French operator Bouygues Telecom and US-based TeleSign Corporation, a provider of user verification and Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) solutions owned by BICS (Belgacom International Carrier Services), have agreed on a new partnership. Under the agreement, Bouygues Telecom will gain access to TeleSign’s mobile identity products to protect its users from online identity theft and fraud activities such as Account Takeover (ATO) through SIM Swap and Synthetic Identity fraud. In the press release announcing the deal, Ravish Patel, Director of Mobile Identity at TeleSign, claimed that Mobile Identity represents a massive opportunity for mobile operators to play an important role in today’s digital disruption. “TeleSign has been working with mobile operators, guiding them on key aspects around the opportunity, use cases and privacy principles,” commented Patel. The announcement also points to breakthrough innovations in the European digital market in recent years, as more and more digital businesses…
CounterPath Corporation, a Canadian software company that delivers Unified Communications (UC) solutions to businesses and service providers, has announced its membership in the Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA). As a peer organization that has a mandate to foster the expansion, availability and adoption of hosted communications services worldwide, the CCA provides a forum for industry leaders to discuss the most relevant topics. Todd Carothers, Chief Revenue Officer at CounterPath, said, “The CCA comprises some of the world’s leading cloud communications experts, vendors and strategists, and CounterPath is thrilled to be joining this fast-growing community. When extending the offer of membership into the organization, the CCA cited CounterPath’s long-term leadership in cloud communications as well as the ongoing technical innovations we have introduced to the market, including our award-winning Bria and Stretto solutions. We look forward to working with the CCA’s leadership team and members to advance the state of the cloud communications…
The three largest telecommunications providers in Germany, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and Vodafone, have announced a partnership to build 6,000 new mobile sites in order to improve broadband coverage in the country. The companies are planning to work closely together and share the use of the network, aiming to provide the best possible mobile broadband coverage for customers in rural areas, as well as along road, rail and inland waterway transportation routes. This is a condition that the operators are required to fulfill as specified in the 5G spectrum auction held by German federal regulators earlier this year. Dirk Wossner, Telekom Deutschland’s Managing Director, said, “The planned collaboration is a milestone for network expansion in Germany. Our common goal is to eliminate coverage gaps in the mobile network as soon as possible. Sharing infrastructure is nothing new for us. Sharing it at this scale, however, is a major step in the right…
The latest report by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) indicates that the 50th commercial 5G network has now been launched, following the activation of 5G services in China. All the three state-backed telecom operators, China Unicom, China Mobile and China Telecom have launched next-gen networks and have already registered more than 9 million 5G subscribers. The GSA 5G Market Snapshot marks this deployment as the 50th commercial roll out of a 5G network. Joe Barrett, the President of the GSA, said, “I think that we have all been surprised by how quickly 5G has taken off, with deployments and commitments from across the globe gathering pace. This latest milestone, combined with commercial launches in the world’s largest mobile market, is set to lead to an explosion in 5G users and also have a knock-on impact on driving both use cases and innovation.” By the end of October 2019, the…
Avaya, an American tech company specializing in unified business communications, and RingCentral, a provider of cloud-based communications for small businesses and enterprise companies, have announced a strategic partnership for a new cloud offering worth at least USD 500 million. RingCentral’s multi-million contribution includes a one-time USD 125 million preferred equity investment and a USD 375 million advance to Avaya for selling the RingCentral unified communications as-a-service (UCaaS) solution in selected countries. According to the terms of the agreement, Avaya will introduce a new global UCaaS solution called Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral (Avaya Cloud Office) in the first quarter of 2020. Avaya Cloud Office will build up the company’s existing portfolio to offer a full suite of UC, CC, UCaaS and CCaaS solutions to a global customer base, which currently includes more than 120000 customers, over 100 million UC lines and 5 million CC users in over 180 countries. This solution…
Telus Corp., one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies, is expanding its security business and has agreed to acquire ADT Security Services Canada, Inc. (ADT Canada) for approximately CAD 700 million. ADT Canada provides security and automation services for residential and business customers. The company has about 500,000 customers and 1,000 team members across the country. Jim DeVries, President and CEO at ADT, said, “The sale of our more capital intensive Canadian operations enables us to sharpen our focus on the exciting growth and higher margin opportunities in the U.S., where we can more efficiently invest our time and resources. Importantly, these emerging opportunities are ideal for leveraging the trusted ADT brand as we continue generating strong free cash flow to drive shareholder value over the long term.” According to the agreement, all of the ADT Canada team members and customers will join Telus. The company said it will “deepen…
American telecoms giant Verizon said that it has made enterprise-specific upgrades and has “supercharged” its cloud-calling Virtual Communications Express (VCE) platform. The company has boosted its VCE solution by providing delivery over its global VoIP network, and reinforced the service with hosted or premises-based SD-WAN connectivity. The platform, which now provides an opportunity to enhance employee collaboration and productivity, is currently available across Asia, Europe and the United States. Alla Reznik, Executive Director of Customer Experience, Global Products and Services at Verizon, said, “By leveraging Verizon’s global network strength and market leading VoIP portfolio, we have developed an enhanced collaboration solution that delivers powerful hosted UC&C features underpinned by superior network connectivity and performance. This enterprise-grade solution will take global business collaboration to the next level.” In its press release, the company said that by combining the VCE platform with Verizon’s VoIP service, users will significantly reduce costs…
Samsung Electronics has officially revealed the first 5G smartphone in its mid-range Galaxy A series. The announcement comes just a few weeks after launching the company’s flagship Galaxy S10 5G and Galaxy Note 10 5G devices. The new Galaxy A90 with 5G connectivity offers near flagship-grade hardware and includes some impressive features like Samsung DeX support, “Desktop Experience” software for mirroring the phone’s screen and apps on a PC or TV, and Game Booster for enhanced gaming performance. DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT and Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics, said, “We’re excited about the success of the Galaxy A Series – a generation of smartphones built for the new Era of Live that focuses on essential features people want the most, including a high-quality camera, long-lasting battery and immersive display. Samsung has worked tirelessly with our partners in the 5G ecosystem to bring 5G to as…
Uniphore Software Systems Pvt, a global conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology startup based in Chennai, India and Palo Alto, California, has announced that it has raised USD 51 million in Series C funding led by March Capital Partners. The latest round was reinforced by Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures), Sistema Asia, CXO Fund, ITP, Iron Pillar and Patni Family, amongst others. Uniphore’s new round is their largest funding so far, and marks “one of the most substantial funding rounds in the conversational AI sector.” This Indian startup promotes the use of the AI in call centers to bridge the gap between people and machines through voice, and aims to substantially innovate customer service, a market that is valued at USD 350 billion. According to the statement, the funds will be used to accelerate Uniphore’s go-to-market in North America, invest in research and development for the next wave of improvements…
Trinity Cyber, a Bowie, Maryland-based cybersecurity services and solutions startup, has announced the completion of a $23 million funding round led by Intel Capital and other top institutional investors. The company claims that it is taking an entirely new approach to cybersecurity and, with the help of its new technology known as Proactive Threat Interference, is able to “proactively intercept and control cyberattacks” before they even reach the target’s network, thus “reducing risk and increasing cost to adversaries.” Steve Ryan, CEO of Trinity Cyber, said, “This investment by Intel Capital and other strategic backers is significant. I co-founded Trinity Cyber to transform the way the world addresses the cyber problem. No one is doing what Trinity Cyber is doing. No one else can. We make the adversary fail, and we feel this strategic support validates the elegance of our solution.” “As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, technology to counter…