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CTO and other top execs quit as OpenAPI reportedly moves to for-profit model

Annie Turner
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CTO and other top execs quit as OpenAPI reportedly moves to for-profit model

Her abrupt decision to leave is played down by CEO Sam Altman; others see the ‘brain drain’ as serious and query OpenAI’s suggested valuation of $150bn

It’s only 10 months since the last crisis engulfed OpenAI, which saw its CEO, Sam Altman, fired then reinstated and the whole episode investigated after a massive backlash. Now the company responsible for ChatGPT and the huge wave of interest in GenerativeAI (GenAI) that began in late 2022 is in turmoil again.

Mira Murati, OpenAI’s long-serving CTO quit abruptly on Wednesday and President Greg Brockman is on leave. OpenAI’s VP of Research, Barret Zoph, and Chief Research Officer, Bob McGrew, have also announced they will be leaving the company.

For-profit seems to have won

According to Reuters, which broke the story, it seems that the organisation will restructure of its core business to become a for-profit corporation, no longer under the control of its non-profit board and with Altman holding a slice of equity. There are suggestions that the new corporation could be worth up to $150 billion and possibly more if the current caps on returns for investors can be removed.

Desire by some board members to prevent OpenAI abandoning its non-profit origins led, in part, what led to Altman being fired in November 2023. The non-profit’s board was more concerned with safety than commercialisation, whereas it seemed to them, their CEO’s priorities were the other way round.

Since Altman’s reinstatement, OpenAI’s board has been “refreshed” with the addition of more tech executives. It is chaired by Bret Taylor, former Salesforce co-CEO who now runs his own AI startup. During last year’s crisis, Murati stepped in as interim CEO and Brockman resigned in protest at Altman being ousted.

OpenAI was set up in 2015 as a non-profit AI research organization, but then OpenAI added the for-profit OpenAI LP entity in 2019 as a subsidiary of its non-profit, securing capital from Microsoft to fund its research. However, corporate changes need approval from its nine-person non-profit board. Microsoft has invested north of $13 billion.

According to a Reuters report, which broke the story of renewed upheaval at OpenAI, the non-profit organisation will continue and own a minority share in the for-profit entity. The Reuters article says, “The move could also have implications for how the company manages AI risks in a new governance structure.”

Work in progress

Apparently the new structure is being worked on with lawyers, shareholders and others. In the past, Altman who is already a billionaire from his involvement in other start-ups and other investments, has said he’s not interested in equity in OpenAI. He also said that the organisation needs disinterested directors with no stake in the company and that he has enough money and works for the love of it.

Altman has tried to damp down the speculation, posting on X, “Leadership changes are a natural part of companies, especially companies that grow so quickly and are so demanding. I obviously won’t pretend it’s natural for this one to be so abrupt, but we are not a normal company, and I think the reasons Mira explained to me (there is never a good time, anything not abrupt would have leaked, and she wanted to do this while OpenAI was in an upswing) make sense.”

Worth how much?

Richard Windsor, founder and owner of Radio Free Mobile, does a much better job at being the cool voice of reason. First he challenges the notion that OpenAI is worth $150 billion, especially given what he describes as the brain drain as Mira, “the brains of the operation” and the others exit.

He notes that Mira’s exit is particularly bad timing for OpenAI which is running out of money. Windsor also points out that despite the hype, there is no sign of the vaunted GPT-5 and Sora for video generation is yet to ship although there were demos in February. Also, although OpenAI was the clear leader in GenAI, others have closed the gap after it released its flagship model into the open source community.

Windsor writes, “There are already signs of this as more features are making their way into free generative AI services, but it is not until prices begin to fall that anyone will notice.

“This is the pin that bursts the bubble in my opinion and given how much it has been inflated, there will be a significant correction to reality.”

Reasons to be leaving

He muses that there are two likely reasons for the departures. Mira and her colleagues intend to found a competing company – she did say in her parting announcement, “I’m stepping away because I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration”.

Windsor points to the rash of start-ups headed by alumni from OpenAI and Deep Mind. He thinks there would be no shortage of backers.

Alternatively, the exit is due to fundamental disagreements – Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder of OpenAI and one of the driving forces behind Altman’s exit – left the organisation and set up his own firm that focuses on AI safety, Safe Superintelligence.

Windsor writes, “If I were forced to invest in this area, it would be Nvidia which actually has revenues and profits now or Qualcomm which is in a very good position to benefit as generative AI starts to be implemented at the edge.”

Vodafone Foundation, partners pledge €2.4m ‘digital boost’ to Ethiopia’s youth

Annie Turner
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Vodafone Foundation, partners pledge €2.4m ‘digital boost’ to Ethiopia’s youth

The rejuvenated project will strive to improve economic, civic and social development over the next two years

The Kefeta project to empower young people in Ethiopia is receiving a ‘digital boost that those involved say is worth €2.4 million. The project was set up in 2021 by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with $60 million over five years pledged to the programme which was to be implemented by Amref Health Africa and its consortium partners.

Cost of lost opportunities

The aim is to advance economic, social, and civic opportunities for young Ethiopians aged 15 to 29 – Kefeta means to elevate. Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populated country with 126.5 million people of which about 40 million are aged between 15 and 29. However, secondary and tertiary education completion rates are low, at 29% and 13.3% respectively, compared to 76% and 30% globally. 

Ethiopian graduates often lack the skills to navigate the labour market, and a lack of jobs and livelihood opportunities means that 25% of young people are unemployed.

UNESCO’s latest report estimates that worldwide, out-of-school children and educational gaps will cost $10 trillion annually by 2030, making education a strategic investment for individuals, economies, and society.

Amref and its consortium partners have established more than 105 Kefeta service delivery outlets, including youth hubs, career development centres and youth friendly heath service corners across eighteen cities to impact over 2 million young people,

Desta Lakew, Resources Mobilisation and Global Partnership Director at Amref Health Africa comments, “Empowering Africa’s youth through innovative partnerships isn’t just a duty — it’s an investment in our shared future. As we engage the private sector like the Vodafone Foundation, we unlock the potential of young minds, cultivating a generation ready to lead change.”

Boosting Kefeta

The boost is part of a new two-year Commitment to Action announced at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2024 Annual Meeting. Vodafone Foundation, (USAID), Amref Health Africa and Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia (Safaricom Ethiopia) are partnering to digitise Kefeta.

The Commitment to Action is backed by funding from Vodafone Foundation to the tune of €1.6 million. USAID and Amref are contributing the equivalent to €760,000 in kind, supported with value-in-kind from Safaricom Ethiopia.

Vodafone Foundation will draw on its technical expertise and ten-year experience of running the Instant Network Schools programme in six African countries to support the technical implementation of the project. Safaricom Ethiopia will provide in-country connectivity. Amref will use its in-depth knowledge of Ethiopian society and its network of youth-led organisations to lead the delivery and measure impact. 

The plan is to create digital hubs, incubation centres and improved access to online education, skills and knowledge.

Key elements of the programme include:

  • Better tech infrastructure at Kefeta-affiliated centres, including youth centres, university career development centres, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges. Many lack essential digital tools, reliable power supplies or internet access.
  • Using technology to improve primary and secondary education for internally displaced populations – the country has 4.5 million Ethiopians displaced by conflict and climate-induced disasters.
  • Digitalising Kefeta’s integrated youth services to expand their reach. Partners will create self-paced, interactive learning materials and distribute them through a free online platform accessible via Safaricom Ethiopia’s network. They will also secure access to top industry courses.
  • Establishing digital incubation hubs to foster innovation and self-employment in the digital economy. These hubs will function like tech start-up incubators, offering young people the opportunity to assess business ideas and receive expert mentorship.
  • Increasing young people’s employability by promoting digital literacy and innovation. This includes offering internships and job placements in leading tech and IT companies, starting with 1,000 scholarships on Safaricom Ethiopia’s Talent Cloud platform. Vodafone Foundation, Safaricom Ethiopia, and Amref will leverage their corporate networks to secure additional livelihood opportunities from tech companies operating in Ethiopia.

Joakim Reiter, Vodafone Chief External & Corporate Affairs Officer and Vodafone Foundation Trustee said, “Building on the strong progress made by USAID in creating youth empowering centres across Ethiopia, Vodafone Foundation and our partners are seeking to take Kefeta to the next level.

“We are bringing our know-how and experience in operating Instant Network Schools in Africa to Kefeta, boosting the opportunities for young Ethiopians to elevate their potential through digital learning, skills and entrepreneurship.”

AI-embedded cellular modules accelerate in IoT shipments 

Simon Dux
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0
AI-embedded cellular modules accelerate in IoT shipments 

They accounted for 6% of total cellular IoT module shipments in 2023 but are set to grow at CAGR of 35% until 2030

AI-embedded cellular modules are projected to comprise 25% of all IoT module shipments by 2030, up from 6% in 2023, with a CAGR of 35%, according to analysts Counterpoint. These modules have advanced from simple baseband components to AI-enabled SoCs that integrate CPU, GPU, and NPU to boost functionality and performance. Counterpoint suggests the processing battle at the edge with be driven by application such as drones, automotive, POS and retail, healthcare, robotics and industrial. 

As a result, this could provide a relatively new market opportunity for service providers – although these may not necessarily be telcos – given that demand for on-device AI is rising due to the focus on local analysis, real-time decision making, and enhanced security. Samsung has already stimulated the handset market by backing on-device AI and the IoT world is ripe for exploiting the technologies. 

The arguments are well-rehearsed. Because data is processed within the user device, on-device AI provides improved latency. And by doing away with a centralised server, on-device AI solves the security issues that have been pointed out for cloud-based AI. The ability to provide AI services without a network connection means real-time translation and other tasks can be performed even without an internet connection. But there is a more compelling reason too – it isn’t feasible to have millions of remote devices all trying to reach a remote AI data centre.  

A recent report by 5G Americas with analysts Omdia reflected the IoT bullishness stating that global IoT subscriptions currently stand at 3.4 billion. As 4G LTE-connected IoT devices are upgraded to flexible 5G-enabled IoT technologies, such as 5G RedCap (Reduced Capability), new enhancements offer network operators benefits such as improved energy and network efficiency. Due to these improvements, global forecasts suggest IoT subscriptions will reach 5.2 billion, while smartphone subscriptions will surge to 8.2 billion by 2029. 

Market shape 

AI has evolved significantly in recent times, particularly in areas like privacy, reliability, low latency, cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, and personalisation. Counterpoint categorises IoT modules further based on their hardware integration capability and use cases. 

The first category is basic cellular modules which include only a baseband or chipset and primarily provide connectivity for IoT devices to send and receive data. The second is AI-capable modules (smart modules), which feature a CPU and GPU along with connectivity baseband, with a primary focus on connectivity and basic data processing. The third is AI-enabled modules, which go a step further by incorporating advanced processors such as a CPU, GPU, and a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) or Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), or a dedicated AI engine for enhanced AI capabilities. These can be low- or high-level AI modules with the latter supporting AI inference above 8 TOPS.  

Counterpoint said that in the automotive industry, the rise of digital cockpits will significantly boost the adoption of AI-embedded cellular modules. AI-powered virtual assistants enhance the driving experience by responding to voice commands, managing navigation, and controlling in-car entertainment systems such as music and video. 

In POS and retail systems, smart displays with AI-capable modules are increasingly adopted. As AI features like face detection and gesture recognition grow, both low and high-level AI cellular modules are integrated, aiding in customer behaviour analysis, inventory management and fraud detection. 

In the future, AI-equipped routers could act as central hubs for managing smart home devices like lights, thermostats, and security systems. However, Counterpoint suggested the adoption of these AI-enabled routers will be limited. 

Apart from these applications, the market will witness the adoption of AI-embedded modules in drones, rugged handheld devices, robotics, digital signage, security cameras, and more. “We expect AI-embedded modules to be most adopted in drones and rugged handheld devices, though volumes will remain niche. Meanwhile, the automotive and POS sectors are expected to contribute the most to the overall AI-embedded cellular module shipments by 2030,” said Counterpoint.  

Examples are emerging 

A good example of how far the market has moved is down to emerging products from the likes of Chinese company Fibocom. In June, it launched a series of on-device AI solutions powered by Qualcomm QCS8550 and QCM6490 processors which are designed to satisfy compute-intensive application scenarios such as robotics, automated vehicles, video collaborations, smart retailing and so on.   

Equipped with an octa-core CPU and an Adreno 740 GPU, the solution can support up to 4 concurrent displays, and 8K video encoding and decoding. It serves as a strong core for industries requiring high-definition video playing, fast data analytics and lower latency like automated vehicles, robotics, computer vision systems, live streaming and videoconferencing systems.  

Last year, Cavli Wireless – which has an IoT partnership with Orange Business – launched its CQS290 smart cellular IoT module at the India Mobile Congress. It runs on an ARM Cortex A53 processor with built-in AI capabilities and Android OS, offering edge processing for AI-driven applications. 

There’s plenty of work around keeping on-device AI power requirements down as well. While not strictly IoT, in February, SK Telecom, MediaTek and Nota AI developed a smartphone power-saving technology using on-device AI.  

That technology enables the device to predict, in real-time, whether data transmission will occur within a certain period, thereby controlling an optimal connection status between the device and the base station. That is, if the prediction indicates that data is likely to occur, it will continue to maintain connection between the device and the base station. On the other hand, if it thinks that data is unlikely to occur, it will disconnect from the base station to prevent unnecessary use of power. 

DT accuses Meta of abusing “its overwhelming bargaining power”

Annie Turner
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DT accuses Meta of abusing “its overwhelming bargaining power”

As direct peering between the two ceases, the operator says Meta is discrediting “legitimate concerns of the European [telecom] industry and consumers…to avoid fair payment”

After a court ruling about payment that went against it, Meta has severed direct peering arrangements with Deutsche Telekom (DT), according to this post. Now it will carry network traffic via a third-party IP transit provider.

Meta writes, “Following months of discussion, we are surprised and disappointed by the breakdown in negotiations with Deutsche Telekom. We have settlement-free peering agreements in Germany and around the world with telecom providers that allow their users high-quality and fast access to our apps.

“People expect reliable internet connections from their telecom provider to quickly and easily access the content they choose. Unfortunately, Deutsche Telekom is putting the open internet at risk and undermining net neutrality principles. It is using its market power to put its subscribers in Germany behind a de facto paywall, potentially restricting their access to internet services that do not pay Deutsche Telekom.

It also said that Meta has taken “significant steps to keep its apps available directly through Deutsche Telekom, but given the court ruling concerning the unprecedented and unacceptable fees demanded, we are now routing our network traffic through a third-party transit provider, instead of exchanging traffic directly with Deutsche Telekom.”

Naturally interprets the situation very differently. Two hours after Meta published its side of the story, Europe’s biggest operator group pulled no punches in its response, entitled Meta is not above the law. It stated, “Meta is once again twisting the facts” and “Meta is…abusing its overwhelming bargaining power to discredit legitimate concerns of the European telecommunications industry and consumers in order to avoid fair payment”.

Origins of the dispute

The dispute began with the termination of the original IP transit arrangement between the two. Meta thought it was paying too much – around €5.8 million annually – and reportedly requested a 40% discount. Telekom offered a 16% reduction. After intense negotiations the two could not agree and Meta terminated the agreement. 

 “In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, Meta abruptly terminated a long-standing data transport contract with Deutsche Telekom and ceased all payments, even as data traffic through Telekom’s network soared to unprecedented levels. Telekom sued Meta and won,” said Wolfgang Kopf, SVP for Group Public and Regulatory Affairs stated in this blog after the court ruling.

The telco acknowledged the termination, but kept the ports open “for the benefit of consumers and society in general” as it looked to establish a new agreement, as reported in detail at golem.de. Meta continued to send its traffic to Telekom’s network on the basis of settlement-free peering, so the telco eventually used the social network.

In May DT won a court case against Meta when the Cologne Regional Court upheld DT’s lawsuit and ordered the social media company to pay around €20 million.

Fair share is at the heart of the matter

Whatever the ins and outs and of the issues, at the heart of the disagreement is European operators believe they should be paid to carry the huge volumes of traffic generated by a handful of companies including Meta, Netflix, Google, Amazon et al.

The content providers argue that the reason people want and are prepared to pay for mobile and fixed broadband is because they want to use the services Big Tech offers.

Operators have been known to ‘throttle’ traffic, that is deliberately degrade service which their opponents argue is against the principles of net neutrality, which in a nutshell is about treating all traffic the same. Opponents of net neutrality in its current form point out that the principle was drawn up, email, not video streaming, was the killer app and it is outdated and inappropriate for today.

There is no doubt this polarising issue will continue to run and run.

Google complains to EC about Microsoft’s cloud licensing practices 

Simon Dux
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Google complains to EC about Microsoft’s cloud licensing practices 

Company says restrictive cloud licensing practices hurt companies and impede European competitiveness

Google has stepped up its attack on Microsoft Azure’s cloud practices, filing a European Union antitrust complaint accusing its rival of anticompetitive practices. In a blog post by Google Cloud’s head of platform Amit Zavery and EMEA president Tara Brady said that after years of Microsoft locking customers into Teams, “even when they preferred other providers”, the company is running the same playbook” to push companies to Azure, its cloud platform. 

Google suggests Microsoft’s licensing terms restrict European customers from moving their current Microsoft workloads to competitors’ clouds – despite there being no technical barriers to doing so – or impose what “Microsoft admits is a striking 400% price markup”. The number three cloud provider suggests this has hurt European businesses to the tune of at least €1 billion a year. Google said this has several detrimental downstream impacts including wrapping up with the burn of a “heightened risk for organisations exposed to Microsoft’s ‘inadequate’ security culture.” 

Microsoft server to blame 

Google said that while Microsoft’s licensing practices apply to many enterprise products, it believes Windows Server is central to the company’s strategy of locking customers into Azure. Windows Server is a must-have workhorse in many IT environments, serving as the backbone for applications, files, and services.  

When businesses and governments originally paid for Windows Server licenses, they had the right to run them on any hardware they wished – and did so for many years on machines from HP, Dell, Lenovo, and others. 

Google pointed out that in 2019, Microsoft adopted new licensing terms that imposed “extreme financial penalties on businesses wanting to use Windows Server software on Azure’s closest competitors, such as Google Cloud and AWS.” According to the company, “Microsoft’s own statements indicate that customers who want to move their workloads to these competitors would need to pay up to five times more.”  

For those who choose to keep running Windows Server on competitors’ cloud platforms (despite the cost difference), according to Google, Microsoft introduced additional obstacles over the last few years, such as limiting security patches and creating other interoperability barriers. 

“According to research from Professor Frédéric Jenny, a French economist and chairman of the OECD Competition Committee, EU customers face significant hidden costs due to Microsoft’s restrictive licensing that go well beyond inflated pricing. These include taxpayer waste, money diverted from investments in growth, and slower digital transformations,” said the Google execs.  

Escalating issue 

Earlier this month, Google used similar arguments during hearings between the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the three big cloud operators as part of that watchdog’s long-running investigation into the health of the UK cloud services market. The three cloud giants are in a balancing act for that investigation because all of them are seeking to avoid remedies being set to the cloud services market.  

Microsoft may have more at stake in this investigation now after the CMA subsequently announced it had decided to extend the original reference period by four months to 4 August 2025 as it considers that there are “special reasons” to do so. In taking the decision, in taking this decision, the CMA cited the “complexity of issues raised in relation to the theories of harm investigated, in particular, the licensing practices theory of harm, which was not examined in depth in Ofcom’s market study.”  

We come in peace 

Google said it has attempted to engage directly with Microsoft. “We have kicked off an industry dialogue on fair and open cloud licensing. And we have advocated on behalf of European customers and partners who fear retaliation in the form of audits or worse if they speak up,” stated the company. “Unfortunately, instead of changing its practices, Microsoft has struck one-off deals with a small group of companies.” 

Responding to Google’s allegations, Microsoft told Reuters it had “settled amicably” similar concerns raised by European cloud providers, adding that Google had hoped they would keep litigating. “Having failed to persuade European companies, we expect Google similarly will fail to persuade the European Commission,” it added.  

In July, Microsoft did secure a €20m deal to settle an antitrust complaint about its cloud computing licensing practices with CISPE, averting an EU investigation. However, Reuters pointed out that the settlement did not include AWS, Google Cloud Platform and AliCloud, prompting criticism from the first two companies. 

Africa looks to greater connections with Musk

Annie Turner
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Africa looks to greater connections with Musk

Burundi becomes the fifteenth African country to receive satellite-based internet service via SpaceX’s Starlink constellation

Elon Musk has been meeting African leaders on the fringes of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. The South African born, US billionaire is keen to add more countries on the continent to its Starlink satellite-based, internet service.

The service is provided by Musk’s company SpaceX, which has a constellation of low Earth orbit satellite (LEOs) designed to provide affordable, high-speed internet to underserved and remote regions worldwide.

This week Burundi became the fifteenth African country to have access to Starlink service. The country has a large rural population and limited internet connectivity, It is expected that the satellite internet service will have a profound impact on government services, education, healthcare, financial inclusion and all kinds of commercial activity.

Zimbabwe also started to receive the service earlier this month, joining Benin, Botswana, Eswatini, Ghana, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

By the end of 2024, SpaceX is scheduled to start serving more African territories. This week Musk met its Prime Minister Sam Matekane, throwing “Basotho into a frenzy,” according to local media, in anticipation of Starlink’s launch in the country.

Lesotho is the largest sovereign enclave in the world. Located within South Africa, it is landlocked and covers an area of more than 30,000 km2 (about 11,600 square miles) with a population of around 2 million.

Prime Minister Matekane posted on X, “Today, I had the pleasure of meeting with Elon Musk, to discuss advancing connectivity in Lesotho. We are committed to exploring innovative solutions to improving internet access and bridging the digital divide for our people. Exciting developments lie ahead”.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa also held talks with Musk, apparently to explore opportunities to invest in the country according to Ramaphosa’s office on X.

EU approves e&’s acquisition of PPF Telecom with provisos

Annie Turner
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EU approves e&’s acquisition of PPF Telecom with provisos

The Commission investigated deal under the new Foreign Subsidies Regulation

The European Commission has granted approval for e& to acquire PPF Telecoms, subject to conditions. PPF Telecom has headquarters in the Netherlands and opcos in Czechia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia (Yettel) and Slovakia (O2). The deal will give e& control of the opcos bar that in Czechia.

The proposed acquisition was announced in August 2023 and said to be worth up to €2.5 billion at the time of the announcement.

e& is controlled by a sovereign wealth fund, the Emirates Investment Authority (EIA), which in turn is controlled by the United Arab Emirates. The Commission viewed the unlimited guarantee from the UAE and a loan from UAE-controlled banks to complete the deal as potential foreign subsidies. Hence Commission’s concern that the ‘subsidies’ could distort the EU’s internal market and the opening of an investigation into the deal in the summer.

The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (SFR) came into force in January this year and this is the first final decision to be made under the aegis of the regulation.

The Commission concludes

The Commission has now concluded that the foreign subsidies themselves did not result in actual or potential negative effects on competition during the acquisition process. It did find though that the funds could distort competition in the EU’s internal market after the transaction was completed.

The Commission’s press statement said, “Under the FSR, unlimited State guarantees are considered ‘most likely to distort the internal market’, and as such liable to distort the combined entity’s activities in the EU internal market. Foreign subsidies benefiting e& and the EIA would thus have artificially improved the capacity of the merged entity to finance its activities in the EU internal market and increased its indifference to risk.

“As a result, the merged entity could have engaged in investments, for instance in spectrum auctions or in the deployment of infrastructure, or acquisitions, thus distorting the level-playing field relative to other market players by expanding its activities beyond what an equivalent economic operator would engage in absent the subsidies.”

To address these concerns, e& and EIA has made these commitments:

  • e&’s articles of association do not deviate from ordinary UAE bankruptcy law, thereby removing the unlimited State guarantee.
  • A prohibition of any financing from the EIA and e& to PPF’s activities in the EU internal market, subject to certain exceptions concerning non-EU activities and “emergency funding”, which will be subject to review by the Commission, as well as the requirement that other transactions between those companies take place at market terms.
  • A requirement that e& inform the Commission of future acquisitions that are not notifiable concentrations under the FSR.

In other words, the EIA cannot channel funds to the activities of the merged entity in the internal European market after the transaction. The concessions also give the Commission “monitoring mechanisms in particular areas of risk”.

Margrethe Vestager (pictured) is the outgoing Executive Vice-President of the Commission responsible for Competition. She said, “Today we adopt our first final decision under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. We found that e& benefited from subsidies from the United Arab Emirates that would give the merged entity an unfair advantage and could distort fair competition in the telecom sector.

“Today’s decision marks a positive outcome to these proceedings, thanks the parties’ cooperation and willingness to offer a comprehensive set of remedies to address our concerns.”

Vodafone Business, Kigen strive to speed global IoT connectivity with iSIM

Annie Turner
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Vodafone Business, Kigen strive to speed global IoT connectivity with iSIM

The two companies’ iSIM technology is commercially available on multiple chipsets with “faster delivery times than any previous generation of SIM”

Vodafone Business IoT and Kigen’ iSIM technology is commercially available on multiple chipsets. The plan is to make it quicker and easier for enterprises to develop IoT products and services. The two companies say the new tech has “delivery times faster than any previous generation of SIM”.

iSIM means the functionality of a SIM card to be securely integrated into chips within IoT devices that connects to the mobile network. Vodafone’s connectivity is integrated into Kigen’s iSIM Secure Package on the customer’s selected chipset or module which has the added advantage of “seamless” scaling. Vodafone’s global footprint across more than180 countries means businesses can manufacture the chip once and ship globally.

Vodafone Business IoT managed connectivity solutions are used in sectors including wearables, smart health devices, asset tracking (that is, track & trace applications), water monitoring, and industrial and commercial metering which require battery life of 10 years or more.

iSIMs cost less as they have fewer chip components and involve less export or import costs and negotiation between suppliers. iSIM integration during manufacturing automates connectivity upon deployment, reducing costs associated with manual installation. This also help iSIM consume less energy.

Further collaboration

Erik Brenneis, CEO of Vodafone IoT, said, “We’re delighted to further our collaboration with Kigen – providing worldwide iSIM connectivity to more customers in more countries, as well as hyperscaling our managed connectivity service.

“Vodafone Business IoT has built a best-in-class iSIM connectivity service which is especially beneficial for applications – such as smart meters and tracking devices – that use our low power, wide area (LPWA) IoT networks. Our integrated SIM can help businesses across almost every industry simplify their production processes, reduce their costs and help them to save on energy costs, as well as giving them access to secure and reliable connectivity wherever they operate across the globe. We look forward to scaling our iSIM service with new emerging technologies.”

Vincent Korstanje, Chief Executive Officer of Kigen, said, “With Vodafone Business IoT, Kigen’s…iSIM Secure Package empowers manufacturers to distribute devices at scale, eliminating the traditional wait for SIMs – setting a new benchmark in secure IoT.”

Telenet reshuffles senior leadership team 

Simon Dux
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Telenet reshuffles senior leadership team 

Operator signals new approach following decline in postpaid mobile and broadband bases

Liberty Global owned Telenet has signalled it is changing its senior leadership team to respond to what is now an increasingly competitive market in Belgium. The operator has announced the departure of long-serving corporate development chief Ann Caluwaerts with her role being split into “Legal & Regulatory” and “People & Corporate Communications” functions that will each have their own representative in the senior leadership team. Caluwaerts started at the Telenet group as a board member for Content & Public Affairs in 2011 

A “Strategy/New Business/M&A” will also join the leadership team. From October 1, 2024, the role of general counsel and responsibility for “Legal & Regulatory” will be represented in the senior leadership team by Bart van Sprundel, who is already in charge of these disciplines today. A selection process will be initiated for the other two roles. Caluwaerts will continue in her current position until succession has been secured. 

“Ann has made an enduring mark on the strategy and progress of our company over the past 13.5 years,” said Telenet CEO John Porter. “Her positive energy and leadership skills ensure that teams under her care produce particularly impressive results.” 

“The Telenet group is awash with talent and very enthusiastic and committed employees,” said Caluwaerts (above). “I am confident that our colleagues are ready to move the company forward and grab the opportunities and tackle the challenges in a changing media and telecom landscape.”   

“Over the past ten years I have had the privilege of helping to support and implement the strategic direction of the Telenet group. I am honored, therefore, to be able to continue being part of this as a member of the senior leadership team,” said Telenet general counsel Bart van Sprundel, who also thanked Caluwaerts for her mentoring role.  

Change is a certainty 

Caluwaerts’ departure follows other key executives. Patrick Vincent, EVP of customer interactions and BASE, left at the end of December 2022 after 18 years with the company. His role was divided between Benedikte Paulissen, who took on the role of chief customer operations officer, and Dieter Nieuwdorp, who became chief commercial officer Residential & SOHO.  

Meanwhile, Telenet’s chief financial officer, Erik Van den Enden, departed the operator on 31 August 2024. Van den Enden, who joined Telenet in July 2018, was a big figure in several key initiatives, including the operator’s wholesale agreement with Orange, the sale of Telenet’s mobile antenna infrastructure to DigitalBridge and the creation of the infrastructure company Wyre. 

In July, Proximus and Wyre, with Telenet and Fiberklaar, agreed to work together on faster, broader fibre deployment with less civic disruption. The intended collaboration would cover about 2.7 million homes across zones with intermediate to low population density. 

Last week, Telenet and field engineering company Solutions30’s joint-venture Unit-T had its contract – which kicked-off in 2018 – renewed for a futher five years. Unit-T  will manage the installation and repair of both fibre and hybrid-fiber-coaxial (HFC) connections for residential and business customers throughout Belgium. This includes customer connection services and essential support functions like logistics management, dispatch operations, and second-line technical support. 

Tough market 

During Q2, Telenet’s postpaid mobile base declined by 500 while its broadband base declined by 4,800. Despite the “intensely competitive market environment”, the sequential improvement was driven by successful marketing campaigns and the launch of BASE Internet and BASE TV in early June. 

Its revenue of $755.1 million in Q2 2024 decreased 1.6% YoY on a reported basis and 0.9% on a rebased basis. The rebased decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in B2B wholesale revenue following the loss of the Voo MVNO contract and a decrease in mobile revenue driven by lower interconnect revenue and handset sales, partially offset by the benefit of the June 2023 price rise. 

Deploying lawful intelligence measures for counterterrorism

Dr. Cemal Dikmen
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Deploying lawful intelligence measures for counterterrorism

Partner content: Preventing terrorism and mass casualties without full data visibility requires novel methods like combining digital breadcrumbs to build clues and generate evidence

Threats to society are evolving at an unprecedented rate. Globally, ideological extremism and geopolitical instability are driving increased threats of violent political crime and terrorism. At the same time, investigations are complicated by growing digital complexity. Over-the-top (OTT) channels such as WhatsApp and other messaging platforms continue to proliferate—with many designed explicitly for anonymity—and message content is almost universally encrypted.

In addition to the technological challenges facing law enforcement and intelligence communities, it is often difficult to justify warrants for lawful interception and other restricted information before a terrorist act is actually committed. Preventing terrorism and mass casualties in the absence of full data visibility requires novel investigative methods. The focus must increasingly be on identifying and combining digital breadcrumbs that reveal clues and generate evidence.

Revealing Hidden Communications

Terrorists and other criminals often adapt legitimate technologies to obscure their communications and identities, whether obfuscating them with VPNs and proxies or using the chat, voice, and video channels in online gaming networks to escape notice. Such approaches must be matched by evolving law-enforcement techniques.

Encrypted messages generated by OTT communication platforms may be hidden within larger communication data streams and escape notice by investigators. The SS8 lawful intelligence platform can perform deep packet inspection on these flows to identify IP addresses as well as protocols and other characteristics that differentiate OTT communications from other types of traffic, drawing investigators’ attention to the most important information and helping advance cases that might otherwise stall.

Terrorists and bad actors have devised other methods of hiding their communications that go beyond the scope of traffic analysis. For example, one party may log into a web email account and leave a message in the Drafts folder. Others can then log in and read the message, without it ever actually being sent. With all browser traffic to the mail server encrypted, this communication would not be detectable using deep packet inspection or related means.

One mechanism to address that scenario, and others, is internet connection records (ICRs), which capture connection details between clients and services. Investigators can use ICRs to detect anomalies such as access to a webmail account from multiple distant locations, which raises suspicion. They can combine that insight with other clues to advance investigations, including subpoenaing further information from the service provider. Regulatory activity such as the UK Investigatory Powers Act, which requires communication service providers to retain ICRs for up to 12 months, helps advance such insights, although further legislation is needed globally.

Passive Location Intelligence

Authorities in many countries are implementing passive location technologies to better aid investigators. Mobile network operators (MNOs) constantly measure the signal strength from base stations to handsets to optimize user experience by connecting them to the best cell tower. MNOs store those measurements in radio access network (RAN) logs to manage the balance between infrastructure investment and quality of subscriber experience.

The SS8 platform can, with proper warrants or other authorization, examine RAN logs to identify who was in a given place at the time of a critical event such as a terrorist attack. Building on that information with additional location intelligence and other insights can narrow the field of suspects. This bulk passive location intelligence collected in this manner is protected in most jurisdictions, requiring probable cause before investigators can access it and preserving the privacy of the general public while also protecting society.

Passive location technology can also help prevent terrorist acts before they occur, reducing the potential for mass casualties or damage to critical infrastructure. Passive measures help build the evidence pool that supports the authorization of active, real-time location tracking of a target, which in turn reveals specific patterns of life that help law enforcement understand subjects’ activities and associations.

Another use of passive location is geofencing, which enables the monitoring and protection of geographic areas of interest such as power facilities or seats of government. Investigators can be alerted to activity within the geofence in real-time using a tripwire effect or review stored data after an event of interest to see who entered or exited the area at a particular time. This capability is widely used for border security use cases, such as detecting large gatherings near a border at unexpected locations or times. SS8 location intelligence provides the basis for such monitoring and analysis within the broader investigative platform.

Increased visibility into the digital evidence of potential terrorist activity will grow in importance as technology progresses. The coming years will bring fleets of drones and self-driving cars that could be used for crimes such as delivering explosives to crowded events. Other, unidentified threats are sure to emerge. Lawful and location intelligence must advance in parallel with these developments to provide the countermeasures needed to protect society.

About Dr. Cemal Dikmen

As SS8’s CTO, Cemal plays an integral role in the company’s strategic direction, development, and future growth. A renowned expert and thought leader in the legal compliance and communications analysis domain, he has been a frequent speaker at various industry conferences over the past 10 years. Cemal holds BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering. You can learn more about Cemal on his LinkedIn profile by clicking here.

About SS8 Networks

As a leader in Lawful and Location Intelligence, SS8 helps make societies safer. Our commitment is to extract, analyze, and visualize the critical intelligence that gives law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and emergency services the real-time insights that help save lives. Our high performance, flexible, and future-proof solutions also enable mobile network operators to achieve regulatory compliance with minimum disruption, time, and cost. SS8 is trusted by the largest government agencies, communications providers, and systems integrators globally.

Intellego® XT monitoring and data analytics portfolio is optimized for Law Enforcement Agencies to capture, analyze, and visualize complex data sets for real-time investigative intelligence.

LocationWise delivers the highest audited network location accuracy worldwide, providing active and passive location intelligence for emergency services, law enforcement, and mobile network operators.

Xcipio® mediation platform meets the demands of lawful intercept in any network type and provides the ability to transcode (convert) between lawful intercept handover versions and standard families.

To learn more, contact us at info@ss8.com.

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