Fusion Connect, a global Managed Communication Service Provider (MCSP), has announced the availability of new Microsoft Teams Calling Service features. These enhanced capabilities are intended to turn Microsoft Teams into a full business phone system, improving collaboration and productivity for mid-market and corporate businesses in the United States and throughout the world. The newly added features include compliance call recording, a receptionist/attendant console and IT Service Management (ITSM) integration. These features are in addition to those revealed by Fusion Connect in December 2022, which include business continuity, a simpler administrative site and employee productivity tracking. The enhanced features are now accessible in additional countries in Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, offering organizations a more complete and simplified solution. With these new features, organizations can make the most of their Microsoft 365 investment while also benefiting from critical collaboration, continuity and workforce management tools. Compliance call…
T-Mobile to acquire Mint Mobile for up to $1.35bn T-Mobile stated on Wednesday that it intends to purchase Ka’ena Corporation and its subsidiaries, including Mint Mobile, for up to $1.35 billion in cash and stock. The acquisition also includes wireless provider Ultra Mobile and wholesaler Plum. T- Mobile’s decision to pay a premium for the acquisition is thought to have been influenced by Ryan Reynolds, who fronts most of Mint Mobile’s marketing and holds an ownership stake in the company. According to CEO Mike Sievert, Mint Mobile’s innovative marketing approach, led by Reynolds, will be adapted to other sectors of T-Mobile. Reynolds is required to remain with the company for an unspecified amount of time under the terms of the agreement. Read the full article. Meta Platforms to layoff an additional 10,000 employees Meta Platforms is laying off 10,000 employees as part of its continued attempts to improve its financial…
GPT-4 is the latest artificial intelligence (AI) model produced by OpenAI, a San Francisco-based research lab. The AI model, which is intended to improve deep learning, is available to paying OpenAI users via ChatGPT Plus with a usage cap. Developers may join a waitlist to gain access to the API. GPT-4 is capable of handling more sophisticated tasks than its predecessor, GPT-3.5. This AI software version can generate text, process image and text inputs, and perform at a “human level” when related to a variety of professional and academic benchmarks. OpenAI spent six months “iteratively aligning” GPT-4 using lessons learned from an internal adversarial testing program and ChatGPT. The model’s skills extend beyond visual understanding; it can label and analyze relatively complicated images, as well as handle nuanced instructions. A number of high-profile clients are presently using GPT-4. Stripe uses GPT-4 to scan company websites and provide a…
AT&T has been named the most commonly impersonated brand in phishing attacks, according to a global report published by Cloudflare. The report identifies the top 50 brands most commonly impersonated by phishing URLs, based on data gathered by Cloudflare’s machine learning and data analysis tools. The telecommunications powerhouse came in first, followed by PayPal and Microsoft. Cloudflare, which aims to build a better internet by delivering security, performance, and reliability services, discovered that the most frequently impersonated businesses were banking, technology, and telecommunications. Phishing is the fastest-growing online crime, endangering both consumers and companies. By impersonating trusted sites, attackers attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, bank and cryptocurrency account details, or other sensitive data. They use an email, text message, or mistyped website link that appears to be from a well-known brand to dupe their victims. Cloudflare, which protects roughly 20%…
Salesforce launches a generative AI CRM technology The world’s first generative AI customer relationship management (CRM) platform, Einstein GPT, has been released by Salesforce. The system will provide personalized content for interactions across sales, service, marketing, commerce, and IT using real-time data from the Salesforce Data Cloud. Clients may integrate data with OpenAI’s cutting-edge AI models or employ external models within Salesforce CRM to create dynamic content that responds to user requirements. In order to invest in high-potential businesses and support ethical, reliable, and generative AI, Salesforce Ventures has also established a $250 million Generative AI Fund. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2vu9vhnn Dish Wireless receives FCC permission to test T-Mobile’s 5G spectrum Dish Wireless will perform 5G testing using part of T-Mobile’s low-band spectrum before determining whether to acquire the spectrum later this year. The Federal Communications Commission approved the testing, which will be conducted in Arizona until September 30. Dish…
NTT DoCoMo partners with Ericsson and Keysight on 6G NTT DoCoMo has announced the expansion of its experimental 6G trials, for which it has teamed with Ericsson and Keysight. The collaboration with Ericsson will concentrate on new 6G wireless interfaces for frequencies ranging from 6 to 15 GHz, as well as the sub-TeraHertz band, which encompasses frequencies exceeding 100 GHz. The collaboration with Keysight will put ultra-wideband communications across sub-THz frequencies to the test. DoCoMo has also announced that it is working on a RAN intelligent controller that will be interoperable with base station equipment from several Open RAN manufacturers. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/bdzy6j9f Huawei showcases its commitment to green technology During MWC2023, Huawei sponsored the European Carrier Executives Roundtable, where Zhou Yu, Huawei’s network consulting and system integration domain president, addressed Huawei’s value proposition and innovative techniques in the green target network domain. The observations and remarks emphasized Huawei’s…
The GSMA, a global association of mobile network operators, has unveiled a new project dubbed the GSMA Open Gateway with the goal of offering developers universal access to operator networks. This objective will be accomplished through the creation of a framework of universal network Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs) that will unite the industry behind open APIs. The change signifies a fundamental shift in how the telecoms sector creates and provides services in a world where there is an API economy. At the MWC Barcelona 2023, 21 mobile network carriers will already be demonstrating the potential of the initiative. These demonstrations include an immersive concert experience, a live ‘jam session’, and an immersive gaming and high definition video showcase. The Linux Foundation, along with the GSMA, defines, develops and publishes the GSMA Open Gateway APIs in CAMARA, an open-source project allowing developers to access expanded network capabilities. By using…
For the first time in over 60 years, Nokia, the Finnish manufacturer of telecom equipment, has unveiled its redesigned logo and brand identity. This shift underlines Nokia’s focus on fast expansion and its move away from the smartphone market towards corporate technologies. The new logo is made up of five distinct forms that create the word NOKIA, with the customary blue color of the previous logo being replaced with a variety of colors depending on the application. Nokia’s CEO, Pekka Lundmark, stated that the company’s focus had switched from selling equipment to telecom operators, to selling equipment to enterprises. The company intends to expand its service provider business, although its primary focus is currently on selling equipment to non-telecom businesses. Lundmark also stated that he plans to reassess the growth paths of Nokia’s various businesses, including divestment strategies if required. Nokia intends to expand into factory automation and…
Broadvoice recognized as a top UCaaS provider by TrustRadius In its Winter 2023 “Best of” awards, TrustRadius named Broadvoice, a provider of hosted voice and unified communications as a service (UCaaS), as one of the top three products for Best Relationship, Best Value for Price and Best Feature Set in the UCaaS category. The awards are based on key data and unbiased user ratings from July 1 to December 31, 2022. The b-hive unified communications technology from Broadvoice offers virtual contact centers, cloud PBX, UC, collaboration tools and the next-generation b-hive Communicator for employees to use in streamlining communications and collaboration capabilities. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/237r7ms2 Zoho announces their Trident UC platform Trident, a new platform for collaboration, productivity and communication experiences, has been unveiled by Zoho Corporation. Trident provides users with a single platform and lessens tool ambiguity by bringing together mail, messaging, audio/video conversations, calendar, tasks, and more…
Zoom, the video conferencing powerhouse that had explosive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, has disclosed that 15% of its workforce, or around 1,300 workers, will be let go. The company’s CEO, Eric Yuan, attributed the need to reduce staff expenses to the company’s previously accelerated hiring during the pandemic and the unpredictability of the global economy. The number of staff at Zoom increased by more than 275% between July 2019 and October 2022, reaching 8,422 employees. Many companies and schools depended on Zoom to keep their operations running at the peak of the pandemic; however, with lockdowns becoming rare events and the rise of “Zoom fatigue,” the corporation has struggled to continue its growth. Zoom’s market cap peaked at $150 billion in late 2020, but has since dropped to roughly $24 billion. Yuan acknowledged not devoting enough effort to analyzing the company’s growth and determining if that expansion…