Excessive spectrum costs could hurt consumer benefit from 5G, argue lobbyists February 26, 2019 The telecoms industry's main lobby group has said governments need to bring down high costs for 5G bids if Europe is to keep up with the global roll-out. The GSMA, which represents 300 operators worldwide, has been caught in the middle of a row between telecoms firms and governments as to who should shoulder the cost of [...]
Tech startups remain private for longer leading to high valuation IPO pipeline February 26, 2019 Technology startup companies are choosing to remain private for longer due to the availability of capital from private equity and venture capital investors, creating a pipeline of high-value listings expected this year. The median age of venture capital backed technology companies at the time of IPO has risen from 10.9 years in 2018 from 7.9 [...]
Venture capital fund run by former Facebook and Deliveroo employees raises $85m February 26, 2019 A venture capital fund run by former Facebook, Deliveroo and Klarna employees has raised $85m. (£64.5m) The Blossom Capital fund is the first launched by ex-Index Ventures and Localglobe investor Ophelia Brown, 32, and is the fastest ever first time fundraise from a female VC in Europe. Read more: Ex-Google CFO opens up a venture capital office [...]
Huawei chairman says the US has ‘no evidence, nothing’ of Chinese backdoors in 5G February 26, 2019 Huawei's chairman Guo Ping has said there is "no evidence, nothing" to support US claims of spying via its telecommunications equipment. "We don't do bad things," said Ping, speaking in a keynote address at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. "Here, let me say this as clearly as possible: Huawei has not and will never plant backdoors. [...]
IBM’s Watson supercomputer to solve the mobility problem in tie-up with Volkswagen’s SEAT February 26, 2019 IBM and Volkswagen's Spanish unit SEAT have unveiled a standalone app that hopes to predict what mode of transport and route is best for urban users through artificial intelligence (AI). The app, called Mobility Advisor, will utilise the power of IBM's Watson supercomputer to present commuters with the best way to navigate cities, whether that's [...]
Amazon pledges to create 1,000 UK apprenticeships by 2021 February 26, 2019 Amazon today pledged to create more than 1,000 full-time apprenticeships in the UK over the next two years. Read more: Amazon's UK boss made a trustee of the National Gallery The apprenticeship programme will fill positions across Amazon’s UK operations – from software developers for Prime Video and Alexa's machine learning technology to warehouse workers [...]
DEBATE: With the Oscars success of Roma, has Netflix broken the dominance of the traditional film studios? February 26, 2019 With the Oscars success of Roma, has Netflix broken the dominance of the traditional film studios? Abbie Llewelyn, freelance writer and commentator, says YES. Just six years after Netflix started producing original content, it has scored 15 nominations and three wins at the Oscars. This is a huge breakthrough for streaming platforms, as up until [...]
How to stop worrying about being run over by a robot car February 26, 2019 Depending on who you ask, we are either very close or very far from having millions of autonomous vehicles on the roads. What few question is that we will eventually see widespread take-up; the opportunities for improved road safety are unparalleled. But driverless cars also offer a great exemplar of the wider automation debate, and the [...]
Ford links up with London startup What3words for a new way to map the world February 26, 2019 Ford is ramping up its innovation plans as the US car giant today announces a partnership with London startup What3words. The tie-up means drivers will be able to link the What3words app, which has mapped out the globe into 57 trillion 3m-by-3m squares using unique three-word addresses, with Ford's in-car navigation system. The technology will reduce address input errors [...]
Telecoms bosses warn of risks to 5G roll-out February 25, 2019 Top executives from Europe's major telecoms firms have identified multiple obstacles that could impede the roll-out of 5G across the continent. Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, BT consumer chief executive Marc Allera said that landlords across the UK were preventing the firm from constructing thousands of pieces of key infrastructure such as masts and [...]