Broadvoice, a provider of cloud-based Voice over IP telecommunications services to small, medium and enterprise businesses in the United States, recently announced its intention to participate in the Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots charity. This initiative will help the increasing number of people that are in need of extra support during the holidays due to the economic hardships brought about by the pandemic. Toys for Tots is a program run by the US Marine Corps Reserve that distributes toys to children whose parents cannot bear the expenses of buying gifts for Christmas. The program was started in 1947, being founded by reserve officer Major Bill Hendricks. The organization partly relies on corporate sponsors and benefactors, such as Broadvoice, who pitch in and help increase monetary donations, toys and awareness of the program. The program’s mission is to gather as many new, unwrapped toys as possible in October,…
The American multinational technology conglomerate, Cisco, has announced its intention to acquire IMImobile, a provider of cloud communications software and services that manages business-critical interoperability on a large scale. The deal is valued at nearly $730 million, assuming full dilution of the shares, net of cash and debt. The acquisition will be Cisco’s largest in the UK in about three years. The company will pay IMImobile shareholders £5.95 per share and the acquisition of the software vendor is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021, following regulatory approval. The American company said the procurement will provide its consumers with an end-to-end customer interaction management solution and the ability to promote quicker and much improved communications and interactions through a selected customer channel. Cisco’s Webex Contact Center solution, along with IMImobile software and services, will offer a solution that leverages artificial intelligence throughout the customer’s…
Softbank invests $700m in Sinch The Japanese operator Softbank has invested heavily in the Swedish software company Sinch. According to Sinch, it will use the profit to finance further mergers and acquisitions. The Japanese company acquired a portion of the newly issued shares in Sinch, as well as some existing ones, from various major shareholders. The total share expenditure amounted to approximately $698.5 million. Sinch said that it will use the proceeds from the shares primarily for beef up its financial flexibility for undertaking new acquisitions. Sinch announced two takeovers, one of Brazil’s CRM Wavy for $119 million, as well as the SAP Digital Interconnect deal, which was a cash and debt-free transaction valued at approximately $270 million. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y5wgysrb Telefónica recently deployed nodes in Seville, Spain Telefónica has for the third time deployed edge nodes in its home country of Spain, recently launching this infrastructure in Seville.…
The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that, in reference to the recommendations of the Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA), the Secure Telephone Identity Governance Authority (STI-GA), a group supporting the timely deployment of STIR/SHAKEN protocol, has altered the requirements in their robocall prevention policy. Initially, the STI-GA policy required that only an entity with direct access to telephone numbers could partake in the framework, that must be implemented by all voice service providers. However, the CCA claimed that this specification puts service providers at a significant disadvantage. Therefore, the FCC has announced that the policy change will allow CCA members to take advantage of STIR/SHAKEN through the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database. Until then, the current Service Provider Code (SPC access key) access policy will remain in effect, said the FCC. This important reconsideration will allow all CCA members to implement the STIR/SHAKEN protocol and make sure…
Zoom and Lumen advance their partnership The telecommunications company Lumen is already a partner of Zoom, but Lumen has recently announced that it has advanced the partnership further to introduce Zoom delivered by Lumen. Zoom delivered by Lumen combines the embedded network security capabilities of Lumen with Zoom’s integrated security features to actively protect businesses using their combined services. Shaun Andrews, CMO at Lumen, said: “We’re happy to take this partnership a step further by combining our platforms and our strengths to create Zoom delivered by Lumen. Together, we will help keep families, businesses, schools and hospitals securely connected to the world, and thriving in the fourth industrial revolution.” Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y4luab48 BT to deploy their global network cloud next year BT has been working on their BT Network Cloud for some time now, since deciding to focus on this cloud-native platform. BT has Network Cloud nodes in the…
Amdocs enters an agreement with Amazon Web Services Amdocs has announced a multi-year agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to offer integrated cloud-based business support systems (BSS) to communications service providers. Under the terms of the deal, AWS is now an Amdocs cloud provider for Amdocs’ internal IT transformation. Working together, Amdocs and AWS will offer telecom providers access to a portfolio of digital services that shortens the time it takes for service providers to enter the market and gives them more flexibility to meet the needs of their end customers. The companies are also collaborating to develop and promote a variety of services that will help Amdocs customers migrate and upgrade their systems using a range of cloud solutions. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y5q64mbe Apple’s new Macs powered by iPhone chips Apple is introducing new Macs that use the same type of chips that run iPhones and iPads. This step…
The South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, SK Telecom, and Germany’s telecommunications leader, Deutsche Telekom, recently signed an agreement to set up a joint venture to innovate 5G technology. This venture will incorporate advanced 5G building expertise and leverage the growth in the global demand for 5G repeaters. Both companies said their partnership will help complete the development of an advanced 5G/LTE dual-mode repeater that will give them an advantage in capturing a global market estimated, according to studies cited by the companies, to exceed $10 billion over the next three years. The JV is headquartered in Germany, and as a result, the work will begin in the European market. As stated in the announcement, each operator will manage 50% of the JV and will appoint an appropriate representative to manage the organization. Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom commented: “Together with SKT we are able to develop new…
Orange Romania, the largest provider of broadband Internet and mobile services in Romania, has entered into an agreement to acquire a controlling stake in the fixed operator Telekom Romania Communications (TKR) in order to strengthen its position in the country and increase its market share in the sector. The reason given for Orange paying over $268 million for TKR, is that it is aiming to become the popular choice among customers for combined services in the Romanian market. Orange will gain a controlling 54% stake from the Greek company OTE, most of which is owned by Deutsche Telekom. According to Orange, the deal gives TKR a value exceeding $590.5 million. The transaction is subject to normal regulatory scrutiny and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021. TKR, being the second largest fixed line provider in the country, achieved revenues of over $739 million in…
Robocalls calls have become a plague. It is estimated that Americans alone received more than 58.5 billion robocalls in 2019. While some robotic calls may be from legitimate sources, they can also be scams seeking to deceive or bully people to provide personal information.
Early on, robocalls were easy to detect and ignore because the calls came from an area code you did not recognize. However, the scam has become much more sophisticated with the increase in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) dialing, which makes it relatively easy to “spoof” a phone number so that the caller ID shows a different number than the one actually calling.
Vodafone UK going big on OpenRAN Vodafone UK has announced that they are deploying OpenRAN technology in rural base stations, as a key part of Huawei’s switching strategy. Approximately 2,600 sites in rural Wales and the south-west of England will be converted to OpenRAN by a deadline established by the government. This process will start in 2022 and, as yet, Vodafone has not identified any vendors to assist it in this initiative. The operator wants to be seen as an example of OpenRAN, which increasingly appears to be the most likely source of diversity for telecom providers since Huawei was blacklisted. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yybbqu45 Deutsche Telekom partners with Zoom Deutsche Telekom has become the latest service provider to partner with Zoom Video Communications. Deutsche Telekom is now the official reseller of Zoom in Germany. The company offers personalized solutions and contracts to customers of different sizes, and is able…

