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Equatys has 'cure' for MNOs' dropped calls, says Space42 exec #
Space42 and Viasat seek more partners to join Equatys, their shared satellite infrastructure venture for direct-to-device to fill mobile network coverage gaps.
Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Sunrise offers enterprise AI; BT's new ad focuses on users' cybersecurity fears; DNA employees can stay at home, forever.
The UK's competition regulator has updated proposals intended to give Android and Chrome users greater control over the search services they use to reflect the growing influence of AI on how searches are carried out and the search results presented. The new proposals, said the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), take into consideration the growing use of services such as ChatGPT and feedback from publishers, search providers and user groups. Specifically, the proposals give Android and Chrome users a choice of search services when they use their Android phone or open Chrome for the first time (and a prompt every year to confirm or change their default search provider), allow AI assistants to be included where they meet the relevant criteria and ensure any search providers that feature on choice screens fairly attribute publisher content when used. (See Eurobites: Google bows to EU pressure on Android search engine choice.)
Operator Sunrise and sovereign cloud provider Phoeniqs have combined to create an enterprise AI offering for the Swiss market. Sunrise Business AI Assistant, as the product is called, can be connected to existing business applications and combines AI chat, document analysis and agents on a single platform. All the core AI components are operated in Switzerland; no data will be sent abroad, promises Sunrise.
BT's latest ad campaign is mining users' darkest fears by focusing on how its broadband offers "superior" protection against online nasties rather than banging on about its speed or reliability. The ad employs the metaphor of a real-life beekeepers' association dealing with the threat posed by invasive hornets. The UK operator, which has in recent years seemed to place the marketing emphasis on its EE mobile arm, surprised many in the industry in May by relaunching its BT brand with a high-profile TV campaign. (See Why BT's boss may think now's the time to dig out the old brand.)
UK mobile operator VodafoneThree is expanding its "Opportunity Hubs" initiative which takes pop-up workshops to various towns, offering the locals tools and tips to help them turn digital bright ideas into viable businesses. Separately, the operator has remodeled two London stores, one in Oxford Street and the other in White City, to show Vodafone and Three devices side by side. Other stores in some of the UK's major cities are due to get the same treatment soon. (See Eurobites: Vodafone and Three complete UK merger, promise £11B investment.)
South Africa's MTN has joined forces with the Gates Foundation to improve maternal outcomes in Nigeria. The Nigeria Maternal Health Multiplier, as the initiative is named, aims to help 500,000 women access health guidance, equip 5,000 frontline health workers with tools to identify complications from pregnancy and childbirth early, and enable 500 health facilities to deliver more consistent, higher-quality maternity care. It combines AI-enabled, phone-based tools for both frontline health workers and mothers, affordable smartphones and mobile data, and improved connectivity at healthcare facilities.
Finnish operator DNA says it's swimming against the return-to-the-office tide by deciding not to enforce a workplace attendance mandate and not tracking the number of days employees spend in the office. DNA commissioned its own survey into the issue, finding that 41% of Finns who have the opportunity to work remotely spend most of their working time at their workplace. Around one in five report working equally from the office and remotely, while 23% say they work remotely most of the time. Only 13% said they work entirely remotely.
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