The European Union selected Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, and Vodafone Germany to run field trials to develop digital ID functions and improve the security of biometric technology. Under the project, the EU established a consortium consisting of the operators, which will be responsible for testing biometric-powered digital identity wallets in 19 countries on its behalf.
Countries included in the trial include Germany; Austria; France; Poland; Greece; the Netherlands; and Ukraine. Registrations for bank accounts and driving licenses using the IDs will be tested, while trials for online public services including the use of e-signatures are already underway.
The trials form part of EU efforts to adopt an improved technical framework for secure digital identities, as the methods implemented to date have apparently faced criticism for high costs and vulnerabilities. Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, and Vodafone will also attempt to curb digital identity fraud and improve security in cross-border SIM card activations in Ukraine.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the new digital identity will be one that we trust, and that citizens everywhere in Europe can use to do everything from pay taxes to rent a bike. A technology with which we ourselves can control what data is used and how. Testing will run until end-2024.
AgentOS is Infobip’s response to a phase in which agents are becoming an important tool for process automation and customer communication. Krešo Žmak says the market is still at an early stage, but clients are moving away from AI for the sake of innovation and towards measurable results. The next challenge will be controlling costs, user experience, and the nondeterministic nature of agentic systems.
Telecom operators approach AI from two directions: as providers of infrastructure for the digital transformation of other industries and as organisations embedding AI into their own processes. A1 Hrvatska has moved from prototypes to concrete products, from customer support to sovereign European cloud services. Daniel Šimić says workforce profiles are also changing, with fast learning, customer understanding and adaptability becoming more important.
Burra was created as a platform for consolidating IT services companies in Southeast Europe, with a commercial focus on Western Europe and the United States. Its first members, Devōt, Tacta and CoreLine, continue to run their existing businesses while integration is planned gradually, primarily through new projects. Sven Marušić says the aim is not to turn founders into corporate employees, but to build a larger organisation in which they remain shareholders and drivers of growth.
