What’s up with… Telia, Google Cloud, IBM, Dell’Oro

Picture courtesy of Telia

Picture courtesy of Telia

  • Telia uses Google Cloud AI for customer services
  • IBM takes a stand on the use of facial recognition tech
  • Broadband equipment market slumped in Q1, says Dell’Oro 

In this news roundup, Telia’s customer experience strategy and IBM’s facial recognition statement highlight how AI is being used in today’s society.

  • Telia and Google Cloud have teamed up to integrate Google's Cloud artificial intelligence (AI) technology into Telia ACE, which the operator describes as “the leading customer service solution in the Nordic region.” The AI tech in question is Google Contact Center Artificial Intelligence (CCAI), a “customer service AI solution that consists of intelligent virtual agent functions that can act independently, but also support the human agent with real-time assistance.” 
  • New IBM CEO is going full ‘Woke’. In a letter to the US Congress, Arvind Krishna said IBM “firmly opposes and will not condone uses of any [facial recognition] technology, including facial recognition technology offered by other vendors, for mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of basic human rights and freedoms.” He says it’s time to begin a national dialogue on whether, and how, facial recognition technology should be employed by law enforcement.
  • Total global revenue for broadband access equipment declined by 15% year-on-year during the first quarter to $2.5 billion, according to research firm Dell’Oro. “The first quarter activity, which is seasonally slow to begin with, was hurt by supply chain disruptions throughout Asia-Pacific as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” noted the firm, but it expects “a sustained rebound in broadband equipment spending in the second half of the year.” 
  • Telxius, the neutral infrastructure company that is majority owned (50.01%) by Telefónicais expanding its tower portfolio with a €1.5 billion deal to acquire 10,100 sites from Telefónica Deutschland. The agreement includes the commitment to build 2,400 additional sites in Germany and positions Telxius as one of the leading neutral tower companies in Europe.
  • Red Hat has appointed Ingram Micro as distributor for the Red Hat Certified Cloud and Service Provider (CCSP) program supporting ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand) and Hong Kong.

- The staff, TelecomTV

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