ADSL on its last legs in South Africa

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  By   Daniel Puchert Partially state-owned telecommunications company Telkom announced in its financial results for the year ending 31 March 2025 that its ADSL subscribers had more than halved to under 30,000. According to the company’s operational data, ADSL lines decreased from 64,959 in March 2024 to 29,770. This 54.2% decline highlights that the legacy broadband technology is slowly approaching the end of the road. Telkom’s ADSL business peaked at the end of March 2016 with 1.01 million subscribers — two years after fibre upstart Vumatel  broke ground in Parkhurst . What followed was a sharp decline in Telkom ADSL subscribers. Customers connected to its copper networks decreased by more than 500,000 over the next four years. This was partly driven by Telkom itself, which began actively switching off its copper network in some neighbourhoods. If it did not have fibre in the area, it would offer a “fixed line lookalike” wireless service that ran over its cellular ...
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Microsoft to reopen headquarters, step up in-person work worldwide

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 BUSINESS REPORT

INTERNATIONAL
Microsoft said it would start reopening its headquarters offices next week and implementing a ’hybrid workplace’ that brings back more employees around the world after a year of remote work during the pandemic. Picture: IANS
Microsoft said it would start reopening its headquarters offices next week and implementing a ’hybrid workplace’ that brings back more employees around the world after a year of remote work during the pandemic. Picture: IANS

Microsoft to reopen headquarters, step up in-person work worldwide

By AFP Time of article published Mar 22, 2021

INTERNATIONAL - Microsoft said on Monday it would start reopening its headquarters offices next week and implementing a "hybrid workplace" that brings back more employees around the world after a year of remote work during the pandemic.

The move is the first formal reopening plan to be announced by Big Tech firms which have kept most employees on remote work where feasible during the past year.

"Our approach is data-driven and research-backed," said a tweet from the tech giant which employs some 160,000 people worldwide.

"As of today, after over a year in which most Microsoft employees have worked remotely, several of our work sites around the globe have reached a stage that meets or exceeds government requirements to accommodate more workers," executive vice president Kurt DelBene said in a blog post.

"Currently, Microsoft work sites in 21 countries have been able to accommodate additional workers in our facilities -- representing around 20 percent of our global employee population. On March 29, Microsoft will also start making this shift at our Redmond, Washington, headquarters and nearby campuses."

DelBene said the hybrid model would allow flexibility in allowing some employees to continue remotely while bringing back some to the office when conditions permit.

"At each of our global work sites, the hybrid workplace model strikes a balance, providing limited additional services on campus for those who choose to return, while supporting those who need to work remotely or feel more comfortable doing so," he said.

"Our goal is to give employees further flexibility, allowing people to work where they feel most productive and comfortable, while also encouraging employees to work from home as the virus and related variants remain concerning."

At the headquarters in the northwest state of Washington "we've been closely monitoring local health data for months and have determined that the campus can safely accommodate more employees on-site while staying aligned to Washington state capacity limits," DelBene added.

Microsoft will adjust levels of in-person and remote work at each of its locations to factor in health conditions, with various stages of reopening.

A company survey found 54 percent of employees favored a "soft open" which gives people the option to spend a portion of time in the office.

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AFP

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