SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 28, 2026--
Consumers who long suspected they pay for more connectivity than they get can soon prove it. Skyli, Inc., a privacy-first consumer financial protection platform, today announced an exclusive partnership with LumaIQ, Inc., an institutional-grade telecom intelligence company, to show households what their internet and mobile bills deliver.
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American households now spend roughly $280 per month on internet and mobile yet comparison tools rely on advertised prices and affiliate commissions consumers cannot verify.
The first joint product automates telecom cost optimization. Skyli flags hidden fees, unfair terms, and dark patterns, while LumaIQ contributes proprietary radio-level telemetry gathered independently of the carriers. LumaIQ also surfaces more competitive rate plans from carriers and resellers, letting consumers weigh price against real performance. The analysis runs without storing user data, keeping consumers in control.
"Consumers deserve better prices and packages than they're getting today," said Joshua Bae, CEO of Skyli. "Skyli's consumer-first AI and LumaIQ's expert network data work as one. Together we level the playing field that's long been tilted toward the providers. Now, consumers can make better-informed choices with confidence.”
“We spent forty years inside this industry, and we built LumaIQ on a single conviction: the only benchmark consumers can trust is an independent one,” said Bill Stueber, former Telecom Industry CEO and a founding partner of LumaIQ. “Most comparison sites are paid by the very carriers they claim to rank. We took the harder road and built an independent measurement platform instead. Pair that with Skyli’s ability to read the fine print that no human ever finishes and overlooked optimal plan options finally come to light.”
The alliance is exclusive to both parties, with an initial five-year term that renews automatically. Neither company will offer the capabilities it contributes to the other's direct competitors, protecting the joint offering as it scales.
The commitment goes beyond product. The two companies will support each other's growth directly, opening their financial networks, validating each other's technology for investors, and serving as long-term corporate references as both firms expand. It aligns incentives across the data and consumer layers.
After launch, the companies will extend the architecture into new expense verticals, enterprise, and government.
About Skyli
Skyli, Inc. is a consumer financial platform that closes the information gap between merchants and consumers. It surfaces hidden charges, unfavorable terms, and deceptive design patterns, then gives consumers practical ways to protect their money. Skyli is a zero-data platform that does not store user data. Learn more at www.skyli.ai .
About LumaIQ
LumaIQ, Inc. is an institutional-grade telecom intelligence company founded by industry veterans with four decades across wireless, fiber, and network engineering. Built on independent measurement and proprietary radio-level telemetry, LumaIQ delivers unbiased connectivity benchmarks and transparent cost analysis. Learn more at https://getlumaiq.com/ .
Joshua Bae, CEO of Skyli (left), and Bill Stueber, CEO of LumaIQ (right), celebrate the establishment of a strategic partnership between their two companies.
PARIS (AP) — Moments after being announced as France's new coach on Tuesday, Zinedine Zidane clenched his fists and his usually measured voice trembled a little.
“I’m excited,” he said. “The France team makes you dream. We have extraordinary players, an extraordinary team.”
Zidane coached Real Madrid until leaving in 2021. He replaces Didier Deschamps at the helm of France team he led to glory as arguably its greatest ever player.
“I’ve waited five years for this chance, so that’s why I’m a bit emotional,” said Zidane, adding that it was the happiest day of his career as coach.
“I’ve always watched this side as a fan and also as a future coach, I won’t hide it.” Zidane added. “That’s why I didn’t take a club side. I told myself that the only thing I wanted to do after Madrid was taking the France team.”
French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo announced Zidane’s appointment at the FFF headquarters in Paris on Tuesday, saying he has been given a 4-year contract.
Diallo called the hiring of Zidane “an exceptional moment,” calling Zidane “one of the legends of French soccer.”
The 54-year-old Zidane could have gone to another club after leaving Madrid in 2021. But there was no way he would.
“I had some offers during the five years I was away to take charge of a club,” he said. “I turned them all down for the France team. It was the only thing I wanted to do.”
Zidane called it “an immense joy” taking charge.
“I have so many emotions,” he said. “I am ready for the challenge.”
Zidane praised Deschamps, who won the 2018 World Cup and stepped down after the recent edition, where Les Bleus lost in the semifinals to Spain.
“I will give everything so that this team can win,” Zidane said. “I would also like to congratulate DD (Deschamps) for these remarkable years.”
Diallo said he met Zidane for talks in February, 2025 after Deschamps said he would stand down following the 2026 World Cup. Zidane said France would play differently to how it did under Deschamps.
“What motivates me is the game, I was a No. 10, I like goals,” Zidane said. “I was a leader on the field and now I want to be a leader by experience.”
His first game will be away to Turkey in the Nations League on Sept. 25, followed by a match in Belgium three days later.
Home fans need to wait until Oct. 2 for a glimpse of Zidane at Stade de France, when France plays Italy, 20 years after he was sent off against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final for headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi.
“I’ve noted all of the four matches to come,” Zidane said, tapping his forehead. “Italy is special, because I played there, because I know people, because I speak Italian. All of those things.”
After the announcement, Zidane greeted a large gathering of fans outside the federation headquarters and they cheered loudly when he arrived.
France lost the World Cup final on penalties in 2022 and lost the European Championship final on home soil in 2016. Some Deschamps critics, among them former France teammate Christophe Dugarry, said he should have won more with the players he had.
Deschamps described an “an unbreathable atmosphere” at the end of his tenure, without detailing what the tensions were.
Zidane and Deschamps were different types of midfielders, but are forever linked by glory.
The industrious Deschamps was France’s captain and the mercurial Zinedine was the creative force when France won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.
Affectionately nicknamed “Zizou” his face was beamed onto the Arc de Triomphe the night France celebrated its first World Cup triumph in ’98. An inspired Zidane scored two headers in the final in a 3-0 win against Brazil at Stade de France and later that year he won the Ballon d’Or.
Born in Marseille to Algerian parents, Zidane grew up playing in the estate of La Castellane, which has a giant mural of Zidane on one its tower blocks. It was on the estate's concrete pitches where Zidane nurtured his incredible balance, to avoid falling on the rock-hard ground.
Zidane’s club career took him from Cannes to Bordeaux and then to two of the world’s biggest clubs: Italian giant Juventus and Madrid.
His international career began in 1994, when he scored two stunning goals against the Czech Republic after coming on as a substitute, in front of his home fans in Bordeaux.
He won league titles with Juve and Madrid and scored a brilliant volley to help Madrid win the Champions League in 2002.
With Zidane carrying an injury, France flopped at the 2002 World Cup — going out in the group stage — but reached the 2006 final after Zidane came out of international retirement.
His performance in a 1-0 victory over Brazil in the quarterfinals was Zidane at his balletic best: a hypnotic combination of drag-backs, stepovers, spins on the ball, and flicks over the shoulder.
The Brazilians were in awe and even Ronaldinho — a Ballon d'Or winner himself — seemed captivated.
His 108th and final game for France was against Italy in the final and he scored early with a deft Panenka-style penalty for his 31st, and last, international goal.
Then, with millions watching around the world, an infamous moment saw him walk back up the field and slam his forehead into Materazzi’s chest, sending the tall defender flying backward.
Zidane trudged past the gold-tinted World Cup trophy as he left the field in Berlin, his international career over.
Now he has another chance to lead Les Bleus to glory.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Zinedine Zidane, newly appointed coach of the France national soccer team, attends a media conference at the headquarters of French Football Federation headquarters in Paris, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Zinedine Zidane, newly appointed coach of the France national soccer team, smiles during a media conference at the headquarters of French Football Federation headquarters in Paris, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Zinedine Zidane, newly appointed coach of the France national soccer team, attends a media conference at the headquarters of French Football Federation headquarters in Paris, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Zinedine Zidane, newly appointed coach of the France national soccer team, smiles during a media conference at the headquarters of French Football Federation headquarters in Paris, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
France head coach Didier Deschamps stands by the bench during the World Cup third-place playoff soccer match between France and England in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
FILE - Zinedine Zidane of France displays the World Cup after the final of the soccer World Cup 98 between Brazil and France at the Stade de France in Saint Denis, north of Paris, Sunday, July 12, 1998. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, file)
FILE - Former French player Zinedine Zidane, left, embraces Kylian Mbappe of France, as he is being presented to fans as a new Real Madrid player in Madrid, July 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas, File)
