Topping the news in the ICT industry this week was Sun Microsystems` announcement that it might sell 30% of its South African operations to local black investors.
Sun`s European VP, Crawford Beveridge, and Sun`s director for sub-Saharan Africa, Vito Bonafede, have been meeting to discuss this issue. Beveridge is expected to take a proposal concerning equity ownership to the board.
This comes after Naspers sold R3 billion worth of shares in its MultiChoice and Media24 groups last week in an empowerment deal; and Sahara`s recent sale of R173 million worth of shares in another BEE initiative.
ADSL users to test IPTV
ITWeb revealed that Telkom`s Internet protocol TV (IPTV) trials would be extended into a larger "field trial" involving some of its DSL customers, at the beginning of next year. As the telco diversifies, buys an IT company, applies for a broadcasting licence, and establishes the new division of Telkom Media, it will be interesting to see what services it will provide.
Nokia peers into the future
The "next step" in Nokia`s development would be to embrace consumer Internet services.
Dave Glazier, journalist, ITWeb
Aspects of Nokia`s strategy were revealed this week at a conference in Finland, with the company looking beyond mobile telecommunications as it aims to gain a competitive advantage within the convergence space, it says. The "next step" in Nokia`s development would be to embrace consumer Internet services, said VP of corporate strategy Jarkko Sairanen.
SITA arranges conference
The State IT Agency (SITA) announced it will hold a conference, named GovTech, at the end of this month. It aims to bring together senior government officials representing all spheres of government, corporate CIOs and other local ICT industry players. Addressing the event will be Arthur Philips, CEO of CIPAL (a company partnering with SITA for certain municipal IT solutions).
MTN adds R2.7bn to Nigerian investment
Cellular group MTN announced on Tuesday it will up its stake in its Nigerian subsidiary to almost 82% by buying about R2.7 billion worth of shares. MTN Nigeria, operational since 2001, has a subscriber base of 9.6 million.
Labour department goes soft
The Department of Labour has backtracked on its threats to pursue legal action against those companies it claims did not submit their 2005 employment equity reports on time.
It seems the department is happy to settle for meetings with the firms in question.
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