Many have declared SMS obsolete. Industry reports show over-the-top (OTT) messaging traffic growing rapidly—Informa predicted OTT volumes would be twice those of person-to-person (P2P) SMS by the end of 2013, and last year more than 19.1 billion OTT messages were sent. Those figures demonstrate a real impact on SMS traffic and operator revenue. However, the … Read more

The UK government has announced two new laboratories to speed up the development, testing and deployment of 5G OpenRAN technology. One of the new SONIC Labs will be located in London and the other in Brighton. These facilities will allow multiple manufacturers to supply components for 5G radio equipment and test their interoperability and performance … Read more

In discussions about mobile payments and a move toward a cashless society, the technology to support such systems has long existed; the main obstacles have been regulation and practical implementation. Recently, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance took a significant step by recognising Bitcoin as a “unit of account.” This classification means Bitcoin can be used … Read more

Meta (formerly Facebook) launched a program to provide free internet access to people in developing countries who might not otherwise afford connectivity. While the initiative aimed to expand access, documents obtained by whistleblower Francis Haugen and published by The Wall Street Journal reveal that the service sometimes ended up costing users money. Meta benefits when … Read more

(c)iStock.com/JasonDoiy If you’ve spent any time on major social networks recently, you’ve likely seen a popular quote—originally from a TechCrunch article—pointing out how some of the world’s biggest companies operate without owning traditional assets: “In 2015, Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles; Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content; … Read more

Telecommunications has been a lucrative revenue source for governments worldwide over the past decade. For example, the Canadian government recently raised more than $5.3 billion by auctioning spectrum licenses to telecom companies. Beyond one-time spectrum sales, many jurisdictions also collect ongoing taxes on voice and data services supplied by local providers. The potential revenue from … Read more

South Korea’s largest mobile carrier has been hit with a record fine after a major data breach exposed the personal information of nearly half the country’s population. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced on Thursday that it fined SK Telecom 134.8 billion won (about US$97 million) for weak security measures and failing to report … Read more

With an unlimited subscription plan, mobile users can use data services—downloading and uploading—without limits for a stated period (typically one month). By contrast, a limited subscription plan grants a fixed amount of data for a fixed period (also usually one month). If users do not manage their consumption carefully, they may exceed that allowance before … Read more

The latest UK Mobile Performance Review from RootMetrics finds that EE remains the operator to beat. EE secured first place across all seven of RootMetrics’ performance categories: Overall Performance, Reliability, Accessibility, Speed, Data, Call, and Text. The operator claimed 109 of 112 RootScore Awards across major metropolitan areas. Patrick Linder, Senior Director of Marketing and … Read more

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio announced on Sunday that the government is exploring the creation of a single national broadband provider to manage the country’s internet infrastructure. Di Maio, leader of the Five Star Movement, revealed the proposal during an interview with La7 television. He said the government is “working to set the … Read more