Tag: Vodacom

Vodacom Launches App to Connect SA Youth to Jobs

Inquest to solve the high unemployment rate in South Africa, Vodacom, the South African mobile communications company has launched the App named Get-a-Gig to connect SA Youth to jobs.

Get-a-Gig was launched by Vodacom through NXT LVL with the goal of helping one million young people find employment or gigs within the next three years, which will be accomplished in 2024.

According to Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data, South Africa is populated by 60,793,223 people and also unemployment among young people in South Africa is among the highest in the world.

According to Vodacom, the youth unemployment rate is still shockingly high at 65.5%.

Data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) shows the country’s economy is in a precarious position. The unemployment rate rose to 35.3% in the first quarter of 2022 from 34.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Since the Quarterly Labor Force Survey (QLFS) was launched in 2008, this has been the highest.

Get a Gig

In light of these huge statistics and as part of Vodacom’s ongoing commitment to empower the South African youth, Vodacom’s Get A Gig initiative matches job seekers (youth) with job opportunities or gig opportunities within Vodacom and its partners, allowing them to Grow, Learn, and Earn while at the same time giving them the opportunity to work.

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Get-A-Gig was released as an expansion of Vodacom’s recently updated NXT LVL (pronounced next level), which is a platform designed to address the challenges that young people face by providing them with opportunities to connect with one another, learn new skills, and earn money, as well as providing them with access to the appropriate tools that will assist them in reaching their full potential.

What Vodacom is saying

Vodacom speculates that NXT LVL will also give young people the ability to navigate through their lives and into adulthood. This is particularly important at a time when young people are looking for work and unemployment is at an all-time high.

Jorge Mendes, Chief Officer of Consumer Business at Vodacom affirmed that “Our vision is to make sure that we leave no one behind, especially young people who form a critical part of the country’s future.

The launch of Get-A-Gig is yet another way that we at Vodacom strive to fight the rising youth unemployment rate,”

Furthermore, Mendes added that “As we innovate, and bring new propositions to the market, we are mindful of the challenges that are faced by consumers at large. The revamp of the NXT LVL platform and the launch of Get-A-Gig are some of the initiatives we introduced, aiming to make a meaningful difference in the lives of young South Africans”.

How to Get a Gig

Get-A-Gig is accessible for NXT LVL customers via My Vodacom and VodaPay at no cost.

Customers who are new to NXT LVL need to download the My Vodacom or VodaPay app, sign up for NXT LVL, and click on the Get A Gig tile to sign up and create a profile, search for available Gigs in their area, and apply for them.

Existing NXT LVL customers can sign up for Get-A-Gig by logging into the My Vodacom App or VodaPay super app, clicking on the Get-A-Gig tile to register and create a profile, and then searching and applying for available Gigs in their area.

July 8, 2022
Vodacom SA Commits to Using Only Renewable Energy Sources by 2025

Vodacom, a South African mobile communications firm, has committed to halving its environmental impact by 2025 and accelerating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).

As power use is the principal source of Vodacom’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the target will significantly influence the company’s commitment.

Vodacom SA will contribute to the transition to a low-carbon economy on a national scale, thereby assisting the government in achieving its Paris Agreement objective; this requires countries to reduce their GHG emissions to maintain world temperatures at 1.5°C or 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

Vodacom SA Aim For The Project

Takalani Netshitenzhe, director of external affairs at Vodacom South Africa, stated, “While we honor our mission to link the next 100 million people in Africa for a better future, we do not believe this should come at the expense of the environment.

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Our new energy consumption goal is one of the many ways we’re addressing our environmental effect, as we recognize that South Africa can only transition towards a sustainable, climate-resilient, low-emission economy if everyone does their part.

Vodacom SA will continue to invest in energy-efficient solutions, such as its 1 088 solar-powered sites, to meet its most recent energy consumption objective. In addition, procuring renewable energy through innovative Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Independent Power Producers will remain a priority.

TechCo saved 11,971 MWh of power and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 12,271 mtCO2e during the previous fiscal year by procuring 1,183,898 kWh of energy through PPAs. Moreover, Vodacom’s Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have bolstered its attempts to conserve energy.

Vodacom introduced IoT-based controls to over 7,232 of its base stations in South Africa through its subsidiary IoT.nxt, resulting in a 2.8% drop in energy consumption over the previous fiscal year.

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The Presidential Climate Commission emphasizes the urgency of transitioning to a low-emission economy that can sustainably support people and the earth (PCC). President Cyril Ramaphosa established this multi-stakeholder body in 2020 to address climate change to ensure the future sustainability of all South Africans.

May 9, 2022
Vodacom Announces Africa’s First Amazon Web Services Innovation Lab

In conjunction with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Intel, Vodacom, South African connectivity, digital, and financial services firm, has announced the opening of Africa’s first Amazon Web Services (AWS) Outposts Innovation Lab.

The laboratory will focus on accelerating technology advancements across diverse industries, delivering speedier scalability, and creating the possibility to employ infrastructure and technologies to solve business concerns, according to a statement from Vodacom.

The laboratory is designed to assist Vodacom Business enterprise and public sector customers in accelerating their digital transformation journey by allowing them to build, manage, and scale local apps utilizing AWS services and tools.

Africa’s First Amazon Web Services A Significant Distinction

The laboratory’s long-term consequence is that clients will be able to save time and money in how they manage their businesses by utilizing new technologies, as well as creating better experiences for their customers. Customers may now contact Vodacom to validate their hybrid use cases and test their workloads on AWS Outposts before deploying them in production, according to the company.

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Customers can use the laboratory in Johannesburg as a Proof of Concept (POC) configuration to test their applications and environments for performance on AWS Outposts. AWS Outposts, powered by Intel, is a fully managed offering that brings AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools to any on-premises or edge site. It allows on-premises deployment of applications with low latency, data residency, and local data processing requirements while lowering the time, resources, and operational risk associated with procuring, managing, and upgrading on-premises infrastructure.

Synergies must be brought together.

Intel is collaborating with AWS to promote the laboratory’s service and Vodacom leverages its position as an APN member to test and deliver the migration to AWS Outposts.

“This offering represents a great opportunity to meet our customer’s demands for AWS hybrid cloud on-premises and off-premises—often a barrier to cloud adoption in more regulated industries where privacy and control of sensitive data and information are important considerations,” says Kabelo Makwane, Vodacom Business Managing Executive for Cloud, Hosting, and Security.

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“While clients are increasingly seeking to cloud solutions for speedier innovation,” said Vinod Krishnan, Partner Development Lead for Europe Emerging Markets at AWS, “certain workloads need to remain on-premises where data residency is critical or where every millisecond matters.”

March 8, 2022
Intelsat extend Vodacom DRC contract for Ku-band managed cell backhaul services

Intelsat, the operator of the world’s largest integrated satellite and terrestrial network, has been chosen to provide Ku-band satellite services to Vodacom DRC, a leading mobile telecommunications company in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As part of Vodacom’s Rural Communication Solution (RCS) initiative to bring mobile services to deep rural sites in the DRC, Intelsat’s end-to-end managed CellBackhaul service will serve as an alternative backhaul service to specific sites.
Vodacom brings together available transport networks and hybrid power solutions to enhance and upgrade rural communication services as part of the “Inclusion for All” pillar of their Vision 2025 strategy. Vodacom can now extend mobile connectivity to areas where fibre or microwave backhaul networks are unavailable or unfeasible to deploy, thanks to Intelsat’s Ku-band capacity and the CellBackhaul managed service.
“We are delighted to continue working with Intelsat on their new Ku-Band managed service as an alternative backhaul solution to support our rural expansion objectives,” said Didier Kabongo, CNO of Vodacom DRC. “Expanding mobile service to the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s underserved and unserved population is a key pillar of our Vision 2025 strategy.”

CellBackhaul combines the reach and resilience of Intelsat’s largest-of-its-kind global network with network design, installation, and operation services, allowing mobile network operators to deploy services in areas where traditional terrestrial backhaul services are unavailable. A new service called CellBackhaul DRC adds to Intelsat’s managed cellular backhaul solution portfolio, which already includes platforms in the US, the EU, and Japan.
CellBackhaul managed services bring together the suitable capacity, services, and expertise to provide customers with economical alternatives to expand into difficult areas, said Intelsat’s vice president and general manager, EMEA Media and Networks Sales, Rhys Morgan. “Intelsat is committed to this critical partnership with Vodacom DRC, assisting in the delivery of solutions that fill gaps where other technologies are ineffective.”

About Intelsat

Intelsat operates the world’s biggest satellite services company, supplying a vital element of the global communications infrastructure. Compared to other commercial satellite operators, the company offers more satellite capacity, more orbital location rights, more contract backlogs, and more commercial services to more clients in more countries. Media firms, fixed and wireless telecom operators, data networking service providers, multinational enterprises, and Internet service providers (ISPs) all rely on Intelsat’s varied communications offerings. As a significant commercial satellite capacity supplier to the United States government and a small group of military organisations and their contractors, the company is well-known.

March 5, 2022
Vodacom to contest the ‘please call me’ judgment

The high court, sitting in Pretoria, has sided with Vodacom’s former employer, Nkosana Makate, regarding the “please call me” idea. The constitutional court recently decided this long-running legal battle in favour of Makate as the inventor of this idea, thereby entitled to a settlement. The judgement found that Vodacom underpaid him and must decide on a suitable figure.

According to Vodacom, “Please Call Me” is a free SMS service that allows you to send “Please Call Me” messages to other subscribers. A subscriber can send 10 such messages a day to other subscribers requesting them to call back.

According to IOL News, Vodacom’s CEO Shameel Joosub was given a month to determine the overall amount due to Makate based on the court’s issued guideline. With this judgement, it is expected that Vodacom will spend more than the previously offered R47million. This is based on the ruling by Justice Wendy Hughes that Makate is entitled to 5 per cent of the total revenue from the “please call me” over 20 years.

Nkosana Makate (source: Jacques Naude/African News Agency)

Initially, Makate has requested at least R10billion in compensation from the telecommunication company. However, Vodacom has decided to appeal the judgement. In a statement from a company’s spokesperson to TechCentral, the company has resolved to appeal based on what was viewed as an offer of good faith premised on the April 26, 2016 court order.

Makate and Vodacom

Makate is a typical town boy that grew up in Katlehong, east of Johannesburg. He started working for Vodacom in 1995 through a government effort initiative requiring telecommunications businesses to teach employees in accounting

Makate had the “please call Me” concept in November 2020 and presented it to his manager, who forwarded it on to Vodacom’s director of product development, Philip Geissler. Makate claims there was a verbal agreement with Geissler to be compensated for the idea.

The concept was launched in March 2001 as about 140 000 users took up the service on the first day. Vodacom refused to compensate Makate until he left them in 2003. However, the case reached the High court in 2014.

February 10, 2022