Vodafone Ghana Secures 4G License, Huawei Removed From UK Emergency Services, and Instagram Suffers Backlash Over Update

Africa

Vodafone Ghana secures 4G license

Vodafone has won a $30m bid to begin 4G operations in mobile services in Ghana. This follows a successful negotiation with the National Communications Authority after bids were opened in September for the 4G spectrum. Vodafone is committing a further $120 million in infrastructure and will begin 4G deployment in April 2019.

MTN Nigeria settles illegal profit dispute

MTN Nigeria has settled its illegal profit dispute with the Nigerian authorities, the telecoms operator has said. As part of the settlement, the South Africa-based telecom giant has made $53 million in payment and is “engaging with banks regarding the agreement.” MTN Nigeria had been accused of illegally repatriating $1.8 billion in profits and also said to owe $2 billion in unpaid taxes.

Europe

Huawei removed from UK’s emergency service 4G Network

British telecoms giant, BT, has confirmed that it is removing all Huawei kits from UK’s emergency services. BT is currently developing a cheaper communication service for the police service and other emergency units and has ruled out using Huawei from its core infrastructure, a report said. It would not be the first time BT is steering clear of the Chinese telephone giant. Earlier in December, the company promised to remove Huawei from all of its core 5G infrastructure.

Virtual cancer to provide new insight into fighting the disease

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a virtual 3D model of a cancer tumour to provide new ways of fighting the disease. The virtual image was recreated from sample taken from an actual breast cancer patient. Through virtual reality, doctors from different locations can investigate the cells of a cancer tumour taken from a patient to help provide better ways of fighting the tumour. “The project is part of an international research scheme,” the BBC said.

Amazon Alexa crashed on Christmas day

Amazon Alexa crashed on 25th December 2018 due to an overload of requests from Europe, a report said. The requests were so overwhelming that when users made requests to the digital assistant, they were greeted with, “Sorry, I’m having trouble understanding you right now.” Amazon’s customer care account tweeted about the intermittent connections involving some echo devices in Europe, saying the situation had been resolved.

Asia

Huawei to surpass 2018 revenue expectation

Huawei’s chairman, Guo Ping, has said that the company will surpass its 2018 revenue expectation. The telephone giant is said to earn over US$108 billion by year end, representing some 21% year-on-year increase. This performance comes despite challenges it has faced in the international community over its alleged relationship with Russia. The US, Australia, and New Zealand have all restricted access to Huawei tech in their respective networks citing potential security concern from the Chinese firm.

Grab ordered to pay compensation to taxi firm in Vietnam

A Vietnamese court has ordered ride-hailing firm, Grab, to pay up to €206,985 in compensation to taxi firm, Vietnam Sun Corp. This is the climax to an 18-month legal battle between Grab and the taxi firm also known as Vinasun. The court agreed that Grab operated as a taxi company and not a tech company, thereby violating Vietnamese regulations in the industry. The verdict found a link between Grab’s operations and Vietnam Sun Corp’s loss in revenue, a Reuters report said.

The Americas

Instagram rolls back update after online uproar

Instagram has rolled back an update that changed the way users scrolled through the app following public outcry. The new update allowed users to horizontally scroll through their newsfeed rather than vertically. Instagram quickly rolled back the update within an hour saying it was meant as a test involving only a few users. The roll back should take immediate effect, but “If you’re still seeing it, simply restart the app,” Adam Mosseri, Facebook’s head of Instagram said in a statement.

Facebook shares to hit $160 in 2019

Citron Research, a short-seller in the securities market, has predicted that Facebook share price could hit $160 in 2019. The company based its prediction on the fact that the social network giant had suffered little impact from the data scandals it faced this year. Following their announcement, Facebook’s share price rose by 4.4% to $129.57.