Awards come with tangible benefits such as workshops, coaching, advice or membership in an association. It can also lead to enhanced credibility for the brand or the business as well as increased visibility. There is a vast variety of awards to choose from whether it’s local or national. They could be industry based or demand very specific criteria.

With company resources sometimes stretched, putting your business forward for awards is not always top of your mind. In such cases, a B2B public relations agency can help. Here are five reasons why entering your company for an award could be a good idea:

Benchmarking with others in your industry – Sometimes the application process is simple and easy, other times, not so much. Either way, entering the arena and trying to win a business award allows you the opportunity to compare your company with others in your industry. The entire exercise of nominating your business could hold more value for your company than actually winning the award.

Awards increase credibility for your company – Winning a business award provides a credible third party endorsement for your company. Depending upon how prestigious the award is, it could give a stamp of approval on your business. Customers and vendor partners will feel better about their business relationship with your company.

Free or inexpensive PR and marketing – Awards can be an overlooked tool in your business toolbox. Simply being listed as a nominee for an award can improve brand awareness and promote your business to new customers. Winning an award opens doors to new business and new contacts.

Employees feel better too – Staff morale and motivation often improve when a company wins a business award. Celebrate the victory with your employees. You all deserve it.

Awards help with recruiting – Business awards can help a business attract the best talent. Everyone wants to work for a winner.

Awards celebrate hard work and success and are great PR opportunities. However, it’s not just winning the award that counts. The process of being nominated is often worth the effort.

If any of the above resonates with you and your business, we at International Finance would love to talk with you. By working with a leading global media services provider, clients of International Finance enjoy maximum visibility through vibrant outreach exercises that include print and online advertisements, print and online native advertising, newsletter promotions, exclusive media visibility partnerships in key markets, and acknowledgment of corporate excellence through the annual International Finance Awards, we know we can deliver awards for your business to bring you what you richly deserve.

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While the North Amriya concession contains the Yazzi and Python discovered gas fields,  North Idku has four gas fields including one ready for development. According to Energean, the shallow-water Abu Qir concession is the oldest gas producing area of the Mediterranean Sea, and still one of Egypt’s largest gas production hubs.

Both concessions are expected to deliver the first gas in the second half of 2022, with 49 million boe of 2P reserves, 87 percent of which is gas. Peak production is expected to be approximately 90 mmscf/d plus 1 kbopd of condensates, according to reports.

The UK is urged to complete its oil and gas exploration in the North Sea to secure its position as a ‘credible climate champion’. The warning was issued by green campaigners on the back of Denmark’s decision to stall its exploration activities in the North Sea in an effort to cut carbon emissions.

Denmark’s decision to halt exploration work in the North Sea is expected to help the country realise its commitment to stop climate change. Last week, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the country will cut national carbon emissions by 68 percent by 2030. The proposed percentage is at a faster rate than other economies.

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The partnership will enable Xoom to strengthen its presence in Africa. This will be achieved by providing transfers to mobile money wallets through MFS Africa’s digitals payments hub. The hub connects more than 200 million mobile wallets in Africa through a single API.  

 It will also create new possibilities for remittances in sub-Saharan Africa which is estimated to be worth $51 billion in 2020, according to the World Bank. It is still the most expensive region in the world to send money to, with an average cost of 9.3 percent. 

Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO of MFS Africa, said in a statement, “Xoom – and their parent company PayPal – are pioneers in digital-first payments, and we are excited to partner with Xoom to further connect our network to the wider world. Diaspora remittances have always been critical for the livelihood of hundreds of millions of Africans and leveraging digital channels to deliver those remittances has always been an important part of our mission. But in a time of global crisis, when brick-and-mortar money transfer stores are not open, connecting digital payments players in the diaspora to the largest network of mobile wallets in Africa doesn’t just make good business sense – it’s the right thing to do from a public health and human welfare perspective, too.”

The post MFS Africa, Xoom to secure money transfers across 6 African countries appeared first on International Finance.

In recent times, the bank has deepened its focus in Latam with investments in startups across sectors. For example, it has made investments in Colombia-based delivery startup Rappi, Brazil fitness company Gympass and Argentine fintech Uala, media reports said. 

That said, the SoftBank Investment Fund got clearance from Tokyo to commence using its remaining $3 billion. This will allow the bank to capitalise on the several opportunities in the Latin American market in a post-pandemic setting. 

The bank invested between $100 million to $150 million into each of 17 firms and two venture capital firms to date. It is reported that Softbank is eyeing approximately 650 firms across the region. Last year, the bank had invested $1 billion in Rappi and $1.6 billion in DiDi. It even became the largest shareholder of Uber after its initial public offering. 

It is largely focused on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico in the Latin America region. In September, the bank collaborated with Oyo Latam in an effort to meet its expansion strategy in the region. It is reported that SoftBank’s Latam fund invested $75 million into Oyo’s regional business. The pandemic has pushed Oyo to lay off 500 employees, lower operating expenses and sell office spaces in Brazil, media reports said.

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In 2007, Jasper de Rooij established Simpel and ever since the company has been using T-Mobile Netherlands network since 2014. T-Mobile NL CEO Soren Abildgaard told the media, “We can also continue our market strategy as a challenger in the long term. With the proposed takeover, we will be able to compete with KPN and Vodafone in all market segments. And that is good news for all our customers, including those of Simpel, because of course not only price is relevant for them, but also network quality and customer service. As T-Mobile, we put the customer first and continuously improve our products and services. Naturally, we will also apply this principle to the customers of Simple.” 

More recently, Dutch telecom companies such as KPN will begin utilising equipment from Sweden’s Ericsson for 5G network in the country. The telecom giant is opting for 5G from Ericsson following its decision to exclude Huawei equipment. This decision by KPN points to the fact that the Chinese technology giant is currently facing challenges in the European market.  Even Orange and Proximus in Belgium has selected Nokia to build a 5G network. Belgium is home to the EU’s executive body and parliament, and therefore its decision to exclude Huawei affirms its security concerns. 

France and the Netherland have urged the European Union authority for technology regulations. Companies such as Google and Facebook are dominating the market in both countries.

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In July, the funds were announced as part of a bigger £470 million investment package. The remainder £270 million will be allocated to  inland customs facilities in an effort to support ports that don’t have sufficient space within their facilities. 

Tim Morris, who is the chief executive of the UK Major Ports Group, told the media, “There is significant port capacity around the coast of the UK for handling freight flows to and from the EU. Today’s announcement is a welcome step in ensuring that this capacity can be maximised and UK supply chains can be more resilient. Time is short and it is vital that UK businesses prepare for new border arrangements. We will work urgently with the government on the all-important detail and related regulations.”

It is reported that the new border controls will be implemented in three phases from January. 

The post UK’s £200 mn financial package to support domestic ports appeared first on International Finance.

Chinese tech giants such as Huawei, ZTE and China Unicorn have started research on 6G independently besides a research unit set up by the government. Last year, the US President Donald Trump tweeted that he would like to see 6G roll out in the US alongside 5G at the earliest possible. Even Japan has announced similar plans on this front, although it has lagged behind in 5G rollout compared to other world economies.

It is early to predict what 6G might turn out to be but experts believe that it will target speed of 1 terabyte per second. The idea of it might seem unrealistic at present, but in a fast-changing high paced technological landscape, 6G might be exactly what we need to break the speed barrier in years to come. Also, the launch of 6G will have a long way to go — and is expected to take place by the end of this decade, or even possibly in the next.

China is accelerating efforts in 6G
While 5G has soon become a reality — its benefits are yet to be seen. Against this background, Chinese mobile operators are expected to deploy more than 600,000 5G base stations by the end of the year. According to Lu Chuncong, deputy director of the Information and Communications Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), leading telecommunication companies such as China Mobile, China Unicorn and China Telecom have already built more than 250,000 5G base stations across the country.

In fact, shipments of 5G phones in the country are expected to exceed 180 million by the end of the year. Chuncong also highlighted that there are over 400 5G innovation applications in the country, covering sectors such as industry, transport and medical treatment. According to official data, the number of 5G subscribers in China currently exceeds 36 million.

The reason China is engaging in a full scale 5G deployment is to boost its digital economy. For example, China Mobile which is the world’s largest operator in terms of subscribers said that it added 29.17 million 5G subscribers in the first quarter of 2020. According to the operator, it had a total of 31.72 million 5G subscribers by the end of March, compared to a 2.55 million 5G customers at the end of last year. It is also aiming to acquire over 232,000 5G base stations in an effort to extend coverage to 28 regions across the country.

With a full scale deployment underway, China is now taking the lead in the next-generation technology. In another example, ZTE which is a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions signed a strategic cooperation agreement on 6G with China Unicorn. Under the terms of the agreement, both parties will share their data on 6G and jointly explore the development of the technology. It is also reported that Huawei has started research on 6G.

China’s Ministry of Science and Technology said in a statement that it will set up two working groups to carry out research on 6G. In theory, the first group will consist of relevant government departments who will be responsible for promoting 6G research and development in the country. The second group comprising 37 universities, research institutes and enterprises will lay out the technical aspects of 6G.

Although 6G is still a decade away, its research has already begun and is in its nascent stage. Vice Minister Wang Xi at the Ministry of Science and Technology said that the technical route for 6G remains unclear and further emphasised that the key indicators and application scenarios have not been standardised yet. Last year, Huawei’s chief executive Ren Zhengfei told the media that even though the company is working simultaneously on 5G and 6G, it is in its early phases and has a long way to go before commercialisation begins.

Key differentiators between 5G and 6G
To common knowledge, 5G would point to greater internet speed despite being the nerve centre of world economies. This means, 6G would only operate at an even greater speed and lower latency. Experts suggest that 6G will go beyond a wired network with devices acting as antennas using a decentralised network which will not be under the control of a single network operator.

In practice, if everything is connected through 5G — then 6G will set those connected devices free as higher data speeds and lower latency make instant device-to-device connection possible. In addition, experts believe that 6G will target speeds approximately 8,000 times the speed of 5G. So the question is — can 6G achieve that speed?

5G is expected to drive the technological innovation behind concepts such as autonomous cars, drones and smart cities. In the years to come, 6G could transform these concepts into a reality. While the concept of an autonomous car is still relatively new, companies are looking to capitalise on advanced concepts powered by 6G. NTT Docomo has explained the possibilities of 6G in cyberspace to support human thought and action in real-time using wearable technology and micro-devices mounted on the human body.

Who is working on 6G?
Although China has understood the importance of 6G — it is only a matter of time before major companies and governments begin their own projects on this front. Japan has joined the 6G bandwagon along with China. Earlier this year, Japan announced in a press conference that it seeks to lead standardisation efforts and examine potential challenges in 6G development and deployment.

In Finland, the 6G flagship research programme is backed by Nokia, the University of Oulu and other telecom as well as business bodies. Interestingly, a 6G summit was held last year to discuss the various implications of 6G. Both Samsung and LG have research centres in South Korea which is also conducting research on Terahertz band technology for 6G. It is reported that they are planning to make 6G 100 times faster than 4G LTE and 5 times faster than 5G networks.

That said, SK Telecom, Nokia and Ericsson are collaborating on a 6G research project. Last February, US President Donald Trump tweeted that he wants to deploy both 5G and 6G in the country as soon as possible.

Key enablers of 6G technology
While 5G has made us familiar to technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of things (IoT), 6G will be developed on the back of existing and new technologies.
Millimetre wave technologies: Millimeter wave, also known as millimeter band is the band of spectrum between 30 gigahertz and 300 gigahertz. Telecoms and research units across the globe are testing 5G wireless broadband technology on millimeter wave spectrum. Using millimetre-wave technologies opens up the possibility of having a wide channel bandwidth. With huge data speeds and bandwidths required for 6G, the millimetre wave technologies will be further developed, possibly extending into the TeraHertz region of the spectrum.

Massive MIMO: MIMO stands for Multiple-input multiple-output. This technology is a wireless network that allows transmitting and receiving of more than one data signal simultaneously over the same radio channel. Standard MIMO networks often use around three to four antennas, while massive MIMO makes use of a higher number of antennas, going up to thousands. In recent times, China’s ZTE has used massive MIMO technology with as many as 96 to 128 antennas. Although MIMO is being used in many applications such as LTE and Wi-Fi, the number of antennas is fairly limited. In the coming years, as research on 6G reaches advanced stages, massive MIMO technology is expected to play an important role in its implementation.

On-demand artificial intelligence: AI has huge potential and when it comes to the telecommunications landscape, it is bringing a radical change in an era of advanced digitisation and technological development. The low latency and high capacity of 5G will also allow AI processing to be distributed among the device, edge cloud and central cloud — enabling flexible system solutions for a variety of new and enhanced experiences. This wireless edge architecture is adaptable and allows appropriate tradeoffs to be made per use case. For example, performance and economic tradeoffs may help determine how to distribute workloads to reach the required latency or compute requirements for a particular application.
Bret Greenstein, senior vice president and global markets head for AI and analytics at Cognizant told Forbes that smart, AI-based devices that operate at the edge for buildings, cities and vehicles can make complex decisions in real-time based on the data they see.

Imagine a camera that can understand what it is seeing in real-time and decides what actions to take based on the images it sees. This whole system will fit on a chip in an image sensor that can be mounted almost anywhere. So, if all the decision making takes place in this smart edge device, why do we need 5G? Truth be told, each device only knows the data local to itself—images, sound, temperatures, etc. However, bringing in high speed data can give that AI-driven device more context. For instance, an image sensor in a car can use AI and detect a road hazard. And if it can communicate in high speed with low latency, it can share that data with other cars to help them avoid the hazard, or it can incorporate data from other cars to optimise a route to ensure on-time arrival, considering traffic and weather ahead across multiple routes.

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For the launch, Rain has partnered with Chinese telecoms gear maker Huawei.

Notably, the launch of Rain’s 5G network is also the first commercial 5G SA network in Africa.

Rain Chief Marketing Officer Khaya Dlanga told the media, “Standalone 5G will further improve 5G network performance with increased uplink rate, lower latency, and improved reliability, ushering in high-end cloud VR and cloud gaming services, more diversified enterprise and home broadband services.”

“Standalone 5G will demonstrate how 5G is powerful in realising South Africa’s 4IR future. Powered by Huawei’s global leading 5G solutions, our Standalone 5G will enable the industry’s digital transformation in the future, such as smart healthcare, smart ports, smart mining and smart manufacturing in South Africa.”

“We will work with the trustworthy strategic partner to further expand our 5G networks and bring the best service and experience to our customers,” Dlanga added.

According to some analysts, Rain’s competitive pricing on 5G will pose a challenge for bigger telco’s operating in South Africa such as MTN and Vodacom.

Rain activated Africa’s first commercial 5G network in Johannesburg and Pretoria last year. Earlier this year, Vodacom launched its 5G mobile network in Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town.

Last month, MTN too launched its 5G network in Johannesburg and Cape Town, as well as Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth.

MTN deployed 5G in 2.1GHz using Dynamic Spectrum Sharing, 3.5GHz, and 28GHz bands.

MTN has also partnered with Huawei for the launch of its 5G network.

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As per the deal, both parties will jointly develop smarter and cheaper JioPhone with Android OS for India. The announcement was made by Reliance Industry owner Mukesh Ambani during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2020.

During the event, he said, “Even though we have sold over 100 million JioPhones… there are many feature phone users who are waiting to upgrade to a conventional smartphone, if only it were somehow more affordable. So we have decided to address this challenge.”

Recently, US-based wireless technology company Qualcomm also invested around $97 million in India-based Reliance Jio Platform. The deal will see them acquire a 0.15 percent minority stake in Reliance Jio.

Prior to the Google deal, Reliance Jio had raised more than $15.7 billion in the past 12 weeks from as many investors such as Facebook, Intel and many more.

Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of American chipmaker Intel, has invested around $253.5 million in India’s telecom giant Jio Platforms., the media reported.

The deal will see Intel acquire a 0.39 percent stake in Reliance’s Jio.

In the month of April, Facebook also bought a 10 percent stake in Jio Platforms. The deal follows Facebook’s decision to launch a payment feature for WhatsApp in India.

Launched in 2016, Reliance Jio has established itself as a telecom giant in India in a short spell due to its competitive pricing strategy. Backed by multibillionaire Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Jio disrupted the Indian telecom sector which led to many telcos exiting the market with Vodafone on the brink of shutting down its business in India.

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