Scams, fights make for interesting IT week

Monday began with news that wireless broadband provider iBurst has expanded its access to Bloemfontein, Kimberley and Nelspruit. iBurst hopes the expansion will benefit small business owners in these areas.

It`s an interesting and daring move from the small service provider, and also an honourable one when compared to the larger operators` fixation with high-density urban areas, such as Telkom`s ADSL and the cellular 3G offerings.

This week also saw details emerging of the Internet banking scam, where what is believed to be an international crime syndicate got its hands on about 50 passwords and logins of customers from two of SA`s major banks.

One man has been arrested in Cape Town, and four others understood to be closely involved in the fraud are being questioned. It seems the problem was knocked on its head before any serious damage was done - but it raises some scary questions as to what might have happened to those 50 people`s money.

It seems the problem was knocked on its head before any serious damage was done - but it raises some scary questions as to what might have happened to those 50 people`s money.

Dave Glazier, junior journalist, ITWeb

The RICA debate heated up this week, with cell operators adamant they need more time to implement government surveillance provisions that means all subscribers must be registered, in a fairly detailed manner.

Parliament`s Justice and Constitutional Committee is wafting away the complaints - saying the operators are really only concerned about the cost of the project, not about how it impacts street vendors` sale of prepaid cards.

If all subscribers (over 30 million) are not registered by 1 July 2007, the operators may be liable for a R100 000 fine each day.

Cellular operator Vodacom announced this week that it has grown its revenue by 24.6% to R34 billion. Net profit for the year was a tidy R5 billion. It looks like Vodacom is the star pony in the Vodafone stable, which has operations all over the world. Many of its other interests didn`t do so well, with the Vodafone Group reporting a full-year loss of ₤22 billion.

Yesterday we heard IBM will sign new business deals in SA worth $385 million this year - which translates into about R2.6 billion. The entire amount will be invested in local business, says the company, adding that we should look out for specifics of the deals in the coming weeks.

ITWeb also reported that Uganda`s Infocom has started rolling out a WiMax network in the country`s capital, Kampala. It aims for an 85% metropolitan coverage within the next three months - with a $250 000 investment in the network. So both Mozambique and Uganda now have WiMax, and one wonders when SA might catch up.