Page 83 - SAMENA Trends - July-August 2023

TECHNOLOGY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Japan Secures UAE Backing for Key Technologies

Japan and the UAE agreed to expand
the scope of an existing partnership
in technology, which will put the focus
on investment in semiconductors and
batteries. A statement issued by Japan’s
foreign ministry revealed the nations
addressed five areas of cooperation during
a visit by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s to
the UAE. The areas cover: green economy;
trade; diplomacy and security; culture,
education, science and technology; and
international and regional affairs. In
technology, the UAE made a commitment
to invest in Japan’s chip economy,
enforced through two frameworks, a move
which expands on a scheme centered on
advanced technology signed by the pair
earlier this year. In addition, the countries
agreed for the UAE to provide financial
backing to Japan to advance its battery
ecosystem. There is a plan for the two
nations to also strengthen dialogue in
space technology, AI and the circular
economy. Japan further highlighted the
pair’s objective to lead climate action in the
international community, ahead of the UN’s
COP28, to be held at the end of this year.

Telia Launches VoWiFi

Telia Lietuva has announced the launch The service is available at no additional OnePlus, Xiaomi, Pixel, Asus and Sony,
of voice-over-Wi-Fi (VoWiFi), enabling charge, although customers require a with Apple devices set to follow in the near
customers to make calls in places where smartphone that supports VoWiFi, including future. As VoWiFi has made it possible to
the mobile signal is unavailable or weak. numerous handsets from Samsung, Nokia, make regular voice calls and send SMS
over the more developed fixed broadband
infrastructure, the calls tend to be much
better call quality and also use less energy,
resulting in a longer-lasting phone battery
life. ‘VoWiFi continues the work that VoLTE
technology started on our network seven
years ago, bringing traditional voice calls
even closer to Messenger, Viber, WhatsApp
and other digital communication platforms,’
stated Telia technology manager Andrius
Semeskevicius, adding: ‘The new service
will allow you to call any phone number
in the world, just by connecting to one of
the Wi-Fi networks densely surrounding us.
VoWiFi will also finally put an end to missed
and interrupted calls in places where
mobile communication waves do not reach
– in basements or behind the thick walls of
the old town.’

83 JULY-AUGUST 2023