EU taking Ireland to court over Apple tax dispute
Written on Sunday, 15 October 2017 08:21
The European Commission is taking Ireland to the European Court of Justice for failing to recover from Apple illegal state aid worth up to €13 billion, as required by the Commission’s August 2016 decision. EU Member States have to recover illegal state aid within the deadline set by the Commission, which is usually four months. The Commission concluded that Ireland’s tax benefits to Apple were illegal under EU state aid rules, because it allowed Apple to pay substantially less tax…
FCC urges Apple to activate FM chips to promote public safety
Written on Tuesday, 03 October 2017 07:49
The United States Federal Communications Commission has urged Apple to activate the FM (frequency modulation) chips that are in iPhone to promote public safety. Commission Chairman Ajit Pai released a statement applauding those companies that have “done the right things” by activating FM chips in their phones in light of natural disasters hammering the country. “In recent years, I have repeatedly called on the wireless industry to activate the FM chips that are already installed in almost all smartphones in…
Saudi Arabia to lift block on internet video calling
Written on Sunday, 24 September 2017 12:15
Internet video calling services like WhatsApp, Skype and Viber, will be available to use in Saudi Arabia next week, after coordination between the Communications and Information Technology Commission and telecommunications service providers to allow applications that provide voice communications over the internet. Communications and Information Technology Minister, H.E. Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, said the commitment had been confirmed by the cooperating parties to enable internet users in the kingdom to use applications to make high quality voice and video calls, under…
US president prohibits Chinese firm from buying US chipmaker over security fears
Written on Wednesday, 20 September 2017 11:26
The White House has intervened in a business transaction between a Chinese-backed private equity firm and a US chipmaker. US President Donald Trump has blocked Canyon Bridge Capital Partners planned $1.3 billion acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor Corp. The decision has sent a clear message to Beijing that Washington will vehemently oppose any takeover deals that involve technologies that may have potential military applications. The bid by the Chinese-backed equity company was one of the largest ever attempted on the US…
Google files appeal against $2.8bn EU antitrust fine
Written on Tuesday, 19 September 2017 10:45
Alphabet-owned Google is fighting back against the $2.8 billion antitrust fine it was given by the European Commission in June this year. The Californian tech giant has filed an appeal against the fine, which was the largest penalty ever given by the European Union’s regulator. The European Commission had ruled that Google’s positioning of its own shopping comparison service at the top of Google search results was an abuse of power. If the practice continued, the Commission said, more fines…
Egypt’s Minister for ICT says 4G will launch this month
Written on Tuesday, 19 September 2017 08:10
Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, H.E. Eng. Yasser El Kady, told Reuters on Sept. 11, that Egypt will launch commercial 4G services by the end of September. The Minister also said the government will release additional frequencies to operators in the future without committing to a timeline. Minister El Kady said in May this year that Egypt was “ready to hand over 4G mobile frequencies to any company that is ready.” At that time, the Minister said in…
European ministers push for higher tax on tech giants’ revenues
Written on Sunday, 17 September 2017 13:01
France is leading a push to increase the taxation of tech giants in Europe, backed by Germany, Italy and Spain. The countries’ finance ministers said in a joint letter that they want multinational technology companies like Google and Amazon to be taxed based on their revenues in Europe, rather than only profits as now. Other European nations have expressed their support for the tax change, Reuters reported, because of the low tax they receive under the current international rules. Some…
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…
