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WhatsApp Will be More Colourful Soon
Vodafone Idea eSIM Service Extended to New Regions
Romanian Lawmakers Pass Key Bill Banning Huawei-China From 5G Networking Business
Maharashtra Govt Taking Steps to Resolve Telecom Infrastructure Issues

Posted: 12 Jun 2021 01:21 AM PDT

WhatsApp is going to be redesigned very soon. The social media application is working on bringing new colours and changing the user interface (UI) of the application very slightly. WhatsApp has kept on evolving with features over the years, but the company hasn't paid a lot of attention to the design of the application. But not anymore; a new report from WABetaInfo suggests that for the Android version of the application, WhatsApp will be bringing subtle changes to the UI and colours. But there was no mention of the same being implemented for the iOS version of the app in the report. Let's take a look at all that might be new with the application.

WhatsApp UI Changes and New Colours

The UI change would affect the way the 'chat list' section of the application looks. Whenever a user opens the application on his/her Android device, the first page they are navigated to is the 'chat list' where they can see all of their contacts and the current and previous chats.

WhatsApp might soon remove the line separators that exist between different chat cells. It won't be a very major change, but it might add to making the app experience more clear and soothing for the user. It is a small UI change that is currently seen on the beta version of WhatsApp that has been downloaded by Android users.

Once the change is implemented for Android users, it won't take long before it is also applicable for iOS users.

Further, users will also notice a new colour scheme with the application. WhatsApp will change the colours of the notifications shade and elements that are currently green in dark mode. The new colour will be blue instead of dark green.

The same changes might come for the users when they are using the application in 'light' mode instead of the 'dark' mode. Further, users will see the 'blue' colour in more areas of the application.

The WhatsApp badge, logo, 'Mark as Read', and 'Reply' buttons will also come with the new 'blue' colour in the new beta update. The changes in colour scheme might be different for several users depending on the version of the Android their device is running in.

Vodafone Idea eSIM Service Extended to New Regions

Posted: 12 Jun 2021 12:53 AM PDT

Vodafone Idea

Vodafone Idea (Vi) last year started offering eSIM service to its users. The company had initially only provided eSIM support on Apple iPhone devices. On top of that, Vi had chosen to provide the eSIM services only in three circles of India – Delhi, Gujarat, and Mumbai. But the telco has extended the eSIM service to multiple circles now. Much recently, Vodafone Idea also started providing eSIM services in two new regions of the nation. Check them out below.

Vodafone Idea eSIM Services Are Available in These Regions/States/Circles

Vodafone Idea is now providing eSIM services in 10 regions/states/circles of India. The telco has come a long way from providing eSIM support in only 3 circles to 10 circles in under 1 year. The two new locations added by Vi for the eSIM service is UP East and Kerala.

Note that only the postpaid customers of the telco can take advantage of its eSIM services. The company is yet to provide eSIM service to its prepaid users. These are all the circles where Vi is currently providing eSIM services – Gujarat, Delhi, Mumbai, UP East, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Kolkata, Maharashtra, and Goa.

The company is expected to roll out the service for new states/circles/regions very soon as well. At the same time, from just iPhones a year back, the postpaid eSIM from Vodafone Idea can now be supported by multiple smartphones from different brands.

Here are all the smartphones that can support eSIM from Vodafone Idea.

Vodafone Idea eSIM Compatible Smartphones

These are all the Apple devices that can support Vodafone Idea eSIM – iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE 2, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max.

From Motorola, only one smartphone is compatible with the eSIM of Vodafone Idea – Motorola Razr.

Multiple Samsung smartphones come with support for eSIM from Vodafone Idea – Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G, Samsung Galaxy Note 20, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, Samsung Galaxy S20, Samsung Galaxy S20+, Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S21 5G, Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G, and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G.

Lastly, all the Google Pixel devices after Google Pixel 3A support eSIM from Vodafone Idea.

Romanian Lawmakers Pass Key Bill Banning Huawei-China From 5G Networking Business

Posted: 12 Jun 2021 12:11 AM PDT

Huawei 5G Banned

Huawei has been on the receiving end of some flak, to put it lightly, ever since it was banned by the United States for supposedly spying on behalf of the Chinese government, a claim that has not yet been fully backed. Ever since the ban, the company lost access to Google’s GMS services, rendering its smartphones worthless, at least for the European markets, wherein the company held a decent amount of market share.

To add to its woes, the company also lost most of its deals as a 5G networking developer, with all of the infrastructures that Huawei can offer being cancelled due to these previously mentioned concerns. Now, the American government under Joe Biden has started to ease up, but Huawei’s fate still seems bleak at best.

In relation to this, earlier today, Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis signed a Washington-backed bill that effectively bans China and Huawei when it comes to taking part in the development of Romania’s 5G telecommunication networks, on security-related concerns.

What Do We Know About This Bill

Earlier this week, on June 7, the Romanian Senate endorsed the draft law that was initiated by the Government regarding the 5G security regulations, which at the time hinted at the removal of Huawei from the list of suppliers of hardware and software used in Romanian 5G networks, as Economedia.ro had reported.

If not certified as a supplier, it was mentioned that the telecom companies would have to remove all the Huawei products from their networks within a span of seven years, with five years allotted for critical and core infrastructure. The senators of AUR, a radical party had tried to send the bill back to the expert commissions, motivating this request by the fact that the legislative initiative was not notified to the European Commission.

In recent times, Europe has emerged as a battleground when it comes to the technology ColdWar that is playing out between Beijing and Washington, and Huawei's European competitors, Ericsson and Nokia, could become a supplier duopoly given that Huawei is shunted out from every market.

The bill stems from a 2019 U.S.-Romania memorandum under which the two governments had stated that as part of a risk-based security approach, careful and complete evaluation of 5G vendors is necessary, with those controlled by a foreign government and lacking a transparent ownership structure having been ruled out.

In regards to this, Huawei has time and again denied spying for the Chinese state, and, given how no concrete evidence has yet surfaced, the concerns might be a bit too excessive.

Maharashtra Govt Taking Steps to Resolve Telecom Infrastructure Issues

Posted: 11 Jun 2021 10:02 PM PDT

In 2021, telecom and networking have become more important than ever, with major cities and villages depending on the internet for all tasks owing to the global pandemic. From offices to schools, everything has been forced to move online rather than be physical, as close proximity to others is a risk in today’s day and age.

Due to this increased dependence on telecom companies and their network, the number of underlying issues or bugs are also increasing and affecting users day by day. Certain users have important work that cannot be stalled and, such an issue can harm their organisation or, in the case of a student, impede their study.

To tackle this, Maharashtra Minister of State for Information Technology, Mr Satej Patil announced late on Friday that the state would be forming district-level committees in order to look into issues that are part of the telecommunication infrastructure. The committee will be headed by the district collector and will keep track of and look into the problems faced by the companies when it comes to erecting towers and infrastructure facilities.

What Will The Committee Do?

The committees will comprise the deputy conservator of forest, executive engineer of public works department, superintendent of Police, commissioner/chief officer/chief executive officer, executive engineer of MahaVitaran and the divisional head of the telecom company in question.

Patil mentioned that the committee will handle issues that are related to the permission required for the new or existing towers, pending approval for the allowance to lay optical fibre cable rows, issues related to the taxes and reimbursement of the grievances with regard to the telecommunication infrastructure. The committees are expected to hold a meeting every quarter (3 months).

As per the minister, the recommendations by the district level telecommunication committee will be adhered to by the respective municipal corporations, gram panchayats, local authorities as well as government offices.

Furthermore, Patil mentioned that the Internet and telephone network plays an important role when it comes to the development and growth engine of the country. He stated that there are key projects which are under implementation at various levels in the state as well. Mahanet is one of such key projects under implementation by the Information and Technology Department.

The project will aim to connect more than 12,500-gram panchayats with broadband, with the mobile towers playing an important role in the telecommunication network.

He also said that the district-level telecommunication committees will help weed out the issues and problems that are faced during the erection of the telecommunication towers and infrastructure at a local level. In turn, it will also help in providing a robust state-level network of telecommunication in the near future.

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