Microsoft surprises with new foldable Surface Duo phone running Android Microsoft has unveiled a new dual-screen Android smartphone, the Surface Duo. The folding phone features two 5.6-inch displays that can rotate 360 degrees, which allows it to be fully unfolded as a miniature 8.3-inch tablet. The Surface Duo can run two different apps at the same time, and one of the displays can be used as a game controller or keyboard. Microsoft has incorporated elements of Windows 10X, a new operating system meant for hybrid devices. The company said that the Surface Duo will launch in late 2020, in time for the holiday season. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y66mjttm Telefonica Deutschland deploys Infinera DRX for 5G network modernisation Telefonica Deutschland has chosen the Infinera DRX Series to upgrade its national mobile transport network. The Infinera DRX Series is a portfolio of disaggregated routers that combines a carrier-class white box portfolio with Infinera…
LG Uplus launches preliminary 5G roaming services in China South Korean mobile carrier LG UPlus is rolling out its 5G roaming service in China in partnership with China Unicom, a state-run telecom operator. According to the statement, LG Uplus teamed up with China Unicom for the 5G roaming service in April and tested out own services in China from June. The preliminary service was launched after the two companies completed linking their networks on August 16. LG Uplus said its 5G roaming service is currently available only on the LG V50 ThinQ smartphone, but soon it will be expanded to Samsung Galaxy S10 and Note 10 users with software upgrades. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yyyhqm3v Oracle strikes deal to provide cloud support for VMware workloads Oracle and VMware have announced a deal resolving their bitter dispute over how Oracle provides technical support for VMware users. The deal will make it easier…
According to a report by the US-based Pew Research Center, nine out of ten South Koreans own a smartphone, indicating the highest level of smartphone usage in the world. The study revealed that a staggering 95 percent of the population in South Korea has a smartphone, while the remaining 5 percent of the nation uses a mobile phone without access to the Internet. More than 30,133 people in 27 countries took part in the survey conducted last year. It transpired that three out of four adults used smartphones in 18 developed countries. According to the survey, Israel came in second with 88 percent, followed by the Netherlands with 87 percent, and Sweden with 86 percent. Australia, the U.S., Spain, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Argentina, Japan and Canada followed, with the ownership of smartphones ranging from 81 percent in the U.S. to 66 percent in Canada. Among the advanced…
The global telecommunications solutions provider ZTE and the mobile operator Hutchinson Drei Austria announced another strategic step to expand their partnership in preparation for the 5G rollout in Austria. The cooperation between mobile operators and telecommunications equipment providers is fundamental for the implementation of this cutting-edge technology, and a Joint Innovation Lab initiative was launched to develop, test and optimize the latest 5G technology solutions. The ten-year partnership between ZTE Austria and Hutchinson Drei Austria has already shown great results in upgrading the network for higher quality standards and service improvements, as demonstrated in the most recent Pre-5G trials in Austria. “The first result of the joint innovation initiative was the successful evaluation of the Pre-5G technology, which enabled us to create a commercial Pre-5G in Vienna already at the beginning of this year. This move was a breakthrough in the European telecoms market, which made Austria a true 5G…
The Swedish tech company expects 5G devices market to expand exponentially over the next 5 years. A report issued by Ericsson on Tuesday indicates that IoT (Internet of Things, that includes non-computer connected objects) will see its growth explode with 5G connections available, as they foresee that the connected devices’ market will be multiplied by five. As of today, this market represents 700 million units, and by 2023 their report see a size of 3.5 billion IoT devices. Last November, Ericsson’s expectations were of half this number. Patrik Carwall, head of industry marketing department at Ericsson thinks that among those 3.5 billion, 1 billion devices will use 5G. He added “We have been reporting on mobile industry development for a number of years. However, this report is probably one of the more exciting ones because we are at the start of a big change in the industry.” 5G will start…
One of Africa’s largest economy, if not the largest (an ongoing debate with South Africa), Nigeria’s VoIP sector has seen in increase of subscription over a period of 12 months. With 93% of growth on one year, VoIP went from 46,348 users in May 2017 to reaching 89,447 in April 2018. Out of the two main operators in that segment, Smile Communications is in charge of 93% of the market with 83,445 accounts against 6,032 for its smaller rival, Ntel network. Still, the VoIP technology is a very narrow market on a GSM-dominated market. So far VoIP represents 0.06% of communications when GSM accounts for 99.7%. This is mainly due to a lack of broadband penetration into the country’s infrastructure. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) assured that it expect to increase broadband penetration to 30%, compared to 22% right now, by putting on policies to achieve this goal. Prof. Umar…
Two of the main key players in South African mobile operators, MTN and Vodacom, have shown interest in investing in the Ethiopian company Ethio Telecom. Both companies have invested in many countries on the continent. Ethiopia was not one of them as the government wanted to keep this sector under its control. But their policy is changing and they have decided to consider opening Ethio Telecom’s capital to investors. According to MTN, “Ethiopia presents many exciting telecommunication opportunities and we look forward to further discussions with that nation’s authorities on potential partnerships and opportunities.” and Vodacam stated that it “has said on many occasions that Ethiopia is an attractive market so it follows that there would be interest. Naturally this is dependent on what might become available and if it fits within our investment parameters.” Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopian new Prime Minister, came to power with promises of reforms. This policy…
Huawei, the Shenzhen based technology company, has announced the launch of a smartphone that will use the famous cryptocurrency. It will use BTC.com’s platform as a Bitcoin wallet on its smartphones. New devices coming out of Huawei factories will integrate Huawei AppGallery that will give access to the Bitcoin wallet. “Cryptocurrencies have recently expanded the human understanding of digital economy at a large scale … We expect to see massive growth in global cryptocurrency adoption habits in the near future,” said the vice president of Huawei Mobile Services, Dr. Jaime Gonzalo. Through the app, users will be able to buy products and services with Bitcoins. They will also have the possibility to follow cryptocurrency mining and get blockchain informations. It will also be an opportunity for Chinese customers to have a taste of cryptocurrency. So far, Google Play on Android and Apple’s App Store were not allowed by Chinese authorities…
That’s what researchers at CCS Insight believe. According to their report, China and the United States will lead the way in deploying the next generation of mobile technology. Commercial deployments of 5G in the U.S. are expected as soon as the end of 2018. CCS Insight’s forecast of an initial U.S. lead corroborates with a report from the GSMA at the end of March 2018, but the firms appear to disagree on the rest of their rankings for the period prior to 2025. In the GSMA’s report, by 2025, China falls to fourth place with 25 percent of mobile connections being 5G. The United States takes the lead with 49 percent, followed by Japan (45 percent) and Europe (31 percent). IN 2025, MOBILE BROADBAND IS STILL PREDICTED TO REPRESENT 98% OF ALL 5G CONNECTIONS “The industry might be struggling to establish the business models for investment in 5G, but this isn’t stopping leading…


