Category: Technology

Telenor Pakistan wins five awards at Cannes

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  Telenor Pakistan places the country under the spotlight at the largest and most prestigious awards festival for creative excellence the world over – The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2021. The annual 5-day event is recognised as the global benchmark for brands, organisations, and marketing agencies when it comes to innovative and impactful communication. And this year for the first time Pakistan has won, not one but FIVE awards for Telenor Pakistan’s Digital Birth Registration – ‘Naming the Invisible’, in the following categories: 1. Grand Prix (Mobile) 2. Grand Prix (Media) 3. Gold Lion (sustainable development) 4. Silver Lion (Mobile) 5. Silver Lion (Direct) The global recognition for Telenor’s Digital Birth Initiative has highlighted Pakistan’s efforts in tackling monumental social and administrative challenges.
This prestigious recognition places the country’s talent and penchant for innovation on the global map. By winning 2 Grand Prix, 1 Gold and 2 Silver awards against the best in the world, Telenor Pakistan alongside their communication partner Ogilvy Pakistan has proven the abilities of Pakistani brands and talent at the global stage. With this win, Telenor has paved the way for other brands and organisations to take on challenges that are holding Pakistan back and manifest a more inclusive and sustainable future for the country.
Chief Executive Officer, Telenor Pakistan, Irfan Wahab Khan commented, “Empowering societies through the power of technology and innovation is at the heart of Telenor Pakistan’s DNA and the Digital Birth Registration initiative is a testament of our commitment to this. In collaboration with UNICEF and the government of Pakistan we came up with an innovative digital solution to an age-old social & administrative problem; lack of birth registration & documentation. This is a testament to how brands with purpose can create a meaningful impact in the society by empowering people with their identity, while leveraging technology & partnerships for sustainable development and Telenor Pakistan is doing so by creating digital identities for more than 1.3 million children of Pakistan, and counting!”

Telenor Pakistan is unwavering in its commitment to ensuring a future where every Pakistani is empowered to live out to their full potential through its services, products and contributions to society. The Digital Birth Registration is one of its several innovative initiatives aimed at uplifting the lives of Pakistanis in areas such as agriculture, education and digital rights.

Telenor Pakistan wins five awards at Cannes
Telenor Pakistan wins five awards at Cannes
To check out more details about these projects, please visit our websitewww.telenor.com.pk

PTCL signs contracts with Huawei for transformation of its IP Edge & Optical Transport Network

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), has signed strategic contracts with Huawei Technologies Pakistan for the transformation of its IP Edge and Optical Transport Network (OTN). 

Nadeem Khan, Acting CEO & Group CFO, PTCL & Ufone and Mark Meng, CEO, Huawei Technologies Pakistan, signed the contract during a ceremony held at PTCL HQ, Islamabad. Jafar Khalid, GCTIO (Development), PTCL & Ufone, Ahmed Bilal Masud, Deputy CEO, Huawei Technologies Pakistan, also attended the ceremony, along with senior management from both organizations.

Aimed to meet the exponential growth in traffic, this transformation involves modernization of existing inter-city and long-haul network, with a state-of-the-art OTN network. Combined with the existing Optical Transport Network backbone, PTCL long-haul capacity will become Multiple Terabits per seconds, capable of delivering better services across the country.

Furthermore, PTCL, in-line with its vision to revolutionize widespread availability of IP connectivity in Pakistan, will deploy a Unified IP Edge network, spreading across more than 130 sites, for providing next generation IP services. This upgradation, along with PTCL’s recently modernized Multi-Service Core & Internet Gateway network, will enable provisioning of high-speed & reliable ICT services across Corporate, Carrier & Consumers segments, supporting future customer-end demands of 100-400 Gigabit per second scalability.

Speaking on the occasion, Nadeem Khan, Acting CEO & Group CFO, PTCL & Ufone, said, “PTCL continues to transform its network with scalable architecture and futuristic technologies, to meet growing bandwidth demand from our subscribers, corporate and carrier customers. We are glad to partner with Huawei on this strategic initiative, that will go a long way in enabling the widespread availability of quality ICT Services across Pakistan.”

On the occasion, Mark Meng, CEO, Huawei Technologies Pakistan, said, “We greatly value our long-term relationship with PTCL Group, and continue to support its vision for technological evolution. PTCL is playing a leading role in enhancing customer experience through innovation, and definitely this network transformation will empower and exceed customer expectations in times to come.”

Being the national flagship carrier, PTCL is fully committed to the vision of a Digital Pakistan, by further strengthening its commitment for continual network infrastructure evolution and resolve for consistent improvement of our valued customer experience.

New tax on cellphone calls to collect Rs20b to Rs30b

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ISLAMABAD: The government’s decision to impose an additional 75 paisa tax after 5 minutes on mobile call will now roughly cost Rs 2.72 instead of previous Rs 1.97 thus the FBR has estimated to collect Rs 20 to 30 billion through this new mobile tax.

The FBR has withdrawn taxes on food commodities and some other taxes with estimated revenue loss to the tune of Rs 80 to 90 billion. Now the government imposed 75 paisa tax on mobile call after 5 minutes and with this one move, the FBR is expecting to generate tax revenues of Rs 20 to 30 billion.

The FBR high-ups conceded that the tax would be imposed with effect from July 1, 2021, after approval of Parliament and enactment of Finance Act 2021-22 after the assent of President. The telecom sector is estimating that the FBR can generate additional tax revenues of Rs 15 billion with help of this new tax on mobile calls.

This is almost an additional 40 percent of tax on the mobile sector. However, the government will have to give some timeframe to bring changes into the billing software of mobile companies because it will not be possible to charge a new tax deduction mechanism with effect from July 1, 2021. Without bringing changes, the new tax cannot be charged under the existing billing mechanism.

New tax on cellphone calls to collect Rs20b to Rs30b
New tax on cellphone calls to collect Rs20b to Rs30b – FBR

Faulty software: Tesla to ´recall´ over 285,000 cars in China

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BEIJING: Electric car giant Tesla will “recall” over 285,000 cars from the Chinese market after an investigation found issues with its assisted driving software that could cause road collisions, a government regulator announced late Friday. Tesla would contact affected users to upgrade their vehicle´s software remotely for free, a State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) notice said, adding that it affects some imported and domestically manufactured Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. “The recall plan was filed with the State Administration of Market Regulation, and it was decided to recall the following vehicles from today,” SAMR said. The order is the latest blow to the American self-driving car pioneer, which has come under growing regulatory scrutiny in China due to several deadly collisions involving Tesla vehicles in recent months. “Due to issues with the cruise control system… the driver can easily activate the cruise control function by mistake,” the Chinese government agency said in the notice. “A sudden increase in vehicle speed will occur, which could… in extreme cases, cause a collision, posing safety hazards.” The carmaker has also been targeted by numerous social media complaints from Chinese users regarding quality and service issues, culminating in a high-profile customer protest at the Shanghai Auto Show in April. The cruise control function, which “matches the speed of your car to that of the surrounding traffic” is a key part of Tesla´s Autopilot assisted driving function, according to the manufacturer´s website.

Tesla recall news
Faulty software: Tesla to ´recall´ over 285,000 cars in China

 

Another Pakistani ventilator OK

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ISLAMABAD: Minister for information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Saturday said another indigenously manufactured ventilator was registered after completing all required formalities to maintain standard. In a tweet, he said every Pakistani was proud of the great achievements of Pakistani scientists and engineers in the field of medical engineering especially in the last two years. The way the nation had put its energies together to fight Covid-19 pandemic was praiseworthy for all and sundry.

ventilator machine in pakistan
Another Pakistani ventilator OK

Jeff Bezos plans to fly into space soon but no one willing to insure him

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NUT Desk- Launching one of the richest individuals on earth into orbit has proved a leap too far for insurers, who are not ready to price the risk of losing Jeff Bezos or his fellow space travelers.

Amazon CEO Bezos, a lifelong space enthusiast, has been vying with Elon Musk and Richard Branson to become the first billionaire to fly beyond the earth’s atmosphere.

And while insurers are well known for offering cover for even the most outlandish of risks, at a price, potential accidents in space are not yet among them.

“Space tourism involves significant risk, but is not an issue life insurers specifically ask about as yet because it is so rare for anyone to travel into space,” Insurance Information Institute (III) spokesperson Michael Barry said.

There is a nearly $500 million market to insure satellites, rockets and unmanned space flight, but no legal requirement for an operator such as Blue Origin, which Bezos founded, to insure passengers for injury or death or for space tourists to have life cover, brokers and insurers said.

“We’re not aware of a case where anybody is insured against passenger liability,” Neil Stevens, senior vice president, aviation and space at Marsh, the world’s biggest insurance broker, told Reuters.

Assuming they lift-off as planned next month, Bezos and the other wannabe astronauts on Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft will not only spend several minutes 62 miles (100 km) above the earth in a truck-sized capsule, they also have to get back.

The only group that has regularly flown humans sub-orbitally since the 1960s is Branson’s Virgin Galactic. All have been tests, with one failure in 2014 resulting in a death. Blue Origin has flown 15 unmanned sub-orbital flights with no failures, Seradata SpaceTrak data showed on June 10.

Bezos, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters on their insurance plans and flight records.

Being uninsured in space is nothing new.

NASA and the U.S., in general, do not buy liability cover, with government launches basically insured by taxpayers, Richard Parker of Assure Space, a unit of insurer AmTrust Financial that provides space insurance, said.

NASA astronauts are eligible for government life insurance programs, a NASA spokesperson said in an emailed response.

Charles Wetton, underwriting manager for space policies at insurer Global Aerospace, said astronauts on government-funded missions are carefully selected for their knowledge, skills and fitness and train for several years before blast off.

“They and their families understand the risks of the work they do, Wetton said.

But commercial space cadets may only get a few days of training for a sub-orbital flight or a few months for a ride to the International Space Station (ISS), Wetton said, adding: “These represent two very different risk profiles that insurers will take into account”.

jeff bezos space flight date
Jeff Bezos plans to fly into space soon but no one willing to insure him

France takes Apple Company to court over ´abusive´ practices

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NUT Desk- PARIS: A Paris court will hear in September a lawsuit supported by the French government against Apple Company that alleges the US tech giant uses abusive commercial practices against startups, a source said Thursday.

The lawsuit, filed in 2018 by France´s competition and anti-fraud agency in the name of Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, seeks a halt to the practices and a fine of 2.0 million euros ($2.4 million), the source said, confirming a report by the French business daily Les Echos. The lawsuit follows three years of investigation by the competition and anti-fraud agency and a recent complaint by France Digitale, an association of French tech startups.

The Paris business court has set a trial date for September 17, the source said. The competition and anti-fraud agency, which contacted by media, would only confirm that legal proceedings are under way. Le Maire complained in 2018 that French startups selling their apps to Apple and Google were having prices dictated to them by tech giants and were unilaterally modifying contracts. “Three months ahead of the French presidency of the EU, the result of this lawsuit will be historic,” said Nicolas Brien, president of the European Startup Network, which groups national federations from 24 European countries. “Either Apple is convicted of having violated existing law, or Apple slips through the cracks and we´ve got proof that existing laws don´t allow us to regulate systemic platforms,” Brien told media. Such a ruling would provide a major boost to efforts to put teeth in the Digital Markets Act.

The EU is currently rewriting the rules of the game for tech giants with the Digital Markets Act and a companion law, the Digital Services Act. The goal is to set up special rules for systemic platforms, or “gatekeepers”, in order to protect consumers, companies and potential rivals from their overwhelming market power. Brien said the contractual conditions that Apple imposes on app developers to reach customers through the AppStore are tilted in Apple Company favour. He said he hoped the court would force Apple to rewrite the contractual terms for app publishers. “It´s time to cut open the straitjacket,” Brien said.

apple company
France takes Apple to court over ´abusive´ practices

Dirty laundry in space? NASA faces cleaning challenge

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CAPE CANAVERAL: How do astronauts do laundry in space? They don’t. They wear their underwear, gym clothes and everything else until they can’t take the filth and stink anymore, then junk them.

NASA wants to change that — if not at the International Space Station, then the moon and Mars — and stop throwing away tons of dirty clothes every year, stuffing them in the trash to burn up in the atmosphere aboard discarded cargo ships. So it’s teamed up with Procter & Gamble Co. to figure out how best to clean astronauts’ clothes in space so they can be reused for months or even years, just like on Earth.

The Cincinnati company announced Tuesday that it will send a pair of Tide detergent and stain removal experiments to the space station later this year and next, all part of the galactic battle against soiled and sweaty clothes.

It’s no small problem, especially as the U.S. and other countries look to establish bases on the moon and Mars.

Rocket cargo space is tight and expensive, according to NASA, so why waste it on new outfits if their clothes could be kept looking and smelling fresh? When you figure an astronaut needs 150 pounds (68 kilograms) of clothes in space per year, that quickly adds up, especially on a three-year Mars mission, said Mark Sivik, a chemist specializing in fabric and home care technology for P&G.

Dirty laundry in space
Dirty laundry in space? NASA faces cleaning challenge

Apple to open new store in Los Angeles

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SAN FRANCISCO: Apple said on Tuesday that the company has previewed its newest retail location at the historic Tower Theatre in downtown Los Angeles in U. S. state of California, which will be open on Thursday. Apple will also launch Today at Apple Creative Studios, a global initiative that provides hands-on experience and mentorship to young creatives. As one of Apple”s most significant restoration projects to date, Apple Tower Theatre aims to inspire even more creativity in the heart of the city, the company said. Apple Tower Theatre is Apple”s 26th location in the greater Los Angeles area. The store”s nearly 100 retail team members join more than 3,000 Apple Store employees across the region. “At every corner, Los Angeles bursts with creativity across the arts, music, and entertainment, and we are thrilled to build on our relationship with this special city,” said Deirdre O”Brien, Apple”s senior vice president. “Apple Tower Theatre honors the rich history and legacy of this entertainment capital.