by Tech Talk | Nov 21, 2022 | Articles
A milestone towards digital inclusion has been achieved as Vodacom announces another first in South Africa, with the launch of a real-time Specific Needs and National Relay Service (NRS), which expands its offerings for Deaf, hearing- and speech-impaired customers. This further strengthens the techco’s support to persons with disabilities and its commitment to building an inclusive digital society.
“For almost two decades, Vodacom has championed the communication needs of persons with disabilities by providing access to products and services that address their challenges and help to improve their lives. The Specific Needs and NRS Centre offers an inclusive technology solution that advances our goal of empowering all South Africans and ensuring no one is left behind in the digitalisation journey. The launch of this system is another example of how Vodacom is delivering on its purpose to connect for a better future” says Takalani Netshitenzhe, Executive Director of External Affairs for Vodacom South Africa.
The NRS enables Deaf, hearing, and speech-impaired persons to contact hearing people such as family, friends and organisations, in real-time and on their own without asking a friend or someone else to make the call which impedes their independence. Registered Vodacom prepaid and postpaid customers who are Deaf and use South African Sign Language (SASL), hearing-impaired or have speech difficulties can place a call to any hearing person via specially trained Relay Officers (RO). The ROs are the central link on the call and facilitate communication between the NRS user and the called party.
Some examples of these calls include making a booking at a restaurant or an appointment with a medical doctor. More critically, the NRS provides SASL users the option to request emergency services, such as police, ambulance, traffic, sea rescue, and fire services.
The NRS enables Deaf, hearing, and speech-impaired customers to choose the type of relay service that meets the needs of their specific disability. This includes voice relay, text relay, live chat, captioned telephony relay as well as video relay. The NRS is free of charge for customers using a Vodacom SIM. As part of the NRS, Vodacom is also offering a Video Relay Service, which enables Deaf SASL customers to use video technology to communicate with hearing persons. A video call connects Deaf customers to ROs, who are South African Sign Language Interpreters (SASLIs).
For example, the SASL user connects to the SASLI on video, the SASLI re-speaks the Deaf user’s message to a hearing person using a phone while simultaneously signing the conversation to the user.
Besides the NRS, customers with various disabilities such as visual, hearing or physical impairments can access the Specific Needs Call Centre to resolve Vodacom service related queries.
In 2004, Vodacom pioneered a Specific Needs initiative to make cellular communications accessible to all South Africans, especially people with disabilities. Since then, the company has provided a wide range of products and services that help to overcome communication barriers for those with specific needs. These include devices designed for those who have visual impairments, text-based ER24 emergency services for Deaf and hard of hearing customers, and a dedicated contact centre for customers with disabilities.
“Not providing accessible call centre services denies human rights to persons with disabilities, and promotes social exclusion as they have limited ways of communicating to organisations and hearing people. With SASL proposed as the country’s 12th official language, it is imperative that more is done to bridge the real-time communications gap that currently exists,” says Desiree Hayes, Managing Executive at Vodacom South Africa.
To access the NRS, Vodacom customers can choose voice relay by calling 082 12580, or text relay by sending an SMS to 12580 or email to 12580@vodacom.co.za. There is also live chat relay and video relay available on the Vodacom WhatsApp chat (0820098624), My Vodacom App and Vodacom website https://www.vodacom.co.za/vodacom/shopping/v/specific-needs. Captioned telephony is available to customers who have devices with the Live Captions Functionality, that is able to translate a voice or speech to text.
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by Tech Talk | Nov 17, 2022 | Articles
Vodacom customers travelling overseas this festive season can now save on international roaming costs by taking advantage of the best international roaming bundles on South Africa’s leading network.
Vodacom has launched the 1GB and the 5GB Travel Data bundles with a 7-day validity, available to connect in more than 200 destinations. The 1GB data bundle is available for as little as R99, whereas the 5GB data bundle is available for R349. For customers who want the best of both worlds, data and minutes, Vodacom has introduced the ‘All For You’ bundles, available to all prepaid, top-up and contract customers. With ‘All For You’ bundles, customers have a choice between 1GB data bundled with 100 minutes for R199 or 5GB data bundled with 200 minutes for only R549.
“As a purpose-driven brand, our mission includes ensuring customers stay connected for a better future, no matter where they are in the world. At a time when our customers are feeling the pinch due to the higher cost of living, connecting them affordably and offering peace of mind as they travel overseas to see loved ones, is just one way of showing how we live our purpose,” says Johnny Dos Santos, Managing Executive of Products and Services, at Vodacom South Africa.
With Vodacom’s Travel Data bundles, a first for South Africa, customers save on data roaming costs with a fixed fee on the bundle of their choice. Customers can use these bundles every day while roaming, and for peace of mind, they will receive an alert and usage notification informing them as they are about to reach their limit.
“We have addressed a real need for travellers, particularly at this time of year and considering that many South Africans are trying to save money wherever they can. With our latest international roaming bundles customers are assured convenient and cost-effective connectivity while they are abroad,” adds Dos Santos.
To get any of these offers before travelling, customers can download the My Vodacom App [go to the ‘My Account’ tab; follow the prompts] or by using the USSD string *135*130#. Alternatively they can call the Vodacom contact centre or visit their nearest Vodacom Store.
Customers can also click here for additional information. To check worldwide roaming costs, click here.
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by Tech Talk | Nov 16, 2022 | Articles
Vodacom Group plans to roll out financial services products in its new market of Egypt, using the super app the wireless carrier is developing alongside China’s Alibaba Group.
The JSE-listed company has received approvals to buy the Egypt business from its parent, Vodafone Group, for US$2.7-billion (R46.7-billion), CEO Shameel Joosub said in an interview. Vodacom is also negotiating the terms of a mobile money licence in Ethiopia, where it will likely use the M-Pesa platform of Kenyan partner Safaricom, he said.
“We see double-digit growth in financial services for the foreseeable future,” Joosub said after Vodacom reported first-half earnings that missed analyst estimates. “In Egypt, we want to start the full Alipay platform soon, and we expect to start our mobile money services in Ethiopia by early next year.”
Africa-focused telecommunications operators have invested heavily in fintech products to boost revenue on a continent that lacks physical banking infrastructure. Vodacom’s Johannesburg-based rival, MTN Group, is working on a deal to bring strategic partners into its financial services unit. Vodacom may consider a fintech carve out, Joosub said, though no decision has been taken.
Vodacom and Alibaba’s super app, called VodaPay, enables subscribers to access a broad range of services including taking out loans, shopping online and making standard mobile payments, similar to Tencent Holdings’ WeChat.
Vodacom shares fell as much as 6.5% on Monday, the most since March 2020, after the earnings miss and a decision to cut the interim dividend. Vodacom is more than 60% owned by the UK’s Vodafone. — Bloomberg
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by Tech Talk | Nov 16, 2022 | Articles
Vodacom Business has partnered with CybSafe to offer its clients and businesses on-demand access to security awareness and training. CybSafe is well-known for its industry-leading, customisable, behavioural-science-based cybersecurity solutions. Now, Vodacom Business clients can download the CybSafe app onto mobile devices and use it to achieve cybersecurity compliance, while improving their employees’ security behaviours.
The news comes at a time when Africa’s growing networks are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks. According to INTERPOL’s 2021 African Cyberthreat Assessment Report, the South African economy lost about US $573 million (nearly R10 billion) in 2016 – more than any other country on the continent. The report goes on the note that, “South Africa had 230 million threat detections in total, while Kenya had 72 million and Morocco 71 million. In South Africa, 219 million detections were related to email threats. South Africa also had the highest targeted ransomware and Business Email Compromise attempts. The exploitation of these vulnerabilities within South Africa was further highlighted by Accenture, who identified that South Africa has the third highest number of cybercrime victims worldwide.”
Vodacom’s move, which effectively puts cybersecurity at the fingertips of millions, will undoubtedly be welcomed by security professionals across the country. A step above traditional Security Awareness & Training (SA&T), the platform educates, nudges, and provides real-time security support, doing away with the tick-box exercises that have dominated the security industry for decades. Backed by behavioural science and powered by SebDB, the world’s most comprehensive security database – another CybSafe innovation – CybSafe’s approach reliably measures and reduces human-related cyber risk.
“At Vodacom Business, we understand that organisations of all sizes are facing enormous challenges in today’s business climate, including the proliferation of cyberattacks,” comments Kabelo Makwane, Managing Executive for Cloud, Hosting and Security for Vodacom Business. “As a leading technology provider and trusted digital provider to businesses, we are excited about this partnership. This will enable us to offer on-demand access to much needed security awareness and training to millions of users.”
CybSafe CEO and founder, Oz Alashe, expressed his confidence in the value this collaboration will bring: “Our new partnership with Vodacom Business will provide organisations in South Africa with access to CybSafe. This will help organisations reduce risk and improve people’s security behaviours. Unlike other platforms, CybSafe works to change people’s behaviour, turning employees into an organisation’s greatest defence – while empowering them with the knowledge and skills to detect and spot attacks before they cause harm. We are delighted to be a strategic partner for Vodacom Business.”
The partnership represents one of the first in SA’s telecommunications sector and comes shortly after the enforcement of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), giving South African businesses of all sizes access to the tools they need to prove cybersecurity compliance, while measuring and changing risky security behaviours.
Editor@tech-talk.co.za
by Tech Talk | Nov 15, 2022 | Articles
The Vodacom group reports that revenue of R53,7 billion for the six months ended 30 September 2022 was up 7,7%, supported by normalised growth of 5% and rand depreciation against a basket of international currencies.
Group service revenue growth was 7,2% in the period, with normalised growth accelerating to 4,9% in the second quarter.
Muted EBITDA growth of 0,6% (-1,8%) to R20,2-billion impacted by one-off factors and higher energy and network costs.
Financial services customers were up 10,2% to 63,1 million, including Safaricom on a 100% basis.
Headline earnings per share declined 9,5%, impacted by start-up losses in Ethiopia and higher finance costs as interest rates normalised to pre-Covid levels.
Net debt to EBITDA at 1.1 times reflects spectrum acquisition in South Africa and elevated network investment.
Shameel Joosub, group CEO of Vodacom, comments: “Despite ongoing financial market volatility and weaker prospects for the global economy, Vodacom Group’s resilient
revenue performance in the first quarter continued into the second quarter, evidenced by the 7,7% increase in group revenue to R53,7-billion in the first half of the current financial year.
“The war in Ukraine, which followed hard on the heels of a global health crisis, continues to result in increased inflationary pressures and elevated living costs in many countries across the world, including markets where Vodacom operates.
“Vodacom has attempted to absorb considerable inflationary costs from the dramatic increase in energy costs as far as possible and, as a purpose-led organisation, has sought to accelerate various initiatives to deliver even greater value to financially strained customers.
“These efforts, coupled with expected start-up costs associated with the recent launch in Ethiopia of a national telecommunications network through Safaricom Ethiopia, in which Vodacom holds a minority and which is accounted for as an associate, contributed to a 9,3% decline in earnings per share,” Joosub says.
“Encouragingly, the fact that it was recently announced that Safaricom Ethiopia will be awarded a financial services licence is expected to accelerate our ambition to transform lives in Africa’s second most populous country. We have already launched our network in 16 cities in Ethiopia with plans to expand services to 25 cities by April 2023, to reach our first milestone of 25% population coverage.
“We continue to transform lives in South Africa where we were recognised as a level one Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) contributor for a fourth consecutive year and remain one of the JSE’s most transformed companies,” Joosub adds. “As Vodacom Group, we continue to make good progress in addressing climate change. In our role as a partner of the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference hosted in Egypt earlier this month, we reaffirmed our pledge of halving the Group’s environmental impact by 2025.
“One of our many purpose-led initiatives which I am particularly proud of is our mobile healthcare programme in Tanzania called ‘m-mama’, a service that provides emergency transport for pregnant and post-partum women,” he says. “Tanzania has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, many of which could be prevented by reducing delays in receiving care. ‘M-mama’ is expected to save the lives of around 9 000 mothers and babies over the next five years. It is estimated that the service has already helped reduce the maternal mortality rate by 30% in the Lake Zone region in Tanzania, showcasing what the right partnerships and digital solutions can achieve.”
During the six months, Vodacom attracted an additional 3 million customers, bringing the total to a 132,6-million.
Our efforts to deepen financial inclusion continue to thrive, supported by the double-digit increase in financial services customers to 63,1-million (including Safaricom on a 100% basis),” Joosub says. “We are Africa’s leading fintech player measured by a processed transaction value of $355,2-billion over the last 12 months, up 17,6%.”
Accelerated growth of 39,3% in the second quarter saw M-Pesa revenue end the six-month period 25,2% higher at R3 billion, accounting for nearly a quarter of Vodacom’s International service revenues. In addition to M-Pesa’s recovery, strong data growth and foreign exchange tailwinds largely contributed to the 17,9% growth in service revenue from International operations to R12,6 billion.
“In South Africa, we invested R5,8-billion in our network – the most in a six-month period – to further enhance the customer experience at a time when the country experienced record levels of power outages,” says Joosub. “In the past two years, we invested over R2 billion in batteries alone to enhance the resilience of our network so that we keep customers connected during extended periods of load-shedding.
“At the same time, we continue to work closely with Eskom to find a renewable energy solution for the benefit of our planet and customers, having announced in September 2022 an in-principle agreement with South Africa’s energy utility to pilot a programme that would see Vodacom South Africa source its electricity from renewable independent power producers and contribute this into the national grid.”
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