Telecom firms in Europe are coming together to assist Ukrainians in staying connected, and they are using a variety of steps that differ from company to company and from country to country, depending on the markets in which they operate. Here are some of the steps that telecommunications firms are taking. Deutsche Telekom has started providing free calls and text messages to Ukraine. This initiative affects both individual and commercial clients making calls from landlines and mobile phones, as well as roaming in Ukraine. T-Mobile Polska and T-Mobile US, the operator’s Polish and US subsidiaries, both launched comparable deals. Verizon has waived costs for consumer and corporate users traveling to and from Ukraine. Customers with foreign coverage bolt-ons will not lose any minutes from their subscription, and voice and text roaming costs have been waived. Virgin Media O2 has lifted costs for calls to and from Ukraine,…
WOW! partners with Reach Mobile Wide Open West (WOW!) has teamed up with the MVNO aggregator Reach Mobile to launch a wireless service. WOW! mobile, powered by Reach, will be accessible in a few markets this spring, and the business is currently working on determining the initial launch sites. It is intended that the mobile product should be expanded to all of WOW! markets shortly after the launch. WOW! will be able to bring a mobile product to market rapidly by relying on their operational efficiency, a full-featured platform, and a fantastic customer experience in a lower-cost operating model by employing Reach Next. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2smnm38n Audi taps Verizon for 5G vehicles Audi of America and Verizon have launched a new cooperative venture, with the goal of utilizing Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband connection within Audi automobiles. Their offering will encompass augmented mobile services and new driving-assistance technologies, paving the…
Verizon drives towards its goal of net zero carbon emissions Verizon has used the proceeds from its most recent $1 billion green bond to sign a number of renewable energy purchase agreements (REPAs) in an effort to make its operations more ecologically friendly. These REPAs encompass around 910 megawatts of new renewable energy producing capacity throughout seven states in the USA, with wind turbines accounting for around 51% and solar panels for the remaining 49%. By 2025, the operator claims it will have sourced or generated renewable energy equal to 50% of its annual electricity use. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/4fzb629n Broadvoice to officially launch GoContact BPO offering At the Call & Contact Center Expo US, Broadvoice, a supplier of hosted voice, unified communications (UC) and SIP Trunking services for businesses, will demonstrate its new contact center solution for the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. This new offering is the result…
Samsung introduces S22 flagship smartphones At its most recent Galaxy Unpacked presentation, Samsung Electronics announced a new lineup of premium smartphones. The S22 series has three 5G models, including the top-of-the-range Ultra edition, which includes features from Samsung’s previous Note handsets. With an Armor Aluminum frame used in all three versions, Samsung promises a highly durable phone. In addition, to lessen the environmental impact of the smartphones, the business has used recovered fishing nets and post-consumer trash in numerous components such as the speaker and keys. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yc7efuay FCC to tackle broadband discrimination The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced the creation of a new task force charged with establishing regulations that encourage equitable access to broadband as the organization prepares to crack down on digital discrimination. The task group will focus on developing regulations that prevent discrimination in broadband deployment based on a community’s income, racial or…
SK Telecom, South Korea’s leading mobile carrier, has partnered with Joby Aviation, a California-based aerospace company developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL). The two parties will collaborate on urban air mobility, which is an ecosystem that includes personal air vehicles and infrastructure such as a new navigation system, take-off and landing fields, and charging technologies. Joby’s experience showcasing eVTOL will be included into SKT’s information and communication technology infrastructure under a strategic partnership agreement. The two businesses will collaborate in all areas, including aircraft and mobility as a service, to provide emissions-free aerial ridesharing to cities and communities around South Korea. SKT and Joby plan to enable multi-modal travel using SKT’s T Map mobility platform and UT’s ride-hailing service. SKT aspires to become a connected intelligence leader that logically links physical elements such as UAM airplanes, vertiports and ground transportation by utilizing its capabilities in…
The telecom industry is responsible for keeping the globe linked through communications services. There are many aspects of these services that we take for granted, from private calls to business interactions. However, it is only because of the telecom sector that we are able to swiftly connect to individuals all over the world, whether by phone, internet, airwaves or cables. For years, cybercriminals have targeted telecom operators because they maintain and manage vital communications infrastructure that is used to transport and store vast quantities of private and sensitive data. Cyber-attacks on the telecom industry in particular, have risen dramatically in recent years as technology has advanced and our world has evolved to become more connected. In this article, we hope to shed light on the cyber security threats that the telecommunications sector is facing. Also, explain how providers can defend their digital environments and key infrastructure from possible cyber-attacks Why…
T‑Mobile now runs fully on renewable energy T-Mobile was the first and only US carrier to declare an ambitious plan in 2018 to source 100% of its entire power usage from renewable energy by the end of 2021, and the company has now revealed that it has met this objective. T-Mobile created a renewable energy plan that includes eight virtual power agreements, 19 retail partnerships, one Green Direct program, and unbundled Renewable Energy Certificates that assist projects around the country to help attain the 100% target. In order to meet this goal, the corporation has invested in sufficient wind and solar power to account for every unit of electricity utilized on an annual basis. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2p9dkvcy Cosmote receives a fine for mishandling cyberattack Cosmote, Greece’s largest mobile provider, was the target of a cyberattack by an unknown entity in September 2020. Over the course of five visits, the…
TIA releases supply chain security standard The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has compiled the SCS 9001 specification, which it claims is the world’s first supply chain security standard designed particularly for the ICT industry. The SCS 9001 standard applies to all ICT sector goods, including software, hardware and services that are linked to the association’s global networks. SCS 9001’s goal is to validate end-to-end cyber and physical security throughout ICT network infrastructure. The new standard is based on a Quality Management System (QMS) that operationalizes industry best practices and recommendations such as ISO 27001, the Prague Proposals, applicable NIST standards, and the CSIS Criteria for Security and Trust. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2p8hzdru Metro by T-Mobile US now part of the Affordable Connectivity Program Metro by T-Mobile has joined the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). All eligible Metro by T-Mobile customers, new and old, will be able to obtain free…
Vantage Towers partners with Mowea Vantage Towers, a subsidiary of Vodafone, has formed a strategic alliance with the Berlin-based start-up Mowea to power towers with renewable energy. Vantage Towers plans to build 752 micro wind turbines on 52 towers in Germany, with a capacity of up to 650 MWh per year. Under typical wind conditions, the turbines can cut grid power usage and electricity operating expenses at each site by up to two-thirds or more. Installation of the Mowea’s micro wind turbines is planned for the second part of the year, assuming that all relevant licenses are obtained by then. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/35zsph6v Nokia to defend IP Telecom against quantum cyber attacks Nokia has established a partnership with IP Telecom to expand the latter’s data center cloud connection infrastructure to Portuguese urban regions. Under the terms of the agreement, Nokia will create an encrypted optical data center interconnect (DCI)…
AWS announces 3 new Local Zones AWS has announced that AWS Local Zones in Atlanta, Phoenix and Seattle are now generally available. Customers in these three metro regions can utilize these new Local Zones to deliver apps that require single-digit millisecond latency to end users or for on-premises deployments. The company presently has 17 Local Zones spread over 16 metropolises. Each zone provides select services inside Local Zones near population centers, typically where Amazon does not already have a data center footprint. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/4ahzesr3 The Club collaborates with Google Cloud The Club, HKT’s loyalty program and digital enterprises arm, has inked a collaboration agreement with Google Cloud to build a hyper-personalization platform named ‘Copernicus.’ This platform will be integrated throughout The Club’s business pillars into its digital environment. The Club hopes to give clients a personalized online digital experience by combining the network and database with Google Cloud…