Industry News

Huawei expressed a desire to use European partnerships as a model for a new cybersecurity collaboration in the US, but said it is yet to make contact with the relevant security agencies.

Jeff Nan, a senior expert on cybersecurity and privacy protection affairs at Huawei, told journalists the company hasn’t yet replicated security monitoring schemes it has in place in the UK and Germany because the US government hasn’t given it the opportunity.

“We’d like to establish the scheme just like the UK Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre, but we need to communicate with the security agencies in the US government. If the government would like to do this, Huawei definitely would like to do this.”

Nan said such a partnership would allow Huawei to address specific concerns the US government has about its products. But, as things stand, he added the company has little to work with in the way of detailed complaints.

While the US National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed many security standards, he noted the government hasn’t used any of those to conduct an objective assessment of Huawei’s products.

Security set-up

Martin Wang, director of Huawei’s cybersecurity lab, shed light on Huawei’s rigorous internal testing regime, noting each component of a given product undergoes a risk assessment before being subjected to hundreds of tests.

For instance, he noted a total of 1,114 test cases were run on 4G RAN equipment to detect and mitigate vulnerabilities before it received approval for launch. He added there is a particular focus on privacy testing for Huawei’s consumer devices, with 1,724 out of 2,587 test cases run on its Mate smartphone line focused on privacy.

Despite the company’s struggles in the US and widely publicised questions about the integrity of Huawei’s systems, Wang said morale among his team remains high.

“In any circumstances we will focus on our job and our responsibility, and this is how we cope with external challenges.”

Source: mobileworldlive

Bharti Airtel confirmed a listing of its African unit on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), with aims to raise $750 million.

In a filing, Airtel said it would offer at least 25 per cent of its shares in Airtel Africa, using the proceeds to pay down debt.

It will have an option to float a further 15 per cent through an over-allotment.

Airtel added the number of shares to be offered will be determined in “due course” and, following admission to trading, the company’s net debt to EBITDA ratio will stand at 2.5.

Confirmation of the long-awaited listing was expected after the operator filed formal papers with the LSE last week, although details were sparse at the time. Reuters estimated the company could look to raise at least $1 billion from the unit.

Airtel Africa has a mobile money and telecoms footprint across 14 countries in Africa and raised $1.25 billion in funding in late 2018, augmenting an additional $200 million from the Qatar Investment Authority.

In October 2018, the company said the cash would be used to cut its $5 billion debt pile.

The company is also reportedly lining up a listing in Nigeria.

Source: mobileworldlive

Nokia revealed it had 42 commercial 5G deals in place with operators, more than any other vendor has announced, as the pace of the technology’s rollout progresses.

In a statement, the Finnish vendor said 22 of the 42 commercial deals were with named customers including T-Mobile US, Telia and SoftBank.

It noted early 5G rollouts in North America, South Korea and Europe as driving the uptake, and said it expects to announce more deals in emerging nations and areas including India and Latin America over the coming months.

The company’s latest progress update follows an announcement at the end of March, when it said it had 30 commercial 5G contracts. Since then, Nokia said it had won an average of one major contract each week, “with a steady pipeline in place for further agreements”.

Nokia talked up its 5G portfolio as a reason behind its progress so far, adding it believes, cumulatively, it has a “higher share with these customers in 5G than we did in 4G”.

CEO Rajeev Suri (pictured) said that through the transition from 4G to 5G, it was “Nokia’s time to shine”.

“The pace of 5G progress is accelerating across the globe. We are delivering significant performance increases to operators and the power of Nokia’s end-to-end portfolio is being recognised,” he added.

Nokia competes with rival vendors including Ericsson and Huawei for 5G contracts.

However, with Huawei’s security struggles continuing to grow, there is an opportunity for the European companies to capitalise. Huawei CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei said last week a US export ban will reduce a two-year lead it believes it has over Nokia and Ericsson in the next-generation technology.

Source: mobileworldlive

MTN Ghana on Monday officially opened its staff volunteering programme dubbed “21 Days of Y’ello Care” to undertake activities that would empower the youth to make positive impacts on society.

The 2019 programme on the theme, “Creating a Brighter Future for Our Youth” commenced on June 1 and expected to end on June 21.

The programme is expected to benefit about 330 unemployed youth, and would include activities such as skills training on bead making, hair-dressing, make-up arts and construction works.

Beneficiaries would also be trained on digital marketing, customer care services, financial management, Information Technology and Entrepreneurship skills.

The programme would also empower and inspire inmates of the Senior Correctional Centres and Rehabilitation Centres to identify their capabilities and work towards achieving them.

Mr Selorm Adadevoh, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana who launched the programme said there was the need for Corporate entities to empower the youth with employable skills.

He explained that the ‘21 Days of Y’ello Care’ was a challenge within the MTN Group, therefore, for MTN Ghana to win the threshold, it needed 95 per cent of staff participation and a 100 per cent Excom participation.

“Undoubtedly, we all have a critical role to play. We will have to commit to translating our hopes into reality and show up as volunteers,” he said.

The CEO advised staff of the telecom company to dedicate time for the programme to make it a fulfilling and inspiring one for the citizenry.

Mr Emmanuel Asigri, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority commended MTN for the step it had taken to empower the youth, adding that, the decision to partner the NYA was laudable and gave the assurance that it would be fruitful.

He said reducing the rate of unemployment especially among the youth was not a sole responsibility of government but also that of private entities, and encouraged other private bodies to help create more jobs for the youth.

Source: GNA

Vodafone Ghana as part of its commitment to empower women and fight domestic violence, has donated a cheque of GH¢5,000.00 to the Ghana Ark Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation that provides shelter for abused victim.

The donation was in response to the Foundation’s call for support to enable it reopen and run its shelter.

A statement from Vodafone Ghana to the Ghana News Agency explained that the shelter, which had become a safe haven for victims of domestic violence, was closed down in December 2016, due to lack of funds.

Presenting the cheque to the Foundation, Madam Hannah Ashiokai Akrong, the Human Resource Director at Vodafone Ghana, said: “Our commitment to fighting domestic violence goes beyond the walls of our organisation.

“We are particularly interested in the role your Foundation plays in housing and reintegrating victims of domestic abuse especially women and children. A victim’s condition worsens when they continue to stay at the place of violence because they have nowhere else to go,” the statement said.

Madam Akrong according to the statement said at Vodafone, the staff believed domestic violence had a significant impact on people at work, affecting confidence, self-esteem and career progression.

She said that brought about the launching of a Group-wide policy to protect and offer support for victims.

Mrs Angela Dwamena Boakye, the Executive Director of the Ark Foundation, who received the cheque, expressed gratitude to Vodafone Ghana for the gesture, the statement said.

“Your commitment to fighting domestic violence is unquestionable. This donation will certainly help in the reopening and running of the shelter, which we had to close down due to lack of funds,” she said.

The statement disclosed that Vodafone as part of its steps to fight domestic violence had set up a 24-hour hotline service, which employees with issues in relation to domestic violence could call for help.

It said employees who had been victimised also had up to 10 days of paid leave in any calendar year for medical appointments, legal proceedings and other related domestic violence activities.

Source: GNA

MTN Zambia, Barclays Zambia and JUMO have announced the commercial launch of KASAKA – a unique, short term mobile saving product.

This interest-bearing savings account is available to all MTN Mobile Money users through Barclays Zambia. KASAKA, the next step in widening access to financial services for underserved people in Zambia, has been built and run on JUMO’s operating platform. Over 10 000 Zambians have saved more than ZKW 1 600 000 since March 2019.

KASAKA is an interest-bearing savings account that is available to all MTN Mobile Money customers by Barclays Zambia via the JUMO platform and serves as the next step in widening the offering of financial services products to the unserved and underserved population in Zambia.

Barclays Zambia, as the licensed deposit-taking institution, is responsible and accountable to the Bank of Zambia. Interest to the customer will be funded by Barclays Zambia and will handle all treasury management functions. The interactions with the customer and all transactions between the customer wallets and the Barclays Zambia wallet will be managed by the JUMO platform, under instruction from Barclays.

Speaking during the launch, MTN Mobile Money General Manager, Edmund Barwuah noted that this simple, easy to understand and convenient savings product provides the opportunity for the unserved and underserved segments of the Zambian market to access a real-time savings product, driving financial inclusion and encouraging a strong savings culture.”

Barwuah stressed that partnerships between banks and Fintechs are fundamental in the development of relevant financial products with financial inclusion in mind.

“We believe that with close to two million active MTN Mobile Money customers and 30,000 agents, KASAKA will become an important avenue for subscribers to harness the benefits of savings. We consider taking financial services to the previously unbanked a huge responsibility that demands constant innovation and this forms the basis for our long-standing partnership with Barclays Zambia and JUMO.”

And Barclays Bank Zambia Managing Director, Mizinga Melu, noted that these strategic partnerships paired with the adoption and implementation of new technologies is the next step in widening the offering of financial services products to the unserved and underserved population in Zambia.

This product provides an opportunity for the unserved and underserved segments of the Zambian market to access real-time savings. This will drive financial inclusion and encourage a culture of saving in the country.”

James Townsend-Rose, Director of Strategic Partnerships: Africa at JUMO, said “We use cutting-edge technology to build and run financial services because at the core of our business, we’re working to advance financial inclusion. JUMO is excited to be a part of adding savings to the financial choices available to Zambians.”

Source: itnewsafrica.com

Employees of AirtelTigo have donated assorted items, including educational materials, food items and clothes to La Wireless Cluster of Schools in Greater Accra region and the Sekondi School for the Deaf in the Western region through its “Season of Random Kindness” initiative.

The “Season of Random Kindness” is an AirtelTigo staff Corporate Social Responsibility initiative aimed at volunteering and giving back to communities.

Through this initiative, employees of the company support a worthy cause by investing their time and resources to provide essential supplies for schools, hospitals and orphanages.

Education is one of the pillars of AirtelTigo’s CSR programmes, and the provision of educational materials is to help improve academic work in beneficiary schools.

During the presentation at La Wireless Cluster of Schools, the Chief Human Resources Officer at AirtelTigo, Eric Adadevoh, said: “Creating value and improving lives is part of our culture as demonstrated by our staff donations and the time we invest in our communities.”

“We believe that this donation will go a long way in helping the pupils of the school. We see ourselves as development partner’s and the “Season of Random Kindness” will continue to be used as a gesture to impact lives.”

At the Sekondi School for the Deaf, the Commercial Head for Western and Central Regions, Judah Entsua-Mensah lauded the school for nurturing children with disabilities in the region. He encouraged the children to believe in themselves and expressed the hope that the donation would help meet some of the needs of the school.

The heads of both schools expressed their gratitude to AirtelTigo staff for their support and assured that the items would be used for the benefit the students.

Mr. Edward Opoku Manu, the Circuit Supervisor for La Wireless Cluster of School noted: “We are very happy to receive these items from AirtelTigo, we believe that this donation will boost the children’s morale to learn.”

Source: airteltigo.com.gh

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) was tipped to be on the brink of issuing commercial 5G licences, clearing operators to begin deploying services, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The agency quoted MIIT as stating China is ready for a commercial 5G launch, with overseas enterprises including Nokia, Ericsson and Qualcomm deeply involved in the development of the technology.

China’s government granted licences to the country’s three major operators to conduct 5G trials in 2018, however a commercial launch is yet to be approved.

An exact launch date was not announced, but it is expected soon.

MIIT reportedly said China owns “more than 30 per cent of standard essential patents for the technology”, built through a combination of independent innovation and open cooperation on 5G standards.

Launches are expected to provide a major boost to the country’s economy and its technology sector. They would be timely as the country’s major vendors Huawei and ZTE face scrutiny from the US over security.

Ernst & Young predicted China’s three major operators will spend almost $5 billion on 5G-related infrastructure in 2019 alone, with their total spend estimated to hit $217 billion between 2020 and 2025.

While China’s operators were widely expected to deploy commercial 5G services in 2020, launches in the US, South Korea and parts of Europe, including the UK, appear to have spurred regulators to accelerate the schedule.

Source: mobileworldlive

The Institute of Electronic and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a US-based research and standards group, lifted a temporary ban on Huawei and its subsidiaries from participating in a peer review process for its research papers.

Its U-turn follows a statement last week that it would bar Huawei employees from taking part in the process and prohibit them from being involved in closed events involving technical discussions.

At the time, the IEEE explained its decision was the consequence of the US government placing Huawei on a trade blacklist last month.

IEEE said it decided to lift the ban following further clarification from the US Department of Commerce “on the applicability of these export control restrictions to IEEE’s publication activities”.

“Based on this new information, employees of Huawei and its affiliates may participate as peer reviewers and editors in our publication process. All IEEE members, regardless of employer, can continue to participate in all of the activities of the IEEE,” it said.

The association continued to state the risk had been addressed and its initial decision to bar the Chinese vendor was “motivated solely by our desire to protect our volunteers and our members from legal risk”.

Huawei is now free to submit papers, attend conferences and participate in other public activities.

Backtrack
The SD Association, an industry group covering standards for memory cards, had also reportedly blocked Huawei from participating in its technical meetings, but in a statement explained the vendor’s name had been omitted from its list of members “due to a technical issue”.

However, the association also noted Huawei’s membership “was recently suspended to ensure compliance” with the US export ban, before explaining most handset makers don’t need to be members of the group “to manufacture products using SD technology” unless they require access to the group’s specifications or branding.

The Wi-Fi Alliance also stated it had blocked Huawei, though the vendor appears to have subsequently been reinstated to the group’s list of members.

Source: mobileworldlive

The Financial Times reported Friday that tech giant Huawei has ordered its employees to cancel technical meetings with American contacts and has sent home numerous U.S. employees working at its Chinese headquarters.

The moves come amid growing U.S.-China tensions over trade and technology in which Huawei has been a main target.

The newspaper quoted Huawei’s chief strategy architect, Dang Wenshuan, as saying that American citizens working in R&D were repatriated two weeks ago, after the Chinese group and 68 affiliates were placed on the U.S. Commerce Department’s “Entity List,” which effectively bars American firms from selling technology to Huawei without government approval.

The FT said a workshop underway at Huawei at the time was “hastily disbanded, and American delegates were asked to remove their laptops, isolate their networks and leave the Huawei premises.”

It quoted Dang as saying that Huawei is also limiting interactions between its employees and American citizens.

Huawei declined to comment on the FT report.

China’s commerce ministry announced Friday that it will establish its own list of foreign enterprises, organizations and individuals it deems to be “unreliable entities” – a possible response to the U.S. blacklist.

Entities are “unreliable” if they “fail to comply with market rules, break from the spirit of contracts and block or stop supplying Chinese enterprise for non-commercial reasons, seriously damaging the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises,” ministry spokesman Gao Feng said at a news briefing.

Gao said the specific measures to be taken against the entities will be announced at a later date.

The purpose of the list is to oppose unilateralism and trade protectionism, as well as safeguard China’s national security, he said.

Source: The Financial Times