MÉTISS is a 3,200 km subsea fibre optic cable system connecting South Africa to the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar, Reunion and Mauritius. The MÉTISS consortium comprises Canal+ Télécom, CEB Fibernet, Emtel, Zeop and SRR (SFR) Telma. The MÉTISS cable lands in Amanzimtoti and is backhauled by Liquid Telecoms to Teraco’s data centre in Durban (DB1).
With MÉTISS consortium members having infrastructure in both the Teraco Durban (DB1) and Johannesburg (JB1)data centre facilities, the Indian Ocean Islands have direct access to Teraco’s ecosystem of over 300 networks, 130 IT service providers, 50 global content providers, and the key global cloud providers says Michele McCann, Head of Interconnection and Peering at Teraco. The availability of a new cable servicing the Indian Ocean Islands region widens the addressable market for content and cloud providers in South Africa. It adds new resilience to the existing telecommunications infrastructure.
In a bid to promote greener transportation and pave the way for investment in the electric vehicle industry, Meta Electric, a business unit of Meta Group Africa has today launched Kenya’s first Electric service delivery vans.
The BYD T3 Electric Vans (EVs) are manufactured by Build Your Dreams (BYD), the largest Chinese supplier of rechargeable batteries in the world.
Meta Electric says these Electric vans come with an AC charger (8 hours charging time) and an optional DC charger (1.5 hours) and has a range of 300km, or 250km at full capacity. The engine is silent with exceptionally high torque meaning the vehicle moves from stationary almost instantly, even with heavy loads in the back of the vehicle.
Blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider Binance has announced its plans to launch an NFT marketplace.
Set to launch in June 2021, the NFT trading platform will be the world’s leading NFT marketplace - offering the best creating and trading user experience, minimal fees, high liquidity, and high-value collectibles in all forms, such as visual art, music, games, sports, metaverse etc.
“Our aim is to provide the largest NFT trading platform in the world with the best minting, buying and exchanging experience, by leveraging the fastest and cheapest solutions powered by Binance blockchain infrastructure and community,” said Helen Hai, head of Binance NFT project.
AURA, South Africa’s leading security and medical response platform, recently announced its expansion into Kenya, followed closely by a move into the UK where it aims to have over 10,000 users receiving the company’s service within seven months. Later this year, the startup will look at possible expansions in Mexico and Nigeria.
Warren Myers, AURA’s CEO believes that South African startups can compete with the best in the world thanks to a focus on smart innovations that answer real-world issues. “The biggest problems in the world are starting to feel fixable for the first time in history. Many people are still unaware of just what will be achievable with hyperscale technology tools like AI, IoT, blockchain, and nanotechnology, among others,” notes Myers.