Qualcomm invests $97 million in India’s Reliance Jio Platforms Qualcomm has become the latest high ranking sponsor of the four-year-old Indian company, Reliance Jio Platforms. On Sunday evening, Qualcomm Ventures revealed their plans to invest $97 million in Reliance Jio Platforms and to assist that company launch advanced 5G infrastructure and services for their local customers. Furthermore, Reliance Jio Platforms has introduced cut-rate voice and data plans into the Indian telecommunications market, attracting almost 400 million subscribers. This rapid growth has resulted in the company becoming the most successful operator in the world’s second largest market in less than four years since its establishment. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y9hponyd Deutsche Telekom explores quantum tech with OPENQKD The German operator Deutsche Telekom, in partnership with the OPENQKD (Open European Quantum Key Distribution) consortium, are preparing to research quantum key distribution (QKD) technologies in order to develop quantum-safe data transmission. In spite of the…
The Apiary Capital portfolio company Conn3ct, a provider of unified communications, contact center and global network service solutions, has acquired ICR Speech Solutions and Services Limited (ICR), a highly specialized speech application development company involved in interactive voice response (IVR) and next-generation speech bot technology. Conn3ct said that this acquisition is a major event in the company’s strategy, and adds important skills and intellectual property to IVR, which is essential for delivering an optimum call center customer experience. According to a statement, this partnership with ICR will enable Conn3ct to offer a fully automated caller experience, where complex queries are quickly identified and routed to a live agent. IVR is a critical contact center technology that provides the initial response to the calling customers before they reach an agent. Substantial advances in technology and the introduction of artificial intelligence and machine learning have driven IVR from basic call management to…
Ujet raises $55 million to expand cloud-based customer support platform Ujet, a leading provider of cloud contact center software, has secured USD 55 million in Series C funding to expand its sales and marketing teams at home and internationally, as well as launch new products and features. The San Francisco-based company already claims to have several high-profile clients, including Google, Instacart, and PayPal’s iZettle. Ujet enables customers to contact support teams through voice, email and messaging, and integrates smartphone cameras so they can easily submit photos and videos documenting problems. With this funding, the company is now well-positioned to capitalize on the increased demand for cloud-based contact center technology. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y8ayek29 UK security officials tell telcos to stock up on Huawei gear – report The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has suggested that UK telecoms operators stockpile critical equipment to ensure the sustainability of telecoms infrastructure, as political…
Salt Security raises $20 million to protect APIs with AI US-based Salt Security, a cybersecurity startup that helps companies protect APIs, has closed a USD 20 million Series A round. The company plans to use the new capital to renew its investments in product development and expand its sales and marketing teams. Salt’s platform aims to prevent cyber attacks with a combination of AI and machine learning techniques. It analyzes a copy of the traffic from web, software-as-a-service, mobile, microservice, and the Internet of Things (IoT) app APIs. Salt uses this process to understand each API and creates the basis for normal behavior tailored to customers and their applications. After that, Salt reveals anomalies that are identified as indicators of an attack during reconnaissance. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y88n2l7r Lenovo delivers world’s first 5G laptop with Verizon, EE, Sunrise and CMCC Lenovo, one of the world’s leading personal technology companies producing innovative PCs and mobile…
Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG, the leading mobile operator in the German market, has announced an agreement to sell about 10,100 telecom sites to the group’s majority-owned tower infrastructure arm Telxius Telecom for EUR 1.5 billion. The acquisition deal includes 10,000 rooftop sites and up to 80 tower sites, as well as an obligation to build 2,400 new sites (BTS). This move will ensure the company’s exceptional future growth in Germany, Europe’s largest telecom market, where a robust deployment by operators is expected to improve mobile broadband coverage and secure the future deployment of 5G. Markus Haas, CEO of Telefonica Deutschland, said, “This is one of the largest and most important transactions in the history of Telefonica Deutschland. It represents an important milestone in focusing our business activities. We are pursuing a clear course based on our growth strategy. Within this strategy, we are focusing on further improving the quality of the O2 network for our…
Contributed by Maor Efrati, CTO at monogoto Working from home: A lot has been said about increased productivity and family time as positively impacted during the COVID-19 quarantine. I am discovering that it’s also good for writing and for analyzing the many conversations that I and my monogoto.io partner Itamar Kunik have regarding cellular, WiFi, and the future of connectivity. @monogoto we are building an OTT cellular network. We are providing a connectivity service to any company that desires to have cellular connectivity as part of the offering or product. Simplifying the backend and network with strong API’s while keeping all the bells and whistles that a cellular network can support over a traditional last mile (RJ45 and WiFi). It will be interesting to see what plays out regarding WiFi vs Cellular as the last-mile provider. Some think cellular technology is the perfect solution for all wireless networks, while others hope…
Spanish telecom operator MasMovil agrees $3.3 billion private equity bid KKR, Cinven and Providence have made their Public Acquisition Offer for Spanish telecoms operator MasMovil. The three venture capital funds have proposed to pay EUR 22.5 per share of the telco, which is valued at almost EUR 3 billion. According to the statement, KKR, Cinven and Providence will pay a 20 percent premium on the current MasMovil share price. Meinrad Spenger, MasMovil Chief Executive, said that they have signed an agreement with the bidders on a deal which would be “beneficial for the shareholders and other stakeholders in the company.” Furthermore, the bidders noted that they would maintain continuity in MasMovil’s strategy, staff and executive team. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y754vsc9 Google Cloud signs major UK government deal The technology giant Google Cloud has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to make its cloud solutions…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF4PTgh6eUY Communications is the cornerstone that affects every aspect of our society; web browsing, cell phone calls and instant messaging have become increasingly integrated into the way we live and work. The range and complexity of available products and technologies are evolving rapidly, so business-wise, it is extremely valuable to have someone on your side who is able to guide you to success and make your business prosper. The world of telecommunications is all about helping people to connect, and this is the driving force behind Laura Pakamaniene, Key Account Manager at DIDWW. “Not many account representatives are as efficient and reliable as Laura,” said Karishma Mirpuri from Itelbpo Smart Solutions. “We met when I was looking for new DID providers. She had my team and I sold from the onset with her sales and communications skills, as well as her knowledge of the VoIP industry. Since…
Openreach adopts Nokia’s 10Gbps FTTP broadband kit for the UK The Finnish telecom equipment manufacturer Nokia has announced that Openreach will deploy its next-generation fiber solutions. This will help meet Openreach’s target to bring ultra-fast and reliable broadband access to 20 million homes across the UK by the mid-to-late 2020s. Clive Selley, CEO of Openreach, said, “This new digital platform will help our economy to bounce back more quickly from the COVID-19 pandemic – enabling people to continue work from home, and millions of businesses to operate seamlessly online for decades to come.” This supplier agreement also marks a shift away from reliance on Huawei equipment for the UK’s largest broadband networks. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/yb6cj6jn Google and Apple’s joint COVID-19 contact tracing API now available to health authorities Apple and Google have released the first public version of their jointly developed API for COVID-19 tracing apps. This software will enable public health authorities to…