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☆ Sapeon, backed by South Korea's SK Group, launches new AI chip
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Sapeon, an artificial intelligence (AI) chip startup backed by South Korea's telecom-to-chip conglomerate SK Group, has launched its latest chip for data centres, the company said on Thursday, joining the global race to develop AI chips with bigger rivals like Nvidia (NVDA.O). The new Sapeon X330 chip "represents roughly twice the computational performance and 1.3 times better power efficiency" than competitors' products launched this year, the company said in a statement, without elaborating further on the competitors. Sapeon designs AI semiconductors for data centres, which require huge amounts of data processing. The X330 chip is manufactured by TSMC (2330.TW), the world's largest contract chipmaker, Sapeon said. SK Telecom (017670.KS), South Korea's top telco company, is Sapeon's parent.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sapeon, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, SK Group, Nvidia, TSMC, SK Telecom, telco, SK Hynix, Thomson Locations: Rights SEOUL, South

SYDNEY, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Australia's financial position will be more precarious and credit rating at risk should the government succumb to the temptation to spend the sovereign wealth fund on political projects, its outgoing chair said in a speech on Monday. The A$205 billion ($130 billion) Future Fund will come under pressure to fund state priorities as an aging population reduces taxpayers and consumes a larger chunk of spending, Chairman Peter Costello said on Monday at a UBS conference in Sydney. "As government's financial position declines, I expect we'll see more plans to spend it," he said. "Once it is spent there is nothing to offset government sovereign debt, unfunded pension and unfunded military claims. Once it is spent the pressure to raise taxes and borrow more will accelerate."

Persons: Peter Costello, Costello, telco, Lewis Jackson, Stephen Coates Organizations: SYDNEY, UBS, Labor, Liberal, Australia's AAA, telco Telstra, Thomson Locations: Sydney, China

☆ Singtel-owned Optus says massive Australia outage was after software upgrade
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Australian telecoms provider Optus said on Monday that a massive outage which effectively cut off 40% of the country's population and triggered a political firestorm was caused by "changes to routing information" after a "routine software upgrade". Optus said in a statement that an initial investigation found the company's network was affected by "changes to routing information from an international peering network" early that morning, "following a routine software upgrade". "These routing information changes propagated through multiple layers in our network and exceeded preset safety levels on key routers which could not handle these," the company said. "This resulted in those routers disconnecting from the Optus IP Core network to protect themselves." The company added that it had "made changes to the network to address this issue so that it cannot occur again".

Persons: telco, Byron Kaye, Christopher Cushing Organizations: SYDNEY, Optus, Singapore Telecommunications, Thomson Locations: Australian, Australia

☆ Australia ports operator could be online within days after cyber incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Renju Jose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

I've been in contact with the company again this morning and they're making good progress," the government's Cyber Security Coordinator Darren Goldie told ABC Radio. After spotting the breach, DP World, one of a handful of stevedore industry players in Australia, disconnected internet, significantly impacting freight movements, Goldie said. The company, part of Dubai's state-owned DP World, did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. In a statement on Sunday, DP World said the company was testing key systems crucial for the resumption of regular freight movement. The breach comes as the government prepares to release soon details on its proposed cyber security laws.

Persons: I've, Darren Goldie, Goldie, Clare O'Neil, O'Neil, Renju Jose, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: SYDNEY, ABC Radio, DP, Fremantle, telco Optus, Thomson Locations: Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Western, Australia, Dubai's

☆ Australia to investigate Optus internet and phone outage
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Renju Jose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Australia said on Thursday it would launch an investigation into a 12-hour national outage at telco Optus that cut off internet and phone connections to nearly half of its population, hitting critical services including payments, transport and hospitals. The federal government would undertake a post-incident review into the outage, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said, describing its impacts as "particularly concerning." Australia's media regulator will conduct a separate review into the outage after emergency triple zero ("000") calls went down on Optus landlines, Rowland added. Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI), has not given the cause for the unprecedented outage, one of the biggest the country has witnessed. The outage happened 14 months after Optus was hit by one of Australia's biggest cyber breaches.

Persons: telco, Michelle Rowland, Rowland, Renju Jose, Jamie Freed Organizations: SYDNEY, Optus, Optus landlines, Singapore Telecommunications, Telstra, Australian Broadcasting Corp, Thomson Locations: Australia, Sydney

SYDNEY, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Millions of Australians were left without a phone or internet connection on Wednesday after the country's second-largest telecommunications provider experienced an unexplained nationwide outage. "Our teams are working urgently to restore services. The government had sought further information from Optus including when they expected to restore services. Melbourne's train networks were forced to shut down for about 30 minutes due to the outage, resulting in delays during the morning rush, media reported. A cyber breach last year hit Optus, exposing personal details of millions of its customers, including their home addresses, driver licence and passport numbers.

Persons: telco, Michelle Rowland, Rowland, Renju Jose, Praveen Menon, Stephen Coates Organizations: SYDNEY, Optus, Singapore Telecommunications, Commonwealth Bank, CBA, Reuters, Federal Communications, ABC Radio, Thomson Locations: Sydney

☆ The real growth of 5G will be driven by enterprises, says Singapore telco CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe real growth of 5G will be driven by enterprises, says Singapore telco CEOManjot Singh Mann, CEO of M1, discusses 5G adoption, the migration process and the company's outlook.

Persons: Manjot Singh Mann Locations: Singapore

☆ Spain's state fund considers taking Telefonica stake after STC move
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Spanish Telecom company is displayed atop the company's building in Madrid, Spain, September 6, 2023. Acting Economy Minister Nadia Calvino has said Madrid will carry out a thorough evaluation before approving STC's stake, while acting labour minister Yolanda Diaz has called for the transaction to be blocked. Spain's SEPI said in a stock market filing on Tuesday that it was carrying out an "exploratory internal analysis over a potential acquisition" of a stake in Telefonica. STC declined to comment on any potential plans by SEPI. Caixabank, which owns 3.5% stake of Telefonica, said last week it would not raise its stake in response to STC's move, and would analyse with Telefonica any potential cooperation with the Saudi Arabian telecoms company.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, Spanish telco Caixabank, SEPI, Nadia Calvino, Yolanda Diaz, Spain's SEPI, Belen Gualda Gonzalez, Onur Genc, It's, Genc, Inti Landauro, Pietro Lombardi, Louise Heavens, Alexander Smith Organizations: Spanish Telecom, REUTERS, BBVA, Telefonica Bank, Telefonica MADRID, Telefonica, Saudi, STC, Saudi Arabia's, SEPI, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Spanish, Saudi Arabian

☆ KKR to invest $400 mln in Malaysia subsea telco cable services firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, Oct 30 (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm KKR (KKR.N) has signed an agreement to invest $400 million in Malaysian subsea telecommunications cable services provider OMS Group, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday. Additional details of the transaction were not disclosed in the statement. The deal marks KKR's latest investment in Southeast Asia digital infrastructure, adding to its existing investments that includes the regional data center of Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI) and Philippines-based digital infrastructure company Pinnacle Towers. KKR's investment will be used to accelerate OMS' growth, including expanding fleet size and capabilities and investing in cable landing stations and subsea cable routes, the statement said. Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Kim Coghill and Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yantoultra Ngui, Kim Coghill, Muralikumar Organizations: KKR, Singapore Telecommunications, Pinnacle Towers, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Southeast Asia, Philippines

☆ Huawei's revenue barely rose in the third quarter, despite phone and car sales growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

That's despite the company's release of a popular new smartphone in late August and growing sales within its electric car venture. watch nowMore than 1.6 million Mate 60 series devices were sold during the first six weeks of sales, according to Counterpoint Research. The research firm estimated that the majority, about 75%, of units sold were Pro models — that's about 1.2 million units sold. The U.S. company saw smartphone sales fall by 10% in the third quarter from a year ago, while Huawei's sales surged by 37%, Counterpoint Research said Thursday. The company sells its operating system and components, such as for driver-assist tech, to car manufacturers.

Persons: Richard Yu, Aito Organizations: Huawei, Bloomberg, Getty, CNBC, 5G, Research, Apple, Aito's Locations: Nanjing, Shanghai, China, BEIJING, U.S

TOKYO, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Kokusai Electric (6525.T) shares jumped 29% in their Tokyo market debut on Wednesday after private equity firm KKR sold shares in the chip equipment maker for $724 million in Japan's largest initial public offering (IPO) in five years. The stock opened at 2,116 yen and climbed to a high of 2,371 yen, valuing the company at 546.3 billion yen ($3.65 billion), as investors grabbed shares following the rare IPO of a key chip tool manufacturer. "The market for chip related stocks outside of AI is weak so some were wondering what would happen," said Tomoichiro Kubota, analyst at Matsui Securities. KKR agreed to buy Hitachi's (6501.T) electronic equipment unit in 2017 in a deal valuing the business at 257 billion yen ($1.72 billion) as the conglomerate streamlined operations. The private equity group then spun off Kokusai, which manufactures machines for depositing thin films on silicon wafers, the following year.

Persons: telco, Tomoichiro Kubota, Kazuyoshi Saito, Warren Buffett, Sam Nussey, Miho Uranaka, Mayu, Makiko Yamazaki, Chang, Ran Kim, Sonali Paul Organizations: KKR, telco SoftBank Corp, Matsui Securities, Reuters, Iwai Cosmo Securities, Materials, Equity, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Tokyo, China, Japan

☆ Saudi is wild card in Middle East’s new turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends the 18th consultative meeting of the leaders of the GCC & the Gulf summit with the central Asian countries C5, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 19, 2023. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Mohammed bin Salman is the wild card in the Middle East’s new conflict. Saudi Arabia also needs prices above $85 a barrel in order to balance its budget. Saudi Arabia also needs to consider the views of international investors, though. For now, Saudi Arabia can count on the support of global bankers and fund managers.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Mohammed bin Salman, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s, Biden, Netanyahu, International Energy Agency reckons, Jamal Khashoggi, nix, Larry Fink, JPMorgan’s, Jamie Dimon, Israel, Antony Blinken, Jordan, ” Blinken, ”, “, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Al Jazeera, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic Organizations: GCC, Saudi Press Agency, Handout, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Hamas, Israel . U.S, MbS, United, Gaza, International Energy Agency, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Saudi, kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, U.S, PGA, Foreign Investment, Telefonica, STC, BlackRock’s, Future Investment, United States, Diplomats, don’t, Palestinian, Israeli, United Arab, Iran’s, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iran, Palestinian, Israel ., United States, Gaza, OPEC, Russia, Saudi Aramco, Riyadh, Palestine, United, Amman, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Lebanon, America

☆ Hackers hit aid groups responding to Israel and Gaza crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Zeba Siddiqui | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. Jerusalem-based nonprofit United Hatzalah, which provides emergency medical services, said its website was struck by distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that temporarily slowed its ability to receive donations. DDoS is a low-level and typically unsophisticated attack designed to overwhelm a website with artificial traffic, often causing it to crash. The disruptions to the United Hatzalah website did not lead to loss of data or donations, said Jeremy Cole, a spokesperson for the group. Another website impersonating United Hatzalah that had sprung up in the last few days seeking donations had been taken down, Cole said.

Persons: Kacper, Rohan Talbot, Jeremy Cole, United Hatzalah, Cole, Gil Messing, Messing, Zeba Siddiqui, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Medical Aid, Security, Hamas, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, Jerusalem, British, San Francisco

☆ Ericsson $3 bln hit ticks most boxes for M&A folly
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mike Blake Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Börje Ekholm’s overpriced M&A has come home to roost. The $15 billion Swedish telco equipment maker’s chief executive said on Wednesday he was writing down 50% of the value of software company Vonage. While the 32 billion Swedish crowns ($3 billion) hit is a non-cash impairment, Vonage remains a major goof. Ericsson bought it for $6.2 billion as recently as November 2021, in cash, and the deal only closed three months ago. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Mike Blake, Breakingviews, Ekholm, Karen Kwok, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: T's, REUTERS, Reuters, Ericsson, Deutsche Telekom, Reuters Graphics Reuters, X, Qantas, Thomson Locations: San Diego , California, U.S, Brussels

☆ Snowflake's CMO reveals her marketing strategy that will help the company go from $2.6 billion in revenue to $10 billion by 2029
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Ryan Joe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Its revenue was $95.7 million in 2018 according to its S-1 filing, has projected revenue of $2.6 billion by the end of this year, and has said it aims to hit $10 billion in revenue by 2029. But as the data giant zeroes in on connecting with developers across industries, Persson has also expanded Snowflake's outreach, for instance, with a YouTube channel for developers , established eight months ago. Closing larger deals will be a major factor if Snowflake hits its ambitious $10 billion revenue goal. Snowflake plans to get 1,400 customers spending more than $1 million by 2029, company CFO Michael Scarpelli said during an investor event last year. "A lot of companies get stuck at $100 million," Persson said.

Persons: Denise Persson, Persson, There's, Salesforce, Gregg Moskowitz, Snowflake, Michael Scarpelli, Moskowitz Organizations: Amazon, LinkedIn, Companies Locations: Silicon Valley, Snowflake, New York, Mumbai, Stockholm

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Meta, Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, Sunrun, Alphabet, Snowflake & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

UBS initiates Fiverr as buy UBS said the Israeli online marketplace company has "significant upside." UBS upgrades Fluor to buy from hold UBS said the construction and engineering stock is underappreciated. Bank of America upgrades Orange to buy from underperform Bank of America double upgraded the European telco company and says it has upside potential. Bank of America reiterates Blackrock as buy Bank of America said the asset management company is well positioned. Mizuho reiterates Nvidia as buy Mizuho added the stock to its top picks list and says it's an AI winner.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Tesla, it's, underappreciate FLR, TD Cowen, Key, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Oppenheimer, Mizuho, Coinbase, Bernstein, PTON Organizations: US, UBS, Americas Corp, Bank of America, underperform Bank of America, Tech, of America, Apple, JPMorgan, Netflix, ARM, " Bank of America, Blackrock, Nvidia, Mizuho, NOVA Locations: Argentina, Argentine, Orange, 3Q23, 4Q23

SYDNEY, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The blocking of three major deals by Australia's antitrust regulator in the past year was a coincidence, its chair told Reuters, pushing back against concerns among bankers that it has become deal-averse. "There happens to have been a sequence, frankly coincidentally as it turns out, of oppositions," ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said in an interview. There are some concerns that it could be blocked as Brookfield owns AusNet, a poles and wires asset in Victoria state. Cass-Gottlieb also said she doubted foreign investors have been dissuaded from pursuing deals in Australia which does not require companies to get formal clearance before proceeding with a takeover. "The recent stream of merger blockages will make foreign investors think twice."

Persons: Gina Cass, Gottlieb, Canada's Brookfield, Cass, Stephen Corones, Hannah Marshall, it's, Byron Kaye, Scott Murdoch, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, Telstra, TPG, ANZ, Transurban, Origin Energy, Brookfield, FOCUS Cass, Investors, Queensland University of Technology, Cass, Marque Lawyers, Thomson Locations: Melbourne, AusNet, Victoria, Australia, Queensland

☆ Cramer's Lightning Round: SoFi is a buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Julie Coleman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Carpenter's year-to-date stock performance. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Golar's year-to-date stock performance. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Aehr's year-to-date stock performance. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon SoFi's year-to-date stock performance. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Harmonic's year-to-date stock performance.

Persons: Carpenter, you've, Jim Cramer's Locations: Philadelphia, Emerson

LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Barely a day goes by without an eye-catching story involving Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. A third of the fund consists of significant stakes in domestic companies like the $51 billion Saudi Telecom Company (7010.SE) and $53 billion Saudi National Bank (1180.SE). Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe PIF’s investment strategy is also racier than its more conservative peers. But the episode reinforces the impression that the PIF is a mix of venture capital, hedge fund and startup money. The most spectacular was probably handing $45 billion to SoftBank Group (9984.T) boss Masayoshi Son for his $100 billion first Vision Fund.

Persons: Kylian Mbappé, It’s, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Yasir Al, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala, Rumayyan, Salman bin Abdulaziz, Masayoshi Son, SWFs, Taiwan’s Foxconn, Peter Thal Larsen, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Standard Chartered, Spanish telco Telefonica, Fund, Abu, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Global, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Saudi, Saudi Telecom Company, Saudi National Bank, Saudi Aramco, giga, Qatar Investment Authority, Singapore’s Temasek, Al, MbS, SoftBank Group, Vision, Credit Suisse, UBS, Saudi giga, Aramco, Investment, Thomson Locations: Spanish, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Saudi

☆ Turn to these stocks for high dividend growth and free cash flow yield, Wolfe says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

As the economy slows down, investors will want to play defense with dividend strategies, according to Wolfe Research. "In a later cycle environment, dividend growth becomes scarce and investors tend to pay up for companies with high dividend growth," analyst Chris Senyek wrote in a note last week. Therefore, the strategy is to look for names with both high dividend growth and a high free cash flow yield, since investors look to cash flow to support further dividend growth, he said. Comcast has an average analyst rating of overweight and has nearly 10% upside to the average price target, according to FactSet. Lennar is also well-liked by analysts, with an average rating of overweight and about 20% upside to the average price target, per FactSet.

Persons: Chris Senyek, Senyek, Peacock, Morgan Stanley, Benjamin Swinburne, Lennar, Raymond James, Buck Horne, UnitedHealth, Bernstein, Lance Wilkes, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Wolfe Research, Comcast, Media, CNBC

☆ These are the top 10 things to watch in the stock market Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Oracle (ORCL) upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS with a price target of $140. Piper Sandler increases its Broadcom (AVGO) price target to $925 from $830 ahead of earnings Thursday after the bell. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB.

Persons: telco, Corie Barry, Piper Sandler, Bernstein, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Marlena Sloss Organizations: Oracle, UBS, Nvidia, Investing, Nasdaq, Verizon, Citi, underperform, Biden Administration, Medicare, pharma, DuPont, Broadcom, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: Airbnb, Salesforce, San Francisco , California

☆ Citi upgrades Verizon and AT&T, says companies can support their nearly 8% dividend yields
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Telecommunication giants AT & T and Verizon are turning a corner that will make it easier for both companies to maintain their high dividend yields, according to Citi. Analyst Michael Rollins upgraded Verizon and AT & T to buy. "A variety of concerns have weighed on Telco sentiment and valuation, including competition, industry structure, higher rates and lead. We see a more constructive investment case for large-cap Telcos," Rollins wrote in a Monday note. Verizon yields 7.8% along with AT & T, FactSet data shows.

Persons: Michael Rollins, Rollins, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: AT, Verizon, Citi, VZ, Street

☆ In AI push, Telenor hires Google Cloud's Amol Phadke as CTO
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Telenor recruits Chief Tech Officer from Google CloudAmol Phadke to implement AI strategyTelecom sector's AI adoption is going slowly, Phadke saysAlso appoints Petter-Boerre Furberg as head of Asia unitOSLO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor (TEL.OL) has recruited Google Cloud's Amol Phadke as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to strengthen its AI activities, Telenor said on Tuesday. Phadke most recently headed Google Cloud's (GOOGL.O) telecom business and has previously worked for British Telecom, Alcatel-Lucent and Accenture's network services unit. He said he wanted Telenor "to use AI in all of our operations to make operations more efficient, develop new products, increase energy efficiency." Phadke said Telenor would use AI will to make business operations more efficient, for example to predict traffic demand and allocate more bandwidth to areas with more users, and to improve interactions with customers. "We do not believe that AI will directly result in job reductions," Phadke said, adding he envisaged using AI to augment and enhance, not substitute, humans in processes.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Phadke, Petter, Boerre Furberg, Sigve Brekke, Brekke, Arentz, Rostrup, Furberg, Victoria Klesty, David Evans Organizations: Telenor, REUTERS, Google, Telecom, Technology, British Telecom, Alcatel, Lucent, Reuters, Telenor Nordics, Thomson Locations: Asia, OSLO, Norwegian, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Southeast Asia

☆ SingTel Q1 profit slumps 23% on unfavourable currency move, high costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 21 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI) reported on Monday a 23% decline in first-quarter net profit, citing the one-off impact at Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS) in Nigeria as the naira depreciated sharply against the U.S. dollar, as well as high costs. Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), Southeast Asia's largest telecoms company, owns an effective 29.5% stake in India's Bharti Airtel. SingTel said in a statement net profit for the quarter ended June 30 was S$483 million ($355.91 million), compared with S$628 million a year earlier. On an underlying basis, net profit for the quarter gained 14.5% to S$571 million. SingTel also recorded a 2.7% decline in its first-quarter operating revenue to S$3.49 billion, hurt by currency exchange headwinds and competition.

Persons: Edgar Su, SingTel, Yuen Kuan, Sameer Manekar, Upasana Singh, Muralikumar Organizations: REUTERS, Singapore Telecommunications, Bharti Airtel, U.S ., Optus, Thomson Locations: Singapore, Nigeria, Nigerian, Australia, Bengaluru

☆ Google-backed Anthropic raises $100 mln from South Korea's SK Telecom
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of SK Telecom is pictured at the GSMA's 2023 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File PhotoSEOUL, Aug 14 (Reuters) - South Korea's largest telco SK Telecom (017670.KS) said it will invest $100 million in U.S. artificial intelligence firm Anthropic to strengthen its telecommunications-driven AI business. SK Telecom, which also made a smaller investment in May, said on Sunday that the two companies plan to jointly develop a global telecommunications-oriented multilingual large language model and build an AI platform. SK Telecom declined to reveal the size of its May investment or the size of its stake in Anthropic. In July, SK Telecom agreed with Deutsche Telekom, e& and Singapore Telecommunications to form an alliance to jointly develop telecommunications-driven AI businesses.

Persons: Nacho, Anthropic, Claude, OpenAI's, Joyce Lee, Sam Holmes Organizations: SK Telecom, Congress, REUTERS, telco SK Telecom, OpenAI, Google, Spark Capital, Deutsche Telekom, Singapore Telecommunications, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, SEOUL, KS, Anthropic

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