Telecom
Virtual PAs To Account for 20% Smartphones’ User Interactions by 2019- Gartner
Advances in various technologies will drive users to interact with their smartphones in more intuitive ways, said Gartner, Inc. Gartner predicts that, by 2019, 20% of all user interactions with the smartphone will take place via virtual personal assistants (VPAs).
“The role of interactions will intensify through the growing popularity of VPAs among smartphone users and conversations made with smart machines,” said Annette Zimmermann, research director at Gartner.
Gartner’s annual mobile apps survey conducted in the fourth quarter of 2016 among 3,021 consumers across three countries (U.S., U.K. and China) found that 42 percent of respondents in the U.S. and 32 percent in the U.K. used VPAs on their smartphones in the last three months. More than 37 percent of respondents (average across U.S. and U.K.) used a VPA at least one or more times a day.
Apple’s Siri and Google Now are currently the most widely used VPAs on smartphones. Fifty-four percent of U.K. and U.S. respondents used Siri in the last three months. Google Now is used by 41 percent of U.K. respondents and 48 percent of U.S. respondents. “VPAs’ usage is bound to accelerate as they add many new features, including integration for business services, further language support and appear across more devices,” said Jessica Ekholm, research director at Gartner.
Gartner expects that, by 2019, VPAs will have changed the way users interact with devices and become universally accepted as part of everyday life.
Today, VPAs are fulfilling simple tasks such as setting the alarm or retrieving information from the web, but in the near future these systems will be able to deliver more complex tasks such as completing a transaction based on past, present and predicted context.
This trend is also intensified by the acceleration of conversational commerce, but voice is not the only UI for VPA use.
In fact, Facebook Messenger is allowing users to interact with businesses to make purchases, chat with customer services and order Uber cars within the app.
Moreover, Tencent’s WeChat generates over $1.1 billion in revenue by offering its 440 million users an all-in-one approach, letting them pay their bills, hail cabs and order products with a text.
China represents the most mature market by far, where the increased dominance of messaging platforms is causing the traditional app market to stall.
This trend is continuing to grow, not only among consumers but also among businesses or in the prosumer context. For example, Microsoft’s integration of Cortana into Skype will allow users to chat with their VPA.
Cortana will then facilitate the interaction with a third-party bot to get things done, such as a hotel or flight booking.
“We expect AI, machine learning and VPAs to be one of the major strategic battlegrounds from 2017 onwards, and make many mobile apps fade and become subservants of VPAs,” said Ms. Zimmermann.
Voice and Gesture Become Increasingly Important Interfaces
With a predicted installed base of about 7 billion personal devices, 1.3 billion wearables and 5.7 billion other consumer Internet of Things (IoT) endpoints by 2020, the majority of devices will be designed to function with minimal or zero touch.
By 2020, Gartner predicts that zero-touch UIs will be available on 2 billion devices and IoT endpoints. “Interactions will move away from touchscreens and will increasingly make use of voice, ambient technology, biometrics, movement and gestures,” said Ms. Zimmermann. “In this situation, apps using contextual information will become a crucial factor in user acceptance, as a voice-driven system’s usability increases dramatically according to how much it knows about the user’s surrounding environment. This is where device vendors’ assets or partnerships in VPAs, natural language processing (NLP) and deep machine learning experts will matter.”
Gartner clients can read more in the reports: “Predicts 2017: Personal Devices” and “Competitive Landscape: Consumer Messaging App Providers, 2016.” This research is part of the Gartner Special Report “Predicts 2017: Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way: A Gartner Trend Insight Report,” a collection of research that focuses on predictions that allow companies to plan strategically for both expected and unexpected change.
Google has launched its Search Live feature globally to over 200 countries, including Nigeria, where AI Mode is available, enabling voice-and-camera conversations in users’ preferred languages.
Powered by the new multilingual Gemini 3.1 Flash Live model, it delivers natural, real-time interactions via the Google app on Android or iOS—tap the Live icon under the Search bar.
Ideal for hands-free help, users can speak queries for audio replies, follow-ups, or web links. Camera integration adds visual context, like troubleshooting a shelving unit, or pairs with Google Lens for real-world chats.
From the app or Lens, Nigerians can now explore, learn, or solve tasks instantly, boosting everyday productivity worldwide.
Clean and reliable power for telecom networks in Ethiopia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone will be expanded following a $45 million investment by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in IPT PowerTech.
The investment targets countries where limited power supply continues to slow digital connectivity and broader economic participation, the institution stated earlier this week.
To enable this expansion, the IFC is providing a $45 million corporate financing package consisting of an A-loan of $27 million and $18 million in blended finance.
The blended portion is sourced from the Canada-IFC Blended Climate Finance Programme and the IDA20 Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility.
The initiative marks the IFC’s first direct infrastructure engagement in Liberia in a decade and in Sierra Leone in six years.
It will help scale solar- and battery-based power systems that reduce reliance on diesel and support greener, more resilient telecom networks.
By improving the quality and stability of power to telecom towers, the initiative will strengthen mobile coverage and ensure that households, schools, health centres, and small businesses can depend on consistent digital services, said the IFC.
The funding supports the modernisation, operation, and maintenance of 2 235 telecom sites across the three nations. More than 90% of these are located in off-grid or weak-grid locations.
With new solar and battery systems powering these sites, mobile networks will experience fewer outages and improved service quality.
Optimising the energy mix is estimated to reduce power costs for operators by up to 30% in Liberia, 26% in Sierra Leone, and 52% in Ethiopia.
This transition is also expected to cut emissions by more than 10 624 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Furthermore, the partnership will promote gender inclusion by expanding opportunities for women in technical, operational, and leadership roles within the sector, says the IFC.
This agreement reflects a shared vision for a greener telecom industry and empowers the company to scale its innovative energy platforms, according to Nabil Haddad, CEO of IPT PowerTech Group.
Reliable and affordable power for telecom networks is a cornerstone of Africa’s digital transformation, said Nathalie Kouassi-Akon, IFC regional director for West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea.
Through this partnership, the institution is supporting a scalable, private sector-led solution that enables mobile operators to reach underserved and fragile communities more sustainably, added Kouassi-Akon.
The project advances the World Bank Group and African Development Bank’s Mission 300 initiative, which aims to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.
Expedier has unveiled “Expedier for Business,” an online pro-banking platform to simplify global payments, multi-currency transactions, and financial operations for expanding companies.
Kingsley Madu
The tool centralizes payments, invoicing, payroll, and treasury into one secure dashboard, tackling challenges like fragmented systems and poor visibility that hinder international scaling.
Kingsley Madu, Co-Founder and CEO of Expedier, said: “African businesses are increasingly global… Expedier for Business was built to simplify how companies manage money across borders while maintaining visibility, control, and compliance.”
Key features include customizable dashboards for payments, invoices, and workflows; support for USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, and more; virtual cards; automated payroll/invoicing; currency swaps; and real-time tracking.
Security measures cover two-factor authentication, KYC/KYB verification, and team access controls.
As cross-border trade and remote work boom in Africa, the platform aids firms dealing with international suppliers, teams, and customers. It is now available for organizations scaling globally.
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