“Change has been slow and we need to progress fast,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao about making the online world a safer place for children everywhere on Safer Internet Day.
“For the unity to protect children and change, we need to progress fast ,” says Houlin Zhao. “Join us to be the change and ensure every child has access to the benefits of ICTs, ensure their security and safety online, put policies and education in place to give today’s youth the critical skills necessary to navigate our 24/7 world successfully.”
Meanwhile, here are the key ICT trends and insights this week: new numbers show rapid mobile money growth; how Snap's initial public offering (IPO) could impact the tech world; and can AI prevent childhood blindness
Spotlight
ICTs for the environment Machine learning is fueling new solutions to protect life below water from warming oceans and overfishing. This is just one way that artificial intelligence can help accelerate the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs).
ICT Trends
Mobile money: Global mobile wallet spending is expected to grow 32% in 2017; Apple Pay transactions grew by 500% year-over-year; and PayPal’s mobile payment transactions grew 55%. Meanwhile, Atlas Mara is set to launch mVisa in several countries across sub-Saharan Africa.
Financial inclusion: ITU recently asked if enough is being done to protect vulnerable users of mobile money. India is now assessing the impact of regulations to implement a mobile wallet insurance framework
Snap's IPO (filed last week targeting a $20-25 billion valuation) is tech's first big initial public offering for 2017 and is expected to be the largest since Facebook, which is clearly worried about Snapchat and actively trying to outflank the rival app in emerging markets such as Brazil, India, and Indonesia. The IPO has fueled fresh discussion about why Snapchat is different from Silicon Valley tech titans.
Broadband: Ajit Pai, the new Chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will create a new broadband advisory committee aimed at accelerating the deployment of high-speed internet access across the US. Meanwhile, should the Philippines look to their neighbours to help them craft their first National Broadband Plan
Ride hailing: Grab announced their biggest investment to date: USD700 million to expand in Indonesia over the next four years. Meanwhile, Lyft surpassed Uber in downloads for the first time as Uber’s flying car ambitions get off the ground.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...
- Net neutrality: Zero-ratings investigations have been dropped by new FCC chairman, Ajit Pai. Could the move signal changes for net neutrality rulings
- Roaming: EU is one step closer to abolishing consumer roaming fees..
- Facebook must pay USD500 million after a court ruling over their Oculus virtual reality headsets
- Network deployment: Nokia launched MIKA, the first digital assistant customized for the telecommunications industry, to efficiently boost network quality.
- Kosovo has begun using the new dialing code allocated by ITU late last year.
- Goodbye to 3DTV The two major TV manufacturers, LG and Samsung, have confirmed that they will stop making 3DTV sets.
- The most secure password in the world Researchers have developed a method to use the unique patterns in patients’ heartbeats to protect their electronic medical records. (Copyright: ITU News)
