Telefónica to deploy Helium hotspots for decentralised 5G network

Telefónica has partnered with Nova Labs to deploy Helium-powered 5G hotspots across Mexico City and Oaxaca. The companies announced the rollout on Wednesday as part of an initiative to expand Telefónica's network coverage in the country through innovative and cost-effective solutions.

The Helium network is powered by the Solana blockchain. Hotspot operators earn tokens on the Solana-based network as incentives for providing connectivity through decentralised nodes.

The...

25 January 2024 | 5G

Huawei: Current infrastructure can’t support the metaverse

huawei metaverse web3 blockchain networks infrastructure telecoms

Huawei’s chief strategist in the Middle East believes that current infrastructure cannot support the metaverse.

Most current “metaverse” experiences are just online games capitalising on the hype around the term. Long term, the ambitious vision for the metaverse is a series of decentralised interoperable virtual worlds. 

True metaverse experiences will allow users to take their avatars and items from one to another, control real world devices, conduct...

21 December 2022 | 5G

Deutsche Telekom will validate the now eco-friendly Ethereum blockchain

Deutsche Telekom will become a validator for the Ethereum blockchain following its switch to an eco-friendly consensus.

A recent event called “The Merge” switched Ethereum away from Proof of Work – an energy-intensive consensus requiring powerful computers to solve complex equations – to the environmentally-friendly Proof of Stake. In doing so, Ethereum has reduced its energy consumption by around 99.98 percent.

Ethereum is the largest smart contract platform and...

30 September 2022 | Operators

Cloudflare will run Ethereum 2.0 nodes to ‘build a better internet’

Content delivery network Cloudflare has said that it will run Ethereum 2.0 nodes to help “build a better internet”.

Decentralised app platform Ethereum aims to be the foundation of web3. How does web3 differ from previous eras? Glad you asked.

Web1 (~1990-2005) – Based on open protocols, decentralised, and community-governed. However, relatively basic in terms of functionality.Web2 (~2005-present) – Siloed, centralised services with value and content ownership...

18 May 2022 | Networks

Web 3.0 is on the horizon and Dish aims to embrace it

During an analyst event, a Dish executive hinted at the company embracing Web 3.0 trends for its wireless services.

Dish is currently building its own network to replace Sprint, which is being purchased by T-Mobile. It’s taking a unique approach by using Open RAN (Open Radio Access Network) equipment which promises to be cheaper and more flexible while avoiding the “vendor lock-in” of the past.

As part of the conditions of the T-Mobile and Sprint merger, the latter...

11 May 2022 | Operators

Nokia adopts blockchain to facilitate trusted sharing of data and AI models

Nokia has announced the launch of its Data Marketplace, a blockchain-based service providing real-time access to massive trusted datasets.

Friedrich Trawoeger, VP of Cloud and Cognitive Services at Nokia, said:

“Our customers need secure and trusted access to data for effective business decision making. With Nokia Data Marketplace, enterprises and CSPs can now benefit from richer insights and predictive models to drive digital ways of working and tap into new revenue...

5 May 2021 | Networks

Web 3.0 storage provider Filecoin reaches 2.5EiB capacity

Filecoin, the largest decentralised storage provider, has surpassed 2.5 exbibytes (2.5 billion gigabytes) of capacity.

The provider is aiming to be the storage backbone for Web 3.0, the next evolution of Tim Berners-Lee’s invention which returns to his original vision of a medium where “no permission is needed from a central authority to post anything ... there is no central controlling node, and so no single point of failure ... and no “kill...

17 February 2021 | Telecoms

SK Telecom uses blockchain to help people store national documents

SK Telecom is launching a blockchain-powered wallet for storing national documents in a government-led digitalisation push.

The largest wireless carrier in South Korea has been granted approval by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security to issue its first digital wallet for documentation.

Documents which can be stored in SK Telecom’s blockchain-powered wallet include resident registration cards, health insurance qualification certificates, immigration...

22 October 2020 | Legislation & Government

Six ways blockchain will impact the telecoms industry

As the telecoms industry nears the new era of 5G and disruption, organisations need to focus on innovation and how to continue competing in the sector.

To become more efficient and customer-friendly, many companies are looking for new technologies to help reinvigorate and future-proof their business; preparing them for the inescapable disruption to come.

When it comes to streamlining operations, unlocking new business models, and reducing operational costs, there’s one...

8 October 2020 | Operators

Deutsche Telekom’s T-Systems becomes a Chainlink node operator for ‘useful’ smart contracts

Deutsche Telekom's business continues its support for blockchain technologies by becoming a node operator for Chainlink, an oracle for smart contracts.

T-Systems is a subsidiary of the German telecoms giant and predominantly focuses on the Internet of Things. The company describes itself as offering integrated solutions "from the secure operation of legacy systems and classical ICT services, the transition to cloud-based services (including international networks, tailored...

22 July 2020 | IoT