Another SA-first, as Vodacom launches a National Relay Service (NRS) to drive digital inclusion for persons with disabilities

A milestone towards digital inclusion has been achieved as Vodacom announces another first in South Africa, with the launch of a real-time Specific Needs and National Relay Service (NRS), which expands its offerings for Deaf, hearing- and speech-impaired customers. This further strengthens the techco’s support to persons with disabilities and its commitment to building an inclusive digital society.

Vodacom has championed the communication needs of persons with disabilities by providing access to products and services that address their challenges and help to improve their lives for almost two decades, . The Specific Needs and NRS Centre offers an inclusive technology solution that advances our goal of empowering all South Africans and ensuring no one is left behind in the digitalisation journey. The launch of this system is another example of how Vodacom is delivering on its purpose to connect for a better future” says Takalani Netshitenzhe, Executive Director of External Affairs for Vodacom South Africa.

The NRS enables Deaf, hearing, and speech-impaired persons to contact hearing people such as family, friends and organisations, in real-time and on their own without asking a friend or someone else to make the call which impedes their independence. Registered Vodacom prepaid and postpaid customers who are Deaf and use South African Sign Language (SASL), hearing-impaired or have speech difficulties can place a call to any hearing person via specially trained Relay Officers (RO). The ROs are the central link on the call and facilitate communication between the NRS user and the called party.

Some examples of these calls include making a booking at a restaurant or an appointment with a medical doctor. More critically, the NRS provides SASL users the option to request emergency services, such as police, ambulance, traffic, sea rescue, and fire services.

The NRS enables Deaf, hearing, and speech-impaired customers to choose the type of relay service that meets the needs of their specific disability. This includes voice relay, text relay, live chat, captioned telephony relay as well as video relay. The NRS is free of charge for customers using a Vodacom SIM. As part of the NRS, Vodacom is also offering a Video Relay Service, which enables Deaf SASL customers to use video technology to communicate with hearing persons. A video call connects Deaf customers to ROs, who are South African Sign Language Interpreters (SASLIs).

For example, the SASL user connects to the SASLI on video, the SASLI re-speaks the Deaf user’s message to a hearing person using a phone while simultaneously signing the conversation to the user.

Besides the NRS, customers with various disabilities such as visual, hearing or physical impairments can access the Specific Needs Call Centre to resolve Vodacom service related queries.

In 2004, Vodacom pioneered a Specific Needs initiative to make cellular communications accessible to all South Africans, especially people with disabilities. Since then, the company has provided a wide range of products and services that help to overcome communication barriers for those with specific needs. These include devices designed for those who have visual impairments, text-based ER24 emergency services for Deaf and hard of hearing customers, and a dedicated contact centre for customers with disabilities.

“Not providing accessible call centre services denies human rights to persons with disabilities, and promotes social exclusion as they have limited ways of communicating to organisations and hearing people. With SASL proposed as the country’s 12^th official language, it is imperative that more is done to bridge the real-time communications gap that currently exists,” says Desiree Hayes, Managing Executive at Vodacom South Africa.

To access the NRS, Vodacom customers can choose voice relay by calling 082 12580, or text relay by sending an SMS to 12580 or email to [email protected]. There is also live chat relay and video relay available on the Vodacom WhatsApp chat (0820098624), My Vodacom App and Vodacom website https://www.vodacom.co.za/vodacom/shopping/v/specific-needs. Captioned telephony is available to customers who have devices with the Live Captions Functionality that is able to translate a voice or speech to text.

Johannesburg, 17 November 2022:  Telkom has announced the handover of its video and audio streaming platform TelkomONE to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) effective on 17 November 2022.

Telkom and the SABC have had a successful partnership since the launch of TelkomONE in late 2020. The platform has now matured and ready to scale under the management of the SABC’s broadcasting expertise. “Their expertise in sourcing and curating relevant content will enrich the current content library for existing and new customers, said Telkom CMO, Gugu Mthembu.

The broadcaster will migrate all TelkomONE’s existing customer base. Subscribers will be notified and transferred to the new SABC platform at launch.

“We will continue to evolve to our digital lifestyle provider ambition through our investments in areas such as content, fintech, gaming and IoT by partnering with strategic partners to deliver products and services that create a better life for our customers”, she concluded.

Existing Telkom One Amp customers with active subscriptions will automatically have access to SABC+ at no additional cost; they can also look forward to enhanced content offerings which they can subscribe to directly through SABC +.

Guidepost, a South African diabetes telemedicine, clinical analytics and risk management company, and Discovery Life, have partnered to deliver a world-first, innovative tech-enabled diabetes management programme, which, in its pilot phase, has delivered significant results for those living with diabetes.

The pilot programme, launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, involved using data analytics to identify Discovery Life insurance clients at risk of being diagnosed or already living with Type 2 diabetes, so that they could participate in the specialised diabetes coaching programme offered by Guidepost. The programme is an extension of a long-standing existing relationship between Guidepost and Discovery Health, which has yielded impressive results in improving the health outcomes of people living with diabetes.

Diabetes was identified as a significant risk factor for COVID-19 patients and poor management of the disease had serious negative consequences. The success of the pilot programme has led to Discovery Life now extending access to the programme to more of its policyholders living with diabetes.

The 2021 report on mortality and causes of death by Statistics South Africa, identified diabetes as the second deadliest disease in the country. According to statistics from the International Diabetes Federation over 4.5 million South Africans have diabetes. A study published in the Lancet in 2018 predicts that diabetes would be the leading cause of death in South Africa in 2040.

Diabetes is a complex, chronic disease requiring continuous medical care. Ongoing patient self-management, education and support are critical factors in preventing the risk of long-term complications. Global evidence shows that lifestyle interventions can significantly help to improve the health outcomes of those living with diabetes. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90% of all diabetes cases and is known as the ‘lifestyle disease.”

“Our experience shows that undiagnosed, untreated, and uncontrolled diabetes can lead to serious complications for those living with diabetes. Diabetes can negatively impact the quality of life of those living with diabetes as well as their family and caregivers,” says Gareth Friedlander, Deputy CEO, Discovery Life. “In addition, the burden on the healthcare sector is immense as it requires continual medical care, with patients requiring hospitalisation during acute issues. Our actuarial and clinical analysis identified the business case for providing Guidepost diabetes coaching to our members and highlighted the significant health benefit to our clients.”

The Discovery Life and Guidepost programme involved the identification of Discovery Life high-risk policyholders or those living with diabetes and inviting them to be part of the programme. Through a series of individualised tele-consultations, clients with diabetes, and their dedicated coach, embarked on a journey of progressive improvement. Using Guidepost’s sophisticated tools and data analytics, a dedicated coach provided the patient with support around diet, lifestyle, medication training and self-monitoring of diabetes. The patient’s doctor was informed of the process and where necessary involved.

“Overwhelming evidence is stacking up that proves that lifestyle interventions, which promote healthy diets, physical activity and weight reduction, play a huge role in preventing complications and death from diabetes amongst high-risk populations,” says Graham Rowe, Chief Executive Officer, Guidepost. “Our own data, gathered for more than 10 years, points to personalised coaching helping to significantly improve diabetes outcomes for those committed to the programme. We know that the Discovery Group is a global leader in innovative behaviour change that results in people making healthier choices and were excited to partner with Discovery Life on this programme. The data from our earlier pilot with Discovery Health clearly demonstrated excellent clinical impact and high levels of member satisfaction. This partnership with Discovery Life is helping us achieve our goal of helping more people living with diabetes to live longer and healthier lives.”

“Discovery is truly an organisation driven by its core purpose ‘to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives’. Therefore, we will continuously keep this focus for our clients in our product and services, which has been evident in the outstanding results of the Guidepost Diabetes coaching pilot. The coaching programme has improved health outcomes of our clients living with Type 2 diabetes and contributed positively to their families and lifestyle. In creating this unique benefit for our clients, we can expect claims from diabetes related illnesses to reduce as clients become healthier and better equipped in managing the illness.,” concludes Friedlander.

In ways both obvious and subtle, technology is transforming the way we live, work and play. While some innovations have become so familiar to us — asking Siri about the weather, clicking on ads based on previous purchases — that we no longer remember a time when they weren’t part of our reality, we’re still learning about the value and influence of others.

Welcome to the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Senses (IoS). They’ve been around for a while, yes, but it’s possible you’re only just starting to realise how much potential they have to change your world.

IoT and IoS in practice

As a network of connected devices that communicate between one another and with the cloud, IoT is all about bringing people, places and skills closer together. Combine this with immersive feedback mechanisms that engage our senses, and you enter the realm of IoS.

Looking for an example of IoT? Digital twins demonstrate its benefits.

Digital twins use sophisticated networks of sensors to create astonishingly detailed replicas of real-world ecosystems. They can be found in anything from transport and utility infrastructure to entire cities, individual machines to full facilities, and specific human organs to the whole human body.

Urban planners use digital twins to model the impact of internal and external changes on infrastructure and communities, and to help with development planning and optimisations. In the medical world, they help doctors to accurately assess the impact of diseases and other stressors on the body. And in businesses that use complex machinery, they’re used to identify when components need replacing, which helps to reduce risks and unplanned downtime.

In terms of IoS, one of its best applications is the tactile internet. This allows experiences to be transmitted through touch, either for the benefit of a remote human operator, or to enable automated machinery to understand and respond to its surroundings better. The tactile internet equips doctors performing remote surgery, or engineers carrying out remote repairs, to wear gloves that transmit their actions to the robots performing the work and give them tactile feedback in real time.

What does this mean for you?

Looking ahead, it’s likely that IoT and IoS will depend more and more on high-speed connectivity; virtual, augmented and mixed reality; robotics; haptics; and increasingly sophisticated sensors. All of this headline-grabbing tech, of course, must be underpinned by robust foundations, including high-end servers, storage, networks and virtualisation technology.

If you’re looking for opportunities to leverage IoT and IoS, here are some issues to bear in mind as you build or implement your chosen technology.

1. Edge computing

Ultra-fast connectivity isn’t available everywhere — and South Africa is a prime example. Outside of the country’s main cities, many areas are beset by poor infrastructure and weak connectivity. Given how important low latency is in certain IoT and IoS applications, you will likely need to provide computing and storage infrastructure very close to your users. This means either on-site, or at the network edge.

When developing or choosing your platform, consider whether it offers the flexibility to deploy in different places. How versatile are these options? Do you need a rack, or will a shelf or even a wall suffice? Could it be attached to a mast or a tree? Will your tech be used in harsh environments (think of the South African sun, sand and storms), and if so, are there rugged versions, capable of withstanding extreme conditions?

2. Freedom to scale on-demand

The generation of vast amounts of data is inextricably linked to IoT, and means that you’ll need large amounts of computing and storage space. This is partly to hold and use the data your business produces and gathers on a business-as-usual basis, and to enable new initiatives to be trialled and scaled up quickly in response to emerging opportunities.

Make sure the technology you use is easily scalable and flexible, wherever in the world you need it.

3. Essential simplicity

You’ve hired bright people, and you want them focussed on innovating, not on managing ever-more complex technological ecosystems. It’s therefore essential that your future tech platforms are simple to deploy and straightforward to manage.

Can your fully distributed ecosystem be managed centrally, without relying on on-site expertise at every location? This is an important feature to bear in mind.

4. Reliability and security peace of mind

Knowing you’re not going to wake up to headlines about high-profile data breaches or IT failures offers peace of mind. This assurance is particularly important where you’re running safety- or life-critical applications.

Does your platform come from a vendor with proven reliability pedigree? Does it include enterprise-grade security capabilities, covering the whole stack? What hardening is provided for devices deployed outside of traditional data centres, such as your edge nodes?

Unleash tomorrow’s potential today

Eager to start but wondering how? Turn to the experts.

At Lenovo, we’ve been exploring and leveraging the potential of IoT and IoS for years, and are here to help you take your next steps. Our post-pandemic IoT solutions make returning to the office simple and seamless, and our IoT business transformation includes a partnership with AWS.

Entering the world of IoT and IoS is both enticing and daunting, but start your journey down this path and you’ll soon realise that it’s well worth the reward.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 15 November 2022 – Samsung South Africa has announced the launch of Samsung Wallet¹, a new digital platform that will enable local Galaxy lovers to organise digital keys (SmartThings car keys), access offline and online payments, membership cards, transportation cards, coupons and Samsung Passin one, easy-to-use and secure mobile application.

If you thought that Samsung Pay was great, then think again – it just got better! Now meet Samsung Wallet, with just one swipe up, you’re all in. Samsung local customers can now look forward to a combination of Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass all in one where you can store passwords, addresses and card details for easier online browsing and shopping, along with your bank and membership cards.

According to Euromonitor Research (2021) – for most consumers, security and privacy are the foremost important factors in the usage of digital wallets. In this modern age – consumers look at losing their phones as an equivalent of losing their wallets. Samsung has taken all of this into consideration and made sure that Samsung Wallet is protected by defense-grade security from Samsung Knox. With Samsung Wallet – you will now have three (3) ways to pay. You can still swipe up from your Galaxy device home screen and open the app from its icon, but you can also open Samsung Wallet by double tapping the side key.

“Samsung Wallet is a one-stop solution in replacing a physical wallet. This digital innovation is definitely bringing a new level of everyday convenience to mobile devices with a totally safe and secure environment for storing digital keys, cards and more. As part of our ongoing commitment to open ecosystems, we will continue to expand on the capabilities of Samsung Wallet by working closely with our trusted, local partners and developers,” says Justin Hume, Vice President of Mobile Experience at Samsung Electronics South Africa.

It’s More than just a Payment Service

Samsung Wallet will now give local users a refined interface and one-swipe access to their payment cards, membership cards and much more.² Samsung Wallet also incorporates the functionality of Samsung Pass which securely stores passwords and enables users to quickly and easily log into apps and services.³

Convenient Access to Home

With the integration of SmartThings and Samsung’s partnerships with well-known home security companies,⁶ local users can easily add digital home keys to conveniently lock and unlock their doors with a Galaxy device.

As Secure as It Is Simple, Protected by Samsung Knox

Samsung Wallet is protected by a defense-grade security platform, Samsung Knox. Protection include fingerprint recognition and encryption that will help safeguard local users’ sensitive data, so only the device owners can access their important information. Along with Samsung Knox, certain key sensitive items in Samsung Wallet are stored in an isolated environment — the embedded Secure Element, which also helps protect against digital and physical hacking.

Availability

This incredible platform will be available to local consumers from November 2022. Local Galaxy users will simply open Samsung Pay or Samsung Pass app from their eligible Galaxy devices⁹ and follow the prompts to update and migrate to Samsung Wallet, alternatively, you can visit the https://www.samsung.com/za/apps/samsung-wallet/ to learn more.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 15 November 2022 – Samsung’s popular Buy & Get Summer’s on Us promotion has made a comeback, just in time to reward Samsung customers with incredible vouchers this Summer. This promotion that has been running for eight (8) consecutive years now, is Samsung’s way of thanking customers for their loyalty and support throughout this year.

This 2022 Summer’s on Us Promotion with thank you rewards is offering consumers who purchase any of the participating products the opportunity to select a reward up-to the value of R10 000*. The promotion will run from 21 October 2022 until 09 January 2023 and participating products will be available while stocks last. These rewards have been carefully selected to allow families and friends to gather and enjoy them together.

Consumers can choose rewards from the following brands: Protea Hotels, Uber Eats, FlySafair and Dischem. This incredible promotion will also include the latest Samsung appliances such as selected Fridges, Washing Machines, Dryers, Dishwashers and the AirDresser.

These customer rewards which include holidays, flights, food and entertainment come in different tiers:

• Gold Tier – R10 000 FlySafair, Africa Pride Bonus Break, Uber/Uber Eats and Dischem.
• Silver Tier – R6 000 FlySafair, Protea Fire & Ice! Bonus Break, Uber/Uber Eats and Dischem.
• Blue Tier –  R3 000 FlySafair, Protea Hotel Bonus Break, Uber/Uber Eats and Dischem.

“Eight years of running this promotion is a confirmation of our commitment to offering a range of innovative products that make life easier for our customers combined with the added benefit of reward vouchers. As Samsung, we continually strive to offer the best products and rewards that show our customers just how much we appreciate them.

“We have carefully selected products that customers want to buy, and we are making sure that all those that participate in this promotion will have an extra special festive season with their families,” says Mike van Lier, director of consumer electronics at Samsung South Africa

There are three simple steps for redemption of voucher: Buy, Scan and Claim by submitting the required information to the dedicated WhatsApp number. Below is the full and detailed Registration and Redemption Process:

1. BUY: Purchase your participating model.
2. SCAN: Use your phone to scan the QR code or save the dedicated WhatsApp number (+27 87 240 7081) as a contact on your mobile phone and send an initial message of ‘hi’. Follow the prompted WhatsApp messages to complete the registration process. Information required includes product model code, product serial number, name and surname, ID number/ passport number, clear copy of ID, email address, purchase date, store name, clear image of proof of purchase and a clear image of the serial number on product (not on the box).
3. CLAIM: Once your entry is verified, you will receive your reward registration pin code via SMS, call our concierge service to choose your reward (the concierge service telephone number will be in the SMS received).

For more, please see the full process as well as terms and conditions (Ts&Cs) on www.samsung.com/za/offer. The Buy & Get promotional products and offers will be available at participating dealers nationwide. The full list of participating retailers is available here.

Samsung proudly supports Busan’s bid for the World Expo 2030