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The American mobile chip making giant, Qualcomm, is trying to persuade the US government to allow them to sell its chips to Huawei for their 5G smartphones. According to reports, Qualcomm selling its 5G chips to the Chinese multinational technology company might end up helping American business. The US trade ban on Huawei has severely affected the manufacturer’s inventories. When the US increased sanctions against Huawei in May, it was immediately clear that it would be a huge blow to the Chinese seller, as the company would no longer be able to use components from US suppliers. In fact, the impact of sanctions quickly proved to be as expected. Just last week, Huawei announced that its latest flagship smartphone, Huawei Mate 40, would be the last model to use high-end Kirin processors manufactured by its subsidiary HiSilicon. The US trade ban on Huawei will not prevent the…

Microsoft to continue talks to buy TikTok from ByteDance Microsoft has announced that it is prepared to continue discussions for the acquisition of popular short-video app TikTok from Chinese internet giant ByteDance. In a statement, the company said that it is committed to acquiring TikTok “subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury.” Microsoft made the statement following a conversation between its CEO Satya Nadella and US President Donald Trump. The company said it would ensure that all private data of TikTok’s American users is transferred to and remains in the United States. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y69w8a4b Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 is official, comes with a ton of improvements Samsung has officially introduced a range of new premium mobile devices at its Unpacked 2020 event live streamed from Korea. Among others, the company is launching the Samsung Galaxy…

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted industries and businesses all across the globe and has brought the world economy to a halt, with millions of people placed under lockdown. With most of society working and studying from home, the need for technology has increased considerably, and the significant rise in the use of digital tools during social distancing has put the telecommunications sector at the forefront in facilitating the situation. What kind of impact has Covid-19 had on the telecom sector? Now that the global supply chain has been thrown into chaos and the work-from-home concept has become the “new normal“, the need of remote communication has risen significantly so as to ensure business continuity. The telecommunication sector is witnessing significantly higher demands, as they play a key role in facilitating the connectivity required by customers implementing these essential digital tools . Rise of demand for Telco services…

Amdocs, a leading software and service provider to communications and media companies, has bought an Ireland based Digital BSS company, Openet, that provides charging, policy and data solutions. Two years after their heated legal dispute, the telecom software company Amdocs has ended the litigation by finally licensing a number of Openet patents. As the telecommunications sector has been trending towards digital transformation for some time now, the merger between the two companies will provide exceptional and wide-ranging opportunities for both enterprises. In recent years, the Ireland-based company, Openet, developed modern cloud-based software and 5G products that are recognised around the world for their innovation. The amalgamation of the two companies is said to offer Amdocs‘s customers advances in 5G technologies, cloud, edge computing and Internet of Things (IoT), as well as an elevated customer experience, policy and data management expertise. Shuky Sheffer, CEO of Amdocs Management, commented:…

Vyopta Introduces Support for Microsoft Teams On Tuesday, Vyopta, a provider of Unified Communications (UC) monitoring and analytics solutions, announced the release of their comprehensive support for Microsoft’s cloud-based UC products including Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams Rooms, Microsoft Teams and Surface Hub. Vyopta is one of the first companies to provide monitoring and analysis services to Microsoft Teams, helping to speed up the deployment of the Microsoft Teams software, simplify troubleshooting and reporting, and improving the service quality of Microsoft’s voice and video calling experience. In the near future, Vyopta will continue to expand its monitoring capabilities, including more advanced and proactive Microsoft Teams alerts. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y3r396fh Telecom Argentina hit by a major ransomware attack One of Argentina‘s largest Internet Service Providers (ISPs) has suffered a serious ransomware attack. The cybercriminals who carried out the attack, demanded $7.5 million in Monero cryptocurrency from the ISP to regain…

European telcos: We’re ready to “lift the continent out of this recession” The European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) has released a joint statement calling on EU institutions and national governments to support 5G and fiber rollout, stimulate the uptake of technology, fight misinformation, and focus on digital skills and education. According to ETNO, a new approach is needed to ensure that spectrum auctions are timely and conditions for spectrum assignment support network deployment. Sharing agreements for Radio Access Network (RAN) should be supported and incentivized, as well as all fiber investment models should be adequately encouraged. Moreover, future EU initiatives should dramatically reduce roll-out costs for both mobile and fixed networks. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/yadrfxfg Microsoft’s new Teams features fight video conferencing fatigue Microsoft Team’s brand seeks to fight “Zoom fatigue” and exhaustion of physical isolation with its new updates and features. The news includes a shared background to make participants…

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…

Comcast says voice and video calls have skyrocketed 212 percent during widespread self-isolation Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company, has announced that voice and video calls have more than tripled on its network since people across the US started working from home due to the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the company, traffic in this category has increased by 212 percent in total, while overall peak traffic on its network has grown by 32 percent. Tony Werner, Comcast’s tech leader, said that the additional traffic is “well within the capabilities of the network,” and despite the increases in usage, the company’s network is working just fine. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/skncjow Zoom freezes feature development to fix security and privacy issues Over the past few weeks, the Zoom video conferencing app has been widely used for personal and business online meetings during the coronavirus lockdowns around the world. According to the…

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…

Work from home: Can the telecoms industry take the strain? Many businesses opt for remote working due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, and this has led to a dramatic increase in the use of online services. The additional pressure is proving problematic for the telecoms industry in Spain, which has reported a 40 percent increase in data consumption and a 50 percent increase in mobile phone usage. Movistar (Telefonica), Orange, Vodafone, Masmovil, and Euskaltel have issued a joint statement in anticipation of the national lockdown, urging customers to take “intelligent and responsible use of the network and the resources it provides us.” Meanwhile, BT, the UK’s largest telecom provider, said that its network can handle it. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/sm8bms7 Vodafone unveils five-point plan to combat COVID-19 Vodafone has put forward a five-point plan to maintain network services and assist governments across Europe in controlling the outbreak of coronavirus. The five…