by Kathleen Rice, DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

Government has blamed Telkom for high fixed line prices. ICASA has recently published a discussion paper on the unbundling of the local loop. For many, the discussion paper is "too little, too late"... (more)

     
The Innovation Hub is all about innovation. From the video conferencing rooms, to the auditorium and meeting rooms, it is all hi-tech. However, the look and feel of it is one thing, but delivering on innovation is much more... (more)

To create jobs South Africa needs skilled people to start their own business or make a meaningful contribution to the companies employing them - which all boils down to having a skilled workforce... (more)

Emerging entrepreneur: Collen Mashawana by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT 
 
In this new feature of EngineerIT we explore what it takes to be an emerging entrepreneur. We will interview young people, who are making a name for themselves in the business world. In this issue we meet Collen Mashawana, CEO of Khwinisa, and entrepreneur extraordinaire... (more)

Modern software applications running on powerful computing hardware have transformed the practice of engineering design. In years gone by difficult engineering problems would have been solved mathematically or by building complex physical test rigs and prototypes... (more)

by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT
  

"Virtualisation may not be a silver bullet, but it is certainly a technology trend that has turned conventional architecture upside down." This is the view of many IT and virtualisation experts... (more)

Scaling to meet the Ethernet convergence wave: demand for network capacity has increased dramatically thanks to the popularity among both fixed and mobile subscribers, of video content, music downloads, multimedia-rich websites and the increasing adoption of Ethernet business services from enterprises... (more)

The face of the mobile industry is changing fast with higher data rates, more bandwidth and eco-friendly networks. This is placing constraints on the industry but works to the advantage of the late entrants in the mobile space such as 8.ta, powered by Telkom Mobile... (more)

The government has found that the ICT sector makes only a limited contribution to the economy due to "dominance of monopoly suppliers, lack of competition and weak regulation". It has therefore launched a strategic objective dealing with "an efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network"... (more)

by Stefan Schuler, Semikron, Germany
 

Fast switching power semiconductors are needed to reduce dynamic power losses which are challenging for application engineers, who strive to keep switching times as short as possible. But this is easier said than done... (more)

Information from VH Fibre Optics

The principle of fibre to the home has long been recognised as the ultimate objective in enabling the provision of true triple play services to residential customers for many different types of telecom operators... (more)

Information from  Protea Electronics

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) defines optical transport network (OTN) as a set of optical network elements connected by optical fibre links, able to provide functionality of transport, multiplexing, switching, management, supervision and survivability of optical channels carrying client signals... (more)

Gadgets4Geeks  

A Bluetooth car kit with detachable colour display and the ability to play music; an LED lamp on a magnetic base; an eBook reader with internet access; a combination notebook lock with a 65 cm cable, and a gadget that will ensure that your cellphone is never be more than 5 m away... (more)

Information from Omron

One of the main advantages of electromechanical AC servo control vs. a pneumatic solution is its flexibility and that it is a more energy-efficient solution... (more)

by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT    

Although thermography has a long history, its use has only increased in recent years with its commercial and industrial applications now commonplace... (more)

Wireless datalogging - a case study
by Guy Snelling, Intercal

As part of their ISO 17025 accreditation process, the Council for Geoscience (CGS) were required to measure and log a large number of physical parameters in various laboratories throughout its multi-storey building in Pretoria... (more)

Information from Agilent Technologies

There are many test instruments capable of performing stimulus-response measurements, including a USB sensor-based scalar measurement setup, network analysers, and spectrum analysers with tracking generators... (more)

by B T Smith, D Feng, H Lei, D Zheng, J Fong and M Asghari, Kotura

This article offers a brief introduction to silicon photonics including the basic optical waveguide, passive optical circuit performance, the addition of doped p- and n-junctions adjacent to the intrinsic silicon waveguide to inject a current across the waveguide, free-carrier dispersion, performance of the variable optical attenuator (VOA), and a monolithic, dual-function splitter-VOA array circuit... (more)

by Reza Moghimi, Analog Devices

High precision applications require a well-designed low noise analogue front end to get the best SNR, which requires an informed approach to choosing an ADC to fully and accurately capture sensor signals. Support components such as driver op amps and references are selected to optimise overall circuit performance... (more)

Views and opinion  

Industry and institute news  

The award for innovation in amateur radio was presented at the South African Amateur Radio Development Trust annual award ceremony held in Midrand... (more)