AIRTELTIGO BUSINESS EVOLVES SMES WITH LAUNCH OF ‘FLEXI BUSINESS’

[caption id="attachment_5420" align="alignnone" width="251"]Ethel Anamoo The Chief Business Officer at AirtelTigo Business Ms. Ethel Anamoo[/caption]

On a journey to catalyze innovation and fast-track growth for businesses, AirtelTigo Business has rolled out “Flexi Business”, a tailor-made mobile solution for small and medium enterprises and corporate firms to meet their specific needs to grow and be profitable.

The product, which is first of its kind in the country’s telecommunications industry, allows SMEs and corporate firms to customize their package based on their needs.

Under this package, businesses enjoy value for money as the product has no expiry on data for SMEs and also gives an unlimited on-net call to corporate customers.

Additionally, SMEs and corporate firms will get 40 percent more data and 30 percent more on voice calls. Once a company signs on to the package, the company can pay all its employees through AirtelTigo Money for free.

Explaining further on the rationale behind “Flexi business”, the Chief Business Officer at AirtelTigo, Ms. Ethel Anamoo, said: “I’m really proud that we have developed this solution for businesses. It truly demonstrates our commitment to make businesses simple. With experience and rich understanding in this market, we believe that communication solutions for businesses, particularly small, medium and enterprises should be affordable. We also believe in offering innovative solutions with value to our clients.”

She noted that SMEs are playing a key role in fostering new ideas in the country and they need communication solutions that supports their growth. “In this market, we are the most trusted partner to businesses because we are offering value-for-money, integrated solutions and superior customer service.”

Commenting on the era of technology and business, Ms Anamoo stated that: “Technology is now a big driver for business efficiency and growth. Therefore, at AirtelTigo Business, we believe in helping small and large businesses to evolve with innovative technology solutions. Ultimately, our aim is to make businesses simple.”

Source: airteltigo.com.gh

MTN AND ERICSSON EXTEND MOBILE MONEY PARTNERSHIP IN AFRICA

MTN Logo

MTN and Ericsson have signed a five-year contract extension to deploy new products and provide Managed Services for Mobile Money services in 13 countries across Africa and the Middle East. The new contract includes deployment of Ericsson Wallet Platform in new markets on top of existing 13 countries.

The deployment of Ericsson’s Wallet Platform will bring mobile financial services to MTN customers.
The strategic partnership between MTN and Ericsson will introduce Ericsson Wallet Platform across the operator’s footprint. MTN Group has Wallet Platform subscribers in 13 countries in Africa. Ericsson is providing MTN with an m-commerce solution that includes Ericsson Wallet Platform, systems integration, operational support and solution development.

MTN Group Executive for Mobile Financial Services, Serigne Dioum says, “A stable, secure and reliable platform is one of the fundamentals to building successful mobile financial services. Through this partnership, we look forward to working with Ericsson to further enhance our value proposition and expand our ecosystem.”

The five-year revenue sharing extended agreement includes a host of digital payment and transactional capabilities in line with MTN’s vision.

Ericsson Wallet Platform allows users to store, transfer and withdraw money, paying merchants and utility providers as well as using financial services like savings and loans.

[caption id="attachment_5417" align="alignnone" width="300"]Rafiah Ibrahim Rafiah Ibrahim, Head of Ericsson Middle East and Africa.[/caption]

Rafiah Ibrahim, Head of Ericsson Middle East & Africa says, “This breakthrough deployment is yet another example of MTN’s ongoing commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction. Ericsson Wallet Platform helps MTN offer the convenience of m-wallet financial services across its entire subscriber base.”

Part of the Ericsson Digital BSS portfolio, Ericsson Wallet Platform is an integrated mobile wallet solution that combines Ericsson Wallet Platform and Ericsson Charging. It also allows mobile operators to reuse existing assets and bundle telecom offerings with financial services to create a complete end-user solution for m-commerce needs.

FACEBOOK, TWITTER, GOOGLE FAILING IN “FAKE NEWS” BATTLE

[caption id="attachment_5414" align="alignnone" width="300"]European flags wave in front of the Berlaymont building - European Commission (EC) headquarter - in Brussels, Belgium, on January 14, 2019, the day ahead of crucial U.K. Parliament Brexit vote. The EU is waiting to see the scale of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's expected parliamentary defeat on her Brexit deal before considering its response, officials said, with some predicting that she will have to delay Britain's departure from the bloc.   (Photo by Michele Spatari/NurPhoto via Getty Images) European flags wave in front of the Berlaymont building - European Commission (EC) headquarter - in Brussels, Belgium
(Photo by Michele Spatari/NurPhoto via Getty Images)[/caption]

Social media platforms aren’t living up to voluntary code of conduct, commissioner says.

Last October, in an attempt to fend off additional regulation, advertising trade organizations and major Internet platform providers—including Google, Facebook, and Twitter—signed off on a voluntary code of conduct aimed at reducing the threat posed by fraudulently purchased political advertisements and the posting of "fake news" articles. But a report released by the European Commission today called the social media platforms to task for not living up to those voluntary measures to help protect upcoming elections across Europe in the next few months—and particularly the European Parliament elections in May.

In a joint statement issued by the European Commission, Vice President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip; Commissioner for Justice, Consumers, and Gender Equality Věra Jourová; Commissioner for the Security Union Julian King; and Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel wrote:

[caption id="attachment_5385" align="alignnone" width="300"]Mariya Gabriel EU Digital Economy Commissioner Mariya Gabriel[/caption]

"We need to see more progress on the commitments made by online platforms to fight disinformation. Platforms have not provided enough details showing that new policies and tools are being deployed in a timely manner and with sufficient resources across all EU Member States. The reports provide too little information on the actual results of the measures already taken.

Finally, the platforms have failed to identify specific benchmarks that would enable the tracking and measurement of progress in the EU. The quality of the information provided varies from one signatory of the Code to another depending on the commitment areas covered by each report. This clearly shows that there is room for improvement for all signatories... We urge Facebook, Google and Twitter to do more across all Member States to help ensure the integrity of the European Parliament elections in May 2019. We also encourage platforms to strengthen their cooperation with fact-checkers and academic researchers to detect disinformation campaigns and make fact-checked content more visible and widespread".

The EC report specifically called out each of the major social media platforms for specific failures. Facebook was cited for not providing details of its efforts to scrutinize political advertisement placement, which the company said it began in January. Facebook had also promised a Europe-wide archive for political and issue advertising, to be available by March 2019. And while Facebook’s reports to the EC thus far have given details on “cases of interference from third countries in EU Member States,” the commissioners said, it does not provide the number of fake accounts removed due to “malicious activities targeting specifically the European Union.”
Google’s reporting to the EC detailed actions the company had taken to improve its oversight of advertisements targeting citizens of EU countries, but the commissioners found fault in how Google measured its result. “The metrics supplied are not specific enough and do not clarify the extent to which the actions were taken to address disinformation or for other reasons (e.g. misleading advertising),” according to a summary of the report published by the EC. And while Google issued a new election advertising policy in January that includes the creation of a transparency report, the company did not provide any evidence that it had done anything concrete to implement “integrity of services” policies in its January report to the EC.

For its part, Twitter did’t even provide a report to the EC in January—the company announced the expansion of its political advertising transparency report to Europe on February 19. Twitter did release five new data sets of what it called state-backed information campaigns, including collections of posts from accounts connected to campaigns by Russia, Iran, Bangladesh, and Venezuela, which are publicly downloadable. But Twitter did not give any details on how it was measuring progress on spotting such activity.

The commissioners plan on pushing for full compliance with the voluntary rules by before the May 2019 European Parliament elections and continuously monitoring the results of the platform vendors’ actions through the end of the year. “By the end of 2019, the Commission will carry out a comprehensive assessment of the Code's initial 12-month period,” the commissioners’ statement noted. “Should the results prove unsatisfactory, the Commission may propose further actions, including of a regulatory nature.”

Source: arstechnica.com

GSMA HIGHLIGHTS 5G, OTHER KEY THEMES OF MWC19

MWC19-Exterior-1024x768

This year’s Mobile World Congress Barcelona is a wrap, and organizer GSMA is celebrating a very successful event.

The mobile alliance says that MWC19 Barcelona saw 109,000 visitors from all over the world, with 55 percent of attendees being senior-level executives and 7,900 being CEOs. The event also attracted 3,640 media and industry analysts, and is estimated to have contributed €473 million to the local economy.

Commenting on the successful event, GSMA CEO John Hoffman emphasized the prominence of 5G technology at this year’s flagship MWC. “With the theme of ‘Intelligent Connectivity’, 5G was prominent at MWC19 and it was exciting to see a glimpse of that new world, with 5G-enabled handsets launched, new products and services, and even the first demonstration of live tele-monitored surgery over 5G technology,” he said, adding, “The mobile industry continues to make strong progress with 5G and MWC Barcelona continues to showcase the best and most creative elements of our connected world.”

[caption id="attachment_5410" align="alignnone" width="300"]GSMA Face biometrics facilitated frictionless access control at this year’s Mobile World Congress.[/caption]

Of course, other major tech trends in the mobile world shared the spotlight, too, with artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, VR/AR, and biometrics generating a lot of buzz. The latter, in fact, was more prominent than ever, with organizers having implemented a new biometric access system that allowed visitors to register to gain entry to the MWC venue with a face scan, instead of having to show ID or badges. Biometrics have become integral in mobile technologies over the last few years, and this new ‘BREEZ’ system offered the latest indication of just how prominent biometric tech is in the mobile world.

Source: mobileidworld