedly using 'spy' tactics to dismiss a staff member. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) claims Vodacom dismissed Portia Sithole after monitoring "her location using her mobile telephone".

These allegations come at a bad time for Vodacom, in terms of staff relations, since the union is preparing to down tools and strike. The Labour Court has requested additional time to rule on whether the CWU strike should be allowed to go ahead.

The union alleges Vodacom dismissed Sithole after she took sick leave, but then attended a union meeting - the location at which her cellphone was tracked.

The word is there may be a shortage, although more consoles are expected in SA quite soon.

Dave Glazier, journalist, ITWeb

JSE-listed fleet management tech firm Digicore landed four tenders worth a sizeable R300 million over the next three years.

The contracts are still awaiting final signature and the details haven't been revealed. However, the news sparked a surge in share activity on Monday, when the announcement was made, and the share price increased from 515c, to 600c, during the week.

Sentech has confirmed the roll-out of digital broadcast infrastructure is progressing well, having begun the process last year.

The first switch-on is scheduled for 1 November 2008, which will allow for a three-year phase-in period of double illumination, when broadcasters will distribute analogue and digital signals simultaneously, says communications department spokesman Albi Modise.

T-Systems SA confirmed this week that a high-level heads of agreement is in place to secure an anchor partnership for the provision of technology solutions and infrastructure for the 2010 World Cup.

"We are talking to potential partners, but the anchor partnership is in a fairly advanced stage of being finalised," says T-Systems' GM for business development and strategy Gert Schoonbee.

Few would contest the argument that, since T-Systems did such a great job at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, it should also be heavily involved in our event.