NZ investing $270 million in Ultra-Fast Broadband for rural towns
Written on Monday, 04 September 2017 10:50
The New Zealand Government is investing $270 million to roll out Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) to 190 more small towns, and extend rural broadband to another 74,000 households and businesses, Communications Minister Simon Bridges said. “We’re also bringing the completion of the UFB network forward by two years. By the end of 2022, our UFB program will provide more than four million New Zealanders with access to world-class internet,” Mr. Bridges said. New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English spoke about the…
Mobile service costs in Latin America dropped 20% over three years
Written on Monday, 04 September 2017 06:42
The average monthly cost of mobile services in Central and South American countries dropped approximately 20 percent between 2014 and 2017, according to Strategy Analytics Latin America Emerging Markets report. In addition, the level of data included in mobile plans in Latin America has doubled to an average of 3.4GB. The report takes into account SIM only, prepaid and postpaid plans for individuals and businesses among more than 55 suppliers in 19 countries. A summary of the report says, “The…
China launches ‘cyber-court’ to deal with internet crimes
Written on Sunday, 27 August 2017 07:55
China, according to state media, has launched a digital “cyber-court” in an effort to deal with rising internet-related crimes. The first case – a copyright dispute between an online writer and a web company – was heard on August 18, at the new Hangzhou Internet Court. The trial, which lasted around 20 minutes, according to BBC, was accessed by legal agents in Hangzhou and Beijing via their computers. The court will hear similar cases in the future related to the…
US technology leaders take action following racially-charged violence in Virginia
Written on Tuesday, 22 August 2017 07:56
Some of the most prominent figures in the US technology sector have publicly expressed their dismay and anger following the racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Virginia last week. Microsoft, Apple and Facebook have all announced they will implement measures in a bid to fightback against the rise of white supremacists in the US. Apple CEO, Tim Cook criticized President Trump’s response to the events last week - and in a letter to his employees said counter-protesters were standing up for…
Qualcomm acquires machine learning firm to bolster position in AI
Written on Monday, 21 August 2017 12:06
Qualcomm Technologies has laid out its vision for ubiquitous on-device artificial intelligence (AI) complementing cloud AI. In a press release the company said it “envision a world where AI makes devices, machines, automobiles, and things much more intelligent, simplifying and enriching our daily lives.” In 2007, Qualcomm started exploring spiking neuron approaches to machine learning for computer vision and motion control applications, and later expanded the scope of the research to look not just at biologically inspired approaches but artificial…
Tech giants urge US Supreme Court to protect private cellphone data
Written on Sunday, 20 August 2017 12:05
More than a dozen tech giants in the United States, including Verizon, Facebook, Snap, Twitter and Alphabet’s Google, have filed a 44-page brief with the Supreme Court calling for tighter restrictions on government officials having access to private and sensitive cellphone data of individuals. The move highlights an ongoing dispute in the US over whether authorities should have to obtain a warrant before accessing data that could reveal an individual’s location via their cellphone. More and more data is being…
European Commission approves connectivity boost for rural Germany
Written on Monday, 14 August 2017 11:56
The European Commission has endorsed under EU state aid rules three German virtual access products that will allow the use of so-called vectoring technology in state funded high speed broadband networks. This will boost connectivity in rural areas, whilst maintaining competition in the Single Market. In June 2015, the European Commission approved a €3 billion German state aid scheme to promote investment in high speed broadband infrastructure, especially for rural areas where private investment is lacking. In its decision, the…
Singapore tops global broadband speed tests
Written on Monday, 14 August 2017 06:01
Singapore has been ranked number one in a test of broadband speeds across 189 countries. The data was collected across 12 months ending May 10, 2017, by Measurement Lab (M-Lab), a partnership between New America’s Open Technology Institute, Google Open Source Research, Princeton University’s PlanetLab, and others. Broadband website Cable.co.uk undertook an analysis of the data made available by M-Lab. M-Lab aims to provide an “open, verifiable measurement platform for global network performance, as well as hosting the largest open…
Vivendi says it doesn’t control Telecom Italia under Italian law
Written on Sunday, 13 August 2017 12:31
French media group Vivendi declared on August 7 that it “does not exercise any de facto control over Telecom Italia” under Italian law, following a request by Italy’s market watchdog Consob to confirm the matter. The company’s growing influence in Italy’s telecom sector has come under scrutiny since it bought a stake of 24 percent in Telecom Italia and took 29 percent of the country’s largest commercial broadcaster, Mediaset. If Vivendi said it effectively controls Telecom Italia, it would be…
Tech firms step forward to build Trump’s vetting system
Written on Sunday, 13 August 2017 11:02
Tech firms including IBM and Red Hat were among many companies in attendance at a two-day presentation about US President Donald Trump’s plan to build a digital system that uses data mining to implement “extreme vetting” to screen immigrants arriving in the United States. The industry day, hosted by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations department in Arlington, Virginia, was held from 18-19 July, The Intercept reported. Companies in attendance showed their interest in helping to build…
Britons to get more control over their personal online data
Written on Sunday, 13 August 2017 09:59
Citizens of the United Kingdom will soon be able to force social media platforms to delete information about them, including content published during their childhood, due to government proposals that will bring data laws into line with new European regulations, Reuters reported. Digital Minister Matt Hancock said Britons will be given more control over their data by having “the right to be forgotten” online and ask for their personal data to be erased. The new measures will force companies to…
EU increases pressure on US technology firms over user terms
Written on Monday, 31 July 2017 11:07
The European Union has increased pressure on US technology leaders Facebook, Twitter and Google in relation to its user terms. The EU has requested that they amend their user terms in order to make them compliant with current EU law - after EU lawmakers deemed the proposals submitted by the technology giants as ‘insufficient’. In June, the European Commission (EC) and consumer protection authorities in the EU wrote directly to Facebook, Google and Twitter in which they stressed to the…
