Challenger consumer technology company Nothing, famed for the transparent earbud called Ear, has signalled its intention to move the brand into new product categories by raising $50M from strategic and private investors…
Nothing doing ear…yet
Nokia and Orange commit to use refurbished equipment for network infrastructure
Orange and Nokia have signed a joint commitment to increase the use of refurbished network equipment in telecom infrastructure. The partnership is aimed at generating a reduction in carbon emissions by refurbishing existing equipment rather than manufacturing new. Nokia will offer the refurbished equipment to all of Orange&rsquo…
Plume raises $300 million to upend communications services with AI
The growing importance of the smart spaces arena took a step forwards today as personalised communications services company, Plume announced $300 million of investment led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. This round brings the company’s valuation to $2.6 billion, with $697 million raised to date. The investment will continue to drive research and development, sales and marketing, new partnerships, and acquisitions as Plume continues its global expansion and hyper-growth. In the last two quarters since its prior round of equity investment by Insight Partners…
5G’s next step? Enabling XR, says Huawei
Since the first commercial launches of 5G over two years ago, the latest generation of mobile technology has come a long way. Despite the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic, more than 1.5 million 5G base stations have been successfully deployed worldwide, facilitating over 500 million subscribers, and this number is only going to grow, with various estimates predicting around one billion subscribers in 2022 and roughly three billion by 2024.
But despite the widespread availability and adoption of this new technology, 5G itself is still somewhat in its infancy, with many of the most vaunted technologies set to be enabled by the new mobile technology still notably absent in most markets around the world.
Enabling XR is the next priority
 …
Vodafone introduces recycled Eco-SIMs
Today, Vodafone Group has announced that it will begin offering half-sized Eco-SIM cards made from recycled plastic to their customers.
According to the operator, the Eco-SIM should eliminate the need for 320 tonnes of virgin plastic to be produced every year, which, in turn, should remove around 1,280 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year…
Rakuten Mobile grabs stake in JTOWER as losses increase
Rakuten Mobile has reportedly purchased a minority share in Japanese tower infrastructure specialist JTOWER, hoping to lower their network deployment costs in the face of rising debt.
The operator launched its commercial 4G services back in April 2020 and since then has expanded their network considerably, including the launch of 5G services in October the same year.
However, to compete with its more established rivals…
Virgin Media O2’s first converged offering ‘Volt’ hits the market
Today, newly merged UK operator VMO2 has announced the launch of their first range of converged products, which they are calling ‘Volt’.
These Volt products will allow customers to buy Virgin Media and O2 products packaged together for the first time, the promise of which was at the heart of the two companies’ merger.
Packages range from a £…
Telefonica finally offloads El Salvador unit
In late 2019, Telefonica announced that it was undergoing a major strategic shift in and, in an attempt to reduce its debt, would be withdrawing from a number of markets to focus on its core businesses in Spain, the UK, Germany, and Brazil.
Since then, the operator has divested of numerous business units throughout Latin America…
TelcoDR announces $1bn M&A fund to target public cloud
Acquired assets will be overseen and operated by Skyvera, a subsidiary of TelcoDR, which will provide communication service provider (CSP) customers with the software offerings they need on their public cloud journey.
In addition, TelcoDR has announced the acquisition of a number of assets from telco software company Zephyrtel. These assets will be integrated into TelcoDR&rsquo…
New landmark diversity and cultural inclusiveness index launched
TM Forum, the industry association driving digital transformation through collaboration, has successfully completed an alpha trial of a new Inclusion and Diversity Score (IDS) – a single, universal index, believed to be the first in the world to measure both diversity and cultural inclusiveness, providing a benchmark for real change.
The successful trial of IDS is a significant step towards TM Forum’s vision to make the tech communications industry a world leader in diversity, equality, and inclusion (DE&I), transforming the industry’s attractiveness to cutting-edge talent. To achieve this…