A Los Angeles jury ordered Apple and Broadcom to pay $1.1 billion to a university in California for infringing on four Wi-Fi technology patents. Apple was ordered to pay $837 million and Broadcom must pay $270 million to the California Institute of Technology, in what is thought to be one of the largest patent verdicts ever.
Augmented and virtual realities are among the most cutting-edge technologies in today’s tech landscape. According to a ‘Seeing is Believing’ report by PwC, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) could boost the global economy by 1.8% to $1.5tn by 2030. AR and VR are now not only useful in gaming. The report shows it has the potential to transform industries including manufacturing, healthcare, energy, retail and training and development.
Orange Business Services, a network-native digital services company, has announced the appointment of Osama Shwaihat as Managing Director for the UAE and Arabian Gulf. He is based at the company’s Middle East & Africa regional headquarters at Dubai Silicon Oasis.
Many cities, all over the world, are working towards becoming ‘smart’. The use of data, AI-powered cameras, IoT-powered technologies, smart management systems, connected devices and even smart street infrastructure are all being developed and deployed to improve services and the quality of life for residents through automation and data analytics.
Dr. Imad Hoballah has taken office as industry minister in Lebanon’s new cabinet formed by prime minister H.E. Hassan Diab. Dr. Hoballah was the provost and chief academic officer at the American University of Dubai which he joined in 2017.
Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of the Chinese telecom giant and daughter of its founder Ren Zhengfei, was detained in the Canadian city on a US warrant in late 2018. Her arrest put the 47-year-old at the center of the US and China's battle over Huawei's growing global reach. Hearings into whether she can be extradited to the United States will begin on January 20 in Vancouver, in a case with potential repercussions for ties between the US, China and Canada.
Lebanon’s new prime minister, H.E. Hassan Diab formed a new council of ministers with H.E. Talal Hawat as minister of telecommunications succeeding H.E. Mohamed Choucair.
The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) in Saudi Arabia has tendered two new mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) licenses to the Saudi telecom operators, according to an official statement.
MEF announces that Aamir Hussain, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Verizon Business Group, has rejoined the MEF Board of Directors. Hussain previously served on MEF’s Board in 2018, during his tenure at CenturyLink.
By An Jian, president of carrier networks business group, Huawei Middle East
No industry can ignore the need for digitalization. The development of new technologies such as IoT, artificial intelligence, 5G and cloud computing has made data collection and value mining increasingly simple. These technologies are bringing benefits to every industry in which they have been adopted, but digitalization also poses new challenges, including the need for higher agility and flexibility from service applications. This places new demands on data infrastructure.
