“Our obligation is to look towards web 3, generative Artificial Intelligence, network amplification, etc.,” says Chema Alonso, Chief Digital Officer of Telefónica and CEO of Telefónica Digital Innovation. And so they have done it. The telecommunications company has presented the latest trends and technological developments on its “Innovation Day” that can transform the lives of users and the businesses of thousands of companies in our country.
Telefónica has launched in Spain together with its partner Bit2Me, YOUR Walletan application that allows users to operate with cryptocurrencies in a “simple and transparent” way, who will be able to buy, sell, send and pay with these digital assets with just a mobile phone number. Transfers made through this wallet do not have commissions associated with them, although currency exchanges will. Alonso asserts that the idea is that it works “almost like a Bizum” and that it sends assets by phone number “has a lot of value”, so the idea is to “take it to the maximum number of connections.”
Therefore, through this application they intend to offer a product “the most usable” for everyone and with the “highest security standards possible”Therefore, only those cryptocurrencies that have a greater capitalization and offer a “greater degree of trust” to users are included, says the CEO of Telefónica Innovación Digital. Likewise, the app will incorporate Bit2Me Card, a virtual card in collaboration with MasterCard to make payments with cryptocurrencies in any establishment or electronic commerce.
((H3:«Hub Live Shopping»))
In addition to TU Wallet, another of the new features presented at Movistar Plus+ has been the «Hub Live Shopping» which launched last July. This is a catalog of “living apps” – applications on television that do not need to be downloaded – in which well-known brands such as IKEA, Adolfo Domínguez or Clikalia can offer their customers a “unique interactive experience” so that they can buy their products at through the screen. «It is a very good outlet for brands to position themselves»says the director of Digital Home at Telefónica, Rubén Mellado.
Specifically, Movistar Plus+ customers who press the number 126 on their controls will be able to access the “Hub Live Shopping”. In this they will be able to watch videos in which “influencers or experts” from the brands explain the different products they have, answer their questions, and if they are convinced, they can buy them directly from the television. In 2024, six million usage sessions will have been registered, nearly 300,000 monthly active homes and Clients used these applications on average about 6 minutes per session.
For its part, “Movistar Immersive Experience” (MEI), is a virtual reality application with which users can access the world of Movistar in the metaverse through the “Meta Quest” glasses and incorporates a new functionality, the “mobile advisor”. Through generative AI, and a conversation “in natural language” with Aura – Telefónica’s artificial intelligence-based virtual assistant – they help users find the ideal mobile phone according to their preferences and needs. Likewise, in anticipation of the arrival of the Apple Vision Pro in Spain, Telefónica also presented the development of MEI for this device.
They are also bringing artificial intelligence closer to the little ones in the house. Telefónica presented the product “la Cuentoteca”, which will be released soon, and uses ChatGPT so they can create their own stories.
Drone flights
Another of the novelties presented was based on the “Open Gateway” platform and the company has shown use cases of the APIs available for sectors such as banking, security or air connectivity. Specifically, Telefónica carried out a live demonstration of drone flights, showing how quality-on-demand (QoD) APIs allow optimizing the 5G video transmission experience in environments with high network congestion, such as stadiums with thousands of people or demonstrations. It also allows advanced facial recognition to improve security in these types of events.