Top Tech News Today: Andres Vicente To Head Ericsson In South East Asia, India, French Regulator Slaps $272 Mine Fine On Google

Telecom and networking giant Ericsson has announced the appointment of Andres Vicente as its new Head of Market Area South East Asia, Oceania and India and Senior Vice President.

Vicente will take up his new position on May 1. ( Image Source :ABP Live/Getty )

Andres Vicente To Head Ericsson In South East Asia, Oceania, India

Telecom and networking giant Ericsson has announced the appointment of Andres Vicente as its new Head of Market Area South East Asia, Oceania and India and Senior Vice President. Vicente who is currently Head of Ericsson’s Customer Unit Iberia within Market Area Europe and Latin America, will replace Nunzio Mirtillo whose retirement was announced in October last year. Vicente will take up his new position on May 1 and will be based in Singapore. Andres Vicente has extensive experience from the telecommunications industry and had joined Ericsson in 2021. He has previously worked for Vodafone for 25 years in commercial roles where he headed marketing and sales and different market segments.

French Regulator Slaps $272M Fine On Google

France's competition regulator imposed a hefty fine on Google linked to an ongoing disagreement regarding payments to French news publishers. The French Competition Authority levied a penalty of 250 million euros ($272 million) due to Google's non-compliance with certain obligations outlined in negotiation terms. This dispute is amidst broader endeavors by EU and global authorities to oblige tech giants like Google to reimburse news publishers for their content.

Instagram Threads Gets New Trending Now Section

In July last year, Facebook-parent Meta introduced Instagram Threads as a direct competitor to X, formerly Twitter. Initially, the platform lacked several fundamental features, prompting Meta engineers to work tirelessly to incorporate them into the social networking service. Building on this momentum, Meta has now unveiled the addition of a "Trending Now" section within Instagram Threads, thus, enabling users to discover popular and trending topics being actively discussed on the platform.

Google Pixel 8a Pops Up On FCC Database

The Google Pixel 8a has been the subject of rumours for several months now. While Google has not officially confirmed the existence of the Pixel 7a successor, indications of its arrival have surfaced as the handset was reportedly spotted on the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website. The Pixel 8a is anticipated to feature wireless charging and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. Its debut is expected to take place at the Google I/O 2024 event scheduled for May.

Mustafa Suleyman Is The New Microsoft AI CEO

Microsoft Corporation has appointed Mustafa Suleyman to lead its consumer artificial intelligence (AI) division, a strategic move aimed at bolstering its position against Alphabet Inc.'s Google in the fiercely competitive AI market, the media has reported. Suleyman, a co-founder of Google's DeepMind, will assume the role reporting directly to CEO Satya Nadella, says a report by news agency Bloomberg.