global tech trends
TRANSCRIPT
Global Tech TrendsTop 10 trend news August 2021
South Africa’s privacy law comes fully into effect
First enacted in 2013, South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) came into full effect on 1 July 2021. However, even with this final step full enforcement of the POPIA will still require some extra time.
Japan prepares for
flying taxis
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLITT) is working on draft safety standards and other rules related to putting flying cars into commercial use. The ministry plans to establish standards on required performance and safety, as well as a licensing system, by the end of 2023.
Vietnam tightens rules on
advertising on foreign
social media platforms
The Vietnamese government adopted on 20 July 2021 a new decree regulating digital advertising activities. The decree tightens control over the sale of advertising in Vietnam by foreign platforms such as Google and Facebook.
Korea prepares for
6G
Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced the country’s 6G implementation plan until 2025, which will encompass US$191m in government R&D investment until 2025.
China breaks Tencent’s monopoly
over online music
streaming
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) ordered on 24 July 2021 the Chinese tech giant Tencent to end its exclusive music licensing deals with record labels around the world.
Wholesale-only FTTH networks
on the rise in South America
Brazil, Chile and Colombia recently announced fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network initiatives, involving significant investment and corporate restructurings, including among others by telecommunications group Telefonica.
Digital euro project moves
forward
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the launch of the investigation phase of the digital euro project. Lasting 24 months, the investigation phase will examine the use cases that a digital euro should accommodate as a matter of priority to ensure a low-risk, accessible, and efficient form of digital central bank money.
Middle East operators join
forces in support of open RAN
Five telecommunications groups, including Etisalat, Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Zain Group, Mobily, and du (the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, EITC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to implement open radio access network (open RAN) solutions in their respective mobile networks.
US$18bn plan to build more data centres
in Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) has launched an US$18bn plan to build a network of large-scale data centres across the country.
More Innovation
Zones in the US
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering establishing two new Innovation Zones (IZs) and to increase the coverage of an existing one. IZs support research on new advanced technologies, such as open radio access networks (open RAN) and 5G outside a traditional laboratory setting. The first two IZs were established by the FCC in 2019.
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