Telefónica expands OTT and IoT activity

Spanish telco Telefónica has highlighted further initiatives in its diversification drive, partnering with Mozilla on OTT communication and Samsung on IoT.

Firefox Hello is a browser-based video communications service that is included in the Firefox browser, made by Mozilla. It was formally launched at the start of this year and today added screen sharing to the service, which is expected to create further communication possibilities.

Today I’m very excited to announce that the latest version of the Firefox browser, which has gone live today, now includes screen sharing capabilities within Hello,” said Ian Small, CEO of Communication Services & Product Innovation at Telefónica.

“This new feature allows the host to share a browser tab or application window while in the video conversation, opening up new possibilities for collaborative web browsing with friends, family and co-workers. It’s a great way to shop online together, collaborate on a document, or just watch a video with a friend.”

Telefónica has also revealed a partnership between its R&D arm and Samsung’s Spanish research operation to research IoT technologies and use-cases.

The collaboration is already working on a couple of prototypes. One combines Telefónica’s ‘Thinking Things’ IoT platform with Samsung’s sensor and device strengths to develop ‘autonomous solutions’, and the other is a customisable IoT button that can be integrated into appliances.

“This initiative with Telefónica allows us to explore the countless possibilities offered by Samsung’s industry leading technology in order to create innovative solutions and make them available for our consumers”,  said Alfredo Aragüés, Samsung Spain’s R&D division lead. “At Samsung, we believe that the true value of IoT technology is making the user experience easier and more intuitive.”

“We want to extend our connectivity to all kinds of new devices, making the development of applications using these devices really simple,” said Francisco Jariego, Telefónica I+D’s IoT Industrial Director. “Working together with Samsung is essential to speed up the go to market of our innovation efforts in IoT, a technology which is here to stay.”

Last week Telefónica announced another IoT initiative in the form of ‘Movistar Verisure Hogar’, a smartphone-based home security service run in partnership with Securitas Direct and available as an additional subscription to Movistar customers. It is comprised of sensors, cameras and a central control unit, designed to alert home owners to potential intruders and record them.