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33-460: Midrand was established as a municipality in 1981 (in an area known as Halfway House , named after its position between Pretoria and Johannesburg), but ceased to be an independent town in the restructuring of local government that followed the end of apartheid in 1994. It was incorporated in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in 2000. It was made part of Region 2 and, as of 2006, when

66-653: A 15% cut of the R70 billion ($ 4.74 billion) he claims "Please Call Me" has earned for Vodacom since its inception. A 2014 judgement in the South Gauteng High Court supported Makate's claim to having originated "Please Call Me." The court heard that, in November 2000, Makate had shared his idea (initially termed the "buzz" idea) with Philip Geissler, then board member and director of product development and management at Vodacom. Geissler had agreed to give Makate

99-586: A cost of R210 million. The largest single-phase shopping mall built in Africa, The Mall of Africa , is located in the Waterfall City precinct of the town. It is now also home to the new headquarters for a multinational auditing-finance company, PWC. (Constructed by WSP ) Visible, as currently (2018) the only skyscraper in Midrand. It will however be rivaled by its upcoming twin, The Falcon Building. Both

132-690: A court dismissed a joint Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and ICASA application to stop Vodacom's JSE listing. Chegoane Mabelane, the South African article writer and prominent supporter of both African National Congress (ANC) and its alliance; in one of his articles stated that the interdict to stop the listing was fair. In January 2010, the Sunday Times alleged that Alan Knott-Craig (Senior) , former Vodacom CEO, helped his son, Alan Knott-Craig with business ventures using Vodacom's resources. He also allegedly awarded

165-503: A cut should the "Please Call Me" innovation prove a success (however, there was no such agreement, written, oral, or implied – and no evidence to support it). Makate's witnesses presented emails sent by Geissler (Geissler was never called to testify by either party, raising suspicion that both parties would not have benefited from what Geissler would say under oath) and an article in Vodacom's "Talk Time" internal newsletter (such newsletter

198-483: A multimillion-rand contract to a marketing and advertising company run by his family members. In 2008, former employee Nkosana Makate took Vodacom to court, claiming that the profitable "Please Call Me" message service was originally his invention and demanding compensation. Eight years later, Makate eventually won his case in the Constitutional Court . Makate then entered negotiations with Vodacom for

231-844: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Vodacom Vodacom Group Limited is a South African mobile communications company , providing voice , messaging , data and converged services to over 130 million customers across Africa . From its roots in South Africa , Vodacom has grown its operations to include networks in Tanzania , the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Mozambique , and Lesotho , and provides business services to customers in over 32 African countries, including Nigeria , Zambia , Angola , Kenya , Ghana , Côte d'Ivoire , and Cameroon . It

264-531: Is a suburb of Midrand , South Africa . It is located in Region A of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality . It is a suburb approximately 27 km north of Johannesburg and 18 km north-west of Kempton Park . It was laid out in 1890 and called thus because it was the stop halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria for the Zeederberg coach service. This Johannesburg -related article

297-661: Is in Midrand and is the venue for many of South Africa's premier motor racing events. The South African Lipizzaners riding academy is situated in the smallholdings of Kyalami . Midrand lies along the N1 ( Ben Schoeman Freeway ) which runs through the town in a northerly direction from Johannesburg (south) to Pretoria (north). Midrand is connected to the N1 by the M39 Allandale Road, M71 New Road, R562 Olifantsfontein Road and

330-455: Is located in Midrand. The Pearson Institute of Higher Education formerly known as Midrand Graduate Institute , was officially opened on 9 May 1990. A Varsity College campus was established in 2012. Macmillan Education South Africa relocated their offices in June 2017 from Melrose Arch. There are primary and high schools located in several areas. Kyalami , an international renowned racetrack

363-713: The Greater Johannesburg metropolitan region that intersect in Midrand include the M38 (Modderfontein Road; Allan Road) and M39 (Allandale Road), both connecting the town with Kempton Park to the south-east. Midrand is the home of Grand Central Airport and also to one of the stations in the Gautrain rapid rail system on the route from Pretoria to Sandton . Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as subtropical highland (Cwb). Halfway House Estate Halfway House Estate

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396-848: The M36 Samrand Road in Centurion . The N3 ( Eastern Bypass ) lying just south of Midrand, intersects the N1 at the Buccleuch Interchange and runs southwards to Germiston and Durban . Midrand is intersected by three regional routes , namely; the R101 (Pretoria Main Road) from Sandton to Centurion and Pretoria , the R55 from Sandton to Centurion and Pretoria and the R562 from Thembisa to Diepsloot . Metropolitan routes within

429-465: The Mall of Africa , which would be one of the continent's largest. The Mall of Africa is located within the green, mixed-use Waterfall City precinct. The N1 Business Park and International Business Gateway are among the commercial developments in Midrand. The latest industrial development is called Waterfall Logistics Precinct . The University of South Africa 's Graduate School of Business Leadership

462-708: The Pretoria -based Vodacom Blue Bulls and own the naming rights to the union's home stadium, Loftus Versfeld . As part of their rugby union sponsorship portfolio, Vodacom has been the title sponsor of the Super Rugby tournament in South Africa since 1996. In football , they sponsor two clubs in the Premier Soccer League : the Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates . They also sponsor

495-572: The Public Investment Corporation (also known as PIC, wholly owned by the South African Government), Lazard (US), Blackrock (US), The Vanguard Group (US), Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (also known as GIC, Singapore ), Old Mutual (ZA), Abax (ZA), Sanlam (ZA), and State Street Global Advisors (US). Vodacom launched iPhone 7 in South Africa on 14 October 2016. It launched

528-667: The South African Football Association and the national teams Bafana Bafana (men), Amajita (under 20s), and previously Banyana Banyana (women). However, competitor MTN was one of the sponsors of the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa. Past sponsorships include the national rugby union team, the Springboks , from 1994 to 2017, and the South African Shelby Can-Am series between 2000 and 2005. On May 17, 2009,

561-505: The yebo gogo campaign which is still in effect today in Africa. Vodacom is the leading cellular network in South Africa with a market share of over 40% and more than 45 million users. The company has an estimated market share of 58% and more than 103 million customers across Africa. In 2021, Vodacom proposed a merger with fibre group Maziv. In October 2024, the South African Competition Tribunal blocked

594-597: The Falcon and PWC are in the same complex as Mall of Africa. Other landmarks include the Boulders Shopping centre, so named after the heritage site housing huge granite rocks which are approximately 3.5-billion years old. Midrand is a thriving business node, home to the offices of major corporations such as Vodacom , Microsoft , Neotel , and Altech Autopage as well as an array of small and medium enterprises. In 2013, Atterbury Properties announced plans to build

627-566: The High Court found against Makate's claim for compensation, holding Vodacom's argument that Geissler had not had the authority to promise Makate such compensation and that the debt would have expired (in legal terms, been prescribed) within three years. Makate took the case on appeal , and then took it to the Constitutional Court . In April 2016, Justice Chris Jafta found in Makate's favour and against Vodacom, overturning both judgements by

660-571: The High Court, finding that Geissler had the authority to promise compensation, and that Makate's case was not based on an unpaid debt. In Jafta's words: “In not compensating the applicant [Makate] [….] Vodacom associated itself with the dishonourable conduct of its former CEO, Mr Knott-Craig and his colleague, Mr Geissler, and this leaves a sour taste in the mouth. It is not the kind of conduct to be expected from an ethical corporate entity.” In an open letter to Makate on Facebook, civic society non-profit Right2Know congratulated Makate. Right2Know used

693-581: The companies that comprised the Vodacom Group include, but are not limited to the following: ownership (%) employees customers The shares of Vodacom Group are listed and traded on the JSE, under the ticker symbol : VOD. The shareholding in the group's stock was as depicted in the table below in May 2022. wholly owned by South African Government Institutional investors include, in order of held stock,

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726-566: The first place. In October 2013, Vodacom announced it would be acquiring Neotel in a potential US$ 590 million deal. Even though regulatory approval by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) was obtained in 2015, the deal ultimately collapsed in March 2016 after competitors successfully challenged the transfer of Neotel's licenses and spectrum to Vodacom in court. As at March 2023,

759-527: The home user. On 7 April 2017, Vodacom's 4G+ network in Brooklyn Mall , Pretoria achieved 240 Mbit/s in a speed test. In early 2020 Vodacom also became the second network operator in Africa to launch a live 5G network, initially available in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town . Vodacom is a sponsor of many South African sports. In provincial rugby union , they are the sponsors of

792-499: The largest conference centre in South Africa which is known as Gallagher Estate which was built on the former site of Halfway House Primary School, which subsequently moved to new grounds near the fire station. A landmark of Midrand is the Nizamiye Mosque , opened in 2012, the largest mosque in South Africa. The Classical Turkish-style mosque was personally funded by Turkish -born construction tycoon Ali Katircioglu at

825-463: The letter to draw attention to the hypocrisy of multinational corporations which claim to support young black South African innovators such as Makate, but whose anti-competitive practices often strangle meaningful innovation. The letter also drew attention to the fact that South Africa's telecommunications duopoly (Vodacom–MTN) had led to the kind of unaffordable tariffs which made the "Please Call Me" service so successful with impoverished consumers in

858-957: The number of regions were reduced to seven, it forms part of Region A of the City of Johannesburg. Though no longer an independent town, the name Midrand is still in common use to denote the suburbs around the N1 highway north of the Jukskei River up to the border with the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (this portion of the N1 highway is also known as the Ben Schoeman Highway ). Suburbs that are generally regarded as being in Midrand include among others: Country View , Carlswald , Crowthorne , Ebony Park , Glen Austin , Ivory Park , Kaalfontein , Rabie Ridge , Halfway House , Halfway Gardens , Vorna Valley , Noordwyk , Randjesfontein , Randjespark , Blue Hills , Kyalami Agricultural Holdings and Waterfall City. In 2010, it

891-765: The outskirts of Johannesburg and those of Pretoria . The South African Civil Aviation Authority is headquartered in Midrand, as is the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR), and the National Credit Regulator . Midrand is also the location of the African Union 's Pan-African Parliament and of the NEPAD secretariat. As the name suggests, Midrand lies centrally within the Gauteng province positioned halfway between Johannesburg to

924-433: The proposed merger. In November 2024, Vodacom said it would not look into other M&A deals. Vodacom South Africa provides 3G , 4G , and UMTS networks in South Africa, and also offers HSPA+ (21.1 Mbit/s), HSUPA (42 Mbit/s, 2100 MHz), Wi-Fi, WiMAX , and LTE services. Vodacom was the first cellular provider to introduce LTE in South Africa. On 21 October 2015, Vodacom launched its fibre product to

957-407: The same style as its parent company, Vodafone. Vodacom provides coverage to Mount Kilimanjaro , which was the highest point in the world to be covered by GSM , until Axiata (through its subsidiary Ncell ) provided coverage at the top of Mount Everest , the highest point in the world. Vodacom was aided by its optimistic advertisements at the early stages of the democratic South Africa, including

990-463: The south (27 km) and Pretoria to the north (30 km) and it forms the northernmost part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality , bordering two other metropolitan municipalities within Gauteng namely the City of Tshwane to the north and the City of Ekurhuleni to the east. Midrand is flanked by Centurion to the north, Sandton to the south and Thembisa to the east. Midrand has

1023-522: Was owned in a 50/50 partnership by the South African telecommunications giant Telkom and British multinational operator Vodafone . On 6 November 2008, Vodafone announced that it had agreed to increase its stake to 64.5%, and Telkom said that it would spin off its remaining holding by listing it on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). On 1 April 2011, Vodacom officially unveiled its new change in branding from blue to red, using

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1056-549: Was reported that the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality wished to annex Midrand from the City of Johannesburg, reportedly to boost its income, which was severely strained. The city is relatively modern, having experienced much growth in the last decade. Many businesses have relocated there due to its proximity to good highway links and its location in the economic centre of Gauteng Province. The development of Midrand has resulted in little break between

1089-505: Was written, edited, and printed by a third party in Cape Town) which acknowledged and praised Makate for his idea and his contribution to the product. The court also rejected former CEO Alan Knott-Craig 's claim that he had come up with the idea. Knott-Craig had published the claim in his autobiography, and later repeated in court, that he had the idea while watching two security guards trying to communicate on phones without airtime. Yet

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