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Telecom News

A quick roundup of the news in Telecoms | Week #50

By Aiste Kryzanovske December 11, 2020

O2 UK to use OpenRAN to improve indoor connectivity O2 has tested Vilicom’s OpenRAN technology to make it cheaper for businesses to get 4G and 5G indoor coverage. Vilicom, together with cloud network provider Mavenir, offers the virtualized OpenRAN-based connectivity-as-a-Service (CaaS) platform. O2 said it was the first operator to test the platform and said it was doing so well, that they will connect the trial version to their live network next year. O2 is of the opinion that the virtualized platform would lower indoor cellular network costs and space needs, which it said would become very important to UK PLC after the coronavirus. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y4aepnko A peek into Microsoft’s edge compute ambitions Judson Althoff, Microsoft’s EVP of Worldwide Commercial Business, unveiled some of the company’s ambitions at a UBS Global TMT virtual conference. According to Althoff, Microsoft is increasingly introducing edge computing capabilities. Some of the uses…

Telecom News

Broadvoice taking part in the Toys for Tots charity

By Aiste Kryzanovske December 10, 2020

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,…

Telecom News

A quick roundup of the news in Telecoms | Week #49

By Aiste Kryzanovske December 4, 2020

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.…

Telecom News

FCC announces expansion of participation in STIR/SHAKEN

By Aiste Kryzanovske December 3, 2020

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…

Telecom News

Ericsson expects to up global 5G subscriptions to 200M

By Aiste Kryzanovske December 1, 2020

Ericsson has once again raised its year-end estimate for global 5G subscriptions to 220 million, while predicting that more than 1 billion people will have access to next-generation coverage over the same period. The company foresees that four out of ten mobile subscribers will be using 5G services by 2026. In their November 2020 Mobility Report, Ericsson predicted real 5G traction, as well as the progress in the deployment of new features in network and device areas, regardless of the concerns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Ericsson believes that 15% of the world’s population, or more than 1 billion people, will live in an area with 5G coverage by the end of 2020. They expect that number to grow to 60% or 3.5 billion consumers by 2026. Ericsson has also added another 30 million to the end-of-year estimate of the number of 5G subscribers, having previously announced the…

Telecom News

A quick roundup of the news in Telecoms | Week #48

By Aiste Kryzanovske November 27, 2020

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…

Telecom News

Vonage to drive Fisher & Paykel customer service communications

By Aiste Kryzanovske November 26, 2020

Vonage, a global provider of VoIP business communications, has been selected by global appliance maker Fisher & Paykel to promote customer service communications to their clientele in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom and the US. The company now uses Vonage’s messaging API to offer customers on-the-spot support notifications for maintenance via SMS. The API also helps businesses improve post-sales, especially regarding the way customers can provide feedback when services have been completed, so that the company can continually improve their services. In addition, the Vonage Messages API, built into the Fisher & Paykel platform, provides automatic and instant SMS confirmations and reminders for all technician appointments. This platform also includes self-service links for customers to easily cancel or reschedule an appointment. Fisher & Paykel Appliances EVP Marketing and Customer Experience, Rudi Khoury, commented: “Today’s customers want to be responded to instantly. They want regular updates from businesses…

Telecom News

Vodafone to reduce its carbon emissions to net zero

By Aiste Kryzanovske November 24, 2020

The multinational telecommunications company, Vodafone, has committed to reduce its global carbon footprint that is generated as a result of its business operations to net zero by 2040. The company has already outlined a number of actions to reduce the environmental impact of its activities. It has set a new goal of stricter targets for the wider business and related third parties. As stated by the company, by 2030 all carbon emissions from its activities and the energy purchased and consumed will be eliminated. Vodafone has also committed itself to halving the use of its carbon footprint from Scope 3 sources, including joint ventures, all supply chain purchases, products it has sold and business travel by 2030. The group plans to completely eliminate emissions from Scope 3 by 2040. This plan will shorten the original projections by ten years, as the operator initially set a net zero target…

Telecom News

The EIB and Iliad sign a new loan agreement

By Aiste Kryzanovske November 19, 2020

The French telecommunications provider Iliad, that provides fixed and mobile telephony services, prepaid phone cards, Internet access and hosting services, has signed a new $356 million loan deal with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help the Iliad Group finance its mobile network deployment in France, in particular to consolidate its 4G network and deploy its 5G network. Since 2009, the EIB has financed Iliad, and with this new loan the total financing exceeds $1.3 billion. Having helped finance the development of the Iliad fixed network for more than a decade, the EIB is once again working with the group to provide financial support for the company’s latest generation of mobile networks. There was little information on what exactly the latest loan would be used for, but Iliad said it is devoted to providing digital coverage to the whole of France, including most rural areas. Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President…

Telecom News

DIDWW to release API with significant functionality improvements

By Aiste Kryzanovske November 17, 2020

DIDWW, an Irish-based telecom operator providing global telecommunication services, has announced the news of its upcoming new and improved API functionality. These updates will assist customers to fully automate their telephony processes and allow for the complete integration of their operational components into the DIDWW customer service portfolio. The company is continually striving to increase the functionality of its services, and in order to achieve that, they are upgrading their platform by accelerating processes with automation. Because of its established priorities, DIDWW plans to make all of its user panel features available through the API, in order to optimize the speed of operations and improve process automation. The current API is designed for telecom operators, making it possible for them to perform a wide range of actions, while helping to automate and further bolster their services. Some of the features include worldwide ordering and setting up of phone…