Telefonica piloting blockchain across 8,000 companies Telecoms multinational Telefonica has teamed up with the Association of Science and Technology Parks (APTE) to provide approximately 8,000 companies in Spain with access to a secure, decentralised blockchain network. Telefonica plans to launch a three-month pilot project that will encourage companies to develop their own decentralised applications on the blockchain at no extra cost, and will also allow them to experiment with their own digital tokens. Blockchain is being widely adopted in a variety of industries, especially in the field of IoT, where 75 percent of IoT technology users in the US already use blockchain or plan to do so by the end of 2020. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/t8z8p9d Samsung Galaxy Fold sales figures revealed, and they’re worse than earlier reports Samsung Electronics sold close to half a million of its Galaxy Fold smartphones last year. Speaking to the Yonhap News Agency at CES 2020,…
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…
Ericsson, one of the world’s leading providers of technology and services to telecom operators, has completed the first transglobal 5G data call over live commercial 5G networks, showcasing its Spectrum Sharing technology. Through their collaboration with 5G ecosystem industry leaders Qualcomm Technologies, Swisscom and Telstra, and using a 5G smartphone from Chinese manufacturer OPPO, Ericsson continues to demonstrate its drive towards commercial dynamic spectrum sharing. The Swedish tech giant said that the November 29 data call connected Bern, Switzerland and the Gold Coast, Australia using Ericsson Spectrum Sharing deployed on Swisscom’s and Telstra’s commercial 5G networks at the respective sites. The call was achieved using spectrum sharing on a 3GPP Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) band and pre-commercial OPPO 5G handsets employing the Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System. Moreover, OPPO is the first 5G device manufacturer to implement Ericsson Spectrum Sharing in its smartphones. As part of the…
Microsoft has announced the launch of a new phone system for business customers, Microsoft 365 Business Voice, which is now available in Canada and the UK. This phone system combines calling, chats, meetings, calendar and e-mail functions. The solution also deploys Microsoft artificial intelligence (AI) technology to automatically transcribe voicemail, translate chat messages, and add captions to meetings in real time. According to the announcement, Microsoft 365 Business Voice is a cloud-based system that has been designed as a complete cooperation package for enterprises with up to 300 users. The phone system integrates with Office 365 and uses Microsoft Teams in order to function across computers, desk phones and smartphones, allowing customers to make calls from anywhere. “Today’s businesses need communication and collaboration tools that are easy to use and designed to work together,” Microsoft stated in a blog post. “That’s why we built Microsoft 365 Business Voice, a…
Ofcom announces another 5G spectrum auction for the UK in spring 2020 Britain’s telecommunications regulator Ofcom has confirmed that it plans to hold an auction for low and mid band 5G spectrum in the spring of 2020. In a statement, Ofcom said that the auction will include companies bidding for spectrum in two different frequency bands: 80 MHz in the 700 MHz band and 120 MHz in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band. However, the UK telecoms watchdog has not yet confirmed when it will auction the high band, mmWave spectrum that will allow mobile operators to offer the truly transformative speeds of 1Gbps and above. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y6tx6ecz Microsoft furthers $5 billion IoT plan with new Azure features Microsoft launches new functionalities to simplify the customer journey and deliver highly secured IoT products over its Azure platforms. The company said that the expansion of IoT devices is enabling enterprises to bring cloud intelligence to…
iPhone 11: Apple launches new Pro smartphones with better cameras Apple has unveiled a new line of iPhones – iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max – featuring faster processors, improved screens, and new camera systems. All three devices look similar to their predecessors, but the company has upgraded their respective camera systems to enable wide-angle photos and made improvements that result in a longer battery life and faster performance than before. There is also a variety of new colours available, with a new matte finish on the back of the iPhone 11 Pro. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y3ery8a6 Huawei wants to sell its 5G tech to rivals – report The Chinese tech giant is prepared to help create a competitor on the market by selling a perpetual licence to its 5G technology. Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei has made a remarkable claim that for a one-time fee,…
Samsung Electronics has officially revealed the first 5G smartphone in its mid-range Galaxy A series. The announcement comes just a few weeks after launching the company’s flagship Galaxy S10 5G and Galaxy Note 10 5G devices. The new Galaxy A90 with 5G connectivity offers near flagship-grade hardware and includes some impressive features like Samsung DeX support, “Desktop Experience” software for mirroring the phone’s screen and apps on a PC or TV, and Game Booster for enhanced gaming performance. DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT and Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics, said, “We’re excited about the success of the Galaxy A Series – a generation of smartphones built for the new Era of Live that focuses on essential features people want the most, including a high-quality camera, long-lasting battery and immersive display. Samsung has worked tirelessly with our partners in the 5G ecosystem to bring 5G to as…
China’s Huawei Technologies has launched new database and storage products with the aim of redefining its data infrastructure and strengthening the global presence of its cloud business. The world’s first AI-native database GaussDB supports differentiated scenarios such as private and public clouds and data services in the finance, internet, logistics and automotive sectors. Huawei’s FusionStorage 8.0 is claimed to be the industry’s best-performing distributed storage solution for supporting enterprise applications. “Humanity is entering the age of an intelligent world,” said David Wang, Huawei Executive Director of the Board and President of ICT Strategy and Marketing. “Data is the new factor of production, and intelligence the new productivity. Heterogeneous, intelligent, and converged databases will become the key data infrastructure of the financial, government, and telecoms industries.” With this new database management product, the Shenzhen-based company marks its official entry into the database field and places itself in direct competition with…
Samsung Electronics is striving to remain at the forefront of technological innovations and is challenging the boundaries by making more powerful smartphone cameras – the company has introduced two new 0.8-micrometer (μm) pixel image sensors, the 64-megapixel (MP) Samsung Isocell Bright GW1 and 48 MP Isocell Bright GM2. These image sensors will expand Samsung’s 0.8μm image sensor lineup from the existing 20 MP to ultra-high 64 MP resolutions, thus bringing new standards of photography to smartphones. Yongin Park, executive vice president of the sensor business at Samsung Electronics, said: “Over the past few years, mobile phone cameras have become the main instrument for recording and sharing our everyday moments. With more pixels and advanced pixel technologies, Samsung Isocell Bright GW1 and GM2 will bring a new level of photography to today’s sleekest mobile devices that will enhance and help change the way we record our daily lives.” The…
Global satellite operator Telesat, the Vodafone Group and the University of Surrey in the UK, have successfully accomplished the world’s first 5G backhaul demonstration deploying a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) communications satellite. This successful trial demonstrates that LEO satellites are able to provide efficient backhaul transport channels for mobile network operators (MNOs), including for 5G advanced services. During the live test conducted by these partners in April, Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite was connected to the University of Surrey’s 5G testbed network, with the support of specialist Vodafone engineers. Vodafone also provided some funding and arranged licensing for the demonstration system. John Miller, Head of Satellite Engineering at Vodafone, said: “The use of LEO satellites provides an additional mobile backhaul option and can be an important part of the delivery system particularly to customers in our markets who live in rural areas.” Professor Barry Evans, University of Surrey, said: “The University of Surrey is very…

