aimm News

MWC22 Barcelona: Reconnecting an Industry and Community

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

 

The new year brings renewed focus and energy, and as members of the MWC Barcelona community know, it is also when preparation moves into high gear. In eight weeks, we will open the doors of Fira Gran Via to the global mobile ecosystem and, I can’t wait to welcome everyone.

This new year also begins with more news related to the pandemic. Global circumstance continues to evolve and, one thing is becoming apparent, we will be dealing with the effects of Covid-19 for years to come. In times like these, responsible leadership is more critical than ever.

This type of leadership inspires innovation and the kind of investment that moves our industry, society and, economy forward while keeping our community safe. Considering this and the fact that present circumstances have made connectivity profoundly critical, the GSMA would only consider a change to our plans under the direction of the Spanish authorities.

In 2021 we organised and hosted three MWC events in Shanghai, Los Angeles, and Barcelona. Each event took place in a unique context but, our strategy was consistent. Firstly, to work in close partnership with relevant authorities to ensure the event could go ahead safely for staff, workers, exhibitors, visitors, suppliers, partners, and the local community; secondly, to provide up-to-the-minute information. This experience combined with advances by health experts, scientists and, governments give us confidence that we can convene safely again in 2022. MWC health & safety measures are on our Committed Community page here.

We expect over 1,500 exhibitors in February, with attendees registered from 150 countries. You will meet decision-makers, hear from thought leaders and, close deals. Policymakers will meet through our prestigious Ministerial Programme, and all are encouraged to experience the 4YFN start-up conference and brand new for 2022, Industry City. Over the four days, you will see the vibrancy, reach, and diversity that puts MWC at the forefront of the kind of innovation that addresses critical challenges across society. This is Connectivity Unleashed and potential is everywhere.

A lot has changed in the past two years but our resolve to reconvene the industry is unwavering, and I encourage every member of this community to support one another. My personal thanks to all the business leaders who are right now planning their attendance.

Of course, none of this is possible without the continued support and partnership of Spain, Catalonia, Barcelona, FIRA and the Host City Parties. Barcelona is truly the home of MWC, and its gravitational pull is strong. MWC will always be available online, but I hope to see you in Barcelona.

Sincerely,

John Hoffman

CEO, GSMA Ltd.

New vacancy from ITV on our Vacancies Board

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

We are looking for a Commercial Data Analyst to support ITV Interactive, ITV’s competitions team, in achieving their creative and financial targets in attracting, engaging and retaining consumers. We need a confident and capable individual to ensure that key data is analysed and presented to provide insights in line with the strategic goals for ITV Win.

To view the details please visit our Vacancies Board or view it on LinkedIn

New Vacancies from Global in our Vacancies board

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

We have two new vacancies for Interactive Services Executives that are now available for application at Global on our Vacancies Board.

To see the full details for both these roles please visit the Vacancies Board for details and a link to apply.

These close on the 10th January 2022.

 

SLA Digital Announce Partnership with Unitel to Launch Direct Carrier Billing in Mongolia

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

SLA Digital and Unitel logos showing the partnership of the two companies

SLA Digital have announced a new partnership with Unitel Group, a Mongolian telecommunications company, with Unitel naming SLA Digital as their managed service provider for carrier billing.

As part of the relationship, SLA Digital will also be able to offer digital content providers access to Unitel’s other payment options including IPTV payments, Toki E-Wallet and payments made via U-Point, their points based loyalty program.

Kevin Drayne, CEO at SLA Digital commented: “We are delighted to be working with Unitel to enable seamless and secure payment experiences for their customers through carrier billing. We see this relationship as a real opportunity to bring more to Unitel and their customers, by offering a vast range of digital content and entertainment with new convenient ways to pay.”

 The partnership means Unitel will be able to effortlessly introduce new digital content to customers from SLA Digital’s expanding client portfolio. Likewise, digital content providers can connect to Unitel’s mobile subscribers, and expand into this region, through a simple integration process.

 Kevin continued: “Our direct connection with Unitel Mongolia will allow our existing and new digital content partners to easily connect to the mobile operator and make the most of all the payment options available. We hope that more content and more ways to pay will lead to greater choice and satisfaction for Unitel customers.”

 SLA Digital are inviting digital content providers who would like to connect with Unitel Mongolia to get in touch at sla-digital.com/contact

Evina raises 20 million euros to secure financial services for telecom operators

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

 

Paris, November 18, 2021 – Paris-based cybersecurity company Evina, which operates in 70 countries, has announced a €20 million funding round to consolidate its leading position in securing financial services for telecom operators.

The future of telecom operators will not be determined by the sales strategy of cell phone plans, but by the ability to provide new services to the huge customer bases they have patiently built up. Among these, financial services are the most crucial.

The financial services offered by telecom operators today not only offer the possibility to buy digital content, mobile applications or subscriptions to major streaming platforms directly via their SIM card, but also to receive, withdraw and transfer money. The aim is both to offer a highly efficient one-click payment method with conversion rates 100 times higher than those of a bank card, and to replace and compensate for the absence of basic banking services. Especially at a time when there are more smartphones than people on earth, and 2 billion people do not have a bank account.

Today, nearly 20% of global digital content purchases go through operators. By 2021, this will be worth more than $40 billion, with double-digit annual growth. In addition, more than $2.5 trillion is flowing through operators’ e-wallets. This amount is expected to double within 5 years.

The financial services offered by operators are so successful that they have inevitably attracted organized crime from around the world. “All the criminal organizations in the world are converging on cybercrime,” warns Guillaume Poupard, the Director General of the French National Agency for Information Systems Security.

It is to face this challenge that Evina was founded in 2018 by a team of hackers, cybersecurity researchers and financial services specialists who have worked for more than 15 years in the sector they protect.

More than $1 billion saved in the last 12 months by Evina for ecosystem players

David Lotfi, CEO and founder of Evina explains how it all started: “We realized that no one knew how to stop this new generation of cybercriminals, who are extremely professional and have much more advanced technical and financial resources than before. We saw this as a major threat and decided to develop a dedicated solution. Very quickly, the largest operators around the world asked to implement our solutions.”

Evina is now present in over 70 countries. It protects the world’s largest telecom groups such as Orange and Vodacom, but also major digital merchants for whom control of operator payment is a strategic advantage. With a detection rate of 99.94% of false transactions and a false positive rate of less than 0.06%, Evina has prevented the theft of more than 1 billion euros over the last 12 months.

In recognition of its solution, Evina has received all the industry’s leading awards over the past two years, including the Global Carrier Billing Summit award for the best anti-fraud solution in 2020 and 2021 and the Juniper Award for the best financial transaction security solution in 2021.

Confidence in Evina and in the industry’s potential from US funds and historical investors

The €20 million fundraising will allow Evina to accelerate its commercial presence outside Europe, with the opening of offices abroad, and to strengthen its technical team with new talent, in order to consolidate its position as a leader in the world of financial services for telecom operators.

The round was led by New York-based Radian Capital with the support of Evina’s historical investors including 50 partners, Saas Partners and Id4VC.

“Telecom Operators are in a very strong position to offer the next generation of financial service products. And while they currently possess much of what they need – embedded customer base, access to phones, known identities, financial performance, and bank account credentials – these operators still lack the security capabilities necessary to fight the most sophisticated fraud attempts. This is why we are so excited to back the team at Evina. They bring ‘bank security’ capabilities to these Telcos that allows them to operate in 2021 and beyond.” enthused Jordan Bettman, founder of Radian Capital.

Learn more about Evina at: https://www.evina.com/