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Professional women use mobiles to balance work & life, but mostly just life

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NEW DELHI: A new Telenor Group survey published today has uncovered interesting insights into professional women’s habits and values with regards to mobile connectivity.

The “Tech Trends: Women” survey discovers that women use mobile phones primarily for personal enjoyment and not for business. And despite much talk of digital detoxing, social media is as popular as ever.

Top findings:

Women use their mobiles significantly more for personal messaging, entertainment and social media than they do for work; professional tasks are chosen least among mobile activities – with some exceptions in Southeast Asia.

Women view mobile’s role in the exchange of information and financial services as most valuable for solving larger societal and economic problems.

Flexibility, work-life balance and efficiency among most cited mobile value-adds to women’s professional lives.

Despite much talk of social media fatigue, it was found to rule mobile habits around the clock.
Wildly varied national opinions on a hypothetical “women-only Internet” and in which situations mobile phones should be off limits.

“By and large, the women we talked to say that the mobile phone is one of the tools that helps them shape how they balance their personal lives with their professional lives. The mobile phone seems to be less of a leash to the office than we expected. We are seeing well-educated, professional women turn to mobile devices for entertainment, maintaining personal connections, and providing a break from the rigours of their busy lives,” said Dr. Erica Gibson, VP of Product Management and User Research, Telenor Group.

“The survey has given us more crystallised and very useful insights into female digital habits and user needs. We wanted to talk to women about this because we know that they hold large stakes in connectivity and access to information and services, which they make clear in this survey,” said Gibson.

The survey was conducted on a sample of 1300 professional women aged 25-40 in Scandinavia and Asia (Malaysia, Myanmar, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and Thailand). This was supplemented by in-depth interviews with women in Norway, Singapore and Thailand. The markets surveyed represent a range of economies, socio-political systems, stages of industrial development and mobile penetration.

Women’s top mobile activities

All six markets share the use of social media, personal messenger apps, music and news as respondents’ most frequent mobile activities. Between 50-80% of women in all markets say they use social media apps most out of any other mobile features, despite much talk of social media fatigue. Messaging apps is a close second in most markets, but stands out as the top choice in Singapore. Reading news is highly ranked in Norway and Myanmar, and listening to music is Sweden and Singapore’s third highest activity. Despite the popularity of wifi-calling, women in Malaysia and Myanmar highlight personal phone calls in their three most frequent mobile activities.

Interestingly, when looking at top mobile activities, the survey found that the degrees to which the personal supersedes the professional on mobile phones shifts as you head from West to East. In Norway and Sweden, women list work among their least frequent mobile uses, and try to completely shut out the office in the evening. Women in Southeast Asia allow work to percolate through more of their personal time. Women in Thailand and Myanmar, however, both list work-related messaging and phone calls as fourth and sixth most frequent activities.

Most common emotions when using the mobile

When it comes to feelings associated with mobile usage, women in all six markets were aligned in feeling “entertained” and “connected to the world” when using their mobiles. Interestingly for the third choice, Swedish women say they felt “addicted” while Myanmar women report being “optimistic”. Malaysia, Norway, Singapore and Thailand all share feeling “relaxed” while on their mobile. Feelings such as “depressed”, “stressed”, “overwhelmed”, and “exposed” were least frequently identified across the board.

Mobile activities in the evening – and if waking up at night

To shed light on what happens after office hours, respondents were also asked about their last three mobile activities before bedtime and in the middle of the night. Social media came in first across the board, but subsequent options vary greatly.

Ten percent of Swedes cite a midnight online shopping habit. Women in Norway and Myanmar read news as a primary before-bed activity, though in Norway, 1 in 5 admits that “news” shifts to “reading gossip and tabloids” as the night wears on. Not allowed before bed or in the middle of the night are work activities – the least frequent undertakings mentioned by women in all markets.

Where women say no to mobiles – and where they don’t.

Professional women use their mobile a lot – but there are situations in which they will disconnect. Women in all six markets say job interviews are among their top “phone off” locations. More than 90% of Scandinavian women say funerals are inappropriate for mobiles, compared to a quarter of Asian women.

Interestingly, the situations where women keep their mobiles on speak volumes, as the mobile permeates previously “sacred” social and private settings. Women in all markets are more accepting of phones in “romantic situations” than they are of phones on during job interviews or on airplanes. Thai and Myanmar women are the most unopposed to phones in intimate settings (only 13% and 3% say “turn them off”) while 39% of Swedes are against mixing phones and romance. Scandinavians are unopposed to mobiles in the loo, while Asians turn them off.

How can the mobile help empower societies

As Telenor Group has committed to supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goal #10 – Reduced Inequalities, the survey also asked women for their thoughts on how mobile connectivity could address societal or economic issues. “Information and knowledge sharing” is cited as the most important way mobiles can do this, according to about sixty percent of women in Norway, Malaysia, Singapore, Sweden and Thailand – and 80 percent of women in Myanmar. Mobile banking is identified by women in all markets as avenues through which mobile technology can solve societal challenges – cited by 7 in 10 Swedes, 6 in 10 Norwegians, and about half of Thais, Singaporeans and Malaysians.

“We found some interesting, anomalous answers from individual markets as well,” said Gibson, “A quarter of Thai and Swedish women singled out ‘loneliness’ as something mobiles can mitigate, and Singaporean women, in a country known for safety, reported that mobiles can help with personal safety.”

Do women want a “female-only Internet”?

One of the more provocative questions posed in the survey, “To which degree would you support a women-only Internet?” generated an interesting response. Most eyebrow-raising: 65% of Thai women support having an Internet which is accessible only to women, because they say it would lead to less harassment and more relevant content. Singaporean women align with Scandinavian women in rejecting the concept (83% in Singapore, 90% in Sweden and 97% in Norway), saying an all-women Internet would be discriminatory and would not address safety or harassment issues. The few that were in favour, stated that a female-only Internet amongst others would be safer for kids.

“Although the notion of a ‘women-only Internet’ is a hypothetical one, we think that these wildly varied answers warrant further conversations about what women are dealing with online in Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia in order to support an idea such as this,” said Gibson.

Mobile services that have changed women’s lives

Across the board, women in all six markets say that the most personally life-changing apps are social media, including messaging apps. Mobile banking is a close second in Scandinavia. In Asia, Singaporeans point to messaging apps as personal game-changers while Malaysian women appreciate various services in equal measure – social media, messaging, entertainment and search engines.

Impact of mobile on work-life balance

As for how mobile technology has impacted their working lives, the most common answers in Sweden and Norway are “not changed” or that mobiles allow them “flexibility to work anywhere”. Thai, Myanmar, Singaporean and Malaysian women agree that mobiles allow for more work flexibility. Singaporean and Malaysian women add that they think mobiles help with efficiency and work-life balance.

“Women feel empowered by the mobile to balance work and life. How the balance is struck and the role the mobile should play is ultimately a choice for professional women in Scandinavia and Asia to make themselves. Fundamentally though, we see from the survey that the mobile phone is a huge enabler and will continue to be, both professionally and privately,” said Gibson.

5g

Airtel announces its largest ever 5G roll-out in 125 cities

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NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India’s telecommunications services provider, today announced the launch of its ultra-fast 5G services in 125 cities. Airtel 5G Plus service is now available to customers in over 265 cities in the country.

Airtel 5G Plus has three compelling advantages for customers. First, it runs on a technology that has the widest acceptance in the world with the most developed ecosystem. This ensures that all 5G smartphones in India seamlessly work on the Airtel network. Second, the company promises to deliver the best experience – between 20 to 30 times higher speeds than today coupled with brilliant voice experience and super-fast call connect. Finally, Airtel 5G Plus network will also be kinder to the environment with its special power reduction solution. Powered by the reliable Airtel network infrastructure, Airtel 5G Plus will provide superfast access to High-Definition video streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos et all.

Commenting on the launch, Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel said, “5G has revolutionized the world of internet, ushering new era of connectivity and communications that will prove to be a game-changer for the country. At Airtel, we remain committed to delivering the highest quality of network and service to our customers as we roll-out 125 more cities today. Airtel was the first in the country to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today’s mega launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus. Our 5G rollout is on track to cover all towns and key rural areas by March 2024.”

Airtel 5G Plus service availability will continue to rapidly expand – including service in all towns and villages in the country soon – as the company is working towards offering nationwide coverage. Airtel is now offering its 5G services in every major city from the upper northern city of Jammu to the southern tip of Kanyakumari.

In the last one year, Airtel has demonstrated the power of 5G with a host of powerful use cases that will change the way customers lead their lives and do business. From India’s first live 5G network in Hyderabad to India’s first private 5G network at the BOSCH facility in Bengaluru to partnering with Mahindra & Mahindra to make its Chakan manufacturing facility, India’s first 5G enabled auto manufacturing unit, Airtel has been at the forefront of 5G innovation.

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Apple rolls out beta programme for iPhones to enable 5G services

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NEW DELHI: Apple Inc has rolled out a beta programme to enable 5G on Apple devices as the upgrade lets users try out pre-release software.

This software upgrade enables 5G access on Apple devices, as and when service providers Jio, Airtel and Vodafone enable 5G network access, sources said.

Apple Users have to enrol for the Beta Programme on the website, install a profile and download the software.

Jio users using iPhone 12 and above, in cities where JioTrue5G has been rolled out, will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer. Jio Welcome Offer provides unlimited 5G data at up to 1 Gbps speed to users at no additional cost. However, there is a condition that prepaid users must be on active Rs 239 and above plan. All Postpaid users are eligible for this trial.

Airtel is not providing any special 5G offer like Jio to their users. In the cities/areas in which the Airtel 5G network has been launched, users can trial 5G services as a part of their existing plan, once they have updated the latest Apple Beta software.

While an email sent to Apple did not solicit an immediate response, the firm had last month stated: “We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed. 5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December”.

Airtel and Jio customers on iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and iPhone SE (3rd generation) models can experience 5G as part of Apple’s iOS 16 Beta Software Program. The Apple Beta Software Program is open to anyone with a valid Apple ID who accepts the Apple Beta Software Program Agreement during the sign-up process.

If a user has an iCloud account, that is an Apple ID, it is recommended they use that. If they do not have an iCloud account or any other Apple ID, they can create one.

Customers who want to try the beta software should back up their iPhones before installing the beta software. It is recommended to install the beta software only on non-production devices that are not business-critical. Users can also provide feedback to Apple on quality and usability, which helps Apple identify issues, fix them, and make Apple software even better.

The iOS beta comes with the built-in Feedback Assistant app, which can be opened from the Home screen on the iPhone or iPad or from the Dock on the Mac.

Source: Press Trust of India

 

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Nokia wins multi-year deal with Reliance Jio India to build one of the largest 5G networks in the world

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NEW DELHI: Nokia has announced that it has been selected as a major supplier by Reliance Jio to supply 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment from its comprehensive AirScale portfolio countrywide in a multi-year deal. Reliance Jio is India’s number one mobile operator and has one of the largest RAN footprints in the world.

Under the contract, Nokia will supply equipment from its AirScale portfolio, including base stations, high-capacity 5G Massive MIMO antennas, and Remote Radio Heads (RRH) to support different spectrum bands, and self-organizing network software. Reliance Jio plans to deploy a 5G standalone network which will interwork with its 4G network. The network will enable Reliance Jio to deliver advanced 5G services such as massive machine-to-machine communications, network slicing, and ultra-low-latency.

Akash Ambani, Chairman Reliance Jio, commented: “We are pleased to be working with Nokia for our 5G SA deployment in India. Jio is committed to continuously investing in the latest network technologies to enhance the experience of all of its customers. We are confident that our partnership with Nokia will deliver one of the most advanced 5G networks globally.”

Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO at Nokia stated: “This is a significant win for Nokia in an important market and a new customer with one of the largest RAN footprints in the world. This ambitious project will introduce millions of people across India to premium 5G services, enabled by our industry-leading AirScale portfolio. We are proud that Reliance Jio has placed its trust in our technology and we look forward to a long and productive partnership with them.”

Nokia has a long-standing presence in India. This new deal will mean that Nokia is now supplying India’s three largest mobile operators.

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