Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

One subsea cable, one DAS deployment, one SASE expansion, and one IoT M&A: … [visit site to read more]

Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, one of the world’s largest integrated energy and chemicals companies, and OQ Technology, described as the world’s first satellite 5G IoT operator that provides global cellular Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine (M2M) communication solutions through satellites, have announced the signing of a new MoU.

The MoU, the partners say, further strengthens their existing collaboration and focuses on automation and satellite IoT connectivity for Aramco’s remote site infrastructures. Specifically, OQ Technology aims to expand satellite IoT services and solutions for connecting Aramco’s Intelligent Integrated Node (IIN) technology.

IIN is an innovative automation infrastructure technology invented by Aramco and developed by MOXA Inc, a provider of industrial networking, computing, and automation solutions. It combines instrumentation control, monitoring, and edge computing capabilities into a single fault-tolerant device.

While IIN technology is focused on the energy companies, it is seen as applicable to other sectors, such as smart cities, power and utilities, agriculture and transportation. 

The significance of this collaboration lies in the synergy between Aramco’s automation edge technology and OQ’s low Earth orbit (LEO) 5G NB-IoT infrastructure. It will, the partners say, accelerate the development of IoT applications, personal products, safety, security & surveillance, fire protection, automotive, healthcare and other industries in Saudi Arabia and globally.

There’s also a sustainability angle. Omar Qaise, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at OQ, says: “Integrating 5G IoT and IIN technologies will increase operational efficiencies downstream, reduce raw material consumption, and minimize personnel travel to remote sites, contributing to a more efficient green economy.”

The optical industry’s job is never done, as there is always a need for more speed and bandwidth. I remember clearly when Infinera burst onto the scene in the mid-2000s with new Indium Phosphide technology and photonic integrated circuits to challenge the status quo. There’s been a lot of change since then, and plenty more still to come.  With us today to talk about Infinera’s viewpoint on where we are and where we are going in the world of optics and bandwidth is Robert Maher, CTO of Infinera’s Optical Modules and Coherent Solutions. … [visit site to read more]

Rwanda and Cameroon have recently announced significant education-related technology agreements – Rwanda with investment group SoftBank and Cameroon with UN agency UNICEF.

SoftBank has this week announced the signing of a partnership agreement with the Government of Rwanda’s Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) to provide an educational technology (edtech) service in Rwanda using non-terrestrial network (NTN) solutions starting from the autumn of 2023. The actual agreement was signed at the end of June.

To provide this edtech service to schools lacking internet connectivity, SoftBank has partnered with Cyber University, Japan’s first full online university and a provider of digital content for academic programmes and professional learning through its platform Cloud Campus. It is also working with other partners providing high-quality satellite internet broadband connectivity and related local management.

This edtech service was designed and proposed by SoftBank in line with Rwanda’s efforts to promote and enhance digital education. Through the service, SoftBank, together with other partners, will aim to provide sustainable and affordable internet connectivity framework with high-quality educational content.

The NTN solutions referred to in the agreement presumably include high altitude platform stations (HAPS). In June this year, SoftBank and the Government of Rwanda successfully completed a stratospheric flight test in Rwanda with a new HAPS prototype aircraft. Further HAPS testing and development towards commercial implementation is ongoing.

SoftBank says provision of HAPS-based connectivity is one way in which it can contribute to the digitalization of schools and communities in rural areas that are not connected to the internet.

Also edtech-related but with a slightly different emphasis is a partnership between Cameroon and UNICEF to encourage the adoption of information and communication technologies in elementary and secondary schools.

Cameroon’s Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance (FEICOM) – a national fund for municipalities – signed the agreement with the United Nations agency earlier this week.

The US$4.8 million project will, we are told, benefit 100,000 students, 1,000 teachers and 15 schools, which will receive technology to enable access to digital learning platforms.

The project, called Education and Technology for Every Child, is being piloted in the municipalities of Bertoua I, Bertoua II, Garoua Boulai, Mandjou and Ngoura. The partners will contribute, among other things, to the construction and renovation of schools in the municipalities.

The move aligns with the government of Cameroon’s long-term plan to transform the country into a digital upper-middle-income economy by 2035.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Ellen Velickovska, Co-Founder & Managing Director at telXira

An increasing number of enterprises are using Short Messaging Services (SMS) and Over-The-Top (OTT) messaging apps for customer communications. Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging is predicted to grow from $66.84 billion in 2022 to $96.73 billion by 2030 according to Research and Markets. … [visit site to read more]