Author: Akin Naphtal

YouTube has been accused of violating UK data privacy regulations designed to protect children by collecting viewing data from those under the age of 13. Campaigner Duncan McCann has made an official complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), stating that the video-sharing site is gathering information about what children watch, where they watch it, and the devices they use. Although YouTube claims to have made significant investments in safeguarding families, McCann believes that the company is still failing to comply with the regulations. “We remain committed to continuing our engagement with the ICO on this priority work, and with…

The United States has placed export restrictions on a number of Chinese entities, including Inspur Group, a manufacturer of computer servers, and genetics firm BGI Research, citing activities that go against US national security or foreign policy interests. These companies have been added to the Entity List for acquiring or attempting to acquire US-origin items to support China’s military modernisation efforts. The US has also cited companies providing support to Russia’s military READ ALSO: ZHO Launches Robot-Assisted Training Device to Aid Walking of Children of Determination in Al Ain Zain KSA and Rakuten Symphony to team up for next-gen telecom…

US tech giant Apple is set to diversify its supply chain away from China and increase production in India. The company plans to manufacture iPhones at a new plant in India, according to officials. Karnataka state chief minister Basavaraj S Bommai tweeted on Friday that “Apple phones will be built in the state soon…Apart from creating about 100,000 jobs, it will create a whole lot of opportunities for Karnataka”. The proposed factory will be spread over 300 acres in the state, home to India’s tech hub Bengaluru, according to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India’s minister of state for information technology. READ ALSO:…

NBCUniversal, a major American media company, is set to acquire a 30% stake in Showmax, the streaming video entertainment service offered by MultiChoice Group, in a bid to create the top streaming platform in Africa. The deal includes technology supply and new content for Showmax subscribers and is a collaboration between NBCUniversal sister company Sky, both of which are owned by Comcast. MultiChoice will retain a 70% stake in Showmax following the transaction, with NBCUniversal holding an indirect 23.7% stake in the local subsidiary in Nigeria. The deal deepens an already strong relationship and builds on the Sky Glass technology…

Airtel Uganda has announced a collaboration with ATC Uganda to launch the country’s first Smart Pole, located on Luwum Street in downtown Kampala. The Kampala SMART pole is a form of Distributed Antenna System (DAS) technology, specially designed to address service gaps resulting from mobile data growth and heavily trafficked areas. The poles are also intended to facilitate the transition to 5G internet technology and ATC Uganda is working closely with all mobile network operators to support this transition. The Managing Director of Airtel Uganda, Manoj Murali, expressed that Airtel received many complaints of weak signals in areas of high…

Ad Dynamo by Aleph, a leading digital advertising enabler in emerging markets, has appointed Stephen A. Newton as the Managing Director for Africa. With over 25 years of experience in leading EMEA businesses across the digital space, Newton’s main priority will be pan-African expansion and assisting Ad Dynamo by Aleph’s partners in overcoming the challenges of doing business across the continent. Newton says “As both a developing market and a continent with a rapidly growing population, Africa is poised to house not only a sizeable portion of the world’s population but also a sizeable portion of the world’s eligible workforce”,…

MTN Group, the leading network operator in Africa and Huawei have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their strategic cooperation in environmental, social and governance matters. The signing took place during this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC 2023) in Barcelona. According to MTN Group’s Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer, Nompilo Morafo, the MoU is in line with MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy and Huawei’s Corporate Sustainability Development strategy, including its TECH4ALL initiative. “Collaboration with companies like Huawei is essential to achieving digital solutions for Africa’s progress”, she emphasized. The Member of Huawei’s Supervisory Board and President of the…

MetroFibre Networx, a fiber broadband infrastructure operator, has announced that it will be providing massive speed upgrades and substantial price cuts to its customers. The move comes as Openserve, Telkom’s wholesale subsidiary, has increased its prices to internet service providers following its own speed improvements. MetroFibre has described the changes to its fiber-to-the-home portfolio as “unprecedented in the market”. Customers with 50Mbit/s and 100Mbit/s connections will see their line speeds increase by five times at no additional cost, while customers on the company’s 1Gbit/s plan will see a significant price reduction. MetroFibre plans to roll out the new line speeds…

Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a business of Cassava Technologies, announced a new collaboration to deliver internet access to 20 million underserved people in Africa by the end of 2025, with Microsoft Corp. Working together through Microsoft’s Airband initiative, the new collaboration will initially target regions that include but are not limited to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia. Additionally, the partnership will allow for increased proliferation of high-speed connectivity to the farthest parts of Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. Working together, the companies will empower individuals and businesses in some of the United Nations’ least developed countries to help…

At the ongoing 2023 Mobile World Congress, Huawei made history by announcing that it has extended its innovation streak to mineral extraction by using 5G technology to connect all mining equipment at Botswana’s Jwaneng mine, creating the world’s first 5G-oriented smart diamond mine. The Chief Technology Officer of Huawei Mine BU, Xu Jun, explained that the company’s ICT technologies such as 5G, cloud, AI and IoT were used to develop smart mine solutions based on an industrial internet architecture. “In this instance, Botswana’s Debswana and Huawei jointly established the world’s first 5G-oriented smart diamond mine. Located in Jwaneng, it uses…