Views
Oh good, Facebook pays people to listen to your audio messages
Facebook has become the fifth Big Tech company this year to reveal that humans are listening to online audio conversations and messages. Read more…
OTT messaging
Views
Operators need a messaging marketplace to take on OTTs
RCS can help MNOs fight back against OTTs by enabling them to create not only a competitive messaging service, but a marketplace that drives real value. Operator messaging revenue is one of the biggest victims Read more…
Off the Wire
Line taps Mellanox/Cumulus switches for messaging network
Mellanox Technologies and Cumulus Networks announced that Line Corporation has selected Mellanox open Ethernet switches running Cumulus’ Linux open network operating system to power the network behind its messaging applications. Line is deploying Mellanox 100GbE Read more…
News
Bullet targets WeChat’s messaging kingdom in China
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Bullet Messenger, a Chinese messaging app, has racked up millions of downloads since its debut just a few weeks ago, using a stripped-down design to chip off a chunk of a Read more…
Off the Wire
Line issues ‘Link’ tokens and blockchain network
Line Corporation announced that it has launched its first digital token, Link, backed by its own blockchain network, Link Chain, for use within Line’s dApps ecosystem. Unlike other cryptocurrencies or digital tokens, Link will not make an Read more…
News
WhatsApp promises India tools to fight fake messages
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India said Facebook-owned WhatsApp had pledged on Tuesday to develop tools that would combat fake messages, to help the country crack down on people whipping up public anger through mass message Read more…
News
India asks telcos to block social media apps on demand
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has asked its telecom operators to find ways of blocking applications such as Facebook and messaging app WhatsApp in the case of misuse, according to a document seen by Reuters. Read more…
Off the Wire
ACCC may drop regulation of wholesale mobile voice/SMS
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says it has commenced a public inquiry to decide whether to extend, vary or revoke the domestic mobile terminating access service (MTAS) declaration, or whether to make a Read more…
News
WhatsApp launches ad campaign in India to combat fake info
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging platform on Tuesday published advertisements in key Indian newspapers to tackle the spread of misinformation, its first such effort to combat a flurry of fake messages that prompted mob Read more…
News
WhatsApp tells India: stopping fake info is everyone’s job, not just ours
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Facebook’s WhatsApp messenger service has responded to a call from India’s technology ministry to curb the spread of false information on its platform, saying such a task required a partnership between the Read more…
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India tells WhatsApp to block false messages after lynchings
MUMBAI (Reuters) – India has asked Facebook-owned WhatsApp messenger to take steps to prevent the circulation of false texts and provocative content that have led to a series of lynchings and mob beatings across the Read more…
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Facebook adds augmented reality to Messenger app
MENLO PARK, Calif. (Reuters) – Facebook’s Messenger app launched an augmented reality feature on Tuesday to allow people to see products they are shopping for as if they already have them, such as a car Read more…
News
Kakao Corp reportedly plans to establish blockchain unit
SEOUL (Reuters) – Kakao Corp, South Korea’s largest messaging app operator, said on Monday it is planning to establish a unit focusing on blockchain technology. Plans for the unit, set to be established this month, Read more…
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Kakao plans US/Japan content shopping spree for 2018
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – South Korean messaging app service provider Kakao Corp is aiming to acquire global content providers in Japan and the United States after successfully raising $1 billion from foreign investors, a senior company Read more…
Views
Huawei’s RCS play won’t hurt its margins, but it won’t help either
One has to give credit to Huawei for realizing that it has a differentiation problem in the smartphone space, but so far its attempts to drive its differentiation beyond the hardware itself are not bearing Read more…
News
WeChat denies storing or analyzing user chat histories
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Tencent Holdings’ WeChat, China’s most popular messenger app, on Tuesday denied storing users’ chat histories, after a top businessman was quoted in media reports as saying he believed Tencent was monitoring Read more…
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Indonesia backtracks on WhatsApp ban, doubles down on obscenity
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia said on Tuesday it will summon executives of messaging services and search engines, including Google, to demand they remove obscene content, but dropped a threat to block WhatsApp Messenger after GIF Read more…
News
Afghan govt won’t ban WhatsApp and Telegram after all
KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan government will not block the instant messaging services WhatsApp and Telegram, a spokesman said on Monday, following days of controversy after reports the services would be suspended. “Government of Afghanistan Read more…
News
Afghanistan wants its ISPs to block WhatsApp and Telegram
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s telecoms regulator wrote to internet service providers last week ordering them to block the messaging services WhatsApp and Telegram but it was not immediately clear whether they had complied. Use of Read more…
Off the Wire
StarHub SIM targets Chinese tourists with unlimited WeChat and Lingcod
StarHub has teamed up with Tencent’s WeChat to launch a mobile prepaid SIM aimed at mainland Chinese tourists in Singapore. The StarHub WeChat Go SIM provides users not only with local talktime, SMS and IDD Read more…