The inventor of "Please Call Me" has rejected with contempt the announcement by Vodacom that the cellphone giant has reached a financial settlement agreement with him. "This is not true. The offer that they claim to be making me is ridiculous and insulting and we are not accepting it," said Nkosana Makate. Vodacom Group Ltd announced that it was paying out "reasonable compensation" to Makate, who worked for the South African mobile network giant, for his idea to develop a popular call-back service after a former chief executive officer first took credit for the product.

The so-called settlement comes almost a decade after Makate started court proceedings against Vodacom for credit and financial compensation for the service, which allows customers with a zero balance on their mobile phones to contact someone free of charge with the SMS message "Please Call Me". Vodacom's spokesman Byron Kennedy said: “Vodacom can confirm that the group CEO has met with the legal representatives...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.