Westpac New Zealand is positioning itself to stand out by focusing heavily on mobile-friendly banking. Through its Global App Challenge, the bank is crowdsourcing ideas for the next generation of mobile and web banking applications, offering a NZD$100,000 prize for the best concept. According to Simon Pomeroy, Westpac NZ’s head of digital, traditional banking has … Read more

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/RichVintage) Verkotan, a specialist in wireless performance testing, has acquired mobile equipment testing laboratories from Microsoft to strengthen its capability to reproduce the challenging real-world environments experienced by everyday users. Founded in November by a team of six engineers with backgrounds at Nokia and Microsoft, Verkotan is led by co‑founder Miia Nurkkala, among … Read more

Malaysia has made notable progress in rolling out 5G, with populated area coverage reaching 81.7%—a milestone many neighbouring countries achieved later in their rollouts. By late 2023, the country had surpassed the 80% coverage mark in populated areas (CoPA), reflecting sustained deployment efforts. Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching told the Dewan Rakyat that 7,114 … Read more

The United States has relaxed its long-standing ban on exporting certain computer equipment to Iran, permitting sales when the technology is destined for private individuals rather than the Iranian government. The restriction, in place for more than a decade, was eased following a Treasury Department statement that accused Iranian authorities of attempting to “silence its … Read more

By the end of 2012, there will be more mobile devices in use worldwide than there are people, predicts Dr. Mike Short. With the global population at roughly 7 billion, Dr. Short expects mobile device adoption to surpass that number during the coming year. He also forecasts that China and India will each exceed 1 … Read more

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has reversed its initial plan to delist three major Chinese telecommunications companies after a U.S. presidential directive targeted firms alleged to have ties to the Chinese military. Last week, the NYSE began delisting procedures for China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom following an executive order signed in November. … Read more

Ericsson, Thales and Qualcomm Technologies are collaborating to extend 5G beyond the ground by integrating it with a network of Earth-orbiting satellites. Following multiple detailed studies and simulations, the three companies will move into testing and validation focused on smartphone use cases for 5G non-terrestrial networks (5G NTN). If successful, this work could allow future … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced the latest recipients of $313 million awarded through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). The RDOF program is designed to finance new broadband deployments in U.S. regions that currently have limited or no high-speed internet access. Now in its eighth round, the fund has allocated more than $5 … Read more

For many CIOs of large, established multinational enterprises that operate across numerous business units and countries, modernising IT systems and enabling workforce mobility can feel like a daunting challenge. The international healthcare group Bupa recognised the changing landscape of business IT earlier than many organisations. Andrew Easton, Head of Technology Strategy and Architecture, is managing … Read more

New Ookla research shows that Starlink now averages over 100 Mbps in 15 countries. Data from Q4 2021 indicates SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network outperforms median fixed broadband speeds in many markets: Starlink (Mbps) Fixed Broadband (Mbps) Australia 141.55 51.35 Austria 131.84 50.33 Belgium 155.15 76.94 Canada 106.64 96.39 Chile 118.95 168.92 France 102.15 75.47 Germany … Read more