Blockchain will be the next tool used by the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority in India) to fight against aggressive telemarketing, that is using spam calls and SMS. According to the TRAI, blockchain technology is able to track those annoying telemarketers. As they use unregistered phone numbers, they are usually hard to track, and with this new way of fighting against those marketing methods, India’s Telecom regulator will be the first to use blockchain as a mean of regulation. TRAI Chairman RS Sharma said: “Blockchain will ensure two things — non-repudiation and confidentiality. Only those authorized will be able to access details of a subscriber and only when they need to deliver service…“ and added that “TRAI will become the first organization to implement this kind of regulation on such a large scale,” 30 billion commercial calls or SMS are sent every month to users in India. Most of them are…
After President Trump asked the U.S. Commerce Department to find an agreement to save ZTE Corp., an agreement has been found. It all started when an investigation found out that ZTE was doing business with Iran and North Korea by sending U.S. products. Despite the opposition of several members of congress, mostly Democrats, but also many Republicans, that are accusing Trump of bending under Chinese pressure, ZTE will be able to trade with American companies. ZTE was banned from doing any business with the U.S. since April 15th and has lost $3 billion. ZTE will have to pay a $1.3 billion fine to the U.S. in addition to a $900 million fine they already paid last year. Part of the deal, aside from the fine, includes a change in management and will have to get parts from U.S. suppliers. The situation between ZTE and the U.S. Administration created some tensions…
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…
The investment required to upgrade a network to support standalone 5G technology is important. JP Morgan think this is the reason why Telecom companies stocks did not do so well last year. There is a serious concern that the investment might not be as effective as expected. The lack of return put an important shade on some valuation for some asian (China, Japan and South Korea) and Australian telecommunications stocks. Those worries could be explained as the daily applications and advantages of 5G technology are yet to be seen and to be invented. James Sullivan,head of Asia ex-Japan equity research at J.P. Morgan explained “It’s not really about faster download speeds,” he said. “It’s about internet of things, autonomous vehicles and things of that nature for which no one understands a monetization case for networks yet.” 5G will not only be customer centered but also will help companies in processing…
In a strange turn of events, the American government has been instructed by President Trump, to help Chinese tech giant ZTE Corp. The problems started for ZTE when they were caught shipping U.S. goods to Iran. The U.S. Commerce Department then prevented U.S. companies from doing any trade with ZTE. This decision literally crippled the company, forcing Donald Trump to step in and take a decision. In a recent tweet President Trump expressed its concerns and his will to find a solution. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/995680316458262533 The ban on doing trade with U.S. companies is supposed to last seven years. ZTE already paid a $1.2 billion in fine for that case. Recently, American delegations in visit in China were asked about this issue by Chinese officials, leading to Trump’s decision. ZTE currently employs 70,000 people, and earlier this month, it had to put on hold its main operations.
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…
BullsEye Telecom has entered the VoIP based Key System market. Founded in 1999 in Michigan, BullsEye started by focusing on its local market. Since then, they provide SD-WAN, VoIP, broadband, and POTS to customers across the U.S. They acquired an experience in converting Plain Ordinary Telephone Service (POTS) to VoIP lines. It was able to be a leader company in the U.S. as a multi-location communications solutions provider. They announced yesterday the launch of its VoIP Based key system. Evan Branstnern, network endpoint engineer, explains: “The goal with BullsEye’s VoIP Key System was to replicate a phone system that people are used to while at the same time integrate the latest technology and best practices that are reflected in a VoIP-based product.” This technology will let users park calls with just a button, and then see which line is parked or available. It also let calls being picked up from…
The battle over Telecom Italia seems to have to come to an end, as shareholders were called to elect a new board. Telecom Italia’s directors resigned last March. Paul Singer, head of Elliott Management, an activist fund, was successful to get two thirds of the seats. He won the battle over the French conglomerate, Vivendi. Despite only have 9% of the shares, Elliott was able to impose its team over Vivendi that possesses 24% of Telecom Italia. By pointing out the way Vivendi failed shareholder’s interest in Telecom Italia, Singer was able to get a vote in which they had two options. They could either pick up a board composed of ten Italian business personalities selected by Elliott, or keep a team made of Vivendi’s CEO and its employees for the most part. After that loss, Vivendi stated that it would “take all measures necessary to preserve its value and…