Second landline operator Neotel and its partners have launched the first four sites of South Africa's own national research network, giving tertiary and research institutions access to high bandwidth in a bid to reshape research and education networking in the country.

The Mark Shuttleworth Foundation has praised the South African government for applying information technology standards that promote interoperability among public sector computer systems, as well as for its moves toward open source software.

South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research has entered into a year-long partnership with commercial aircraft maker Airbus to conduct research that could contribute to the next generation of environmentally friendly jetliners.

Time is on South Africa's side in its battle with Australia to host the €1.5-billion Square Kilometre Array, as much of the technology needed to build and operate the massive radio telescope does not yet exist, says South African astronomer Phil Charles.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research has launched a state-of-art micro-manufacturing laboratory in Pretoria, the first platform dedicated to this technology area in South Africa.