Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1436376
4 MARKET NEWS 9.12.2021 VERY few people know that Malta Air Traffic Services (MATS) is the entity that is responsible for the provision of air traffic control services, not just over the Maltese territory, but is also respon- sible for the airspace, extending to Libya , Tunisia to Greece and bordering with Italy. "And even fewer people know that without MATS' operations, no flights would really be possible. In fact, MATS is the sole air navigation service pro- vider for the Maltese Islands and this is why at GO, we are very proud to have been supporting them for decades with our telecommunications services," Jon- athan Brincat, Senior Manager, Enter- prise Services at GO, said. GO has been assisting MATS as its operations evolved throughout the years, supporting them in all technolog- ical aspects, from consultancy to imple- mentation and support for ground-to- ground communication. MATS knows its origins from 1947, when following the war and with the assistance of the British Forces, Malta got its own FIR – defined airspace with- in which flight information and alerting services are provided. By 1954, Maltese controllers had re- placed all expatriates and by 1978 Malta had all the staff it needed to run its own air traffic control. Until MATS was established as a lim- ited liability company in 2002, air traffic control services were part of the Direc- torate of Civil Aviation and even Malta International Airport. "We are accountable to the Maltese public, users of our airspace and all our stakeholders and yet, so many people are not familiar with us and the work we do. Our work however is essential to the country and therefore, having a resilient technology partner like GO is very critical," Dr Kenneth Chircop, CEO of MATS, said. GO supplies MATS with all the inter- national links with different countries; links that connect with the infrastruc- ture needed in the respective countries - from Malta to Italy to Greece and connecting even Crete through partner networks. "We have links to telecoms providers in other countries, where we provide MATS with connections to locations where they may have equipment need- ed to operate. At GO we also host an ar- ray of equipment to secure visibility of radars. For example, for MATS to view the Eastern side of the Mediterranean, they utilise our connection to view the radars located in Greece," Brincat said. "We have installed mobile repeaters to improve coverages and to be used as backup to fixed voice. Broadband ser- vices are also provided, to access spe- cific data such as weather information. Our infrastructure is also built in a way that ensures that if there is a fibre cut, MATS can use alternative routes thus ensuring that no loss of service and op- erations. We are happy to note that we provide 100% uptime to voice, data, and pretty much everything else," he said. "Although we have a maintenance agreement through which GO can sup- port us whenever the need arises, our people today are also adequately trained and able to handle issues whenever these arise, from basic troubleshooting to emergency situations," concluded Chircop said. How GO Business supports Malta Air Traffic Services MATS CEO Kenneth Chircop MEDIRECT Bank Malta has upgrad- ed its eBanking investment platform providing users a more intuitive de- sign and easy access to over 4,000 se- curities. The platform offers custom- ers the opportunity to choose their preferred investment from a huge selection of equities listed on 17 in- ternational stock exchanges, several ETFs and Mutual Funds managed by international and leading fund hous- es, together with a selection of local and international bonds. The upgrade includes also the in- troduction of real-time pricing on equities and ETFs. This ensures that customers, using MeDirect for their trading, can benefit from the latest in- formation and prices making it easier to take advantage of any trading op- portunities. Moreover, the new user interface features improved search facilities, including guided searches, as well as different options of how the informa- tion can be viewed on the platform through enhancements made in the dashboard functionality and other screens. In addition to these enhancements, MeDirect customers can continue to benefit from competitive tariffs when trading online that have now been re- viewed to ensure that the fees are sim- plified and transparent. Pawel Malukiewicz, Group Head – Channels and Customer Experience at MeDirect Bank Malta stated: "is im- proved investment platform is a result of the feedback received by the Bank's clients and employees, who continue to push the brand to continuously de- velop our products and services. We thank all those involved for their ded- ication and hard work, truly placing MeDirect as Malta's First Digital Bank." Adding to this, Chris Portelli, Chief Technology Officer for the banking group, said: "We are constantly evolv- ing our technology stack, working on various exciting projects and are also delighted to announce that in the next few weeks we will also be introducing investment functionalities to our mo- bile application." MeDirect Bank continues to work on the further development of its digital channels to offer its clients more in- novation. Recently, this work has been recog- nised as the bank won the "Best use of Technology in Business Transforma- tion" category at the 2021 eBusiness Awards organised by Tech.MT. The accolade confirmed MeDirect's status as Malta's first Digital Bank. To celebrate this important mile- stone, MeDirect has decided to launch a promotion whereby all new custom- ers who join the Bank and invest a minimum of Eur5,000 will receive a cashback of Eur100. This offer is available until 31 Janu- ary 2022. Further information, includ- ing the terms and conditions, can be found here: https://promo.medirect. com.mt/receive-100-cash-back MeDirect, is also organising a give- away, giving all its customers, who trade and invest with them, the op- portunity to win exclusive prizes. Over the same time period, anyone who buys any security through the MeDirect platform with a minimum investment amount of €100, will be in with a chance of winning an iPhone 13 Pro Max (that will be drawn monthly) and a voucher of €250 from The Point Shopping Mall, which will be drawn on a weekly basis. Further information, including the terms and conditions, can be found here: https://promo.medirect.com. mt/trade-and-win MeDirect Bank's new investment platform features real-time pricing MeDirect Bank Malta's eBanking investment platform now sees the introduction of real-time pricing on equities and ETFs