Jules Verne’s fictional Phileas Fogg needed 80 days to circle the globe in a balloon. By contrast, Google’s experimental Project Loon managed a similar global circuit in 22 days — a reminder of how far unmanned technology has advanced. Project Loon isn’t designed to be crewed or to set speed records. Its real purpose is … Read more

Japanese telecommunications company KDDI has announced plans to acquire Soracom, a specialist provider of Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and platform services, the deal was confirmed by KDDI president Takashi Tanaka. Under the agreement, KDDI will purchase all outstanding shares of Soracom, making the company a consolidated subsidiary of KDDI and bringing Soracom’s technology and … Read more

Vodafone and CK Hutchison, owner of Three, are reportedly set to announce a merger of their UK operations “as soon as Friday or early next week,” according to sources cited by Reuters. Insiders say the long-expected transaction has entered its final stages. Under the previously outlined plan from October, Vodafone would hold 51 percent of … Read more

Russia is reportedly moving forward with plans to replace Wikipedia with a state-run online encyclopedia as part of a broader push to create a “sovereign internet.” According to media reports, the Russian government intends to invest roughly $30 million to establish this domestic encyclopedia and to create a dedicated department responsible for populating it with … Read more

Firefly LiFi, a manufacturer of LiFi solutions, is leveraging LED technology to introduce low-cost 5G wireless bridges for smart city networks. These bridges deliver high data capacity and strong security for both indoor and Wireless To The Home (WTTH) outdoor backhaul use cases. Already supplying LiFi products for indoor environments, Firefly LiFi is now developing … Read more

Samsung has begun replacing its preinstalled Messages app with Google Messages on some new devices to accelerate adoption of Rich Communication Services (RCS). The change was first observed on phones shipping with One UI 6.1.1 that arrived without Samsung Messages in certain countries. When asked about the transition, Samsung clarified its reasoning. In a statement … Read more

Research from Juniper indicates that revenues from in-car applications could increase tenfold by 2017, with connected services reaching around 20% of vehicles in Western Europe and North America. This emerging market looks set to be highly profitable and will be driven by advances in mobile networks. Mobile network operator Orange has partnered with French automaker … Read more

Vodafone has activated the UK’s first live 5G Open RAN site, marking the start of a nationwide rollout that will include thousands of sites. The pioneering site was developed in collaboration with Samsung, Wind River, Dell, Intel, Keysight Technologies, and Capgemini Engineering, demonstrating the interoperability advantages offered by Open RAN technology. Each partner contributed the … Read more

Bell, the largest telecommunications provider in Canada, has suffered a data breach affecting approximately 1.9 million customers. While global attention was focused on the WannaCry ransomware outbreak—which disrupted systems worldwide, including those critical to the UK’s health service—a separate incident targeted Bell’s servers. In this unrelated attack, an individual or group gained unauthorized access to … Read more

Most television viewers have heard of Nielsen. For decades, Nielsen has been the industry standard for measuring TV audiences, but as viewing habits move online those traditional ratings have become less representative. In response, Nielsen announced today that it will launch Digital Program Ratings. At launch, the service will partner with many major broadcasters and … Read more