Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1491498
2 NEWS 2.2.2023 EURO area annual inflation is expected to be 8.5% in January 2023, down from 9.2% in December accord- ing to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Looking at the main components of euro area in- flation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in January (17.2%, compared with 25.5% in De- cember), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (14.1%, compared with 13.8% in December), non-energy industrial goods (6.9%, compared with 6.4% in De- cember) and services (4.2%, compared with 4.4% in December). e euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Es- tonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland. e euro area data refer to the country composition at a specific point in time. Changes in the composi- tion of the euro area are incorporated using a chain index formula. Data for Germany for January 2023 was not availa- ble in time for publication due to technical data pro- cessing issues in Germany. erefore, the euro area HICP has been calculated using Eurostat estimates for Germany. Euro area annual inflation down to 8.5% Melita acquires Netmore M2M MELITA Limited has significantly ex- tended the international reach of its innovative IoT connectivity solution – melita.io – with the acquisition of the M2M SIM card business owned by Sweden-based IoT operator Netmore M2M AB. Netmore M2M forms part of the Netmore Group which – through its customised connectivity solutions – empowers IoT companies all over the world with smart, robust and affordable connectivity. Andreas Stenhager, Chief Commercial Officer of the Netmore Group, said: "e sale of Netmore M2M is another step in our strategic focus on our fastest grow- ing business area, IoT/LoRaWAN, and represents a significant contribution of capital to our business and also the be- ginning of a partnership with Melita. "We are pleased that Netmore M2M will have a very well-suited owner who can continue to manage and develop the business for the benefit of the cus- tomers." Following the deal with Melita, Net- more M2M's broad customer base will be able to take advantage of the func- tionality and services offered by melita. io, including roaming and an enhanced IoT management platform. Melita CEO Harald Roesch said: "e acquisition of NetmoreM2M will fur- ther strengthen our fast-growing busi- ness for SIM-based IoT connectivity by adding customers from across Europe. e partnership with Netmore AB will also be a strategic element in our future expansion." "Netmore M2M customers stand to gain a range of benefits, such as im- proved international coverage, cheap- er roaming rates, cheaper and more flexible data bundle options, and a us- er-friendly portal with the facility to manage M2M SIMs remotely." IoT has become an integral part of people's lives, with numerous smart de- vices installed in modern households that are continually collecting and pro- cessing information. Wireless technol- ogies allow this data to be transmitted in real-time, so that the condition and status of what is being monitored can be instantly assessed. IoT provides companies with the in- sights and data they need to increase automation, improve operational effi- ciency and reduce costs. It also plays an important role in cush- ioning the impact of industry on the environment, such as saving water, re- ducing pesticides used by farmers, and enabling transport and logistics opera- tors to minimise fuel consumption. Meanwhile, in both the hospitality sector and domestic homes, IoT can be used to optimise the use of heating, lighting and cooling, which saves ener- gy, resulting in lower bills. Melita invests over €150 million in its infrastructure Melita Limited has invested over €150 million in its network and technology infrastructure during these recent years to cater for the continuous increase in demand for connectivity and to satisfy customer expectations for faster down- loads and seamless streaming. is investment continued in the past months, as Melita focused on enhanc- ing the quality and capacity of its local and international internet infrastruc- ture by deploying state-of-the art, 100G capable, Cisco-powered equipment and circuits in Malta and in Melita's hubs in Pozzallo, Catania and Milan. ese improvements to Melita's inter- net backbone capacity allow for contin- ued growth and augmented connectiv- ity, allowing it to continue to maintain its leadership in the provision of local internet and other connectivity servic- es. Roesch said that with internet usage always on the increase, it was of utmost importance to plan ahead to ensure the internet infrastructure could handle the increase in traffic. Malta ranks first in the latest EU re- port of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) when considering the cov- erage of very high capacity networks, with Melita offering 1,000Mbps nation- wide. is has undoubtedly increased the appetite for ultrafast broadband. Together with increasing its overall capacity, Melita has diversified its peer- ing strategy even further, which in turn improves resiliency and reduces impact when one of its suppliers is disrupted. In addition to improving service conti- nuity, this helps to improve on an ever more seamless experience for its cus- tomers.. "As businesses grow and remote work- ing is here to stay, we want to ensure we're well prepared to accommodate a future increase in load," Roesch said.