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Mobile World Capital Barcelona launches the MWCapital Awards to drive a Sustainable Digital Transformation

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2 years ago

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This new international initiative aims to recognize innovative digital transformation projects that champion sustainability and align with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Strategic partners, GSMA Foundry and B Lab Spain, will play pivotal and advisory roles respectively to foster sustainability in the digital sphere to build a more inclusive, equitable and, therefore, more sustainable future
An international jury will select 15 finalists, who will gain international exposure, and 6 winners who will have the opportunity to showcase their work at MWC Barcelona 2026

BARCELONA, Spain, Oct. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — As global attention increasingly shifts toward the intersection of technology and sustainability, Mobile World Capital Barcelona with the support of GSMA Foundry and B Lab Spain, has announced the launch of the MWCapital Awards: Technologies for a Sustainable Future. This new international initiative seeks to honour groundbreaking projects that use digital transformation to drive meaningful progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on creating a triple impact: economic, social, and environmental.

 

 

The awards reflect MWCapital’s vision of a responsible, forward-thinking digital transition, where technology acts as a catalyst for solving urgent global issues like inequality, climate change, and digital inclusion. “We believe in a future where digital innovation and sustainability are intrinsically linked,” says Francesc Fajula, CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona. “Through these awards, we want to recognize pioneering technological projects that are actively contributing to a more equitable and sustainable world.”

More than a simple contest, the MWCapital Awards aim to foster global collaboration around sustainability. The initiative is backed by strategic partners B Lab Spain and GSMA Foundry, both of whom will be integral to the process. In addition to serving as advisor and jury member, B Lab will offer sustainability impact workshops along with personalised action plans for the 15 finalists, while GSMA Foundry, the GSMA’s innovation hub, will leverage its global platforms to boost the visibility of winning projects.

Richard Cockle, Head of GSMA Foundry and Connected Industries at GSMA, states that: “We’re very pleased to strengthen our partnership with Mobile World Capital in such a significant area. Sustainability and working towards the SDGs is absolutely critical to the GSMA and its members. The mobile industry has already made great strides on the 17 goals but there is much work to do ahead of the 2030 deadline. We believe fostering innovation projects, and initiatives such as the MWCapital Awards, will play a critical role in the industry’s efforts to make yet more positive contributions.”

For her part, Belén Viloria, Executive Director of B Lab Spain, affirms that: “In today’s world, it is essential that companies not only innovate but also integrate sustainability into their core business strategies.” Concluding that: “We are proud to be part of this initiative as advisors, jury members, and mentors to the finalists, fostering the high standards of social and environmental performance championed by the B Corp movement. This advisory collaboration with the MWCapital Awards offers an opportunity to highlight transformative projects that drive digital transformation while creating a positive impact.”

The MWCapital Awards celebrate innovation across various sectors, recognizing contributions in five categories: Companies, Small Businesses and Startups, Non-profit or Common Interest Companies (SBIC), Academia and Research Centers, and Public Institutions. A special distinction, the Barcelona Horizon Award, will be presented to the project with the greatest potential to drive sustainability within Barcelona’s digital ecosystem. The selected project will receive support to scale, ensuring its development and broader impact within the city.

The awards will culminate in June 2025 with a ceremony in Barcelona, but their impact will extend far beyond. Winners will gain international exposure, with the opportunity to showcase their work at MWC Barcelona 2026 and participate in discussions shaping the future of digital sustainability. Also, the Barcelona Horizon Award will include a €50,000 grant to help bring the winning project’s vision to life and foster positive change in the city.

Evaluation Process and Global Call for Submissions

The road to the final stage is rigorous. Projects will undergo a two-phase evaluation process by an external international jury formed by leading figures in sustainability and innovation. Fifteen finalists will be selected and will benefit from tailored workshops designed to measure and enhance their impact before the winners of each category are chosen.

The call for submissions is now open to projects globally, with applications accepted until March 18, 2025. Eligible projects must align with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles, have been operational for at least 12 months, and show measurable results in advancing sustainability through technology.

With the Mobile World Capital Awards, Barcelona further cements its position as a global hub in both digital innovation and sustainable development. As MWCapital continues its mission to lead a responsible digital transition, these awards are set to inspire projects that will not only transform industries but also contribute to a more inclusive and resilient future for all.

About Mobile World Capital Barcelona

Mobile World Capital Barcelona is a public-private foundation that promotes the digital development of society to build a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future through the humanistic use of technology. MWCapital helps position Barcelona as a global leader in the digital sphere and consolidates the legacy of MWC throughout the year by driving initiatives in technology transfer, fostering digital talent, developing innovative technology projects with social impact, and generating knowledge. MWCapital hosts MWC in Barcelona, is the founder of 4YFN, and connects citizens with the latest digital trends through events like Jump2Digital and Tech&Play.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2531174/MWCapital_Awards.jpg
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2289657/4968910/Mobile_World_Capital_Barcelona_Logo.jpg

 

 

For more information, please contact:
Emily Henley, ehenley@mobileworldcapital.com, +34 673 004 102
Àlex Palau, a.palau@romanrm.com, +34 651 579 415 
Estela López, e.lopez@romanrm.com, +34 654 741 683
Eva Soler, e.soler@romanrm.com, +34 665 038 781

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/mobile-world-capital-barcelona-launches-the-mwcapital-awards-to-drive-a-sustainable-digital-transformation-302277617.html

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From China Mobile’s Call Upgrade to the Commercial Launch of “Calling + AI” by Leading Operators: AI Is Reshaping the Value of Native Calling

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15 minutes ago

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July 25, 2026

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BEIJING, July 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On June 15, 2026, China Mobile announced a comprehensive upgrade to its traditional calling services, ushering in a next-generation calling experience defined by HD, intelligence, and security. This milestone not only marks a major leap in telecommunication innovation but also reflects a global, inevitable shift: the transformation of basic communication into intelligent, inclusive services.

Breaking Experience Barriers and Redefining the Paradigm of Basic Calling

Overcoming the limitations of traditional, voice-only interactions, China Mobile has leveraged its mature VoLTE/VoNR network foundation to deeply integrate AI models with HD audio and video capabilities. Without requiring users to change their phones or SIM cards, seven core AI functions are now seamlessly embedded into the native dialer interface.

These upgrades include Live Captions bridge communication gaps for the elderly and hearing-impaired; HD video calls and AI noise reduction create a crystal-clear, immersive calling experience; AI anti-fraud intercepts high-risk calls in real time to safeguard users’ assets. Furthermore, the introduction of Data Channel (DC) technology and visual call menus transforms standard calls into agile, interactive service windows, enabling multi-party collaboration and seamless business transactions directly within the call. Through this initiative, China Mobile has successfully evolved traditional calls from a mere voice pipeline into a secure, integrated information hub.

“Calling + AI” Becomes a Strategic Consensus Among Global Leading Operators

From a global perspective, China Mobile’s call upgrade is not an isolated milestone, but a microcosm of the global telecommunications industry’s broader transformation. Throughout 2026, major operators worldwide are accelerating the commercial deployment of “Calling + AI” solutions:

Deutsche Telekom launched Magenta AI, leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance calling across all scenarios;T-Mobile US introduced a network-side, real-time translation service covering over 80 languages, effectively breaking down cross-border communication barriers;Saudi stc rolled out English-Arabic bilingual simultaneous interpretation, which has now entered large-scale commercial trials;South Korea’s LG U+ launched its ixi-O intelligent calling assistant, shifting the user experience from passive responses to proactive smart interactions and earning three prestigious GLOMO industry awards.

The synchronized efforts of these global leaders confirm that basic calling services have officially entered a new era of AI integration. Deeply empowered by artificial intelligence, “Calling + AI” has become the definitive blueprint for the intelligent transformation of the global telecommunications industry. As operators continue to refine these native capabilities, the traditional voice network is poised to reclaim its position as the most secure, ubiquitous, and valuable entry point in the AI era.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/from-china-mobiles-call-upgrade-to-the-commercial-launch-of-calling–ai-by-leading-operators-ai-is-reshaping-the-value-of-native-calling-302834622.html

SOURCE China Mobile

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Trip.com Group Sincerely Accepts Administrative Penalty Decision Issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People’s Republic of China

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3 hours ago

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July 25, 2026

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SINGAPORE, July 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Trip.com Group Limited (Nasdaq: TCOM; HKEX: 9961) today announced that it has received the administrative penalty decision issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People’s Republic of China.

Trip.com Group sincerely accepts the decision and will adopt rectification measures in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to implement the decision’s requirements. The Company will strengthen its long-term governance mechanisms and strive to contribute to the sustainable development of the travel industry.

Trip.com Group’s management team will host a conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on July 27, 2026 (or 8:00 PM Hong Kong Time on July 27, 2026).

The conference call will be available on Webcast live at: http://investors.trip.com.

All participants must pre-register to join this conference call using the participant registration link below:
https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BIb78e08d8f18340c4882a7e4ab961906b.

Upon registration, each participant will receive details for this conference call, including dial-in numbers and a unique access PIN. To join the conference, please dial the number provided, enter your PIN, and you will join the conference instantly.

For further information, please contact:
Investor Relations
Trip.com Group Limited
Email: iremail@trip.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tripcom-group-sincerely-accepts-administrative-penalty-decision-issued-by-the-state-administration-for-market-regulation-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china-302834599.html

SOURCE Trip.com Group Limited

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NAVER Partners with Brookfield and NVIDIA to Expand Korea’s National AI Factory Infrastructure Buildout

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5 hours ago

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July 25, 2026

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SAN FRANCISCO, July 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — NAVER, Brookfield and NVIDIA announced an expansion of Korea’s sovereign AI factory infrastructure. New investments will increase the initial NVIDIA DSX™ AI factory deployment from 55 megawatts to 200 megawatts.

Announced during Korea President Jae Myung Lee’s AI Summit visit to San Francisco, the planned 200-megawatt expansion will be built with the NVIDIA DSX platform at NAVER’s GAK Sejong hyperscale data center in Sejong, South Korea. The expanded infrastructure will provide Korea- and U.S.- based AI innovators with access to production-scale AI compute for building next-generation models, agents and AI-powered services.

Under the terms of the agreements, Brookfield will fund up to $9 billion as the exclusive capital partner, NVIDIA will invest $1 billion and NAVER will fund the remaining amount to finance the $10 billion project.

This builds on NAVER’s June announcement to extend its GAK Sejong data center with NVIDIA DSX, with a long-term path to gigawatt-scale sovereign AI infrastructure serving Korea’s enterprises, industries, government organizations and global AI cloud customers. Combining Brookfield’s capital with NVIDIA’s computing platform, the investment supports NAVER’s AI factory deployment.

“NVIDIA’s strategic investment and our infrastructure supply agreement with Brookfield have propelled NAVER’s vision for the AI Factory business into a robust execution phase,” said Haejin Lee, Founder and Chairman of NAVER. “Leveraging the solid partnerships with our global partners, we will drive technological innovation, foster a sovereign AI ecosystem, and spearhead efforts to strengthen South Korea’s AI competitiveness.” 

AI Factory Expansion and Open Model Collaboration to Fuel AI Innovators

NAVER, as an NVIDIA Cloud Partner, provides deep expertise in operating hyperscale infrastructure powered by the full-stack NVIDIA AI platform. The 200-megawatt AI factory, featuring NVIDIA Vera Rubin and Blackwell platforms, will establish a dedicated resource pool for emerging AI companies, providing the compute, software and support needed to develop and deploy competitive AI models and applications at scale.

This expanded infrastructure also builds on NAVER and NVIDIA’s collaboration on open model development for agentic and physical AI. NAVER is advancing its HyperCLOVA X models to be based on NVIDIA Nemotron™ 3 Ultra open models with its proprietary data and training expertise. NAVER is also the first Korean company to join the NVIDIA Nemotron Coalition, contributing to open model development across pretraining, post-training and reinforcement learning.

NAVER plans to launch an AI agent platform in Korea in the second half of the year, powered by NVIDIA Agent Toolkit software including NVIDIA NemoClaw™ blueprints. NAVER is also developing a Seoul World Model using proprietary urban street-view and spatial modeling data, built on NVIDIA Cosmos™ world foundation models.

About NAVER

Founded in 1999, NAVER is Korea’s largest Internet company and one of the world’s top tech companies. Leading cutting-edge technologies, NAVER operates the No.1 search engine in Korea and holds various business portfolios encompassing commerce, fintech, cloud, AI and robotics.

NAVER recorded sales of KRW 12.04 trillion (USD 8.18 billion) in 2025. TEAM NAVER continues to enhance its business portfolio and expand its global presence across Japan, North America, and Europe, while pursuing innovation through continuous research and development in future technologies.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/naver-partners-with-brookfield-and-nvidia-to-expand-koreas-national-ai-factory-infrastructure-buildout-302834577.html

SOURCE NAVER

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