The secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Zhao Houlin, explained at a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, that infrastructure, investment, innovation and inclusion, or the “4 I’s”. Those pillars for information and communication technology (ICT) will be an obligation to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), especially for the next ten years. Infrastructure are essential to hold any economy based on communication and high tech. The future of digital economy in sustainable cities, will largely be based on the capacity to construct strong equipments for those infrastructures, not only to connect people but also objects. Strong investments are fundamental for the development of ICT. In order to see progress on SDG, innovation in the domain of finance will be needed and a mix between public and private investors is one of the solutions. Opportunity is only possible with innovation, thus small companies that base their growth and survival…
The Russian News Agency TASS reported that Apple and Google have been asked by the Russian authorities to remove Telegram Messenger from their stores. The request has been made in April 17th after a court ordered four days earlier that Telegram be taken off, has the company issuing the app refused to comply with the FSB’s request. The FSB asked Telegram to share its data, a demand the company refused to accept. The Russian telecom watchdog sent a notification to users concerning the use of Telegram and issued a statement saying: “In order to anticipate Roskomnadzor’s likely response to the violations regarding the operation of the aforesaid Apple, Inc. services we are asking you to notify us within the tightest deadlines of the company’s further actions regarding the solution of these issues.”
For Andrew Burchik, founder of the Prague based MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) Miracle Tele, the future of mobile operators will be found in Blockchain technology. Miracle Tele is already available in 213 countries. In late April, Miracle Tele allowed its customers to call any destination for €0.2 per minute and data from €0.01 per MB. Miracle Tele is using its own Token called TELE based on ERC20 (Ethereum blockchain) that they want to sell. 150,000,000 TELE are available at €0.1 per token. The sale is not limited in time as it will end when all tokens are sold out. This way the operator allows its users to have a choice: or they use its telecom services like any operator or they “tokenize” their assets and have access to mobile plans by purchasing them with TELE. According to M. Burchik, as smartphones are less a used for conventional communications, operators…
A worldwide partnership between CTG (China Telecom Global) and Global Switch was made official. It will allow the two companies to offer Data Centre Network solutions to customers globally. Global Switch already operates, develops and owns carrier and cloud-neutral data centres, that are located in Europe, and the Asia Pacific area. As a part of its services, it provides IEPL (international ethernet private lines), IPLC (international private leased circuits), VPN and IP transit. Deng Xiaofeng, CEO of CTG, expressed his satisfaction : “The collaboration will bring significant value-adds to our existing and future customers, fuelling their development and success with resilient and mission critical data centre network infrastructure.” John Corcoran, CEO of Global Switch, added: “This agreement with China Telecom Global is recognition of Global Switch’s continued commitment to providing customers with industry-leading facilities and solutions across our global portfolio. This initiative will further enhance access to our extensive connectivity…
Telecom Secretary in India, Aruna Sundarajan expressed concerns about the country’s lack of quality mobile network services. She pointed out the fact that more towers and fiberisation is needed to follow the growth of subscribers. She said, during the second 5G India conference, “In a country where data is growing at 500 per cent, we need much more infrastructure. You need at least double the number of towers, at least double the size of fibre. Otherwise, where will the quality come from? So, they (operators) are working on that We are driving down hard on the service quality areas. We are beginning to see visible changes as a result of it. But it is not enough.” In a situation where call drops occur more often, falling service quality is concerning users and professionals. Manoj Sinha, the Telecom Minister, replied by confirming that the government is committed to “ensure quality of…
Huawei, the Shenzhen based technology company, has announced the launch of a smartphone that will use the famous cryptocurrency. It will use BTC.com’s platform as a Bitcoin wallet on its smartphones. New devices coming out of Huawei factories will integrate Huawei AppGallery that will give access to the Bitcoin wallet. “Cryptocurrencies have recently expanded the human understanding of digital economy at a large scale … We expect to see massive growth in global cryptocurrency adoption habits in the near future,” said the vice president of Huawei Mobile Services, Dr. Jaime Gonzalo. Through the app, users will be able to buy products and services with Bitcoins. They will also have the possibility to follow cryptocurrency mining and get blockchain informations. It will also be an opportunity for Chinese customers to have a taste of cryptocurrency. So far, Google Play on Android and Apple’s App Store were not allowed by Chinese authorities…
CTG (China Telecom Global) and Liquid Telecom (a pan-African telecom company) signed a deal to collaborate in the development of network solutions and services. In Johannesburg, Liquid Telecom’s headquarter held the signing ceremony between the Chinese and the African companies. Senior Representatives from China Telecom Donald Tan and Changhai Liu, and Liquid Telecoms CEO Nic Rudnick, and Chief Business Development officer Willem Marais, were present for this event. The two companies will be able to provide to their customers an extended coverage on those two parts of the world. “With more than 50 countries in the region, Africa is nonetheless the booming new market with the highest development rate just after Asia, and a very important market for CTG.” said Changhai Liu. As the Managing Director of China Telecom (Africa and Middle East) he also added, “This collaboration will enable both CTG and Liquid Telecom better serve our customers and…
No doubt, “blockchain” is the hottest buzz word being discussed across all industries, and telecommunications is no exception. The blockchain is being proposed for use in various applications in the telecommunications industry, such as securing CDRs, billing data and access logs, ensuring data authenticity or ensuring strict operational procedures. Blockchain will certainly optimize costs by eliminating third-parties such as clearing houses, automating audits and improving fraud detection. However, there is one area where the use of blockchain technology has the potential to not only benefit the operators, but will have a revolutionary impact on the way we all understand, use and protect our identities. The Phone Number as your Digital ID Our phone number is our most valuable digital identity, and will remain the only unique international method of identification well into the future. The PSTN, which is wholly based on the use of phone numbers, is the largest social…
French startup “BlackBoxSecu” located on the Côte d’Azur, has made the first demo of its secure voice communication system CipherBOX (CBOX) on Orange and Free mobile networks. Commercialization might begin the coming months. As the global threat evolves, listening to voice over the Internet and mobile networks becomes easier, cheaper and more accessible to third parties, private spies and foreign special services. Developed by BlackBoxSecu, the CBOX aims to provide secure high-level voice connectivity that meets individual communication needs on mobile, laptop, tablet or landline phones. The company has been awarded by Innovation Award of Special Forces SOFINS 2017, Trophées de la Sécurité 2017 (Bronze medal) in France and has been selected by Village by Crédit Agricole. Based on a stand-alone box developed during 3 years near Nice, the Cipher BOX encrypts the audio signal directly to the source of the voice (microphone of the user’s headset) as well as…
Fundamentally, Lina Zaboras is a people person. First thing every morning, the CEO of DIDWW devotes her time in walking through the company offices and taking the pulse of the team, because, as she says, “to us, relationships are everything, and only by developing personal connections, can we make a difference.” DIDWW views its staff as the distinction that makes the company successful. “We don’t see ourselves as producing products; rather, our people develop solutions,” Zaboras points out. “Almost every customer has very individual requirements, and it’s only by having dedicated and knowledgeable staff who can properly understand their challenges, that they can be confident of receiving a communications solution that will meet their needs.” Lessons learned outside the business Lina Zaboras’ appointment as the CEO of DIDWW was somewhat unusual. While she had ample skills and determination to take the business forward, her professional background in languages and education was very far…