Mobile technology

Final months of 2022 saw highest ever number of bank account switches

More people than ever before switched their current account provider using the government’s switching service Continue Reading

Juniper: 5G IoT milestone set to be reached while OTT messaging to drive CPaaS

Analyst makes bullish predictions for next-gen mobile-based internet of things and communications platforms-as-a-service markets Continue Reading

Virgin Media O2 taps Juniper to upgrade core IP backbone for 800G readiness

Need for increased data capacity and flexible scalability highlighted by 32% traffic growth on its mobile network,16% growth in broadband data downloads and a peak traffic load of 22TB over the past year Continue Reading

Samsung completes KDDI 5G SA network slicing field trial, inks Nokia patent licence

Korean tech giant makes further strides in 5G in first demonstration of network slicing using RIC on a live 5G SA network with leading Japanese operator, and signs patent agreement with Finnish comms tech provider to combine 5G technology expertise Continue Reading

BBC under scrutiny over its digital strategy

In this week’s Computer Weekly, the BBC faces in-depth scrutiny over its digital plans – we take a look at progress. Do you need to keep data forever? We examine the technologies behind infinite storage. And we find out about the digital transformation challenges in vehicle dealerships. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

UK government reveals further ESN contract details

Latest chapter in UK Emergency Services Network saga sees termination of Motorola contract for comms equipment and supplies, software packages and software development services Continue Reading

Deloitte: Four major comms trends to navigate in year ahead

Consultancy’s predictions for the coming 12 months highlight challenges from macroeconomic headwinds, complex capital funding, sustainability and the transformation towards more tech-centric models Continue Reading

Retool mobile, a shiny spanner for native iOS & Android apps

Enterprise software application development uses ‘tools’. Embracing the notion of virtual software-based spanners and wrenches enough to name its company after this reality, Retool describes itself ... Continue Reading

Sateliot collaborates with Sensefinity for at-sea satellite 5G IoT

Leading IoT provider for asset tracking teams with owner of low-Earth orbit nanosatellites constellation under 5G protocol to support at-sea connectivity Continue Reading

David Anderson KC to review UK surveillance laws

Home Office commissions independent review of the Investigatory Powers Act, known as the snoopers’ charter. It will include a review of bulk datasets and government access to internet connection records held by phone and internet companies Continue Reading

Ukraine cyber teams responded to more than 2,000 attacks in 2022

The Ukrainian authorities responded to more than 2,000 major cyber incidents during 2022, and are blocking thousands more potential attacks every day Continue Reading

Optical lights up nascent space communications applications market

Research highlights potential of what it calls “exciting and rapidly developing” global market for optical communications terminals driven by NGSO broadband constellations Continue Reading

Connectivity critical for UK entrepreneurs

Research from BT Business reveals three-quarters of British entrepreneurs feel they couldn’t run a business without reliable broadband and mobile connectivity Continue Reading

Cash use rises for first time in 13 years as cost of living increases

The number of cash withdrawals increased last year, for the first time in 13 years, but remains below the pre-Covid-19 figure Continue Reading

The Security Interviews: Protecting your digital self

Our digital self – the virtual presence of who we are online – has a pervasive influence in the real world. People make judgements based on these digital depictions, so what can be done to ensure positive representation? Continue Reading

SES and Du boost 5G enterprise comms with first satellite backhaul network

Pervasive connectivity delivered via satellite accommodates Middle East telco’s 5G backhaul requirements over remote areas across the region Continue Reading

MI6 chief’s hacked emails attacked MI5 and betrayed British spy operations in China

Former UK spy boss Richard Dearlove leaked names of MI6 secret agent recruiters in China to back an aggressive right-wing US campaign against tech company Huawei. His emails were hacked and then leaked – probably by Russian intelligence Continue Reading

CIO interview: Matt Grest, Very Group

The Covid-19 pandemic changed many things, including an increase in remote working – so how is the Very Group approaching the workplace and talent post-Covid? Continue Reading

Tech firms add to private 5G offer, but ABI warns of no mass take-off in 2023

Even as comms tech providers announce partnership to extend technical capability of private 5G platform, analyst warns private 5G will not yet take off in 2023, even if outdoor use cases drive private cellular in general Continue Reading

Rapid API report: The ‘surge’ towards monetisation

APIs are everywhere. As we know, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) - the ‘glue’ bond that works to connect applications to applications… and application components to services, ... Continue Reading

UK government completes trials of age estimation technology

Government-led trials of age estimation and verification technologies for the sale of alcohol in nightlife venues and supermarkets have been completed, with both government and retail lobbyists pushing for legislation that would allow retailers to adopt the tools for alcohol sales Continue Reading

SMEs eye moving business to challenger bank

Known for their consumer banking success, challenger banks are now winning over hearts and minds in the small business sector Continue Reading

eSIM market to be worth over $4bn globally by end of 2023

2023 set to be the year of embedded subscriber identity module as Google and Samsung look likely to emulate rival Apple, leading to a drastic increase in the number of smartphones with eSIM connectivity Continue Reading

Juniper Networks and NEC charge up Wi-Fi user experience for Powerco

Leading global IT and network transformation services provider and AI-driven networks selected by leading New Zealand gas and electricity distributor to design and deploy new Wi-Fi network infrastructure across nationwide sites Continue Reading

Latest Innovate Finance report reveals decrease in UK fintech investment, but like-for-like increase

Innovate Finance’s latest figures on fintech investment show reduction in UK, but report methodology leaves this open to change Continue Reading

Launch window opens for UK’s first orbital mission

All systems go for first space mission in UK as project partners announce the official opening of the Start Me Up launch window Continue Reading

LG announces technical collaboration for the future of mobility

Global CE giant unveils infotainment slate, including partnership to develop next-generation autonomous driving solution proof of concept, and launches TV featuring real-time video and audio wireless transmission at up to 4K 120Hz Continue Reading

Qualcomm, Salesforce team up to provide connected automotive experiences

Mobile tech giant uses CES to reveal more of automotive tech slate in partnership with leading customer relationship management company Continue Reading

Cashless Denmark has no bank robberies in a year for first time

Denmark saw no bank robberies in a single year for the first time ever, but online fraud continues to increase Continue Reading

Top trends in tech, and retail’s early adopters

Computer Weekly identifies the retail industry’s early adopters of what McKinsey & Co deems the top tech trends Continue Reading

Qualcomm goes up a gear in driver assistance and autonomous driving

Mobile tech giant sees flagship platform adopted by leading automotive companies to rapidly create safe, scalable and updateable advanced driver assistance and automated driving systems Continue Reading

Test of digital ID tech at Surrey nightclub proclaimed success

The majority of visitors to a Camberley venue who piloted a digital identification app developed by 1account said they found it easy to use and preferred it to standard physical ID Continue Reading

Complaints that NCA failed in duty of candour over EncroChat warrants ‘incredible’, court hears

NCA lawyers argue that a decision by an NCA intelligence officer to disclose notes of a key meeting after two-and-a-half years boosts her credibility as a witness Continue Reading

NCA ‘wrong-footed’ defence lawyers after agreeing to take expert evidence on EncroChat ‘as read’

The National Crime Agency argued at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal that expert evidence it agreed to ‘take as read’ is limited, flawed and often based on an incorrect interpretation of the law Continue Reading

Top 10 retail technology stories of 2022

Computer Weekly looks at what 2022 had in store for the retail industry – after the pandemic increasing technology adoption for most of the retail sector, what have firms put in place to survive the next few years? Continue Reading

CityFibre lights up Luton with gigabit broadband

UK’s largest independent broadband infrastructure provider rounds off hugely active year by successfully completing full-fibre network roll-out in large parts of East Luton, including Stopsley and Wigmore Continue Reading

EE goes live in first-of-its-kind mobile infrastructure pilot in London

BT-owned mobile division announces first outdoor 4G and 5G small cell network in the UK capable of hosting all four mobile network operators from day one through bespoke technical solution and centralised radio access network Continue Reading

Top 10 telecoms stories of 2022

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 telecoms stories of 2022 Continue Reading

BT C-RAN 5G architecture pilot scheme live in Leeds

BT takes next-gen mobile connectivity a stage further with a 5G pilot scheme to enhance coverage and connectivity in key UK city enabling local customers to access faster, more reliable speeds Continue Reading

Top 10 end-user computing stories of 2022

We look at the main trends driving desktop computing and end-user computing this year Continue Reading

Defence lawyers claim NCA witness gave unreliable evidence on EncroChat hacking operation

National Crime Agency argues that the lawfulness of surveillance warrants issued to hack the EncroChat phone network should only be considered in the light of facts and assessments known at the time Continue Reading

Xiaomi 12T series review, pro-grade cameras arrive

Here’s the thing about Xiaomi, it’s tough to pronounce and most people seem to opt for the shaw-mee version rather than the jiaow-mee option, the latter being generally agreed to be further away ... Continue Reading

Rapid CTO: Understanding the balance between REST vs GraphQL APIs

This is a contributed piece for the Computer Weekly Developer Network written by Alex Walling in his capacity as field CTO at Rapid. RapidAPI by Rapid (the company itself was previously known as ... Continue Reading

Microsoft, Viasat team to deliver internet access to global underserved communities

New collaboration through IT giant’s Airband Initiative designed to increase satellite broadband availability for people across Africa and the rest of the world by the end of 2025 Continue Reading

Qualcomm unveils lowest-power IoT-optimised LTE modem

Integrated terrestrial positioning support to the fore as Qualcomm launches IoT-optimised LTE modem with integrated positioning support for greater connectivity, location and compute processing capabilities on device and at the edge Continue Reading

NCA officer questioned in Investigatory Powers Tribunal over failure to disclose EncroChat notes

EncroChat hacking warrant was unlawful and in breach of human rights law, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal hears Continue Reading

Telstra tunes up with orchestration to enhance automation, customer experience

Leading Australian operator taps global comms tech provider to support network-as-a-service (NaaS) strategies, enabling an enhanced experience for business customers through reusable and shared platform for improved network management and operational efficiency Continue Reading

CIO interview: Andy Pocock, IT director, TrustFord

The vehicle dealership group has been through a complete digital transformation that embraces cloud, mobile working and automation Continue Reading

JumpCloud on open source & Mac admin: what projects should you know about?

This is a guest post for Computer Weekly Open Source Insider written by Tom Bridge in his capacity as principal product manager at JumpCloud - a company known for its identity, access and device ... Continue Reading

ETSI creates new working group for Terahertz 6G comms

Newly launched industry specification group on Terahertz holds kick-off meeting and decides on work priorities for new candidate technology for 6G communications infrastructures Continue Reading

Nokia and O2 Telefónica Germany claim 5G carrier aggregation breakthrough

Comms tech provider and leading German operator claim industry-first milestone achieved on live 5G network with Nokia’s commercial 5G AirScale portfolio and MediaTek’s mobile platform Continue Reading

UK government expands investment in 5G and 6G R&D

UK universities awarded £28m to develop next-generation 6G network technology, and an £80m fund will help set up a lab for testing network equipment, as government aims to boost telecoms infrastructure Continue Reading

More Uber data exposed in possible supply chain attack

A second incident affecting ride-sharing app Uber appears to have originated through a third party in a supply chain attack Continue Reading

Porsche accelerates connected vehicle development with Vodafone private 5G

Europe’s first 5G hybrid mobile private network opens at Nardò Technical Centre, a leading automotive proving ground in Italy, to offer customers an improved infrastructure to develop and test intelligent, autonomous, connected vehicles Continue Reading

Onwards to 6G - the UK government's 'bold plan' for a connected Britain

The UK telecoms minister outlines the government's thinking on developing a digital infrastructure for the connected age Continue Reading

Digital bank to recruit 1,000 tech experts in Manchester

App-based bank Starling is adding 1,000 people to its workforce with technology professionals being recruited for its new operation in Manchester Continue Reading

Consumers to get new protections against dodgy apps

Government’s new code of practice will impose new privacy and security measures on app store operators and developers Continue Reading

Vodafone makes first European deployment of OpenRAN in urban location

Vodafone announces European OpenRAN deployment first for a live urban environment, demonstrating the technology is a viable alternative to traditional RAN in all scenarios, not just rural locations Continue Reading

Société du Grand Paris books in Nokia IP, private wireless for metro rail network

Nokia forms secure mission-critical communications system behind four Grand Paris Express lines that will transport two million passengers per day, delivering enhanced capacity, reliability and performance, and contributing to efforts to boost operations, safety and rider experience Continue Reading

Apple to tap third party for physical security keys

Apple is launching a number of new security protections, including the addition of third-party-provided hardware security keys Continue Reading

Living the (stream) dream: Aiven Apache Flink & Klaw

Open source cloud data platform company Aiven has announced a streaming ecosystem for Apache Kafka. The intention is to offer a robust and fully open source real-time data ecosystem with the latest ... Continue Reading

Vodafone CEO Nick Read steps down

As telco operator battles with delivering shareholder value, it has decided it needs a new CEO Continue Reading

Owkin open sources biotech AI bundle

France/US-headquartered AI biotech company Owkin is open sourcing the Artificial Intelligence (AI) software behind Melloddy and Substra. Big fans of ‘open science’, Owkin hopes to help ... Continue Reading

Twitter ‘replacement’ Hive Social shuts off service in privacy alert

Hive Social, a recently established social media network, has temporarily closed its servers to address deep structural privacy issues identified by ethical hackers Continue Reading

Siemens, Qualcomm collaborate on 5G smart building networks

Leading wireless platform provider teams with intelligent, adaptive infrastructure division of German technology giant mobile chip giant to show how firms working in the built environment can intelligently use 5G for building automation Continue Reading

NBN Co, Ericsson team to transform fixed wireless access network

Ericsson and company that manages national broadband infrastructure in Australia announce new 10-year partnership to secure the supply of next-generation 5G technology that will deliver enhanced coverage and speed across the fixed wireless access portion of network Continue Reading

MI6 chief’s hacked emails attacked MI5 and betrayed British spy operations in China

Former UK spy boss Richard Dearlove leaked names of MI6 secret agent recruiters in China to back an aggressive right-wing US campaign against tech company Huawei. His emails were hacked and then leaked – probably by Russian intelligence Continue Reading

UK government accelerates satellite, fibre gigabit broadband access to remote regions

Mountain rescue base and 12th century abbey set to gain from government test of satellites to connect remote locations, while work also begins to connect 60,000 rural premises in North West England Continue Reading

Wi-Fi ‘essential’ to bridge the digital divide in rural areas

Report from trade association for wireless communications sets out strategies for mobile operators, fibre providers and cable companies to serve the estimated billion people unconnected to Wi-Fi Continue Reading

Global 5G market defies macroeconomic challenges

Research from Ericsson shows 5G continues to scale faster than any previous mobile generation, with subscriptions expected to reach five billion by the end of 2028 and fixed wireless access forecast set to grow more quickly than previously expected Continue Reading

SMEs put faith in communications technology

Study from orchestration and digital platform provider shows a ‘new’ kind of small and medium-sized enterprise market, with companies already adopting connectivity technology for business resilience Continue Reading

Nearly $1bn in mobile trade-ins and upgrades in third quarter of 2022

Just more than halfway into what is always the market’s busiest quarter, quarterly analysis of smartphone trade-in and upgrade industry reveals a third quarter of 2022 with the amount returned estimated at $970m, making this the highest third quarter recorded Continue Reading

eSIM proves green credentials

Independent study by provider of adapted system integration technologies at wafer, chip and board level confirms eSIM as an environmentally friendly SIM solution​ Continue Reading

Scotland launches national digital platform for health and care

The online platform aims to give people access to their health and social care data, as well as provide staff with access to data to inform decisions about care Continue Reading

Cyber criminals exploiting naked TikTok ‘challenge’

Malware operators lured targets by promising them they would be able to view nude videos of TikTok users Continue Reading

How to stop data retention from killing the planet

In this week’s Computer Weekly, there’s a hidden environmental cost to the vast volumes of data being generated – we examine what can be done to address it. We talk to the CISO of consumer reviews site Trustpilot, about building trust in IT security. And we look at what IT leaders can do if they inherit a toxic team environment. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Public safety 5G networks represent $700m opportunity

Research on public safety broadband and mission-critical communications over 3GPP networks predicts that cumulative spending on deployable network assets in sectors will exceed $700m between 2022 and 2025 Continue Reading

1&1, Orange seal worldwide international roaming agreement

German startup telco and global operator take advantage of 5G OpenRAN technology to offer users seamless automatic network performance and quality, even when outside home territory Continue Reading

Wales launches beta version of its own NHS app

NHS Wales has begun trialling the beta version of its patient-facing app ahead of plans for a full launch next year Continue Reading

Pharrowtech expands next-gen mmWave capabilities to the UK

Global 5G millimetre-wave wireless tech leader Pharrowtech accelerates hiring and opens two new offices as it grows its product and development capabilities Continue Reading

BT aims to reign in industry where connectivity is king

In the latest part of its drive to evolve from a telco to a techco, BT unveils range of 5G-enabled robotics systems and reveals how it is driving the evolution of advanced communications in industrial applications Continue Reading

UK police arrest 120 in largest-ever cyber fraud crackdown

The administrator and more than 100 users of the iSpoof.cc cyber fraud website have been arrested in a major counter-fraud operation led by the Metropolitan Police Continue Reading

API series - Postman: 7-habits of effective API-first orgs

This is a guest post for the Computer Weekly Developer Network written by Kin Lane in his role as chief evangelist at Postman, an API platform used by more than 20 million developers and 500,000 ... Continue Reading

Ericsson makes multi-million pound investment in UK 6G research programme

Leading comms tech provider unveils investment initiative set to boost UK research capabilities and drive global development of 6G future communications and standards Continue Reading

Virgin Media feels strain from Warzone, teams with TIP for Dublin Wi-Fi

Comms provider sees busiest day on record for UK data consumption, and teams with local authority in Irish capital to trial open, disaggregated Wi-Fi network with goal to provide city centre with free wireless internet access Continue Reading

Is Elon Musk’s Twitter safe, and should you stop using it?

With a litany of security and compliance issues exposed and in many cases caused by Elon Musk’s takeover of social media platform Twitter, some may be asking if it’s still safe or appropriate to use Continue Reading

Armo on the state of Kubernetes open source security

According to a new report, most companies use at least one open source security tool to secure Kubernetes. In a survey of The State of Kubernetes Open Source Security, published by cybersecurity ... Continue Reading

Nokia, TPG Telecom set new 5G uplink speed record in Australia

Operator and comms tech provider claim 2Gbps upstream, stressing the criticality of fast uplink speed to support industrial and IoT applications running over next-generation networks Continue Reading

OutSystems powers up cloud-native developer platform

Applications perform, sometimes at different levels. While we recognise the presence of short-lived, ephemeral, temporary lightweight applications that could be called low (or at least basic ... Continue Reading

Infovista, Gigamon assure greater flexibility and connectivity for 5G networks

Network lifecycle automation firm and deep observability company forge partnership to address digital transformation and next-generation challenges in areas such as network slicing and SLA monetisation Continue Reading

Workday Rising Europe: Live keynote report

Modest enough in its core company designator and descriptor, Workday refers to itself as a specialist in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources. Many go further - it’s not ... Continue Reading

5G gains pace, gigabit steady as Vodafone faces off H1 headwinds

Comms group claims significant progress with portfolio strategy in the first half of FY23 to create industrial scale, enable accelerated growth and unlock value and sees service revenue growth of 2.5% Continue Reading

Wi-Fi Alliance says momentum underscores need for entire 6GHz spectrum

Consortium of companies delivering products and services based on key wireless technology insists that recent new product availability and large-scale deployments from its members demonstrate readiness of Wi-Fi 6E standard Continue Reading

TikTok influencers are better than finance firms for money advice, say quarter of young adults

Young people are turning to TikTok-based influencers for advice on how to manage their finances and where to bank Continue Reading

NHS Scotland extends video consultation scheme

The Scottish Near Me video consultation platform can now be used in community settings such as libraries and health and care centres for GP appointments, hospital appointments, care homes, dietetics and mental health support Continue Reading

Hispasat, Sencinet expand satellite broadband in Mexico

New agreement between managed services and solutions network integrator and satellite communications operator expands and extends currently contracted capacity until December 2024 Continue Reading

Cloudinary clarity: Google ditches JPEG XL, where do we go from here?

This is a guest post for the Computer Weekly Developer Network written by Jon Sneyers in his role as senior image researcher at Cloudinary, a company that works with brands around the world to ... Continue Reading

Orange takes 5G to Africa

New healthcare, education and security services to be enabled in Southern African country as global telco unveils first affiliate in continent of Africa to launch 5G commercially Continue Reading

Private 5G drives sustainable and agile industrial operations

Consortium of companies spanning industrial automation, 5G networking infrastructure technology and network service provision team up to enable industrial private 5G application uses cases within manufacturing and process operations Continue Reading

Orange Belgium sets new 5G standard in Liège

Belgian subsidiary of global telco adds to portfolio of 5G Labs in the country, showcasing new 5G use cases together with industries local to key city of Wallonia Continue Reading