Premium smartphones account for over half of global handset revenues in 2022 According to Counterpoint Research, higher-priced smartphones – those costing more than $600 – accounted for 55% of entire handset revenue in 2022. This is the first time that premium market revenue has accounted for more than half of the worldwide smartphone market. In 2022, revenue attributed to handsets costing $1,000 or more increased by 38%. Apple did well in the premium market, rising 6% year on year and accounting for three-quarters of overall sales in the sector. With more OEMs producing foldable devices in the luxury market, Android smartphones might experience a fresh wave of growth in 2023. Read the full article. Vonage launches no-code video conferencing solution for businesses With the introduction of Vonage’s Meetings API, companies now have a developer-free method of integrating video conferencing into their websites or platforms. The no-code, customizable API is designed…
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…
Vodafone and WWF have announced a new relationship that will advance the communications company’s net-zero goal for 2040, while enhancing the circular economy through the collecting and recycling of smartphones. The program is a component of Vodafone’s three-year alliance with WWF, with initiatives being focused on assisting customers to make more environmentally friendly decisions. The “One million phones for the planet” campaign went live on November 22nd, 2022 in support of Vodafone’s circularity and net-zero goals. The new project contributes to Vodafone’s goal of reusing, reselling or recycling 100% of its network waste. Additionally, it will accelerate progress toward the company’s flagship net-zero goal. Customers in Europe and Africa will be encouraged to trade in their outdated mobile devices for repair, refurbishment or recycling. Vodafone will donate £1, or the equivalent in local currency, for every phone collected as a contribution to WWF conservation projects all across the…
The UK telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, has announced new regulations that will force phone companies to take action against fake phone number usage by detecting and, where possible, banning spoofed calls. This action tries to address an issue that has led to 40.8 million people becoming the subject of fraudulent calls and messages throughout the summer of 2022. Technical steps to combat nuisance calls have already been put in place by the vast majority of the large ISPs, phone companies and mobile network operators, although these measures are not always successful. Furthermore, there are still many operators that could do more, notably smaller providers and some VoIP carriers. According to the telecom watchdog, preventing such calls without substantial international cooperation and coordination is technically complex and frequently risks intercepting legitimate communications as well. According to Ofcom, around 700,000 UK residents have fallen victim to spoofed phone calls in…
Telinta, a global leader in cloud-based softswitch solutions for UCaaS and VoIP service providers, has announced a unique enhancement to its TeliGlobeTM Brandable Mobile VoIP solution. End users can download Telinta’s free Mobile Softphone application from both Google Play and Apple iTunes. Telinta customers now have the option to enable new end users to open an account and sign up for VoIP services directly from the brandable app. The new “in-app” sign-up capability joins TeliGlobe’s existing option for online sign-up using a browser, and is available to Telinta customers using TeliGlobe Brandable at no additional cost. The new capability also provides Telinta customers with the option to offer free calling as a promotional incentive, enabling prospective users to make a few test calls, for which the Telinta customer can securely predefine a spending limit, set allowable destinations, and more. TeliGlobe offers an extremely affordable way for ITSPs and…
The SHEFA-2 underwater cable, which connects the Faroe Islands to Scotland’s mainland through the Shetland and Orkney Islands, suffered damage in two separate instances last week, rendering much of the island without Internet access. In separate events, three critical subsea cables linking Marseille to Lyon, Milan and Barcelona were deliberately severed in the south of France, according to the cable’s operator, affecting internet service for consumers in Europe, Asia and the United States. Cloud service providers worked quickly to repair the backbone infrastructure. According to a report by the cloud security company Zscaler, the unanticipated cable damage caused packet loss and increased latency for websites and apps transiting the damaged pathways. While the French authorities believe sabotage occurred, their Scottish colleagues are still unsure of what actually severed the wires. “We expect it will be fishing vessels that damaged the cable but it is very rare…
Europe may see mobile network interruptions this winter Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February earlier this year, there has been almost daily talk about potential energy shortages and soaring costs. According to telecom sector insiders, any power outages or energy restrictions may have a negative impact on communication networks. According to this assertion, many European nations do not have enough backup measures to mitigate power outages. This increases the likelihood of tower batteries running out and mobile networks failing. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/mr2kdvm6 Deutsche Telekom unveils the 5G T Phone Deutsche Telekom has introduced their T Phone and T Phone Pro, two in-house handsets with prices starting below €250 and now available in 10 European regions. Subscribers in Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia will be able to purchase the gadgets. Both devices run on Android 12.0 and have three rear cameras,…
Rogers apologizes for the massive service outage Rogers, a Canadian telecommunications company, experienced a widespread outage earlier this month and is now under pressure to guarantee that this does not happen again. The most damaging effect of the outage was how it disrupted crucial communications, and the Canadian government has declared that it now wants all national carriers to find a way of helping each other in such worst-case situations. Rogers has committed to investing at least CA$250 million to physically isolate its wireless and internet networks so as to add an extra layer of stability. There is also a promise to spend CA$10 billion over the next three years to extend and improve Rogers’ network. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/35dxbj4d Nokia and CityFibre sign a 10-year broadband equipment agreement A 10-year contract for XGS-PON broadband equipment with CityFibre has been announced by Nokia. This arrangement covers the purchase of access…
UK telecoms sector agrees to help customers in need The UK government and operators have approved a new deal to help customers who are struggling to pay their broadband and mobile bills. Andrew Glover, chair of the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA), stated, “The telecoms sector knows that people are facing real challenges with the cost-of-living crisis. Our members are determined to do what they can to help their customers through this period and, together with the government, we will work to raise greater awareness of the support available.” Among other measures, telcos have agreed to allow vulnerable customers to switch to cheaper tariffs without charge or penalty, or adjust their plans to make payments more manageable. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/msjxsp2f Sinch achieves HIPAA compliance for its voice, fax and UCaaS services Sinch has announced that it has successfully achieved third-party validation of its compliance with the Health Insurance Portability…
As sanctions bite, Russia’s MTS begins to discount cell phones MTS, Russia’s largest operator, reported a 76.2 % year-on-year drop in Q1 net profit, blaming the results largely on rising interest rates caused by Western sanctions. Russia boosted local interest rates to 20% in the early days of the conflict before lowering them twice, leaving rates around 14% today. MTS has resorted to selling used and discounted smartphones, and is planning to sell its tower assets, in keeping with the current trend of monetizing passive assets located throughout Europe and beyond. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/c65t43kb Verizon warns of record rise in ransomware According to Verizon Business, the number of ransomware attacks on enterprises has increased by 13% year-on-year, resulting in a rise exceeding that of the previous five years combined. Ransomware was involved in some manner in one-quarter of the cases investigated, with desktop-sharing software and email being the two…

