ADSL on its last legs in South Africa

-
Image
  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 ...
Post a Comment

Third wave is likely to be less severe, says Gauteng command council

-

 

Kgaugelo MaswenengReporter
  
07 May 2021 - 16:53
Gauteng premier David Makhura called on people to adhere to the restrictions and health protocols in all public places and at all times to avoid a third wave of Covid-19 infections. File photo.
Gauteng premier David Makhura called on people to adhere to the restrictions and health protocols in all public places and at all times to avoid a third wave of Covid-19 infections. File photo.
Image: VELI NHLAPO

The Gauteng command council says the third wave of Covid-19 infections is likely to be less severe than previous waves, provided there are no significant virus mutations and super-spreader events are avoided.

ADVERTISEMENT

Gauteng premier David Makhura said though the province won the battle of the second wave, the third wave would only be conquered if fatigue does not set it and if non-pharmaceutical interventions are followed.

The province has recorded an alarming rate of infections over the past few days.

“Our response to Covid-19 is not only to deal with the current pandemic. Our interventions will last for the next 20 years or more. We have put in place permanent structures.

“When Covid-19 first hit, the province had 1,193 beds. We now have 4,564 available beds. With regards to human resources, we are better prepared than we were in May 2020. The availability of oxygen is also a key priority,” said Makhura.

Western Cape 'on alert' as affluent areas see rise in positive tests

'What concerns us is that the average proportion of positive cases has gone up by 5% since the beginning of May,' provincial health department head ...
NEWS
1 day ago
ADVERTISEMENT

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Gauteng as of May 5 was 425,692, with 411,415 recoveries and 10,711 deaths. It was reported that 1,369 people are currently hospitalised in public and private facilities.

ADVERTISING

Makhura said past infection does not necessarily protect against mild Covid-19.

“Past infection likely confers high protection against severe Covid-19. The focus is on high-risk groups for Covid-19 vaccination as a matter of urgency.”

​

As of May 6, Gauteng had vaccinated 90,346 health-care workers under the Sisonke Protocol.

“About 61,600 vaccine doses have been allocated for phase 1b in Gauteng to complete the vaccination of healthcare workers. Phase 1b of the vaccination programme will begin on May 17 with the Pfizer vaccine. So far 235,202 people registered out of a total of 626,248 nationally,” said the command council.

In responding to the projected Covid-19 infection peak hospitalisation requirements, it was predicted the province would require 2,400 critical care beds and 7,500 general beds.

TimesLIVE

READ MORE:

Mkhize sounds third-wave warning as 'worrying trend' in Covid-19 cases emerges

'We can all play our part to ensure that this rise in infections does not turn into a third wave,' said health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize
POLITICS
1 day ago

Do the math: Western Cape gives Joe Public power to figure out third wave

While the numbers remain largely stable, upticks in affluent areas are of particular concern
NEWS
1 day ago

‘How quickly can we roll them out?’ — Health products regulator on Covid-19 vaccinations before third wave

As SA prepares for the second phase of the vaccine rollout, SA Health Products Regulatory Authority chair Prof Helen Rees says the real challenge ...
NEWS
3 days ago

RECOMMENDED

by NEWSROOM AI

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If everyone on Earth sat in the ocean at once, how much would sea level rise?

-
Image
  There are a lot of people, but the oceans are very big.   Rosley Majid/EyeEm via Getty Images If everyone on Earth sat in the ocean at once, how much would sea level rise? March 29, 2021 2.07pm SAST Author Tony E. Wong Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology Disclosure statement Tony E. Wong does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Partners Rochester Institute of Technology  provides funding as a member of The Conversation US. The Conversation is funded by the National Research Foundation, eight universities, including the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Rhodes University, Stellenbosch University and the Universities of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Pretoria, and South Africa. It is hosted by the Universities of the Witwatersrand and Wester...
Read more

Andrew Watson: The 'most influential' black footballer for decades lost to history

-
Image
  By Andrew Aloia BBC Sport Last updated on 11 October 2021 11 October 2021 . From the section Football Watson was a trailblazer who helped transform how football was played There are two murals of black footballers facing one another across an alleyway in Glasgow. One helped shape football as we know it, the other is Pele. Andrew Watson captained Scotland to a 6-1 win over England on his debut in 1881. He was a pioneer, the world's first black international, but for more than a century the significance of his achievements went unrecognised. Research conducted over the past three decades has left us with some biographical details: a man descended of slaves and of those who enslaved them, born in Guyana, raised to become an English gentleman and famed as one of Scottish football's first icons. And yet today, 100 years on from his death aged 64, Watson remains something of an enigma, the picture built around him a fractured one. His grainy, faded, sepia image evokes many differen...
Read more

Which countries have the world’s largest coal reserves?

-
Image
  Visual Capitalist Elements   | September 15, 2021 | 8:58 am   Intelligence   Australia   USA   Coal   The Countries With the Largest Coal Reserves Cheap and abundant coal remains one of the largest sources of energy worldwide, even as governments set out goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While jurisdictions in Europe and North America have been phasing out coal use in power generation, it has been on the rise in Asia. China and India are scrambling to provide electricity to a growing population and relying on coal power plants to meet demands despite the environmental costs. SIGN UP FOR THE ENERGY DIGEST Sign Up This infographic takes a look into the  BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2021 , and the 11 countries that make up  89%  of the coal reserves globally. Coal Reserves, by Country While countries need to phase out coal by 2040 to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC, consumption in key ...
Read more