Huawei should be allowed to bid in building Italy’s 5G network infrastructure: Stefano Patuanelli

Following an influential parliamentary committee calling on Rome to block China’s Huawei to build Italy’s 5G telecom infrastructure, the country’s industry minister stated, Huawei should be allowed to bid for Italy’s 5G spectrum. “We have passed legislation that guarantees national security. With the right defenses, the possibility of (Huawei’s) access is not up for debate,”…

French competition authority levies $167M fine on Google

France’s competition watchdog has levied a fine of $167 million on Google citing Google’s non-transparent advertising rules and the fact that it changes them at will. Google is facing a growing number of investigations into its advertisement business practices, on both sides of the Atlantic. The ruling is the first penalty by the French authorities…

Colombia orders Uber to cease ride-hailing services citing violation of competition rules

Following a ruling by a judge that Uber’s ride hailing services in Colombia is in violation of competition rules, Colombia has ordered Uber to cease its ride-hailing operations in the country. The court order came in the wake of a lawsuit filed by COTECH SA against against Uber alleging that the U.S. company had the…

Accenture Plc’s reports net income of $1.36 billion on the strength of its cloud and digital services

Accenture Plc’s first quarter earnings have beaten Wall Street analysts’ estimates, on the back of fast-growing digital and cloud services businesses. The IT consulting firm has shifted its focus to the cloud and offers a wide range of services ranging from managing clients’ social media marketing strategies to helping them move to the cloud. Accenture…

Australia imposes record fine of $86 million on VW for breaching emission standards

On Friday, Australian competition regulator penalized Volkswagen AG $86 million for its alleged false representations about compliance with Australia’s diesel emission standards. The exemplary fine is the highest ever ordered by the court for contraventions of the Australian Consumer Law, said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in a statement. According to the ACCC,…

Tougher Rules Recommended Over UK Online Ads In UK For Google, Facebook

While indicating that the tech giants Google and Facebook would be spared an in-depth investigation over allegations of the companies unfairly dominating the online advertising market, Britain’s competition regulator stressed on the need for stricter regulations for such tech companies to prevent any negative consequences of the market dominance of the companies. The Competition and…

IBM’s new battery design reduces cobalt requirements, uses minerals from seawater instead

In a significant breakthrough, International Business Machines Corp stated, it has created a battery design that uses materials extracted from seawater and which does not use cobalt, an expensive mineral. IBM stated, it has partnered with the research wing of Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz, and battery manufacturer Sidus, for the commercial development of the new design.…