Tata Communications is increasing its investment in Africa, with a specific focus on SA in light of the upcoming 2010 World Cup. In preparation for the event, Tata is putting in place a private line service between SA and Europe. ITWeb reports that this connectivity between the countries is meant to support international broadcast customers that wish to telecast the 2010 World Cup, says Tata.
Johannesburg is being transformed into a ’digital city’, resulting in reduction in the cost of telecommunications, improved service delivery and increased access to information technology. ITWeb reports that this is part of a decision by the city to use the 2010 World Cup tournament to create facilities, improve infrastructure and mobilise resources that would leave a lasting legacy for the people of Johannesburg.
The International FA Board have given the thumbs down to the introduction of goal-line technology, world soccer governing body FIFA confirmed. Sports234 reports that the decision was taken after a presentation of experiments during which cameras were placed on the goal posts and electronic chips inserted in the ball to determine if it had crossed the goal line. A unanimous decision was not reached by Board members on the technology, but according to a source close to the dossier, a majority came out in principle against its introduction.
When the new King Shaka International Airport opens its doors on May 1, it will have state-of-the-art security equipment capable of detecting everything from drugs to bombs. This emerged during an inspection of security measures at the new airport in La Mercy, outside Durban, by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa. According to a report on the News24 site, KwaZulu-Natal will use the existing Durban International Airport and the new international airport at La Mercy during the World Cup in June.
Global workplace solutions provider Regus unveiled a public access video communication (VC) network in SA last week, in preparation for the 2010 World Cup. ITWeb reports that the company, headquartered in Luxembourg and Jersey, US, says it has 49 VC centres located in a network that covers all major cities and business nodes in SA: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and Pretoria. Joanne Bushell, Regus vice-president of Middle East and Africa, says the company’s investment in expanded VC facilities is a response to growing global demand.
Google trikes make their way around SA 17/02/2010
The Google Street View Trikes arrived in South Africa in November last year, when they started collecting imagery of historic landmarks; heritage sites; scenic panoramas; and sports venues around the country. Google teamed up with South African Tourism to compile a list of 20 special locations on which the public voted. Given the global excitement building around the 2010 World Cup, the latest destinations that the three-wheeled, pedal-powered Trikes have visited include some of the new football stadiums.
Symantec has rolled out a security initiative to educate online users around cyber crime threats exploiting the 2010 World Cup, which is just four months away. ITWeb reports that Grant Brown, Symantec security specialist, says the Symantec 2010 NetThreat Website is a proactive measure to build an information platform for online community members to interact with one another, as well as with security experts.
Bafana Bafana will become part of broadcasting history when their opening game of the 2010 World Cup is filmed and screened in 3D, notes a Bizcommunity.com report. Connecticut-based sports broadcaster ESPN is to launch a new 3D network in mid-2010, just in time for Africa’s first World Cup, which kicks off on 11 June. At least 25 games in the much-anticipated football extravaganza will be shown in thrilling 3D, giving fans the sensation that the ball is hurtling towards them and about to fly right out of the screen.
The 2010 World Cup will be filmed in 3D for the first time, it has been announced. Up to 25 of the games will be captured using 3D cameras, FIFA said. Although it has no definite plans to broadcast the matches live in 3D, FIFA said it was a possibility and would be decided in ’the coming months’. Initially, it said, footage will also be shown at public events in seven cities around the world. The footage will also be packaged into a film, notes a Business Daily report. Sony technology will be used to film the games, although the firm has not confirmed details of the specific technology it will use.
FIFA on the lookout for rogue Web sites 01/02/2010
FIFA expects more Web sites that illegally use its trademarks, such as 2010 and World Cup, to appear as the games draw closer. ITWeb reports that Owen Dean, a partner at Spoor and Fisher, which handles trademark infringements on FIFA’s behalf, says the organisation will not tolerate people who try to piggyback off the event. So far, the law firm has brought about 48 Web sites to FIFA’s attention, and it will take action and request that the sites be taken down if its trademarks are used.
FIFA, President Sepp Blatter has once again ruled out the introduction of video assistance for referees in the 2010 World Cup, notes a report on the iafrica.com site. Blatter has staunchly opposed the use of video replays as a refereeing aid because they would interrupt the flow of the game. But it has been reported that he might consider them after other technology has been approved. ’I’m not completely against it. But only when goal line technology is ready to be introduced, only then,’ he said.
Further cuts in cellular interconnection rates will result in cheaper call charges, but will also drive changes in consumer behaviour patterns. This is the view of BulkSMS.com MD, Pieter Streicher. According to Streicher, 2010 World Cup sponsors and official bodies will communicate with fans in this way. In the year ahead, SMS will be an increasingly primary communication tool, both in the lives of South Africans everyday, as well as the millions of soccer fans due to visit our country in June and July.
Scifest Africa, which takes place in Grahamstown from March 24 to 30, has joined the national 2010 World Cup fervour by choosing a sport-related theme. Science in Motion is a subject that Scifest director Vera Adams says is associated with sport and movement. And several lectures, workshops and fringe events will focus on sports in general and on the upcoming World Cup in particular. The official seven-day programme detailing all 440 events and 56 exhibitions is available from the Scifest Africa office, which can be reached telephonically at 0466031106 or by e-mail at info@scifest.org.za.
A smart new computer program designed by a local PC boffin could be used to predict crowd behaviour at stadiums during next year’s 2010 World Cup. The Cape Argus reports that the innovative program, designed by Johannesburg computer programming student Kieran Ekron has won him a place in the finals of a global technology competition in Poland next year. The program is set to provide stadium managers and designers with critical information about potential problems in and around stadiums. Ekron’s Sim Stadium is a research project aimed at simulating the dynamics of a football stadium before, during and after matches. The focus of the project is on modelling the behaviour of the spectators at a football stadium.
FIFA website copes comfortably with soaring demand 16/12/2009
Despite the soaring demand for 2010 World Cup tickets, the Web site has held up, says FIFA. The third ticketing sales phase for the major soccer tournament has seen the number of tickets applied for hit the 500 000 mark within the first 10 days. ITWeb reports that over 386 300 of those tickets were requested by South African residents, while 114 237 tickets applied for came from the rest of the world. While FIFA denied the complaints, saying the online ticketing process was running smoothly, it later admitted that it had to improve its capacity to prepare for increased online applications.
Soccer fever engulfs SA ahead of 2010 WC - 16/12/2009
With World Cup fever already engulfing the country, soccer games are definitely going to be best-sellers over the Christmas period and certainly over the next six months. And while FIFA 10 is the obvious choice, Electronic Arts has a worthy adversary in the form of Pro Evolution Soccer 2010. Konami have been seriously challenging FIFA with Pro Evo (as its affectionately known) over the last few years and the debate surrounding which of the two titles is superior continues to wage within the gaming community, notes a report on the IoL site. This year, both franchises have produced epic editions but Pro Evo somehow just feels the better of the two.
The Department of Tourism is banking on its upgraded contact centre and the Internet to help solve accommodation and other issues related to visitors who will attend the 2010 World Cup. ITWeb reports that Sindiswa Nhlumayo, deputy director for tourism at the Department of Tourism, said the Web address for the accommodation and listing portal will be www.rooms4u.travel. It will serve as a tool to service providers to get their stock on the market. She said there will be no charge for the portal’s services, but ’a small fee will be levied for every successful transaction’. It will also be an easy to use point of service for local and international travellers to locate and book accommodation in SA.
The scramble for World Cup 2010 tickets could lead to supporters handing over hard-earned money to cybercriminals unless they are savvy over online risks, warns Symantec. High-profile sporting events are one of the most abused opportunities for cybercriminals to exploit fans’ hunger for tickets with increased spam and phishing activity, notes a report on the IoL site. Supporters who struggle to secure them are likely to take risks and purchase tickets through unauthorised channels or believe the promises of unsolicited emails.
The 2010 World Cup may bring more than a flood of tourists to South Africa; cyber crime and viruses are also likely to increase dramatically, experts at the international computer security firm Kaspersky Lab have said. ’The 2010 World Cup poses a major threat,’ said Garry Kondakov, MD of Kaspersky Lab for Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. ’Computer or electronic attacks are about business - criminal business. All the malicious software that is created and distributed is because criminals smell money.’ FIN24 reports that tourists will bring in large amounts of money, attracting criminal activity.
As excitement builds in anticipation of the 2010 World Cup, Sony Ericsson, the Official Mobile Handset for the tournament introduces a new way for soccer fans in the US to get behind their team online through a unique social networking initiative.
The Sony Ericsson Twitter Cup will see the 32 teams competing in the 2010 World Cup, battle it out in an online tournament where the fans decide who will win, notes a TickerTech report. Fans will be able to participate in this exciting competition either online or via their mobile handset. The tournament kicked off on December 4. To get team U.S.A. through each round, fans need to show their support by Tweeting. The team with the most Tweets in each round will prevail and go on to the next stage, regardless of how the real team fares in South Africa.
At least 25 matches at next year’s 2010 World Cup in South Africa will be broadcast in 3D in a historic media rights agreement signed between FIFA and Official Partner Sony. Although the next generation technology is already available at movie theatres in certain parts of the world, it will be the first time it will be used in sport, and football. This groundbreaking deal means that viewers watching the matches on Sony’s 3D products will experience the sheer immediacy and visual clarity of the action as if they were on the pitch themselves. FIFA is working on whether a live right will be offered in the coming months.
SA’s newly-built and revamped stadiums are ranked as some of the most sophisticated in the world, says local technology business Dimension Data. ’People used to use the German stadiums as a benchmark for international development; now people are coming to look at ours,’ says DiData’s GM for special projects in Africa and the Middle East, KC van Straaten. ITWeb reports that the company has been part of the development of technologies in six of the 11 stadiums that SA will have completed by the start of next year’s soccer spectacular. ’Some of which are among the most sophisticated in the world,’ he adds. According to Van Straaten, getting the engineers and technology specialists to work together in the development of the stadiums is a first for SA.
SA in desperate need of IT skills for 2010 29/11/2009
Graduates are running abroad and South Africa’s feeling the pinch. The Times reports that with less than 200 days left before kick-off of the 2010 World Cup, there is still much to be done - the stadiums might be nearing completion, but South Africa’s IT skills are woefully scarce. Many of the big projects aimed at meeting the needs of the event require highly specialised IT skills. But many of these skilled individuals have taken advantage of the competitive global market and found work abroad. About 11 500 IT professionals would be needed to sustain and implement the World Cup. A tour by a FIFA delegation in October found that many areas in the IT sector required improvement which would require specialised IT skills.
The Department of Tourism is set to open its R6.7 million Visitor Information Centre (VIC) in Bloemfontein. ITWeb reports that the VIC utilises features such as touch-screens and Web-based technology. The centre, which will officially be opened by deputy tourism minister Tokozile Xasa on 20 November, was set up in preparation for the 2010 World Cup. As part of the national VIC project, centres have been rolled out in three host cities: Port Elizabeth, Polokwane and Rustenburg. The final centre, located in Nelspruit, will be opened next year. The department says the centre is intended to provide a one-stop service to tourists requiring information on a wide range of tourism aspects.
ContinuitySA has launched a subscription-based website with the aim of assisting businesses prepare for the 2010 World Cup, notes a Bizcommunity.com report. Continuitysa.co.za plans to highlight ’The impact the 2010 World Cup will have on business is a concern to many corporate managers around the country,’ says Louise Theunissen, general manager of consulting services at ContinuitySA. ’The games and associated organisation behind it are so vast and complex; it is not possible to say what the operational and financial impact will be on local companies.’ The Continuity2010 portal plans to forge relationships with key contacts in organisations tasked with delivering 2010 to ensure that all information published is always valid.
With the 2010 World Cup drawing near, public safety is uppermost in the minds of the eThekwini municipality and fire department honchos. This comes after the introduction of a portable emergency control room by the fire department. The Sowetan reports that the demountable pod can be set up at major events venues for support and quick response in emergencies. The unit is the brainchild of Serco industries in the Phoenix Industrial Park north of Durban. The Serco technical team came up with this innovative idea to deal with emergency demands during the World Cup.
The government has approved a proposal to issue a temporary mobile television broadcasting licence, which will allow subscribers to watch TV on their handsets, notes a Daily Dispatch report. The decision by Cabinet is specially designed to allow spectators to watch 2010 World Cup matches in this way. It is, said Cabinet spokesperson Themba Maseko ’in line with South Africa’s commitment to provide mobile television broadcasting during the 2010 World Cup’. The licence will expire two weeks after the World Cup finals.
Cyber attacks expected to increase ahead of 2010 06/11/2009
As the 2010 World Cup approaches, security experts are warning that cyber attacks are likely to increase in the days leading to and during the event, and users interested in the FIFA World Cup are advised to equip themselves with the fundamentals of cybercrime, says Information Technology service company Cornastone Consulting. ’We have already seen evidence of FIFA-related spam and expect to see this grow in the run-up to the event. Engineering News notes that reports from the last World Cup indicate that there was a 40% increase in attacks on German institutions in the month preceding, and the month after, the World Cup. The attacks become more focused as the country’s profile is raised,’ says Cornastone Consulting security and identity management practice lead Patrick Devine.
The 2010 World Cup has been a catalyst for the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in South Africa; however, customer service delivery is critical for the event’s success, says call centre technology company Inter-Active Technologies. Engineering News reports that Inter-Active Technologies CEO Brendan van Staaden says companies need to manage an expected increase in volumes in preparation for the 2010 World Cup, as an increase in demand across the board of the ICT sector is also expected to occur. He adds that the ability to consistently and reliably meet customer service demands during this phase will underpin an organisation’s level of success.
Current broadcasting plans will leave roughly seven million South Africans without high-definition (HD) TV, until long after 2012. With neither etv, nor the SABC keen to offer HD channels on the current structures, it is unlikely those without access to DSTV will experience high-definition until long after the digital migration process is completed in 2012. ITWeb repots that the SABC says it will also not broadcast HD, since the current iteration of regulations does not cater for the service. Many had hoped the SABC would provide an HD service for the coming 2010 World Cup.
