Biggest SA tech stories of 2009

2009 was a particularly exciting year in telecoms with a new communications minister entering the fray, SEACOM landing to break Telkom’s SAT-3/SAFE monopoly and bandwidth prices starting to plummet.  Here are some of the biggest IT and telecoms stories from 2009.

New Communications Minister

In May this year president Jacob Zuma named Siphiwe Nyanda as the new minister of communications.  The new deputy minister of communications is Dina Pule (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/7981.html).  This came only weeks after the former Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri passed away in a Pretoria hospital (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/7651.html)

Telkom sells Vodacom; Vodacom lists on the JSE

After years of talks, negotiations and speculation Telkom finally sold its stake in Vodacom. (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/5528.html).  Vodacom listed on the JSE (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Business/8061.html ), but not before a last-minute legal battle with ICASA and Cosatu (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Business/8078.html).

MTN and Vodacom bandwidth rollover

MTN and Vodacom improved their 3G/HSDPA value proposition with bandwidth rollover, something which consumers have been asking for for years.  Pricing however remained unchanged, much to the dismay of mobile broadband subscribers.

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Cellular/7455.html

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Broadband/7600.html

Jannie van Zyl takes over at iBurst

In a surprise move Alan Knott-Craig Junior resigned as iBurst MD in April (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Business/7734.html).  An even bigger surprise was Jannie van Zyl – well known on MyBroadband as Vodacom3G – taking over as iBurst group CEO to the delight of the local broadband community (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Business/8414.html)

SEACOM launches

The long awaited SEACOM cable was officially launched in August after eighteen months of feasibility studies and shareholder agreements, a nine month marine survey and a nineteen month cable construction period.

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/8904.html

ADSL price drops

ADSL data prices have hovered around the R70 per GB mark for years, but a few service providers like G-Connect, Vox Telepreneur and Afrihost are shaking up the market and have dropped the new standard rate to below R50 per GB (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/ADSL/10825.html)

Internet Solutions, DigiChilli, SAOL and Screamer Telecoms also shook up the uncapped ADSL market with services priced from as low as R300 per month.  This is mostly a result of lower international bandwidth prices brought about by SEACOM (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/ADSL/10809.html)

Hosting bandwidth price cuts

Following the downward spiral of ADSL bandwidth pricing after SEACOM’s launch, hosting bandwidth prices also started falling with Hetzner, Afrihost and Web Africa leading the way. 

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/9009.html

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/9499.html

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/10714.html

Interconnect battle

In what many saw as the strongest unified effort yet to drive down telecoms prices, the Department of Communications, Parliament, ICASA, industry players, consumers and the media all played a role in ensuring the peak mobile termination rates were reduced from R1.25 per minute to 89c per minute. 

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/10417.html

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Cellular/10544.html

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Cellular/9957.html

Some observers however argue that this was merely a backlash to Telkom’s sale of Vodacom, which was unsuccessfully opposed by ICASA and Cosatu, in which a few Mbeki loyalists made millions. 

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Business/9761.html

Gaming console pricing wars

When Sony acknowledged the existence of the PlayStation 3 Slim model in August – and revealed that it would significantly decrease prices across its console range – the gaming market was thrust into a console pricing war. Both Nintendo and Microsoft responded by reducing pricing on their respective consoles and announcing new bundle packages to be released in time for the holiday season.

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Gaming/9754.html

Windows 7 launched

Microsoft released its much-anticipated Windows 7 operating system in South Africa in October. Along with the OS, Microsoft also announced the release of a new range of Windows phones, which it believes will further boost its growing presence in the local mobile sector.

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Software/10148.html

Google Android Phones

Vodacom and MTN launched the HTC Magic and HTC Dream smartphones – aka Google Phones – in South Africa.  Google announced late this year that it is planning a ‘true’ Google Phone.

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Cellular/8009.html

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Cellular/7881.html

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Cellular/8016.html

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Cellular/10835.html

The non-event of pay-TV competition

Telkom has managed to avert the winding up of Telkom Media by selling its 75% interest in and claims against Telkom Media to Shenzhen Media South Africa – and it is renamed Super5Media.  Despite a lot of noise and promises MultiChoice/DStv continues to enjoy its monopoly in the local pay-TV arena.

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/7929.html

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/10369.html

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/10724.html

Biggest tech stories of 2009 – do you know of any other ones?