Social networking colossus Facebook has announced that it will commercially deploy its ‘Express Wi-Fi’ service, which is just one of its many connectivity initiatives under its internet.org umbrella. In addition to this, Facebook also announced a partnership with Indian telecommunications leader Bharti Airtel, and disclosed that it plans to create an additional 20,000 hotspots online.
PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider, and Ideal Systems, Asia’s largest broadcast and media systems integrator, have successfully delivered the world’s first live 360° and 3D multi-camera coverage of the 2017 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens with the support of Now TV, the official host broadcaster of the event, providing viewers with a totally immersive virtual reality (VR) viewing experience.
One of Australia’s leading telecommunication companies has announced that it will launch a new IoT lab which has been described as a ‘game changer’ for the country’s IoT ecosystem. Telstra Corporation Limited - is one of Australia’s largest and most successful telecommunications and media organizations.
U.S. video streaming service provider Netflix has entered negotiations with Indonesia’s leading telecommunications firm PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia TBK (Telkom) in an effort to roll out its services all across the country. Netflix has adapted to the significant changes and demand in the ever-evolving entertainment industry since its inception in 1997 – and has subsequently enjoyed huge success globally and is now one of the most recognized brands in the world.
Netflix got into hot water with the authorities in Indonesia last year, after the country’s censorship board deemed the video streaming service provider to be guilty of screening inappropriately violent or sexual content. Indonesia, a country with a population of 250 million was a very important strategic target for management at Netflix as they made an effort to aggressively expand on a global basis. The organization faced several problems in the Asian market, citing issues with local competition and regulatory hurdles as the main challenges presented.
The communications ministry of Indonesia which is home to the world’s largest Muslim population demanded that the US firm set up a HQ in the country and pay local taxes in an effort to support and contribute to the Indonesian economy. However, in an effort to re-enter the market successfully Netflix have engaged in talks with Telkom. Both parties are attempting to negotiate a partnership agreement with Netflix and hope to complete the process next month.
Vice president for corporate communication at Telkom, Arif Prabowo, admitted that his organization where concerned that Netflix carried content that had a ‘negative element’ – but declared an interest in working together with the US video streaming colossus – as it would significantly boost Telkom’s content offering.
He said, "If we work together, that means we would know and can be responsible for the content broadcast by Netflix. Teaming up with Netflix would expand Telkom's content offering. The choices for our customers will be more varied."
A Netflix spokeswoman declined to comment on the negotiations but didn’t refute claims that they had begun discussions with the Indonesian telco.
MEF today introduces the Third Network Professional Certification Framework for creating a global ecosystem of certified professionals with leading-edge skills required to support agile, assured, and orchestrated Third Network services.
US e-commerce company Amazon has been granted a wallet license as it steps up its effort to boost its business in India. The electronic and cloud computing colossus has sought the license in order to ensure customers paying experience using Amazon’s platform in India will experience less friction. The multinational corporation headquartered in Seattle was awarded the license in March, but only officially announced it this week.
US streaming firm Netflix has struck a licensing deal with a local video streaming service in China – as part of its attempts to penetrate what is regarded as a notoriously difficult market sector for the organization that has enjoyed huge success on a global basis.
Chinese multinational conglomerate Huawei has identified video as a new opportunity for mobile operators to monetize their services. The Chinese smartphone maker believes that video represents a new cash cow for operators with the entertainment market opportunity estimated at $650m worldwide by 2020. President of Huawei’s products and solutions, Ryan Ding, maintained that operators in various markets are already making the move to monetize video services, such as high-definition streaming of sport events.
A Chinese social and gaming firm has ramped up the expansion of its cloud business in its latest attempts to rein in market leader Alibaba. Tencent which has now established itself as the tenth largest company in the world – officially announced the addition of five new overseas data centers in Frankfurt, Mumbai, Seoul, Moscow and Silicon Valley.
Indian telecoms giant Reliance Jio has “fully withdrawn” its Jio Summer Surprise Offer upon advice from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Vodafone claimed in a letter to the regulator that Reliance Jio was “luring customers” to subscribe and was breaking regulatory norms.
