Global Tech TrendsTop 10 trend news December 2020

Orange launches

pan-West African fibre

network

French communications group Orange announced the commercial launch of Djoliba, a new a fibre backbone network that aims to improve telecommunications connectivity across West Africa.

China proposes

antitrust rules targeting tech

giants

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation has taken its first main step in the direction of curbing the monopolistic power of large Chinese online platforms such as e-commerce group Alibaba or food delivery company Meituan.

Australia consults on

Google’s proposed

Fibitacquisition

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched consultations on the long term effectiveness and enforceability of Google’s behavioural undertakings to address the competition concerns raised in Australia in relation to its US$2.1bn acquisition of US company Fitbit.

6 GHz spectrum for

unlicensed Wi-Fi use in

Latin America

Industry asked the Brazilian telecommunications agency Anatel to allocate the entire 6 GHz band (1200 MHz in total) for unlicensed Wi-Fi service use. The 6 GHz band is considered of high interest for Wi-Fi also in other countries in the Americas region.

EC scrutinyover Amazon’s

e-commerce practices continues

The European Commission (EC) is accusing Amazon of breaching competition rules, alleging it abused its dominant position to gain an unfair advantage over smaller retailers on its platform.

German competition

authority probes

communication apps

Germany’s federal competition authority, BKartA, launched a sector investigation into over-the-top (OTT) communication apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram or Facebook Messenger. The authority suspects violations of consumer rights.

Western Union invests

in Saudi Arabia’s STC

Pay

Western Union, a US company providing money movement and payment services, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a minority stake in Saudi Digital Payments Company, known as STC Pay, a fully owned subsidiary of the Saudi Telecom Company.

Canadian Government

proposes federal privacy reform

The Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (ISED) proposed a comprehensive reform of consumer privacy protection rules.

OneWebunveils its

plans under new

ownership

Satellite company OneWebemerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, and announced its future plans under new ownership. OneWeb’s low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite launches will resume in December 2020, while the company prepares for commercial launches, including in India from 2022.

House passes

US$750m Open RAN

5G bill

The US House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that seeks to financially support a domestic 5G equipment market and Open Radio Access Network (RAN) development.

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