FCC queries AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and more on data privacy policies

Fierce Wireless

AT&T’s John Stankey, T-Mobile’s Mike Sievert, Verizon’s Hans Vestberg and the leaders of other mobile operators all received similar letters this week from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel asking them to respond with details about their companies’ mobile data sharing policies and procedures. They have until August 3 to respond.

Other industry leaders getting similar letters are UScellular’s Laurent (LT) Thierivel, Dish’s Erik Carlson, C-Spire’s Hu Meena, Comcast’s Brian Roberts and Charter Communications’ Danny Bowman. The leaders of Best Buy Health, Consumer Cellular, Google, H2O Wireless, Lycamobile, Mint Mobile and Red Pocket received similar letters as well, for a total of 15.

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Netflix remains tight-lipped on mobile games plans in Q2 financial report

Pocket Gamer

Netflix’s latest financial results were light on details regarding the performance or future of its mobile games initiative, but the firm managed to hold off an anticipated loss of two million subscribers.

The report outlines revenue of $7.9 billion, representing a nine per cent year-on-year growth in Q2 2022 year-on-year, while its operating margin stands at 19.8 per cent – a decline of 25.2 per cent compared to the same period last year.

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Baidu unveils new self-driving taxi in China

BBC

Chinese technology giant Baidu has unveiled the next vehicle to join its self-driving taxi service, Apollo Go.

It says its new model, the Apollo RT6, has the the road skills of a driver with 20 years’ experience. Under Chinese regulation, the autonomous cars currently still require a safety driver’s presence.

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‘Awful’ Snap Sales Wipe $69 Billion From Social Media Stocks

Bloomberg

US social-media giants were on course to shed nearly $69 billion in market value on Thursday, as disappointing revenue from Snap Inc. raised concerns about the outlook for online advertising.

The Snapchat parent plummeted 28% in trading before the bell. Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. shares fell 4.7%, while shares of Google owner Alphabet Inc. and Twitter Inc. slipped about 2.5%.

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Experiential eCommerce will transform the world of online shopping

Times of India

Within a decade, shopping will undergo a greater level of change than it has in the past 100 years. Advances in technologies such as machine learning, data analytics, artificial intelligence, VR, augmented reality, and blockchain will make shopping more immersive and personal than ever.

Online shopping today is far from what is possible due to many unexplored possibilities. For instance, you want to buy a shirt or dress online but it is not possible to check the right size for yourself and you end up buying multiple sizes to finally find the best fit; or maybe a mobile phone of a certain colour and specs. What ensues is a nightmare of returns that the e-commerce infrastructure has to bear.

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Apple Expands Mobile Market Share in China on Strong iPhone 13 Demand

MacRumours

Mobile banking surged last year, driven by the pandemic, according to World Bank Global Findex 2021 database just released.

Nigeria and other Sub Sahara Africa (SSA) countries saw continued rise in mobile money adoption, with 33 per cent of adults now having mobile money accounts – three times the 10 per cent global average.

World Bank Group President David Malpass said digital revolution has catalysed increases in access to and use of financial services across the world, and transformed ways people make and receive payments, borrow, and save.

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Meta’s Facebook revamping main feed to attract younger users

Economic Times

Meta Platforms said on Thursday it was revamping the main feed on its Facebook app to prioritize “discovery” of new content, instead of posts from accounts users follow, a bid to style its apps after short-form video competitor TikTok.

Meta executives have voiced increased urgency in recent months around boosting the company’s “Reels” product, similar to TikTok’s short video format that has attracted many younger users. “Home”, Facebook’s main news feed tab that users will see when they open the app, will start more heavily featuring popular posts from accounts that users do not follow, including Reels and Stories, Meta said in a statement.

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In Crypto: $10m to accelerate sustainable metaverse REALM

Business Cloud

London-based REALM has secured $10 million investment to accelerate its play2own sustainable metaverse platform.

The mobile-first platform will allow people to play, create and socialise while positively impacting the real world. REALM rewards its players, creators and token holders with ⅓ of its profit, and shares another ⅓ with impact projects, via partners like Eden Reforestation and Plastic Bank.

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Mahalo Banking Raises $20 Million to Further Accelerate Growth in Mobile and Online Banking Services

FF News

Mahalo Banking, a CUSO that provides online and mobile banking solutions for credit unions, completed a $20 million funding round this month that was led by Ohio-based Superior Credit Union, Ky.-based Park Community Credit Union and Del.-based Dover Federal Credit Union. The additional capital enables Mahalo to continue the resounding momentum that it has experienced over the past two years and will be heavily allocated toward research and product development, helping fuel Mahalo’s proven commitment to ongoing innovation in Digital Member Service.

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Berg Insight: Global cellular IoT connections grew 22% in 2021

IoT News

Berg Insight says that global cellular IoT connections grew an impressive 22 percent in 2021.

According to the company’s analysts, global cellular IoT connections reached 2.1 billion last year.

No particular region stood out for growth. The major regional markets of China, Western Europe, and North America grew similarly during the year as the world recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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