Telefonica Deutschland picks Nokia and Huawei for 5G network Mobile network provider Telefonica Deutschland has chosen Nokia and Huawei to build its 5G network in Germany. The company, also known under the O2 brand, plans to start building its 5G network in early 2020 and will use equipment from both vendors to power its next generation mobile networks. In a press release, Telefonica Deutschland said it expects to have 5G up and running in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt by the end of 2021. A year later, 30 cities with a population of 16 million would be covered. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/wczpm54 Xiaomi Redmi K30 launched in China to become the cheapest 5G smartphone Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has unveiled its first 5G handset under its budget brand Redmi. The Redmi K30 5G is powered by the latest Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 756G processor and provides integrated SA/NSA dual-mode 5G with the latest 7nm EUV and an integrated low-power consumption solution. Xiaomi…
The non-profit industry group i3forum, which focuses on transformation in the network carrier business, has announced the addition of three new members – Clear, Digicel and Lanck Telecom. Clear specializes in blockchain-based settlement and clearing networks, Digicel provides total communications and home entertainment services in 33 markets across the Caribbean, Central America and the Asia Pacific regions, and Lanck Telecom offers voice and data transfer services to carriers and retail operators in more than 190 countries worldwide. “New members bring new perspectives and insight to our discussions, workgroups and initiatives. We are excited to have Clear, Digicel and Lanck Telecom join us and share their expertise across a variety of topics. Unique voices and opinions support our vision for open and inclusive collaboration,” said Philippe Millet, Chairman at i3forum. “It is a very exciting time for i3forum as we get new initiatives off the ground and take our organization to new places. I’d…
An independent news platform Telecoms.com has recently published its Annual Industry Survey 2019, with the main focus being on topics such as industry updates, 5G rollout, digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), as well as the modernization of Operations Support Systems (OSS) and Business Support Systems (BSS). The survey, covering the industry landscape over the last 12 months and projecting into 2020, has revealed an optimistic forecast that is mainly supported by the launch of 5G commercial services, innovations and progress in other important areas of the industry. According to the report, the single biggest change in the industry landscape over the past year was the deployment of commercial 5G services in different parts of the world. Regardless of the fact that the best-selling service is high-speed Internet access (mobile and fixed), B2B services, including 5G serving other vertical industries, will undoubtedly play a much more significant role…
Audian, a Unified Communications (UC) solutions provider seeking to redefine the telecom industry, and Xarios Technologies, an independent software vendor and developer of advanced telephony applications, have entered into a strategic alliance agreement to bring the next generation of real-time call analytics and business insights to VoIP telecommunications systems. These leading companies in the telecom environment will help their end customers with new applications and provide integration between platforms that facilitate in-depth information and data-driven business solutions. Brandon Bazemore, CEO of Audian, said, “We pride ourselves on maximizing our customers’ Telecompetence by leveraging the latest in software and technology to simplify the complexities once associated with telecom, giving our customers back time and energy to focus on growing their business. Our partnership with Xarios only extends our dedication to these principles, and we look forward to learning from and utilizing their approach to call analytics and reporting to deliver performance…
Ericsson, one of the world’s leading providers of technology and services to telecom operators, has completed the first transglobal 5G data call over live commercial 5G networks, showcasing its Spectrum Sharing technology. Through their collaboration with 5G ecosystem industry leaders Qualcomm Technologies, Swisscom and Telstra, and using a 5G smartphone from Chinese manufacturer OPPO, Ericsson continues to demonstrate its drive towards commercial dynamic spectrum sharing. The Swedish tech giant said that the November 29 data call connected Bern, Switzerland and the Gold Coast, Australia using Ericsson Spectrum Sharing deployed on Swisscom’s and Telstra’s commercial 5G networks at the respective sites. The call was achieved using spectrum sharing on a 3GPP Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) band and pre-commercial OPPO 5G handsets employing the Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System. Moreover, OPPO is the first 5G device manufacturer to implement Ericsson Spectrum Sharing in its smartphones. As part of the…
Telefonica launches Tech and Infra units amid Latam spin-off Spain’s telecom giant Telefonica has announced a major organisational restructuring after a meeting of its board of directors. The company’s chairman and CEO Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete has introduced a new bold strategy to spin off company assets and prepare for industry 4.0. With its 5-point plan, Telefonica aims to generate more than EUR 2 billion a year in additional revenues from 2022, by prioritising its four key markets of Spain, Brazil, the UK and Germany and carrying out an “operational spin-off” of its Latin American business. The company will also set up a subsidiary for its cloud, cybersecurity and IoT businesses called Telefonica Tech and another for its infrastructure assets, Telefonica Infra. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/wjkobwc AT&T and Microsoft launch edge computing network Microsoft and AT&T have integrated 5G with Azure to launch their new Network Edge Compute (NEC) service for…
Gamma Communications, a rapidly growing provider of communications services to the UK business market, has announced its acquisition of Telsis Communication Services, a UK-based developer of unified communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) products for small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs). Gamma anticipates that this acquisition will bring the right combination of specialist development skills and engineering expertise, thus helping the company to achieve its strategic goal of becoming a leading UCaaS campaigner. Andrew Taylor, Chief Executive of Gamma, said, “We’re really pleased to announce the acquisition of Telsis. The development skills they have are core to Gamma’s UCaaS strategy and we plan to enhance our existing engineering teams to provide more resource to accelerate our existing roadmap. We look forward to working alongside the Telsis team as we continue to grow Gamma and capitalise on the opportunities ahead.” The transaction, the value of which is estimated between GBP 2 to 3 billion, follows…
Peerless Network, Ribbon Team Up to Help Businesses Mitigate Unwanted Robocalls Ribbon Communications, a global software leader in secure IP-based real-time communications, and Peerless Network have joined forces to provide businesses with advanced protection against unwanted robocalling. Peerless Network, which provides telecommunication services and high-quality voice solutions for enterprise customers worldwide, will leverage Ribbon’s advanced security technology to power its new offering designed to combat robocalling. Peerless CallTrue gives its customers more options to deal with those nuisance calls. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/rzwk7dy Vodafone picks Google Cloud to develop and host its global data platform Vodafone Group, one of the world’s leading telecom and technology services companies, has come into partnership with Google Cloud to host its strategic cloud platform for data analytics, business intelligence and machine learning. According to the announcement, Vodafone’s Neuron big-data analytics platform will leverage Google Cloud to enhance its operations by making Vodafone’s existing software…
FIX Network has announced a significant achievement towards their goal of securing transactions and private keys on SIM cards. As an innovative joint venture made of leading teams in telecoms, cybersecurity and blockchain, FIX Network will leverage the existing cellular infrastructure by defining and implementing a new blockchain-based security protocol. According to the announcement, the FIX Network Security Protocol will ensure the security and safety of private keys used by applications on mobile devices, and will provide a trusted environment for protecting a customer’s digital identities and digital assets. A significant innovation by the company is the storage of private keys on the subscriber’s SIM card, and the execution of cryptographic operations on that SIM card using applets. FIX Network emphasized that the private keys are never exposed to the mobile device or to a public network, thus enhancing security of the stored Digital Identities and other digital assets such…
Google Cloud’s Contact Center AI hits general availability Google Cloud has announced the general availability of Contact Centre AI, which will enable corporations to deploy virtual agents for basic customer interactions. The service is built using conversational AI engine Dialogflow, the development suite for creating conversational interfaces such as chat bots and interactive voice responses (IVR). Furthermore, Google Cloud has introduced Cloud Run, a service for managing Knative for serverless apps like Kubernetes, and has also launched the Network Intelligence Centre, an AI-driven network management service. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yhn43zb9 Moto Razr 2019 is official: A foldable smartphone with no display crease One of the most iconic and best-selling flip phones is reborn. Motorola has unveiled the Moto Razr folding-screen smartphone with a large OLED display that folds in half. The most interesting thing about the new phone is the hinge design: there is a large empty space around it, so…