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Australia to invest a record A$1.35bn in cybersecurity The Australian government has announced an AUS USD 1.35 billion program to combat the rise in cybersecurity threats that have intensified in recent months. This initiative, named the Cyber Enhanced Situational Awareness and Response (CESAR) package, will seek to identify more threats, fight foreign cybercriminals and build stronger partnerships within the industry. The nation’s largest ever investment in cybersecurity will supercharge the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) and the Australian Cyber Security Centre. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, “My government’s record investment in our nation’s cyber security will help ensure we have the tools and capabilities we need to fight back and keep Australians safe.” Read more at https://tinyurl.com/ya8q3xsl India has banned TikTok, WeChat, and other China-based apps The Indian government has banned 59 Chinese-made apps, including TikTok and WeChat, over concerns that “they are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty…

Ujet raises $55 million to expand cloud-based customer support platform Ujet, a leading provider of cloud contact center software, has secured USD 55 million in Series C funding to expand its sales and marketing teams at home and internationally, as well as launch new products and features. The San Francisco-based company already claims to have several high-profile clients, including Google, Instacart, and PayPal’s iZettle. Ujet enables customers to contact support teams through voice, email and messaging, and integrates smartphone cameras so they can easily submit photos and videos documenting problems. With this funding, the company is now well-positioned to capitalize on the increased demand for cloud-based contact center technology. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y8ayek29 UK security officials tell telcos to stock up on Huawei gear – report The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has suggested that UK telecoms operators stockpile critical equipment to ensure the sustainability of telecoms infrastructure, as political…

Openreach adopts Nokia’s 10Gbps FTTP broadband kit for the UK The Finnish telecom equipment manufacturer Nokia has announced that Openreach will deploy its next-generation fiber solutions. This will help meet Openreach’s target to bring ultra-fast and reliable broadband access to 20 million homes across the UK by the mid-to-late 2020s. Clive Selley, CEO of Openreach, said, “This new digital platform will help our economy to bounce back more quickly from the COVID-19 pandemic – enabling people to continue work from home, and millions of businesses to operate seamlessly online for decades to come.” This supplier agreement also marks a shift away from reliance on Huawei equipment for the UK’s largest broadband networks. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/yb6cj6jn Google and Apple’s joint COVID-19 contact tracing API now available to health authorities Apple and Google have released the first public version of their jointly developed API for COVID-19 tracing apps. This software will enable public health authorities to…

The Chinese tech company OPPO, currently the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in its home country after Huawei, has announced a comprehensive partnership agreement with the UK-based telecom giant Vodafone. Under the deal, Vodafone will become an OPPO partner and bring its full-range of 4G and 5G smartphones to retail and online channels in Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Turkey and the Netherlands. According to the announcement, the collaboration between the two companies will give customers more choice and accelerate 5G adoption in Vodafone’s international markets. Driven by strong growth ambitions, an innovative product portfolio and advanced 5G technology expertise, the leading Chinese smartphone brand has been very successful in its domestic market. With annual handset shipments of more than 100 million units, OPPO believes that it is “a natural partner for Vodafone’s leading gigabit network”. Alen Wu, Vice President and President of Global Sales at OPPO, said, “OPPO…

Google rolls out BeyondCorp for secure remote network access without a VPN Google has launched BeyondCorp Remote Access, a new security service designed to provide remote access to internal systems without using a virtual private network (VPN). This new cloud-native security product is based on a “zero-trust approach” and is founded on a system that Google originally built for internal use almost a decade ago. Google said that when the number of remote connections suddenly increases, the VPN architecture may not be able to handle the load. BeyondCorp Remote Access includes a database of every device authorized to connect, a security certificate installed on that device, and integration with a human resources database containing information about usernames and group memberships. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/ya4hhtsk Zoom adds encryption as it passes 300 million daily users Zoom Video Communications has launched an update of its virtual meetings software, adding encryption and new…

Verizon buys Zoom rival BlueJeans for less than $500 million Verizon Business has announced a deal to purchase enterprise-grade video conferencing platform BlueJeans, thereby expanding Verizon’s unified communications portfolio and improving its service for business customers. This acquisition shows that the company is also trying to capitalize on the current trend of remote employees making extensive use of online services such as Zoom, Slack and Microsoft during the pandemic. BlueJeans has more than 15,000 customers, including Facebook, IBM-owned Red Hat, ADP, Zillow and LinkedIn. The deal is worth USD 500 million and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/yd9qtfhg Apple’s new iPhone SE is surprisingly powerful for $399 Apple is launching iPhone SE 2020, the second generation of its cheapest smartphone in the iPhone lineup, priced at just USD 399. The iPhone SE runs on Apple’s latest A13 Bionic chip that enables great battery…

BEREC says COVID-19 won’t break the internet The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has announced that the increase in Internet usage across the continent is more or less stabilizing and that networks have been able to withstand the pressure. BEREC said that national regulatory authorities (NRAs) have reported “a stabilization in the overall traffic, but some NRAs still observe an increase of the overall traffic.” Some operators have expanded their network’s capacity to cope with the steady growth of traffic. According to the organization, “operators, which did not take any such measure, are still closely monitoring their network’s capacity to check if an upgrade is necessary.” Read more at https://tinyurl.com/rxmg53l Vodafone slashes costs of core network functions across Europe using VMware’s telco cloud The UK-based telecoms operator Vodafone has completed the deployment of a single digital network architecture across all of its 21 European business markets, using…

The South Korean tech giant, Samsung Electronics, has announced an effective demonstration of what it terms the world’s first video call on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform using Mission Critical Push-to-Talk, Data and Video (MCPTX, also known as Mission Critical Communications), the communications functionality designed specifically for first responders. Based on 3GPP Release 14 specifications, this implementation was enabled by the successful onboarding, integration and deployment on AWS cloud. Wonil Roh, Senior Vice President and Head of Product Strategy, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics, said, “This demonstration showcases how Samsung’s Mission Critical Communications solutions can manage public crises and be readily deployed on public cloud platforms. It also enables us to learn and adapt to the evolving needs of service providers and end-users alike. This brings a new level of broad coverage, scalability and reliability to mission critical service deployments, and we look forward to continuing our journey…

Telstra, an Australian telecommunications and technology company that offers a full range of communications services, has officially announced the launch of its My Telstra app. The new and improved application provides an easier way to manage Telstra accounts and services, find information, shop and redeem Telstra Plus points. With My Telstra, customers will gain convenient access to billing and technical support, as well as manage their services and payments, get help, check for outages and track orders from their home. In a statement, Telstra said that its app “has been designed with accessibility at the forefront” and is built to be compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1. The company plans to update the existing Telstra 24×7 app so users can expect to see it on their phone soon. Customers who have auto-update enabled do not need to take any action – their current Telstra 24×7 app will update to…

ITU platform to protect networks during Covid-19 The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has introduced the Global Network Resiliency Platform to help global networks remain “safer, stronger and more connected” in the face of increasing strain and growing demand during the coronavirus crisis. ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said, “The new platform will assist governments and the private sector in ensuring that networks are kept resilient and telecommunication services are available to all.” Also, this platform will collect relevant information and expertise on actions that telecommunication policymakers and others in the regulatory community can use to ensure that their telecom networks serve the needs of their country. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/vam4enm Remote working triggers demand for chips, laptops, and network goods As more and more employees switch to remote work during the outbreak of coronavirus disease, the demand for laptops, networking goods and supply chain components has increased substantially. Therefore, electronics retailers and…