ITU Newsletter

Hello, ITU Newsletter readers!

Here are your key ICT trends and insights this week: Facebook's OpenCellular, Airbus's plans for autonomous flying taxis, and how satellite imagery and AI can better predict poverty trends. Plus, gold-leaf temporary tattoos that control wireless devices? Read on.

Spotlight

ITU Newsletter Will Facebook help boost remote internet access? Facebook’s OpenCellular aims to connect the world’s most remote places. Will the open-source, software-defined hardware initiative face regulatory hurdles?

ICT Trends

Autonomous vehicles: New solution to urban congestion? Airbus have announced plans to build a fleet of autonomous flying taxis. A prototype test is scheduled for 2017, but challenges remain. Meanwhile, Uber says passengers in Pittsburgh will be able to hail self-driving cars later this month as Volvo joins as a partner, and Ford hopes to join ranks with self-driving fleet by 2021. [Read more about ITU’s Collaboration on ITS Communication Standards]

Regulation: Guyana's government will begin negotiations with Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) about the end of GTT's monopoly on international voice and data services next month, but wider liberalization plans could see fierce opposition from operators.

 

QoS: Kenya's communications regulator has proposed a new framework to assess telcos’ quality of service due to rapid adoption of new technologies and services. (The three main operators have failed to meet quality targets.)


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

Insights

Women in tech: more than a ‘pipeline’ problem Teaching girls to code won’t solve the gender balance, writes Rachel Thomas who lays out some solutions that might. Meanwhile, critics claim Facebook's incentive program to improve diversity isn't working.

Can FTTH bring an end to capped services in South Africa? Increased market competition from fibre rollout and the growth of OTT services will bring a new round of price drops, predicts Brian Timperley.

Keep up to date with ITU

UPCOMING EVENTS

- Global ICT Capacity Building Symposium; Nairobi, Kenya, 6-8 September 2016

- Focus Group on IMT-2020; Palo Alto, United States, 6-9 September 2016

- Young ICT Leaders' Forum 2016; ​Busan, Republic of Korea, 7-9 September 2016 

MORE FROM ITU

- Recent blog posts! Olympic Games Rio 2016: ICTs, a key element for success and Cyberbullying: how ITU is countering the global trend

- New videos! On ITU’s YouTube channel

- Read the latest ITU News Magazine here



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