I-Byte Telecommunication & Media July 2021

IT Shades
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I-Bytes
Telecommunication & Media
July Edition 2021
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Table of Contents
1. Financial, M & A Updates...................................................................................................................................1
2. Solution Updates..................................................................................................................................................3
3. Rewards and Recognition Updates...................................................................................................................16
4. Customer Success Updates................................................................................................................................25
5. Partnership Ecosystem Updates.......................................................................................................................27
6. Environmental & Social Updates.....................................................................................................................52
7. Miscellaneous Updates......................................................................................................................................53

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Financial, M & A Updates
Telecommunication & Media Industry

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Financial, M&A Updates
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Axiata (Malaysia), Telenor (Norway) and Digi Sign Transaction Agreements for the
Proposed Merger of Celcom and Digi
Axiata Group Berhad Telenor Asia Pte Ltd and Digi.Com Berhad
together announced that they have successfully concluded the
due-diligence exercise and signed the Transaction Agreements for the
proposed merger of Celcom Axiata Berhad and Digi. Axiata and Telenor
will be equal partners with 33.1 percent ownership stake each in
MergeCo, and MergeCo will continue to be listed on Bursa Malaysia
Securities Berhad (“Bursa”). Targeted to be among the five largest
companies listed on Bursa in terms of market capitalisation, MergeCo is
valued at a combined pre-synergy equity value of close to RM50
billion3. The integration planning phase will include further detailed
work on synergies and business plan of MergeCo, and initial estimates
indicate potential value accretion through cost and capex synergies of
around RM8 billion on a net present value basis.
Executive Commentary
“We look forward to partner with Axiata to realize the potential of the
proposed merged company. The telecom industry is at the beginning
of an exciting digital shift, and new technologies are going to change
how we develop and deliver services for both the private and public
sector. With this merger we bring together competencies, financial
strength and scale to go beyond connectivity and implement
technology that further advances our customers digital experience,”
says Executive Vice President and Head of Asia in Telenor Group.
Description
1

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Financial, M&A Updates
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Orange (France) Middle East and Africa and AXAAssurance Maroc sign an agreement
to acquire a majority stake in DabaDoc
Orange Middle East and Africa and AXA CIMA entities led by AXA
Assurance Maroc announce that an agreement has been signed on the joint
acquisition of a majority stake in DabaDoc, alongside the company’s
founders. Orange Middle East and Africa is thereby confirming its ambition
to be the leading multi-services digital operator in the region. Through its
partnership with DabaDoc and relying on AXA’s globally recognized
expertise in healthcare, Orange is positioned as a key player in e-health.
Following its first investment in DabaDoc in 2018, AXAAssurance Maroc
is once again consolidating its partnership with the company to accelerate
the digitalization and integration of its customers' healthcare journey,
facilitating its policyholders’ interactions with healthcare professionals,
notably via DabaDoc’s appointment booking and remote consultation
infrastructure and network.
Executive Commentary
Co-founder and CEO of DabaDoc, said: “DabaDoc, a leading
health-tech platform in Africa, is supporting the digital transformation
of healthcare professions. Orange’s investment in DabaDoc and AXA’s
renewed investment will strengthen DabaDoc’s growth ambitions
through Orange and AXA’s presence in Africa and the Middle East. The
pandemic has strengthened our belief that the digitalization of
healthcare services is essential and inevitable.”
Description
2

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Solutions Updates

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Airtel (India) launches ‘Airtel Black’ – India’s first all-in-one solution for
Homes
3
Solution Description
Bharti Airtel India’s premier communications solutions provider announced the launch of its latest innovation Airtel Black – India’s first all-in-one solution for homes. In world,
the customer’s home has become the single place for both work life and personal life. The need for high speed data, the need for entertainment at home and the need for seamless
connectivity on mobile, is now one holistic need. Yet these services have historically been bought and managed, as individual services. Customers have expressed their
frustration on multiple bills to be paid on different due dates across the months, services getting switched off due to forgotten recharges, and difficulty in managing services
from multiple local service providers. We decided to innovate to solve this customer problem. Airtel Black is the new program for the discerning, quality-seeking customers. A
customer can bundle 2 or more of Airtel services (Fiber, DTH, Mobile) together to become Airtel Black – which entitles the customer for one single bill, one Customer Care
number with a dedicated team of relationship managers, and priority resolution of faults and issues. All of this, also comes with amazing value of zero-switching and installation
costs coupled with free service visits for life. Airtel Black elevates the customer experience with a host of industry-first features:
• Simplify your life: Airtel Black is super convenient and liberates customers from the hassle of managing multiple bill payment dates, navigating customer care IVRs, or
interacting with separate service providers.
• Get the Priority you deserve: A customer will connect to a care representative within 60 seconds of calling. The team of experts managing the customer relationship keeps
in touch for all your requirements and solves them on a priority basis. All service visits needed for your service come to you on priority, and free of charge.
• No TV service disconnection: Airtel Black also helps customers enjoy uninterrupted TV viewing, due to DTH being offered as a billed service. All the user needs is to pay
their one bill monthly.

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Solution Updates
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Airtel (India) Payments Bank launches DigiGold – a digital
4
Airtel Payments Bank launched DigiGold in partnership with SafeGold - the leading provider of digital gold. With
DigiGold, Airtel Payments Bank’s savings account customers can invest in 24K gold using the Airtel Thanks app.
Customers can also gift DigiGold to their family and friends, who have a savings account with Airtel Payments Bank. The
gold purchased by customers is stored securely by SafeGold at no additional cost and can be sold through Airtel Thanks
app at any time in a matter of few clicks. There is no minimum investment value requirement and customers can start with
as low as one rupee. SafeGold, the leading provider of digital gold, offers customers 24K gold ascribing to international
quality standards. It combines the convenience and speed of the internet with the safety of a SEBI registered Trustee, and
more security than traditional gold purchases. Airtel Payments Bank recently increased its savings deposit limit to Rs 2
lakhs in line with RBI guidelines. It now offers an increased interest rate of 6% on deposits between Rs 1 – 2 lakhs.

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Sky (UK) launches new campaign to help tackle loneliness amongst older
people
5
This Loneliness Awareness Week Sky has announced a new initiative, Time to Care, in partnership with Age UK and other older peoples’ charities, to help
tackle loneliness across the country. The newly launched Time to Care is part of Sky’s wide-ranging volunteering programme, Sky Cares, which allows
employees to give back to the communities where they live and work. Over the past 18 months, Sky has been supporting their flagship partner, Age UK, with
loneliness a key area of focus for the partnership. This past year has shown just how valuable and important social interaction is to everybody, especially to
some older people. Last winter Age UK reported that 6.1 million people aged 60 and over said that they were feeling lonely while 2.2 million of over 60s
who had their well-being impacted by coronavirus said that they haven’t had anyone to talk to about their worries during the pandemic. Time to Care will
harness the passion and power of Sky’s 15,000 customer service group colleagues and aims to achieve one million interactions with older people each year.
The customer service group, which is made up of contact centre staff, retail staff, engineers and their respective support teams, will be given dedicated time
each week to volunteer and get in touch with older customers. Since the start of the pandemic, Sky has supported local Age UK partners across England, Age
Cymru partners and Age Scotland groups. Leveraging Age UK’s expertise, Sky engineers have spent more than 1,000 hours delivering goods to those most
in need through the pandemic. This included delivering meals and gifts on behalf of 15 different local Age UKs. Additionally, Sky volunteers have dedicated
more than 4,000 hours since April 2020 to support Age UK, Age Scotland, Age Cymru, the Silver Line Helpline and Sky’s own in-house befriending line.

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Sky (UK) launches enhanced £2million+ support scheme for UK small
businesses
6
Sky Media, the advertising sales arm of Sky, has announced the return of SME100, a £2million support scheme for small businesses, giving them free access
to the power of TV advertising through AdSmart as they recover from the pandemic. Through the scheme, 100 small businesses will receive £20,000 of TV
advertising across Sky Media’s channels, double the value that was offered in 2020, alongside a free 12-month superfast business broadband and digital
phone package, courtesy of Sky Connect – Sky’s new B2B telecoms business. Sky wants to help small businesses succeed and stay connected to their
customers, boosting their recovery as the nation emerges from lockdown. The return of SME100 takes Sky’s contribution to more than £4.5 million in
advertising support for small businesses since the start of the pandemic. Following a raft of success stories in 2020, SME 100 is open to any small business
that has been running for at least one year in the UK, with up to 50 full time employees; from florists and car garages, to hairdressers and accountancy firms.
The businesses that are selected will be representative of the UK both from a geographic and diversity perspective. Aligned to Sky’s 2025 targets, it is aimed
that 20% of winners will come from a minority ethnic background. Businesses can nominate themselves online and will be selected by an internal panel at
Sky. All applicants to the scheme will also receive a £250 discount for any 24-month Sky Connect broadband and digital phone package. Fragrance company,
Arran Sense of Scotland, based in the Isle of Arran, were one of the companies who benefitted from the SME100 scheme in 2020. Their TV advertising
campaign allowed them to reach their target audience in specific local authorities in Scotland, resulting in over 300 orders and £15,000 generated in revenue.

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ITV (UK) Launch #MyPride digital series
7
ITV is launching #MyPride, new six-part digital series championing and inspiring younger members of the LGBT+ community.
Across the month of July 2021, ITV will be publishing six short-form films across ITV’s digital platforms and ITV Hub. These
videos will feature LGBT+ role models sharing their personal stories of coming out, self-acceptance and advice for young
members of the community who may be struggling with their identity. Produced by Karma, #MyPride aims to open up the
discussion around the struggles and challenges young LGBT+ people sometimes face. By sharing their deeply personal stories,
these familiar faces hope to shine a spotlight on why Pride should last for more than one month a year and aims to inspire young
LGBT+ people. To support the campaign, ITV will also be publishing a variety of educational content on digital platforms to help
inform parents and peers of young LGBT+ people on how they can help them in coming out and accepting their identity. Notes:
The first in the series will be published on Thursday 1 July across ITV digital Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. It will
be followed by the remaining five episode throughout July before all episodes are made available on ITV Hub.

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Huge viewing night for ITV (UK) as 13.6m watch Love Island launch and
Euro 2020
8
ITV channels dominated viewing last night with a combined peak of 13.6 million viewers watching Love Island and
France v Switzerland across all devices, with ITV scoring a huge 45% share of 16-34 TV viewing in peak time. Love
Island launched last night with a strong peak audience of 3.3 million viewers across all devices. The average TV
audience last night is the biggest digital channel audience of the year across any channel, and on par with the last series
launch. With an average of 1.0 million ITV Hub viewers across the episode, this was a new launch record for the show.
The launch attracted 2.9 million streams in total. For 16-34s Love Island is the most watched digital channel
programme of the year for this demographic, with the 16-34 audience up 110,000 viewers on the last series launch.
With huge numbers watching the Euro 2020 match on ITV main channel that saw France eliminated by Switzerland
(which peaked with 12.0 million viewers across all devices), the catch-up numbers for Love Island will see the launch
audience rise further.

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ITV (UK) launches On Yer Bike
9
ITV, the channel behind Soccer Aid for UNICEF, announces a brand new one off cycling show – all in the name of charity. On Yer Bike is a
co-production between Crackit Productions and Initial TV, in association with Soccer Aid, to help raise money and awareness for UNICEF. The
90-minute special will be hosted by presenter and cricketing icon Freddie Flintoff with the whole event spearheaded by cycling legend Sir Bradley
Wiggins, the UK’s most decorated Olympian and first British winner of the Tour De France. This one-off, primetime special will ride on the coat
tails of the 2021 summer of sport and comes in light of the news that UK bikes sales were up by 63% in the summer of 2020 as the country pedalled
its way through the pandemic. In support of Soccer Aid for UNICEF, which takes place on Saturday 4 September 2021, this cycling spectacle will
aim to raise money to help UNICEF deliver 2 billion Covid-19 vaccines around the world and help children get back to school, beat malnutrition
and get the healthcare they need both and long after the crisis is over. Eight celebrities in two teams, England versus the World, will go head to
head over three cycling legs, all set in the gorgeous and dramatic backdrop of rural Yorkshire. The England team comprises of Coronation Street
actress Sair Khan, actor Barney Walsh, Good Morning Britain’s Alex Beresford and Emmerdale favourite Rebecca Sarker. The World team will
feature comedian Zoe Lyons, actor Joe McFadden, Love Island star Maura Higgins and singer Keith Duffy.

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ITV2 and ITV (UK) Hub launch new mental wellbeing series with Campaign
against Living Miserably (CALM)
10
ITV2 are to partner with charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) on a new six part series in which Kem Cetinay and Amber Rose Gill open up the
conversation around mental health and wellbeing. Produced by Twenty Six 03 for broadcast on ITV Hub, The Full Treatment will see Barber Kem and Beauty
Therapist Amber inviting a series of well-known faces to their salon where they’ll chat about all of life’s ups and downs - from candid conversations around
relationships, to the times things have been turned upside down. While Kem will be cutting hair for DJ Jordan North, reality star Jamie Laing and Ibiza
Weekender’s David Potts, Amber will be chatting over a mani/pedi with fellow Love Islander Montana Brown, singer Chelcee Grimes and Apocalypse Wow host
Donna Preston. By sharing their stories and engaging in an open discussion about the things that can impact mental wellbeing, The Full Treatment aims to shine a
spotlight on the struggles that young people can face, with Kem, Amber and their special guests offering their tips on support and coping mechanisms. With a core
audience of viewers aged between 16-34 year olds on ITV2 and with over 80% of that demographic registered on ITV Hub, the partnership with CALM aims to
ensure that younger people feel equipped to think about what helps them get through tough times, and make time for it. Between them, ITV2 and CALM have
pledged to help 1 million young people take action to manage their mental wellbeing and feel better able to cope with life’s ups and downs. Viewers will be
encouraged to visit itv.com/ITV2CALM for more information and access to CALM’s helpline services. Simon Gunning, CEO for Campaign against Living
Miserably said “It’s clear that things are tough for young people right now. In the past 12 months alone, the CALM website has seen an 100% increase in young
people seeking support and advice on a whole range of issues - from relationships and loneliness through to anxiety and fear of failure.

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Rogers Communications (Canada): University of Waterloo launches
Canada’s first driverless, autonomous 5G shuttle
11
The University of Waterloo is showcasing the operation of a driverless, autonomous shuttle research program that will transport students and staff
around campus. The demonstration of the shuttle, dubbed “WATonoBus” by the research team, is the first of its kind at a Canadian academic
institution and marks a significant milestone in a multi-year initiative to demonstrate and integrate autonomous transportation onto the campus.
This milestone features another significant technological advancement, as the shuttle becomes the first in the country to operate remotely over
Rogers’s 5G network, thanks to a Rogers’s partnership agreement with the University to advance 5G research in the Toronto-Waterloo
tech-corridor. This past September, as Rogers expanded Canada’s largest and most reliable 5G network to reach more communities, it lit up the
University’s 5G Smart Campus to support researchers developing 5G applications and use cases in a real-world setting. The shuttle’s 5-stop,
2.7-kilometre journey around the Waterloo main campus, intersecting with the campus light rail transit stop, holds the potential to help reshape
how entire communities move around their urban spaces. The driverless shuttle with remote takeover capability will showcase a full-system
approach, developed entirely at the University of Waterloo, led by Professor Amir Khajepour and a team of over 20 researchers in the Mechatronic
Vehicle Systems Laboratory. Funding support has been provided by federal and provincial partners, as well as contributions from Applanix,
RoboSense AI, and Rogers to make WATonoBus a reality.

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Rogers Communications (Canada): Black Screen Office Launches Fund in Partnership with
Rogers Group of Funds and Canadian Independent Screen Fund for BPOC Creators
12
Canadian Black and People of Colour content creators want to tell their own stories and a new first-of-its’s-kind Canadian program will help them do just that. The
Black Screen Office announced the creation of a new $750,000 script development fund in partnership with Rogers Group of Funds and the Canadian Independent
Screen Fund for BPOC Creators, delivered over three years. The fund will support creators through the writing process, from outline to script, to create pitch-ready
projects for networks, studios, cable, and streaming platforms. Applications will be accepted in July and adjudicated in August; successful applicants will be
notified in September. The new fund seeks to address a longstanding imbalance on call sheets and screen credits by bringing more voices from diverse communities
to the creative table and providing a wide range of stories to audiences here and around the world. According to the Black Screen Office, the Canadian executives
and boards heading screen organizations and institutions lack diversity, with few in the position to greenlight shows at Canada’s major networks, which is a critical
trigger for most development funding. And yet, there is a growing appetite for diverse content. This requires levels of funding to develop and produce content with
highly competitive production values. The 2020 UCLA Hollywood Diversity report notes that films featuring upwards of 50% minority cast were the best
performers in 2019. While the least diverse movies, those with less than 11% minorities performed the worst at the box office. While on-screen diversity is
improving on television, great racial disparities still exist in the writers’ room, with less than a quarter of credited writers representing minorities in the US and far
fewer in Canada. The objective of the new Rogers/Black Screen Office Script Development Fund is to provide Black and People of Colour storytellers with the
opportunity to develop scripted or unscripted (documentary) content in English or French for the international market.

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Disney (USA) Imagination Campus Launches to Teach Critical Skills and
Encourage Career Exploration
13
Disney Parks is launching a reimagined line of educational experiences for student groups that will harness beloved Disney franchises—including Star Wars,
Pixar and Frozen, as well as Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Live Entertainment—to supercharge the imaginations of students and inspire their career
ambitions. The new curriculum, which will debut at both Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort, is based upon the belief that imagination can
create endless possibility. Disney Imagination Campus launches in January 2022 with a collection of interactive workshops, performances and special events
touching on a variety of subjects, including performing arts, technology, science, humanities and leadership. The curriculum is based on four educational
pillars:
• Performing Arts—Students will engage in workshops taught by world-class Disney entertainment professionals and perform on Disney stages for
audiences from around the world.
• Art & Humanities—Students will discover the role that artists play in theme park design through the exploration of artistic media and storytelling.
• Science & Technology—Students will explore how science and technology applies to every element of the theme park experience and is used to create
Disney magic for guests.
Additionally, a new collaboration with education platform Kahoot! will integrate interactive elements into select Disney Imagination Campus experiences.
Kahoot!, which has engaged 5 billion cumulative players since 2013, empowers students to learn through play with its live games, study tools and challenges.

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Thomson Reuters (Canada) Launches AI-Powered HighQ Contract Analysis
14
Thomson Reuters launched HighQ Contract Analysis, a contract review and analysis tool that uses machine learning to
answer the specific questions legal professionals want to address – in an easy-to-read report. Contract review is a critical,
yet time-consuming and painful part of transaction or contract management. HighQ Contract Analysis uses machine
learning and pre-trained models to help attorneys increase efficiency, reduce risk, and accelerate the contract-review
process for transaction due diligence, compliance review and contract investigation. Integrating seamlessly with HighQ,
the company’s foundational asset in the collaboration and workflow automation market, it extends customers’ transaction
workflow with richer insights and greater automation. The introduction of HighQ Contract Analysis comes during the
first-ever Thomson Reuters Legal SYNERGY conference, a premiere event for legal professionals that includes product
sessions, continuing legal education and networking with peers.

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BCE (Canada): Bell expands Canada's fastest-ranked and most-awarded
5G wireless network in Manitoba
15
Bell announced the latest expansion of Canada's fastest-ranked 5G wireless network to more Manitoba communities, delivering next-generation
wireless connections to drive innovation and unleash new economic opportunities across the province. Now available in St. Andrews and Stonewall,
the Bell 5G network now offers 9 Manitoba municipalities the best in mobile connectivity. Building on initial 5G service launches in select parts of
Winnipeg and Brandon in 2020, more Manitobans are now connected with the wireless technology of the future, with superfast data speeds and
unprecedented capacity to enable next-generation applications like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, fully connected homes and vehicles, and Smart
City platforms. Now available in St. Andrews and Stonewall, the Bell 5G network now offers 9 Manitoba municipalities the best in mobile connectivity.
Building on initial 5G service launches in select parts of Winnipeg and Brandon in 2020, more Manitobans are now connected with the wireless
technology of the future, with superfast data speeds and unprecedented capacity to enable next-generation applications like artificial intelligence, virtual
reality, fully connected homes and vehicles, and Smart City platforms. In addition to the latest in wireless network technology, Bell MTS continues to
invest in connecting more communities with the most advanced network and service innovations for both consumers and businesses such as Gigabit
Fibe Internet, Whole Home Wi-Fi and Fibe TV. With pure fibre Internet, Bell MTS is bringing the world's fastest Internet technology to more than 30
cities, towns and rural communities in Manitoba – including our announcement of a historic $400 million fibre rollout in the City of Winnipeg.

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BAFTAAward winning Sky (UK) Original Life & Rhymes returns for a second
series on Sky Arts
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BAFTAAward-winning spoken word series Life & Rhymes will return to Sky Arts, the UK’s only TV channel dedicated to arts and culture, later
this year. The Sky Original series, hosted by acclaimed British writer and poet, Professor Benjamin Zephaniah, sees some of the country’s leading
spoken word performers and select members of the audience showcase their lyrical creativity on topics such as racism, gender, sexuality and
mental health. The first entertainment show of its kind, Life & Rhymes celebrates the art of spoken word and brings it to a mainstream setting. Life
& Rhymes triumphed at the BAFTA Television Awards earlier this month where it won the award for Best Entertainment Programme, beating off
competition from Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV), Strictly Come Dancing (BBC) and The Masked Singer (ITV).  Life & Rhymes
was commissioned by Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content for Sky UK and Ireland and Phil Edgar-Jones, Director of Sky Arts and
Entertainment. The commissioning editor for Sky is Barbara Lee.  Isaac Nartey, a Sky Academy Leader in the young people department at Sky,
also gained Associate Producer and Co-Creator credits on the programme for his lifelong passion to showcase the much-underrepresented genre.
 Life & Rhymes is co-created by Bob Clarke and Isaac Nartey. The series is co-produced by CPL Productions, a Red Arrow Studios company,
and Licklemor Productions, owned by MAMA Youth Project.  Executive producers are Murray Boland, Danielle Lux, Sharon Ali for CPL
Productions and Bob Clarke for Licklemor Productions.  
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Telkom (Indonesia): “Network Sustainability Award 2021”: the winners
17
Grand stage for startups and companies with solutions for energy production and storage: At the Telekom Tech Grounds, the winners of
the second edition of the Sustainability Award, this time focusing on network sustainability, was honored. The award is organized by
hub:raum, Deutsche Telekom’s tech incubator, and presented in collaboration with award partners Orange, SK Telecom, Microsoft, and
the Solar Impulse Foundation. The jury’s chosen candidate for the top of the winner’s podium was the German company Sunfire. It scored
high with its idea for scalable and clean electricity from fuel cells with BioLPG or e-propane to support PV or battery solutions. These
guarantee off-grid telecommunications operations. Verdigris convinced the jury of its AI-controlled energy management system for
intelligent buildings and data centers. The American company secured the third place. phelas has developed the key needed to unlock the
energy transition: an energy storage system for operators of renewable energy, grid operators, and the energy sector. Although the solution
is still in the very early stages, the jury was impressed with its great potential and the young German startup therefore won a special prize.
The four finalists will share a total of 60,000 euros in prize money (1st place: 25,000; 2nd place: 15,000, 3rd place; and special prize:
10,000). Moreover, the sponsoring companies will support them in the development of a proof of concept.
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MTN Group (South Africa) scoops African brand awards, named most
helpful private sector brand during pandemic
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MTN Group’s brand is growing from strength to strength, evidenced by its top rankings in two separate independent brand surveys
released this week. MTN remains the ‘Most Admired African Brand’in the Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands 2021 survey published
on Tuesday. The survey covers 28 countries representing 80% of the continent’s population as well as 80% of its GDP. For the 10th year
running, MTN was also named as the most valuable and strongest South African brand by Brand Finance, which gave the Group a brand
value of R44.8 billion in its South Africa 50 2021 survey released on Monday. This year, Brand Africa’s survey included a new category
– brands which were perceived to have been helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic. MTN was named the number one private sector
brand in this category and followed the World Health Organization in the overall rankings. During COVID-19, the Group worked to keep
people connected and informed. In a unique public/private partnership in early 2021, MTN donated US$25 million to the African Union’s
vaccination programme to secure COVID-19 vaccines for the continent’s health workers. The Group also worked with host nations to
support the Africa COVID Communications and Information Platform and launched the #WearItForMe mask campaign to encourage
people everywhere to protect each other.
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Omnicom group (USA) Outperforms the Industry, Winning High Honors
in Both Media and Creativity
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Omnicom Group agencies were recognized for their excellence within both the creative and media disciplines. All three Omnicom creative networks placed in the top
ten of the Network of the Festival competition, with BBDO coming in third, DDB in sixth and TBWA in seventh. AMV BBDO won Agency of the Festival. In addition,
Omnicom Media Group (OMG) agencies PHD and OMD earned first and second place respectively in the Media Network of the Festival competition. Overall, more
than 160 Omnicom agencies from 45 countries won over 180 Lions. Breaking it down by network, BBDO had 15 agencies combine to win 78 Lions including five Grand
Prix and 12 Gold Lions. AMVBBDO was also named Agency of the Festival. As the single most awarded agency in the world, it accumulated 27 total Lions, five of
which were Grand Prix. Its work with Bodyform/Libresse on "#Wombstories" earned four of the five, including the show's top honor: the Titanium Grand Prix. The
agencies fifth Grand Prix was the Lions Health United Nations Foundation Grand Prix for Good for The Central Office for Public Interests (COPI)
"addresspollution.org". DDB won 57 Lions total, 12 of which were Gold. It also took home a Grand Prix for Africa DDB's work with House of Lapland on "Salla 2032",
a campaign calling attention to the climate crisis. DDB Germany also scored an impressive nine Lions, three of which were Gold, for Reporters without Borders' "The
Uncensored Library" — a digital home for press freedom that bypasses internet censorship. TBWA won 49 lions this year, five of which were Gold Lions and one Grand
Prix. It was TBWALondon who secured the Health and Wellness Grand Prix for its work with BECO on the #StealOurStaff campaign, aiming to raise awareness for the
'Disability Employment Gap'. TBWAMedia Arts Lab took home two Gold Lions with its client Apple for campaigns "Bounce" and "Vertical Cinema". TBWAIstanbul
and TBWAHuntLascaris also had strong showings, winning Gold Lions for campaigns focused on combating violence against women.
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Omnicom group (USA) Media Group Agencies Named Top Performing
Media Networks at Cannes Lions
20
Omnicom Media Group (OMG), the media services division of Omnicom Group Inc. dominated the Media Network of
the Festival competition at the 2021 Cannes Festival of Media. OMG agencies PHD and OMD earned first and second
place respectively in the highly competitive category that honors the best performing media agency. Traditionally known
as Media Network of the Year, the name of the award was adjusted for the 2021 festival to reflect that this year’s judging
encompassed two years of work following the cancellation of the 2020 festival due to Covid-19. PHD Worldwide took the
Media Agency of the Festival title, winning a total of two Gold Lions and three Bronze, while OMD secured its spot right
behind its sister agency in the Media Network ranking with a Gold and two Silvers. In addition to dominating that coveted
competitive category, OMG saw all three of it networks make a trip to the virtual awards stage, with Hearts & Science
taking home a Silver and a Bronze. With a total of 10 Media Lions won by its three agencies, OMG was the most awarded
media agency holding company of the 2021 festival.
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Omnicom group (USA): TBWALondon Wins Health & Wellness Cannes
Lions Grand Prix for BECO’s #StealOurStaff campaign
21
TBWALondon has been awarded a Grand Prix in the Health and Wellness category at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for its
#StealOurStaff campaign for BECO, a social enterprise that makes environmentally-friendly toiletries with an 80% visually impaired, disabled or
disadvantaged workforce. The campaign challenged other British businesses to steal its staff in order to raise awareness of the ‘Disability
Employment Gap’. According to the World Economic Forum, people with disabilities are 50% less likely to have a job and while more than 90%
of companies around the world prioritize diversity, less than 4% consider disability. The integrated campaign launched in late 2019 with a
packaging takeover that incorporated staff CVs on the product labels. The packaging was supported by press executions comprising an open letter
that challenged other employers to take a stand when it comes to hiring people with disabilities, as well as OOH executions that amplified the
#StealOurStaff message. In a twist on the traditional recruitment ad, the creative highlights BECO’s talent alongside an invitation for these
employees to be headhunted by other businesses. The campaign drove 96% uplift in sales year over year for BECO products and 40+ brands got
in touch to hire talent featured in the campaign. This is the second Health and Wellness Cannes Lions Grand Prix for the TBWA collective in
recent years. In 2018 TBWAIndia’s Blink to Speak won the Lions Health Grand Prix for Good, created for the Asha EK Hope Foundation.
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Telenor (Norway) Research and Telenor Digital win GLOMO Awards for
cutting-edge 5G solution and digital distribution platform
22
Telenor Group is pleased to announce that both Telenor Research and Telenor Digital won a GLOMO Award at the Global
Mobile Awards ceremony on 30 June during MWC Barcelona 2021. The GLOMO Awards celebrate the companies and
individuals driving innovation in the rapidly evolving mobile industry. They were set up 26 years ago by the GSMA. The
GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with almost 400
companies in the broader mobile ecosystem. Telenor Research and partners won the Best Network Software Breakthrough
award in the Mobile Technology category for its multi-vendor 5G standalone solution. Telenor Digital won the Best
Mobile Operator Service for Connected Consumers award in the Industry X category for its third party digital sales and
distribution platform ‘Millom.’ Millom is a purpose-built platform for driving digital sales and engagement in third party
digital channels. With one integration, telcos can leverage the reach of Millom’s ecosystem to serve subscribers where
they spend time online. The platform is used by multiple Mobile Network Operators worldwide.
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WPP (UK) wins industry’s most creative company at Cannes Lions
23
WPP was named the most creative company of the year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. WPP agencies collected a total of
190 Lions, including a Titanium Lion, 12 Grand Prix, 28 Gold, 57 Silver and 92 Bronze, with winners representing 38 different countries. The
award is based on the accumulated points total from agencies within each holding company. It is the first time that WPP has won the Holding
Company of the Year award since 2017, and reflects investment in creative talent as part of WPP’s strategy for growth. Ogilvy was the standout
performer, with eight Grand Prix and a Titanium Lion for work including Stevenage Challenge (DAVID) and Moldy Whopper (DAVID and INGO)
for Burger King; Courage is Beautiful for Dove (the moving tribute to front-line workers featuring the faces of healthcare professionals, etched
with the marks from long hours in protective equipment); and Naming the Invisible by Digital Birth Registration for Telenor Pakistan. WPP
winners and shortlisted entries came from every part of the company, and from across its agencies. AKQA’s H&M Looop, a pioneering in-store
recycling system designed to inspire a more sustainable approach to clothing among consumers, picked up a Grand Prix for Design, as did
Superunion’s stunning work for sustainable packaging brand Notpla. VMLY&R’s ingenious I Am for Starbucks, which created a safe space for
trans people in Brazil to have their names legally changed, was awarded the Glass Lion for Change. Degree Inclusive by Wunderman Thompson
for Unilever, the adaptive deodorant for people with upper limb disabilities or visual impairment, was an Innovation Grand Prix winner.
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ECSite (UAE) recognized by Small Cell Forum for best-in-class technology
24
ECSite a leading software company that provides end-to-end enterprise SaaS solutions was recognized by the Small Cell Forum for its disruptive
technology at the annual Small Cell World Summit 2021 global conference. The technology is a SaaS-based app that deploys automation software
to streamline wireless infrastructure testing and management, ultimately increasing efficiency for installers and network owners, and changing the
infrastructure landscape. ECSite was one of three companies awarded finalist status for Software and Service – Management, Orchestration and
Automation at the annual Small Cell Forum's Small Cell Awards 2021. The prestigious distinction places ECSite at the forefront of the wireless
industry technology leaders. ECSite's mobile app collects and reports on construction, installation, commissioning, maintenance, and operations
of wireless infrastructure. The software automates the testing process for wireless infrastructure deployments, accelerating what was once a
laborious and tedious manual process. Based on patent-pending AI and Machine Learning, ECSite's wireless test automation software improves
accuracy by reducing human errors that cause inconsistencies in the wireless network build, testing and close out process. While test automation
is the cornerstone of ECSite's SaaS offering, the field mobile app collects, captures, and manages photos and installation, build checklists, and
verifies the phases of site construction and maintenance, with real-time visibility, all through massive automation. ECSite's cloud integrates with
most common ERP and Project Management systems including SiteTracker™, Salesforce, QuickBase and Geospatial systems such as ArcGIS.
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Omnicom group (USA): DDB Worldwide Named 2021 Network of the
Year by ADC
25
DDB Worldwide has been named Network of the Year at this year’s 100th Anniversary of the ADC Award hosted by The One
Club. The ADC Annual Awards is the world’s longest continuously running awards program recognizing global excellence in
craft and innovation in all forms of design and advertising. This year presents creatives from around the world with the
once-a-century opportunity to be part of history by winning a coveted ADC Cube in the prestigious show’s 100th awards
season. DDB Germany has also been named ADC’s Agency of the Year. Their work for Reporters Without Borders, The
Uncensored Library, was awarded the Best of Discipline in Experiential Design, the coveted Black Cube for Best of Show,
and the Designism Award. The Designism Award is given to one entry that encourages positive societal and political change.
In total, DDB Worldwide has been awarded 21 Cubes, including 7 Golds. DDB Paris took home 14 Cubes for clients Ubisoft,
Volkswagen, and Glenmorangie. Adam&eveDDB has been awarded a Bronze Cube for their John Lewis Give a Little Love
campaign.
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Philips selects Omnicom group (USA) as global integrated creative, media
and communications agency partner
26
Royal Philips a global health technology leader has selected Omnicom Group Inc. a leading global marketing and
communications company, as its global integrated creative, media and communications agency partner, subject to final
contractual agreement. Financial details of the multi-year partnership were not disclosed. Subsequent to the final agreement,
Philips will work with a team assembled from the best of Omnicom, led by TBWA for creative, OMD for media and
FleishmanHillard and Ketchum for communications, alongside talent and capabilities from Interbrand, Critical Mass and
Omnicom Precision Marketing Group (OPMG). FleishmanHillard and Ketchum have had a successful 10-year relationship
with Philips, and this marks the expansion of that relationship into the broader Omnicom Group. Philips’ leading portfolio in
health technology includes diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as
consumer health and home care products and solutions. The company aims to improve 2.5 billion lives per year by 2030,
including 400 million in underserved communities.
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Axiata (Malaysia) and RHB Formalise Joint Bid for Digital Bank License and
Group-wide Partnership
27
Axiata Group Berhad and RHB Banking Group formalized a MoU to expand and deepen collaborations between both Parties. The most advanced of these is the
signing of a comprehensive Heads of Agreement between an Axiata subsidiary, Boost Holdings Sdn Bhd (Boost Holdings) and RHB to form a consortium to apply
for a digital banking license (Digital Bank) under the framework issued by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). Both Parties consider this Partnership as a robust
platform to drive innovation, increase competitiveness and accelerate the country’s digital transformation and financial inclusion ambition. Spearheading the
group-wide partnership is the formation of the Digital Bank consortium. As equity partners in the consortium, Boost Holdings will own a majority stake of 60%,
while RHB will own the remaining 40% in the Digital Bank, subject to approval from BNM. Celcom Axiata Berhad has signed up as a major commercial partner
on joint Go-To-Market activities with the Digital Bank on products and services which will benefit the customers of both parties. Other commercial partners are
being finalised and will be announced in due course. The Parties will seek to expand on Boost Holdings’ extensive fintech experience developed through Aspirasi,
a digital micro-financing and micro-insurance provider and the Boost e-Wallet, a top three e-wallet and lifestyle app. Boost Holdings’ intimate knowledge of
customers via analytics and artificial intelligence will provide better customer solutions, product personalisation and risk-based pricing. The Parties will also
leverage RHB’s Agile@Scale experience in building successful digital offerings such as the RHB MyHome app, SME integrated eSolutions, Digital SME
Financing App (first AI enabled Digital SME lending app in Malaysia), and eKYC on-boarding solution to spur similar innovation for Digital Bank customers.
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Google Cloud and Axiata (Malaysia) Partner to Advance Digital Adoption
across Asia
28
Google Cloud and Axiata Enterprise, the B2B unit of Axiata Group Berhad (“Axiata”) a leading telecommunications group in ASEAN and South Asia, announced
a strategic partnership to serve the evolving needs of millions of companies across rapidly digitalising economies in Asia. The partnership will be rolled out in two
distinct phases. The first will see Axiata’s Digital Telcos offering Google Workspace as part of their integrated ICT portfolio and solution bundles to Small and
Medium Businesses (SMBs). Dialog in Sri Lanka will lead, with implementation scheduled for Q2 this year, followed by Celcom in Malaysia, XL in Indonesia,
Robi in Bangladesh, Ncell in Nepal, and Smart in Cambodia by the second half of the year. The second phase of the partnership will see Axiata’s Digital Telcos
continue to leverage Google Cloud’s core compute, storage, and networking capabilities to modernise their infrastructure and drive their digital transformation
initiatives. Asia is home to over one million SMBs all looking for the best possible way to tap the immense opportunities in some of the world’s fastest growing
Internet economies. Axiata’s controlling interests in six mobile operators cover over 157 million mobile subscribers across its footprint. XL Axiata has already
adopted Anthos to power its hybrid and multi-cloud computing needs last year. With a target to move 70% of workloads to the cloud within the next three years,
the Indonesian telco is able to automate, manage and scale workloads across its hybrid- and multi-cloud environments in a secure, consistent manner. Likewise,
Celcom is leveraging Google Cloud’s infrastructure and solutions to run its payment gateway and advance its modern digital customer journey. The Malaysian
telco also has plans to use Google Cloud’s AI tools to build personalisation and recommendation models to further enhance customer experience.
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Airtel (India) and Tata Group/TCS announce collaboration for ‘Made in
India’ 5G
29
Bharti Airtel India’s premier communications solutions provider and Tata Group announced a strategic partnership for implementing 5G networks
solutions for India. Tata Group has developed a ‘state of the art’ O-RAN based Radio & NSA/SA Core and has integrated a totally indigenous
telecom stack, leveraging the Group capabilities and that of its partners. This will be available for commercial development starting Jan 2022. Tata
Consultancy Services (TCS) brings its global system integration expertise and helps align the end-to-end solution to both 3GPP and O-RAN
standards, as the network and equipment are increasingly embedded into software. Airtel will pilot and deploy this indigenous solution as part of
its 5G rollout plans in India and start the pilot in January 2022, as per the guidelines formulated by the Government of India. These ‘Made in India’
5G product and solutions are aligned to global standards, and inter-operate with other products based on standard open interfaces and those defined
by the O-RAN Alliance. The 5G solutions, once commercially proven in Airtel’s diverse and brownfield network will open export opportunities
for India, which is now the second largest telecom market in the world. Airtel is a Board member of the O-RAN Alliance and is committed to
explore and implement O-RAN based networks in India. Earlier this year, Airtel became the first telecom company in India to demonstrate 5G over
its LIVE network in city of Hyderabad. The Company has started 5G trials in major cities using spectrum allocated by the Department of Telecom.
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Channel 4 and Sky (UK) expand long-term partnership
30
Channel 4 and Sky announced they have renewed and expanded their long-term commercial partnership. The new multi-year agreement will
extend the successful strategic relationship, giving both parties more opportunities to collaborate, support commercial growth, and innovate as
broadcasting evolves in the future. The deal builds on the existing partnership by extending the current agreement for several years, ensuring that
Sky customers continue to have easy access to Channel 4 brands and content across Sky’s products, with deep integration into Sky’s world-leading
product innovation as well as high levels of content discoverability. The partnership will make even more Channel 4 content available to Sky
customers and will see further and deeper integration of All 4 into all of Sky’s existing and future TV products. The deal also gives Channel 4 the
opportunity to unlock new digital advertising revenues to support the delivery of its Future4 strategy. Using the innovative advertising technologies
developed by Freewheel, Channel 4’s advertising inventory across linear and on demand will become addressable allowing the broadcaster to
further improve its content monetisation across Sky’s platforms. Sky customers will be offered a broader range of Channel 4 content including
more than 1000 hours of All 4 Exclusives. This is in addition to comprehensive catch up and a wide range of must-see Channel 4 box sets,
including a variety of upfront box set stacks (where entire series are made available ahead of linear broadcast).
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Sky (UK) and Adobe team up with kick it out to launch second year of ‘The
Edit’ with new focus on equality, diversity and inclusion
31
Sky and Adobe have announced the topic for the second year of The Edit, a programme for schools to help close the digital divide by
improving the digital and media literacy skills of young people across the UK & Ireland. For this year’s competition Sky and Adobe have
teamed up with Kick it out to challenge students to create a compelling news story celebrating their heroes who have fought for a more
equal society. This education partnership is part of the £3million investment package which Sky committed to kick it out last year. Using
Adobe’s creative tools and Sky’s content, young people will shoot, produce and edit a short news report about someone they feel has made
the world a more equal place. Whether its Rosa Parks, Christine Jorgensen, Marcus Rashford or Harvey Milk, students will be challenged
to explain how they are inspired by their heroes' actions. Students will also be encouraged to #TakeAStand against discrimination with
the winning entries being broadcast on Sky and the winning school receiving free Adobe Creative Cloud licenses. Students taking part
learn about the different roles involved in the whole news production process, receiving tips and tricks from Sky Sports and Sky News
experts. Combined with access to Adobe’s industry-leading video creation tools, students will develop core digital skills that are essential
for storytelling as well as soft skills including communication, collaboration, critical-thinking and creativity.
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Sky (UK) Studios partners’ with Birmingham Repertory Theatre for new
writing scheme ‘Sky Comedy REP’
32
Sky Studios and Birmingham Repertory Theatre announced the launch of 'Sky Comedy REP’, a new partnership that aims to discover and develop new regional
comedy writing talent from across the UK, particularly from communities that have traditionally been under-represented in the Arts.  The scheme – which opens
for entries and features Dame Julie Walters as Patron – will see nine writers selected to develop a one-act stage play. This year, all the plays will focus around a
simple premise: a meeting on a park bench. All nine plays will then be performed at a three-day comedy festival at The REP early next year, featuring
up-and-coming actors and emerging directors. Throughout the six-month programme, writers will be paid for their work and receive one-to-one mentoring from
huge names in British Comedy including (Goodness Gracious Me, The Kumars), (The Thick of It, Veep) and (Man Like Mobeen). The scheme will also include a
series of workshops and Masterclasses at The REP featuring insights into all aspects of writing and production. Based in Birmingham, an international hub that is
Europe’s youngest and the UK’s most ethnically diverse city, this partnership between Sky Studios and The REP will offer significant talent development in
Comedy, helping new writers, who may not have access to conventional networks, emerge and progress, ultimately benefitting the TV, theatre, film and wider
creative industries. The initiative will be overseen by The REP's Artistic Director, Olivier Award-winning Sean Foley (The Play What I Wrote) and Sky Studios
Creative Director of Comedy, BAFTAAward-winning Anil Gupta (Goodness Gracious Me, The Office).  The launch of the project further establishes Sky Studios
at the forefront of UK Comedy and The REP as the unofficial 'National Theatre of Comedy’. Working together, the scheme will serve as a training ground for a
new generation of narrative comedy writers, directors and actors.
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BCE (Canada): True North Sports + Entertainment renew Bell MTS as official
partner and official telecommunications provider for the 2021 – 2026 seasons
33
True North Sports + Entertainment announced a new multi-year partnership with Bell MTS, renewing the
long-standing agreement as official partner of the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose and official telecommunications
provider of their home venue. Bell MTS will revolutionize the experience for Jets fans in the building and those
watching on TSN through next-generation networks and technologies. The multi-year agreement also includes new
behind the scenes content produced by True North Sports + Entertainment and exclusive to Bell, bringing fans even
closer to their favourite Winnipeg Jets players. Additionally, the Bell logo that complemented the helmets of Winnipeg
Jets players this season will remain for the next five seasons. We congratulate True North and Canada Life, a great
Winnipeg-based company, as they embark on a new relationship and continue to bring exciting sports and
entertainment to the people of Winnipeg."
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Sky (UK) partners with national art education project The World Reimagined
34
Sky has become the Official Presenting Partner of The World Reimagined, a new national art education project that aims to transform
people’s understanding of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its impact on all of us. The project will launch on the 27 May 2021 with an
online event. The World Reimagined will bring trails of large globe sculptures to cities across the UK throughout May, June, and July of
2022. The installations of sculptures will be created by artists who will bring to life the reality and impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade
and the installations will be part of a wider learning and engagement programme. Sky’s funding forms part of its broader commitments
to help tackle racial injustice. Sky is investing £10 million per year across its markets through to 2023 to support anti-racism and improve
diversity and inclusion. The World Reimagined project crosses two of Sky’s priorities; using the power of Sky’s voice and platform to
highlight racial injustice and making a difference in communities impacted by racism. In January 2021, Sky set ambitious targets to
increase ethnic diversity and representation across its UK workforce. By 2025, Sky is aiming for 20% of their employees in the UK &
Ireland to be from Black, Asian, or ethnically diverse backgrounds, with at least a quarter of these being Black. This target also applies to
Sky’s leadership team.
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Comcast (USA): NBCU Academy and NBC News Studios Name Seven
Filmmakers as Recipients of ‘Original Voices’ Fellowship
35
NBCU Academy and NBC News Studios together named seven groundbreaking filmmakers for the first inaugural Original
Voices fellowship. The documentarians hail from a wide range of backgrounds and will each receive $45,000 in grants and a
one-year fellowship to support their feature-length nonfiction films in all stages of production, including access to archival
research, individually tailored yearlong mentorship, story and edit consultations, distribution strategy discussions, marketing
and publicity guidance, production resources, and exposure to NBC News Studios’ executives and journalists. This year’s
inaugural cohort includes coming-of-age stories that transcend borders, tales of bravery and courage in the face of institutional
corruption, accounts of nascent parenthood and belonging, and films that explore Blackness, Latinx identity, immigration,
gender, disability, and more. The Original Voices fellows were selected by a distinguished jury of three independent, critically
acclaimed documentary filmmakers: Dawn Porter, Nanfu Wang and Cristina Costantini. Jeanelle Augustin is Manager, Film
Fellowships and Artist Development overseeing the curation and design of the Original Voices fellowship.
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Comcast (USA) Business Partners with Versa Networks to Extend ActiveCore
to Deliver SASE Services
36
Comcast Business announced the expansion of its secure network solutions portfolio as a result of its strategic partnership with Versa Networks.
Versa logo.The collaboration brings Advanced Security solutions to the Comcast Business ActiveCore℠ software defined networking (SDN)
platform – helping midsize and large enterprise customers secure their networks, devices and employees from a variety of cyberthreats. Comcast
Business brings together network speed, scale, and security into an elegant, unified digital experience and is uniquely positioned to deliver
advanced secure network solutions anywhere in the U.S. Comcast Business Advanced Security solutions help protect organizations against
ransomware, malware, botnets, network intrusion, and other cyberthreats via the ActiveCore platform, and leverage SASE and advanced security
features offered through Versa on -premises and cloud-based solutions. Comcast Business secure network solutions leverage the Secure Access
Service Edge (SASE) framework to bring compelling network and security solutions to business customers. Comcast Business became the first
cable company to introduce a carrier-grade, SD-WAN platform for enterprises and multi-site businesses when it first partnered with Versa
Networks in 2017. ActiveCore is an award-winning SDN platform. It enables intelligent, centralized, abstracted network control and delivers a
ground-breaking experience for VNFs like SD-WAN, Managed Router and Advanced Security. ActiveCore’s innovative, one-of-kind digital
experience allows administrators to manage and monitor their networks anytime, anywhere, and from any device via a secure, online portal.
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Comcast (USA): Peacock to Launch on Samsung Smart TVs
37
Peacock and Samsung announced that NBCUniversal’s streaming service will be available on Samsung Smart TVs beginning tomorrow, June 8. The Peacock
app will bring tens of thousands of hours of on demand movies and shows, as well as live news and sports programming to millions of Samsung Smart TV
households nationwide. Upcoming live events and specials on Peacock include SummerSlam from WWE, Miley Cyrus’s Pride Concert Special “Stand By
You” and sports coverage of the French Open, the Tokyo Olympics, Sunday Night Football and Premier Lacrosse League. The Peacock app also features
news highlights from, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Meet the Press, Noticias Telemundo, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC Sports, E! Newsand Access
Hollywood. Peacock features a growing list of streaming channels, including clip-based channels like Fallon Tonight and SNL Vault; exclusive news channel
The Choice; sports channels like GolfPass and NBC Sports; franchise-specific channels like The Real Housewives and Unsolved Mysteries; and genre
channels like Peacock Reality and Classic TV Crime. For access to everything Peacock has to offer, Peacock Premium is available for $4.99 per month.
Viewers may also upgrade to an ad-free version of Peacock Premium for an additional $5.00 per month. In addition to Samsung Smart TVs, Peacock is
currently available on the Roku platform; Apple devices including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD; Google platforms and devices
including Android™, Android TV™ devices, Chromecast and Chromecast built-in devices; Microsoft’s Xbox One family of devices, including Xbox One S
and Xbox One X; Sony PlayStation4, PlayStation 4 Pro, and PlayStation5; and VIZIO SmartCast™ TVs and LG Smart TVs.
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Telkom (Indonesia) and Fairphone expand cooperation
38
Deutsche Telekom and Fairphone, the Dutch social enterprise building a market for ethical smartphones, are strengthening
their cooperation. With multiple projects, the two companies want to raise awareness amongst consumers about sustainability
in the electronics industry. Fairphone is the industry leading sustainable smartphone manufacturer. Its device’s innovative
modular design saves resources and reduces emissions, as well as improves repairability and recyclability. The seven modules
in the Fairphone 3+, as well as a screwdriver that comes with it, allow for easier repair of specific components. Fairphone 3+
is made up of 40 per cent recycled plastic and is made with fairly sourced materials, such as tin, tungsten, cobalt and Fairtrade
gold. This makes Fairphone a manufacturer that meets Telekom's requirements for sustainable devices. These include
durability, repairability and sustainable and recycled materials in both the device and packaging. Together, Deutsche Telekom
and Fairphone want to market sustainable products and offerings to customers. The program will begin in Germany and
Austria, with other countries having also shown interest. Deutsche Telekom currently has the Fairphone 3+ in its portfolio.
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Deutsche Telkom (Indonesia), Ericsson and Samsung demonstrate 5G E2E
Network Slicing on a commercial 5G device
39
Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson and Samsung Electronics announced the world-first implementation of multi-vendor 5G end-to-end (E2E) Network
Slicing with a commercial 5G device, uniquely demonstrating the customer-centric benefits for an exemplary Cloud VR streaming game
application. The successful trial implementation, conducted on Ericsson 5G Standalone (SA) infrastructure and Samsung Galaxy S21 5G devices,
paves the way for slice access on 5G devices. Network Slicing is a key architectural feature in 5G that enables multiple virtual networks to be
created on a single physical network infrastructure. Different service characteristics and quality parameters can then be provided to each 'slice'
adapted to customer needs with full isolation between slices, enabling operators to develop new differentiated services and business models. For
example, a latency-optimized slice can be provided to a cloud VR streaming gamer for the best gaming experience, while a security critical slice
can be simultaneously offered to an enterprise customer while guaranteeing the quality of service to both users. This demonstration was
implemented in an E2E Network Slicing testbed at Deutsche Telekom’s Bonn lab based on commercial grade 5G Standalone (SA) infrastructures
from Ericsson. An important world first milestone was successfully achieved: The 5G UE slicing policy feature (UE route selection policy, or
URSP) that allows a device to steer applications and services with specific requirements to a defined slice. With this, a customer can experience
great service quality by serving applications with the right network slice.
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Discovery (USA): OWN, Onyx Collective And Hulu Announce Unprecedented
Partnership to Simultaneously Premiere Original Docuseries ‘The Hair Tales’
40
Oprah Winfrey Network and Hulu announced an unprecedented partnership to simultaneously broadcast a new docuseries, “The Hair Tales,”
from executive producersTracee Ellis Ross and Michaela angela Daviswho created the series concept. Produced by Joy Mill Entertainment,
Culture House, Tetravision, and Harpo Films, “The Hair Tales” is an intimate exploration of Black women, beauty and identity through the
distinctive lens of Black hair. Tara Duncan, Raeshem Nijhon, Carri Twigg, and Oprah Winfrey will also serve as executive producers. The
series will begin production later this year for a 2022 premiere. In a move to build a wide-reaching, multi-brand offering, “The Hair Tales”
will be available in two places: on cable via OWN and streaming via Hulu as a Hulu Original docuseries from the recently announced Onyx
Collective in the U.S. and internationally as a Star Original on Disney+, creating more ways to connect viewers with the content and brands
they love on the platforms they choose. In “The Hair Tales” narrators and real-life friends Tracee Ellis Ross and Michaela angela Davis, lead
the audience through a revelatory journey of connecting the personal tales of phenomenal Black women to broader societal and historic
themes. The stories shared in the series offer an honest and layered look into the complex culture of Black hair and ultimately Black women’s
identity, creativity, and contributions to society – all delivered with a rare mix of intelligence, humor, style, joy, and justice.
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Etoro Announced As Discovery (USA) Official Financial Services Partner for
Its Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Coverage in Europe
41
Discovery and eToro announce a new partnership that names the world’s leading social investment platform as Discovery’s exclusive financial services
partner for its Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 coverage. As the Home of the Olympics in Europe, Discovery will help provide significant engagement
opportunities at scale for eToro across 50 markets and in 19 languages. Alongside coverage on Eurosport’s television channels, Discovery’s streaming
products discovery+ and the Eurosport App will be the only places to watch every unmissable moment from the Games, with Discovery’s localised
coverage bringing fans closer to their national heroes than ever before. As part of a major awareness building campaign, the agreement encompasses
more than 1,000 TV billboards and over 300 TV spots during the Olympic Games. These will be showcased across Eurosport’s channels and digital
streams guaranteeing brand exposure of what promises to be a unique global event that brings the world together this summer. Its placements will
feature prominently around coverage of swimming, diving, athletics and team sports such as football. eToro will also benefit from three weeks of
visibility in the build-up to the Games that includes placement around Eurosport’s exclusive Olympic content and formats including Head to Head,
where Olympic icons are pitted against each other, and Olympic Stories, which explores some of the most defining moments in Olympic history.
Heightened engagement with audiences around Eurosport’s summer of sport, featuring world-class coverage of the Tour de France and several
motorsport events, will also be achieved by eToro.
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DISH (USA) and Dell Technologies Will Build the Nation’s First Open RAN
5G Edge Infrastructure
42
Dell Technologies and DISH Network Corporation have formed a strategic infrastructure agreement to support DISH’s launch of the United States’first cloud-native, Open RAN-based
5G network. The companies are reimagining how 5G RAN networks are built and deployed with an ecosystem of partners, technologies and Dell’s open infrastructure foundation.
DISH is developing its open, cloud-native 5G network from the ground up. Dell Technologies will provide DISH’s edge network infrastructure foundation, powering devices, software
and solutions to help customers tap into the connectivity and business opportunities made possible by the combination of 5G and edge computing. Using Dell Technologies’ security
software and global supply chain, DISH will deploy Dell open hardware and software infrastructure for its 5G network that will connect millions of people and power 5G and edge
use cases in industries across healthcare, education, government, retail, manufacturing, and banking and beyond. With Dell’s zero-touch provisioning and deployment of containerized
RAN network functions, DISH can simplify and automate deployment of software and services across geographic locations. Through the agreement:
• Dell and DISH are creating private 5G wireless network solutions, software-defined wide area networks and multi-access edge cloud platforms. Aimed at providing value to a wide
range of industries, the companies are working together on a go-to-market strategy to deliver seamless, simple solutions to drive value for customers at the edge.
• The companies will co-develop technology for Open RAN, SmartNICs, emerging micro-edge colocation, operational automation and other areas of R&D. Joint teams will pursue
and create multi-access edge computing (MEC) solutions for enterprise and small business opportunities.
• Dell and DISH will enable advanced machine learning capabilities to monitor the health of the system and to help proactively predict the anomalies that may impact performance
or services. Dell and DISH will design the network infrastructure from cell sites to data centers to deliver better performance, power efficiency and automated operations.
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ITV (UK) America and Blumhouse Television set exclusive overall deal for
unscripted programming
43
Blumhouse has entered into an exclusive overall deal with ITV America (Queer Eye, Love Island) for unscripted television. Through the multi-year partnership,
Blumhouse Television will double down on unscripted, creating an entirely new slate of projects that will bring its prestigious brand of provocative, disruptive and
terrifying content to every corner of the non-fiction space. As part of the overall, Blumhouse will have a dedicated team working in collaboration with ITVAmerica
to bring the loudest, most intense and unexpected genre, paranormal reality and suspense-driven creative to unscripted. Blumhouse’s non-fiction unit will also
leverage opportunities to work with producers across ITV America’s six vertical labels – ITV Entertainment, Leftfield Pictures, Sirens Media, Thinkfactory Media,
High Noon Entertainment and Good Caper Content – to develop new concepts and IP. The first project derived from the partnership – Escape the Maze (wt) – will
combine Blumhouse’s prowess in horror with the self-shot, isolating and emotionally-charged competition aesthetic perfected by Leftfield Pictures, creator of
global survival hit Alone. In a first-of-its-kind, genre-themed escape and competition format, Escape the Maze will follow individual competitors who have been
locked inside a dark and mind-scrambling labyrinth (designed by the world’s most prominent and imaginative maze architect, Adrian Fisher OBE, and The Premier
Mission Group) encountering a range of physical and psychological challenges devised to make the experience both frightening and frustratingly difficult.
Blumhouse and Leftfield are currently taking the project out to prospective buyers, with other series from Blumhouse and ITV America in development. The
overall deal was negotiated by ITV America Executive Vice President of Business Development and Strategy Danielle Bibbo, and Executive Vice President of
Business Affairs Tonko Soljan, with Marc Barson, Executive Vice President and Head of Business and Legal Affairs for Blumhouse Television.
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Netflix (USA) and Jennifer Lopez’s Production Banner, Nuyorican Productions
Form Creative Partnership
44
Netflix announces a multi-year first look deal with Jennifer Lopez and her production company, Nuyorican
Productions, co-run by her producing partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. Along with partner Benny Medina, Lopez
and Goldsmith-Thomas will produce a slate of films, television series, scripted and unscripted content, with an
emphasis on projects that support diverse female actors, writers and filmmakers. The first two announced projects both
starring Lopez include The Mother which is directed by Niki Caro (Mulan) and follows a deadly female assassin who
comes out of hiding to teach her daughter how to survive. Lopez is currently training for the role with production set
to begin this fall with a scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2022. The second film, The Cipher, is based on
the novel by Isabella Ojeda Maldonado.
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AAR Insurance Partners with Safaricom (Kenya) to Migrate To the Cloud
45
AAR Insurance has inked a deal with telecommunications provider Safaricom to roll out new technology infrastructure based on the
Amazon Web Services (AWS) as part of its goal to be a full digital insurance company. The medical underwriter has begun migrating
its digital tools and core systems to the AWS platform in a move that will offer clients more secure and efficient digital services. The
AWS cloud computing service will also help interface AAR Insurance digital channels - Mobile Apps, USSD services, web portals
and chatbots - with the company’s core insurance technology systems thus enhancing operational efficiency while reducing costs and
service downtime. AAR Insurance Kenya Managing Director, Nixon Shigoli, says migrating all the core insurance platforms and
business Applications to AWS will help the company achieve its strategic goals on digital transformation including moving all client
interactions to mobile. The AWS Cloud service uses the pay-as-you-go model meaning AAR Insurance will no longer have to deploy
expensive hardware infrastructure on premise. So far, AAR Insurance has rolled out a number of digital platforms through which
clients can enroll and pay for medical, travel and personal accident insurance, manage and track treatment expenses, using phones
and other devices. They can also interact real-time with AAR Insurance through WhatsApp.
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RTL Group (Luxembourg) and Talpa Network to create a strong Dutch
cross-media group to compete with global tech platforms
46
RTL Group and Talpa Network announced that they have signed agreements to merge their broadcasting and affiliated media businesses in the Netherlands and create a
strong Dutch cross-media group. In the growing competition with global tech platforms, the merger will allow the combined group to step up investments in local content,
technology and data, offering Dutch audiences the broadest spectrum of high-quality entertainment and reliable information programmes. Both the Dutch creative
industry and advertising market will benefit from the ambitious long-term strategy pursued by RTL Group and Talpa Network. The transaction, which has been approved
by the Board of Directors of RTL Group and Talpa Holding, is subject to approval from the competition authorities and is expected to close in the first half of 2022. The
advisory process with the respective works councils will start in due course. According to the agreements, Talpa Network will contribute its TV, radio, print, digital,
e-commerce and other assets to RTL Nederland and will receive a 30 per cent stake in the enlarged RTL Nederland in return. RTL Group will hold the remaining 70 per
cent in the combined group and will continue to fully consolidate RTL Nederland in its accounts. Sven Sauvé will continue in his current role as CEO of RTL Nederland,
leading the combined group after closing the transaction. Pim Schmitz, CEO of Talpa Network, will represent Talpa Network by joining the new Supervisory Board of
RTL Nederland which will be chaired by Elmar Heggen, COO and Deputy CEO of RTL Group. In addition, Talpa Network’s content units (Talpa Concepts, Talpa
Entertainment Producties) – which are not part of the deal – and RTL Nederland will enter into a content agreement for newly developed formats for linear TV channels
and for the streaming service Videoland. Is acting as exclusive financial advisor to RTL Group and PJT Partners as exclusive financial advisor to Talpa Network?
NautaDutilh is acting as legal advisor to RTL Group and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringers LLP as legal advisor to Talpa Network.
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Orange (France) and Nokia deploy the first Industry 4.0 4G/5G private
network with network slicing in French factory
47
Orange and Nokia announced the deployment of a 4G/5G private network combined with network slicing at Schneider Electric’s plant in Le
Vaudreuil, France. Network slicing is a key feature for the management of end-to-end 4G/5G quality-of-service and security of industrial
processes, operations and applications in Industry 4.0. Nokia has been selected by Orange to build a sliced 4G/5G private network for a modern
industrial environment, providing reliable, scalable and sustainable connectivity solutions for industrial use cases. Nokia’s slicing solution
supports existing LTE, 5G Standalone (5G SA) and 5G Non Standalone (5G NSA) devices and also includes domain controller software in RAN,
core and transport layers to enable full slice connectivity. The slice continuity between LTE and 5G NR allows Orange and Schneider Electric to
operate a state-of-the-art indoor network in an industrial setting. With this solution, both partners continue to implement and test the management
of the different priorities, performance, and security capabilities adapted to their innovative use cases, while optimizing network resources. As a
global network-native digital services company with dual expertise of both an operator and end-to-end integrator, Orange Business Services offers
its industrial customers a complete portfolio: Mobile Private Networks (MPN) built on private infrastructures, virtual MPNs on the public network
and hybrid MPNs combining private and public infrastructures. The choice of architecture is made to best meet the security, performance and
resiliency requirements of the business customers’ use cases both on and off the industrial campuses, as well as to optimize costs.
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Orange (France), Sierra Wireless, LACROIX, and STMicroelectronics join forces and launch
IoT Continuum to scale up and accelerate the digital transformation of industrial markets
48
Orange, Sierra Wireless, LACROIX, and STMicroelectronics announced the creation of the IoT Continuum – a partnership that aims to simplify and accelerate the mass
deployment of IoT in Europe and beyond. By bringing together for the first time expertise across the entire IoT industry (Connectivity, Hardware, Software, Design and
Manufacturing) under one roof, partners of the IoT Continuum will support international businesses to accelerate the deployment and industrialization of Massive IoT
over LTE (including Cat M and Cat 1) and 5G. A three-step process (“start, prove, deploy and scale”) has been put in place by the partners to support businesses’ IoT
projects on cellular networks, from ideation to industrialization, without having to liaise with multiple players on the market. IoT Continuum offers a combination of
leading industry players who will improve project risk management for businesses. Customers will be able to join the process at any stage, according to their needs. As
part of these processes, the partners will:
• Provide any business and their vertical of choice a set of components and solutions validated on the Orange network, and the necessary industrial tools to deploy
wide-scale IoT services on cellular networks
• Reduce the complexity, development time and cost for businesses to realize IoT use cases by providing already pre-integrated building blocks including hardware and
software (STMicroelectronics, Sierra Wireless), connectivity and IoT Services (Orange), design and manufacturing (LACROIX
The IoT Continuum aims to increase the confidence of businesses by addressing the current uncertainty, complexity and reduce costs to IoT deployment, bolstering the
burgeoning IoT ecosystem in Europe and beyond. The partners will also promote eSIM and 5G technologies to drive Massive IoT and are committed to helping
customers develop a digitalized approach on IoT Continuum.
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Rogers Communications (Canada) partners with City of Calgary on its Wireless Infrastructure
Development Program to help drive local economic development and innovation
49
Rogers announced that it is partnering with the City of Calgary on its Wireless Infrastructure Development Program to provide residents, visitors, and
businesses located in the city with the benefits of next-generation, 5G wireless infrastructures, in support of innovation, jobs, and the economy. The
impact of COVID-19 has put a spotlight on the vital role connectivity plays for Canadians, businesses and the public sector. And just as digital
connectivity has been critical during the pandemic, it is equally important to Calgary’s competitive future. Next-generation wireless networks will be
the connective tissue that powers that future. A PwC study commissioned by Rogers indicates that in 2020 our local investments and operations resulted
in a total economic footprint in Alberta of $1.1 billion of output, including over 2,500 full-time jobs generated and supported. As part of the Company’s
future plans, Rogers will continue to invest in Calgary, and Alberta, through the agreement to combine Rogers with Shaw, enabling the combined
company to build critically needed 5G networks, bridge the digital divide, and connect underserved rural and Indigenous communities. Once approved,
the transaction will create 1,800 net new jobs in Alberta, and a newly created Centre of Technology and Engineering Excellence located in Calgary that
builds on the existing commitment to research, development, and innovation in 5G. Rogers is the only company to have five data centres in Alberta and
our Data Centre and Cloud services play a key role in the digital transformation and evolution bringing compute/Artificial Intelligence and Machine
Learning to the edge of the network, allowing for real time applications from any provider.
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SES (Luxembourg) Renews Long-Term Relationship with Comcast (USA)
Technology Solutions
50
SES announced it will continue delivering Comcast Technology Solutions' Managed Satellite Distribution service, formerly known as
Headend in the Sky (HITS) that reaches hundreds of multichannel video programming distributor systems across the US. SES recently
renewed its long-term relationship with Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS), a division of Comcast Cable that provides media and
entertainment technology to advertisers, agencies and content providers. As part of a new, multi-year extension agreement, SES will be
transitioning CTS’s Managed Satellite Distribution service from SES-11 at 105 degrees West to AMC-11 at 131 degrees west. This is part of
SES’s plan to clear the C-band spectrum in the US to accommodate the deployment of 5G services in the coming years. For more than two
decades, CTS’s Managed Satellite Distribution service has enabled multichannel video affiliates to transition to digital services, reduce costs
and reclaim valuable bandwidth for new services. SES is using advanced compression as part of the transition to AMC-11 and is working with
CTS to ensure its Managed Satellite Distribution affiliates have a seamless transition, deliver a high-quality experience to their subscribers
and ensure no interference from 5G transmissions on the cleared spectrum. As part of its C-band clearing plan, SES will also be launching
new C-band satellites to provide continuity of service well into the future for CTS and its Managed Satellite Distribution affiliates.
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Telstra (Australia) and Komatsu ink new multi-million dollar partnership
51
Telstra will help transform and modernise Komatsu communications across Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia in a
new multi-million dollar agreement. The earthmoving, mining, construction and utility equipment supplier will introduce
greater automation, and move to a consumption-based Private Cloud model supported by hyper-converged infrastructure and
SD-WAN technology built and delivered by Telstra Purple. The new platform, built on Cisco Hyperflex and VMware NSX,
with the SD WAN solution powered by Silver Peak (HPE), will significantly enhance control and visibility across Komatsu’s
entire network and infrastructure, which will ensure optimal user productivity, performance and end user experiences. As part
of the deal, Telstra will also significantly upgrade Komatsu’s network capacity and add 4G back-up to its most remote
Australian sites, including Emerald, Whyalla and Kalgoorlie. In New Zealand and New Caledonia Telstra will implement an
‘over-lay network’ encompassing the SD WAN solution. Telstra Purple Executive Chris Smith said that new agreement built
on decades of partnership and represented the next evolution in Komatsu’s technology infrastructure.
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Environment & Social Updates

Environment & Social Updates
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Safaricom (Kenya) on Track to Plant 1 Million Trees This Year
52
Safaricom has announced that it is on course to plant 1 million trees by end of this year as part of efforts to grow 5
million trees. The telco has already planted 700,000 trees covering 700 hectares in South Marmanet, Kieni Forest and
Nandi South. As part of this year’s World Environment Day, over 100 Safaricom staff members planted 5,000 trees in
Kieni Forest. Kakamega Forest and Lamu are the next sites in the plan with 500,000 seedlings targeted for mangrove
forests in the coastal county. These tree planting exercises in partnership with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) are in
line with Safaricom’s ambition to become a net-zero emitting company by 2050. Safaricom estimates that the initiative
will offset 26% of its carbon emissions once the trees have grown to maturity and stimulate economic growth in the
local community who can generate income from sales of tree seedlings, eco-tourism and beekeeping. The telco has also
installed air quality sensors in 10 of its sites as part of a pilot project with the UN Environment.
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Miscellaneous Updates

I-Byte Telecommunication & Media July 2021

I-Byte Telecommunication & Media July 2021

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