Orange lined up Usman Javaid (pictured) as its next AI chief, tasking the current chief product and marketing officer of its business unit with delivering on ambitious revenue targets for the technology.

Javaid is scheduled to succeed Steve Jarrett on 1 September, a little over three years after taking on his current post within Orange Business.

Orange is in the throes of implementing a strategy intended to derive more than €600 million in value from AI by 2028. It is also working to expand internal use of the technology and stated implementing agentic iterations would be a key element in Javaid’s remit.

During an Orange Business event in March, Javaid told Mobile World Live past experience in adapting to emerging technologies would serve the company well in the AI era, explaining the focus is on how to employ advances to benefit customers.

Orange credited Jarrett with having laid the foundations of its use of AI and establishing its credentials in the field.

There is a circularity to Orange’s appointment given Javaid began his career with the company in 2005. The executive also racked up experience in various roles held with Vodafone Group and AWS spanning cloud, IoT and network strategy.

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Orange Business highlighted an established presence in the digital health sector as it revealed remote cardiac monitoring service provider MicroPort CardioFlow decided to stick with it for another five years.

An extended deal continues to cover the transmission of clinical health data from devices embedded in patients to healthcare professionals. The information is used to remotely monitor users and guide treatment decisions.

Orange Business explained it provides the IoT platform and secure connectivity for the data, tapping the operator group’s cybersecurity division to test the system and provide relevant reports.

Implanted devices transmit patient information to a bedside device using Bluetooth low-energy, with the information forwarded on demand or at set times. Connections are authenticated using a mobile module and SIM, with data encrypted during transmission.

Orange Business stated roaming SIMs are used to connect patients and healthcare professionals in different geographies.

The operator emphasised remote monitoring can cut the number of hospital visits a person needs to make.

It stated it would work with MicroPort CardioFlow to explore potential connected health developments unlocked by emerging technologies, in particular the possibility for personalised treatments to boost the quality of healthcare provided.

Claire Scotton, VP of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Orange Business, said connectivity “underpins the next generation of remote health monitoring”, enabling MicroPort CardioFlow “to provide even more precise, personalised care for chronic conditions”.

Orange Business highlighted remote health monitoring as a prime example of the need for sovereign data protections, in particular arrangements enabling companies to provide global services while complying with local regulations.

The extension builds on a working relationship spanning more than a decade, Orange Business stated.

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Iridium Communications launched a module it pledged would simplify the release of hybrid IoT devices when used in conjunction with an associated development kit.

The Iridium 9604 module combines the company’s Short Burst Data satellite and LTE-M connectivity, with GNSS used for positioning. A namesake development kit then helps device makers to prototype and validate products spanning space and terrestrial connectivity options.

Iridium sees uses in devices covering remote areas of land, oceans, airways and polar regions.

EVP Tim Last was proud of Iridium’s work, hailing it a “milestone” in efforts to provide global IoT connectivity.

He said integrating the satellite, mobile and GNSS elements into a single module would “simplify device design, reduce costs and create smarter, location-aware products” with the connectivity range well beyond that of land-based networks.

Iridium emphasised there had been encouraging feedback from early adopters and beta users in terms of the operational and economic benefits the 9604 module provides.

It explained device makers can tweak the subsystems of all three elements to control failure detection systems, connectivity choices based on location and how to route traffic depending on the service being run.

The module measures 16mm x 26mm x 2.4mm and is compatible with GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou GNSS services.

Satellite connectivity compatibility is handled by Iridium’s network of birds operating in the L-band, a reliable range between 1GHz and 2GHz capable of getting signals through most weather.

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Telefonica Tech helped the people of Santa Pola on Spain’s Costa Blanca to see the bright side of life after contributing its NB-IoT capabilities to an upgrade of streetlights in the town.

The project is another collaboration by Telefonica’s digital business unit and a joint venture involving infrastructure player Ferrovial Energia, which this time is working with Spanish energy company Iberdrola Clientes.

Telefonica Tech’s NB-IoT capabilities are being used to enable remote management of LED street lighting in the coastal town. As in a previous deployment, 6,300 nodes made by Tellink are being deployed which the operator unit is connecting.

The system enables the Ferrovial Energia and Iberdrola Clientes joint venture to regulate lighting based on demand with a view to optimising energy consumption.

Telefonica Tech highlighted predictive maintenance as another benefit of the NB-IoT equipped lights.

Tellink CEO Dionisio Martinez said the company had won more than 100 smart lighting contracts and emphasised the experience it brings in installing and operating the systems.

For Telefonica Tech, the deal in Santa Pola is another notch in a move to establish itself as a leading digitalisation company, director of IoT Dario Cesena said.

The smart lighting system highlights its potential in delivering centralised management, Cesena added.

Loreto Serrano, Mayor of Santa Pola, explained upgrading its lighting systems is “one of our major challenges” for the current term in office and it is taking advantage of the need to improve systems to deploy a smart set up capable of cutting costs and its carbon footprint.

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Eutelsat continued to make waves in maritime connectivity, renewing an agreement with specialist provider AST Networks involving its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite fleet.

AST Networks already accesses Eutelsat’s LEO birds for its maritime services, so the latest multi-year deal looks to expand on the arrangement by literally growing the amount of satellite capacity used.

It continues a recent run of maritime contracts Eutelsat secured for its OneWeb unit.

The LEO option forms part of a broader connectivity service AST Networks provides to shipping industry customers which Eutelsat stated are increasingly seeking set-ups with high-level performance, resilience and global coverage.

Shipping companies employ such connectivity for staff wellbeing along with operation of their vessels and the running of digital services.

Eutelsat stated the renewed deal is in the multi-million-dollar range. VP of Aero and Maritime Connectivity Thierry Polycarpe said the agreement highlights “the growing demand for LEO-enabled connectivity across the maritime sector”, along with the company’s ability to integrate with hybrid set-ups.

AST Networks CTO Lukasz Latosinski said LEO brings the required level of reliability and low-latency.

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