Ribbon launches Next Generation Intelligent Edge portfolio to accelerate enterprise migration to cloud services The US technology company Ribbon Communications has introduced its Next Generation Intelligent Edge portfolio that includes the new EdgeMarc 6000, the latest iteration of Ribbon’s modular platform for voice and data functions. The cloud solutions provider said that its products portfolio securely connects and enhances enterprise voice and data applications, including Microsoft Teams, while delivering service assurance, advanced analytics, security, policy and routing capabilities for cloud communications applications. Ribbon’s Next Generation Intelligent Edge portfolio delivers a comprehensive enterprise edge offering to service providers and enterprises. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/uz95gdj Early 5G smartphone market all about Samsung and Huawei According to the latest Strategy Analytics (SA) report, the demand for 5G smartphones turned out to be much higher than expected and reached 19 million units sold in 2019. Almost three-quarters of such deliveries were made by Huawei and…
Six global carriers form a group for MEC, 5G interoperability Verizon, Vodafone, America Movil, KT Corporation, Rogers Communications, and Telstra have joined forces to form the first-of-its-kind cooperation, the 5G Future Forum. The world’s leading telecoms and technology service providers will work together to develop interoperable 5G specifications and mobile edge computing across key geographic regions, including the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe. According to the statement from the carriers, they will “develop public and private marketplaces to enhance developer and customer access to 5G, and will share global best practices in technology deployment.” Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/u3vdooh Google acquires no-code app development platform AppSheet Google has announced the acquisition of AppSheet, a no-code enterprise app development platform that allows developers without extensive programming knowledge to collect rich data, fill up apps with AI, or automatically move data. This works by extracting data from a spreadsheet, database or form, and using the…
Apple now owns Intel’s mobile modem business Intel, a leader in the semiconductor industry, has completed the sale of the majority of its smartphone modem business to Apple. The company said this transaction enables it to focus on developing 5G network technology while maintaining the ability to create modems for non-smartphone applications, such as PCs, Internet of Things (IoT) devices and autonomous vehicles. Apple now uses Qualcomm for 4G LTE and 5G modems for iPhones. With this acquisition, Apple is planning to develop its own modems for smartphones in 2021. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/rqmu724 Orange unveils new five-year grand plan Orange, a French multinational telecommunications corporation, has introduced “Engage 2025”, its new strategy that follows on from the Essentials 2020 plan launched in 2015. The corporation has revealed its goals for the coming years, emphasizing that its business model will be guided by social and environmental responsibility. Considering the operator’s business…
The Wi-Fi Alliance, a non-profit organization that promotes and certifies Wi-Fi technology, has officially announced the launch of the Wi-Fi 6 certification program. Wi-Fi 6, also known as “AX Wi-Fi” or “802.11ax Wi-Fi”, is the next-generation standard in Wi-Fi technology and is an improvement on the current 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard. This initiative promises a range of new features and capabilities designed to create more efficient overall Wi-Fi network performance in challenging environments supporting multiple connected devices. Edgar Figueroa, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Wi-Fi Alliance, said, “Wi-Fi Certified 6 is ushering in a new era of Wi-Fi, building on Wi-Fi’s core characteristics to provide better performance in every environment for users, greater network capacity for service providers to improve coverage for their customers, and new opportunities for advanced applications. Wi-Fi Certified 6 will deliver improvements in connectivity, including in high density locations and IoT environments.” According to…
SES Networks, a provider of global connectivity and managed data services through the only multi-orbit satellite-enabled network and wide-ranging infrastructure on the ground, has announced that it will deliver dedicated, private network connectivity from any vessel, airplane, enterprise, energy or government site in the world to Microsoft Azure using its satellite systems. According to the announcement, SES is able to provide connectivity services across its global fleet of 50 Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and 20 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. The company’s 20 O3b MEO satellites are able to deliver MEF-certified data connectivity with low latency via Azure’s global gateway network and earth-bound network infrastructure, resulting in services that are suitable for edge computing. As the first Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute services partner with a cloud-scale satellite network, SES Networks will offer Azure customers the ability to leverage their satellite-enabled managed services to connect locations and sites in remote and…
Verizon to enable spam call filtering by default on select Android phones Verizon has begun auto-enrolling eligible customers in its free Call Filter service, thus automatically protecting Android users through spam-detection and blocking of high-risk calls. The Federal Communications Commission’s recent ruling has given phone carriers more authority to block spam calls, and Verizon is taking advantage of it to better protect customers. The Call Filter app will automatically block calls from any numbers reported as fraudulent and forward them to voicemail. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y5ctqelq Google and Dell team up on the first Chromebooks made for business Dell Technologies Inc. and Google LLC have announced the launch of their jointly developed laptops – the Dell Latitude 5300 2-in-1 Chromebook Enterprise and Dell Latitude 5400 Chromebook Enterprise. These two laptops are based on existing Dell’s Latitude models, except they run Chrome OS and offer extra security and organisational features.…
Angola Cables and rest of Angolan telecoms industry to be privatised Angola’s official journal, the Diario da Republica has announced that under the Privatisation Programme, the Angolan government is to sell stakes in 195 companies. The telecommunication companies that will be included in the Privatisation Programme are Unitel (in which MSTelecom has a 20% stake), MS Telecom itself, Net One, Multitel, Angola Telecom, TV Cabo Angola, Angola Cables, Angolan postal company ENCTA, Angola Comunicacoes e Sistemas (ACS) and telephone directory company ELTA. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y5aw5r9y Google Accounts now let Android web users authenticate themselves with their fingerprint Google now allows Android phone users to sign into some of its services without a password. The users will verify their identity with a fingerprint only, which makes authentication more secure and easier. This feature is built by using open authentication standards FIDO2, FIDO CTAP and WebAuthn. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yy272mwn Verizon…
The San Francisco-based cloud giant Salesforce has reached an agreement to buy Tableau Software Inc. in an all-stock deal valued at $15.7 billion. By acquiring Tableau, which provides easy-to-use tools for data visualization and management, Salesforce has positioned itself as the latest major technology company to play an important role in helping enterprises analyze data, make smarter decisions, drive intelligent, connected customer experiences, and facilitate innovation. “We are bringing together the world’s #1 CRM with the #1 analytics platform. Tableau helps people see and understand data, and Salesforce helps people engage and understand customers,” stated Marc Benioff, chairman and co-CEO, Salesforce. “It’s truly the best of both worlds for our customers – bringing together two critical platforms that every customer needs to understand their world. I’m thrilled to welcome Adam and his team to Salesforce.” Currently, Tableau has more than 86,000 business customers around the world, including Charles Schwab,…
Motorola Solutions has announced the acquisition of Avtec Inc., the top U.S. provider of advanced dispatch products for public safety and commercial customers. Additional details of the transaction, which closed on the 11th of March, were not released. Based in South Carolina, Avtec specializes in voice over internet protocol (VoIP) dispatch services using land mobile radio (LMR) and broadband networks. The company offers solutions and products that enable customers, including airlines, railroads and energy companies, to connect their personnel in operations centers with workers in the field using two-way radios. Motorola Solutions, a global leader in mission-critical communications, has been reselling the Avtec consoles to its MOTOTRBO customers. Accordingly, such an acquisition will provide Motorola with a complete product portfolio for handling the communications that are vital to Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) users. Motorola currently offers its own MCC line of dispatch consoles to its Project 25 (P25)…
The global organization representing the interests of mobile network operators, GSMA, has called for European governments to “safeguard network security and competition” in the telecommunications infrastructure industry. The association has issued a warning to Europe to refrain from activities that would obstruct the use of certain equipment necessary for 5G mobile network development. According to the GSMA, “Actions that disrupt the equipment supply for the various segments of the network (access, transport and core) will increase costs to European operators, businesses and citizens; delay 5G deployment by years across Europe and potentially also jeopardise the functioning of existing 4G networks upon which 5G is intended to be built.” Although no specific company names are mentioned in the statement, the GSMA initiative highlights the industry’s significant endeavor to prevent the application of additional sanctions, similar to those announced by the United States and Australian governments on Chinese vendors Huawei…