On the subject of mobile masts in far-flung UK locations, the aforementioned EE has been tooting its trumpet about how many 4G sites it has switched on across Scotland since 2012: 2,300, to be precise. EE claims that the new mast builds mean that 69% of rural areas across Scotland can now receive its 4G service. Figure 1: OK, the view's ruined... but the coverage is fantastic!

The NGMN Alliance has joined the growing list of industry organizations seeking to define the optimum telco approach to cloud-native deployments, announcing it has initiated work focused on "cloud native infrastructure, hardware dis-aggregation, open interfaces, open platforms, edge computing, and automation." The Frankfurt-based industry body acknowledges that "a number of industry organizations are currently working on different aspects of the topics," and that it "aims to facilitate a close alignment, leading to the integration of results to form a common architectural view."

The Walt Disney Company has done another deal with a European operator for the propagation of its imminent Disney+ streaming service. This time it's the turn of Telefónica, which will add the service to its Movistar+ platform. Disney+ will launch on March 24 in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. (See Disney+ Accelerates Its European Invasion.)

The security or otherwise of the UK's 5G network is to be the subject of an inquiry by the government's parliamentary defence committee, Reuters reports. The inquiry is, of course, is largely prompted by ongoing concerns over the involvement of Huawei in the UK's 5G networks, an involvement that was given the green light, albeit with a number of conditions, by the Boris Johnson administration a few weeks ago. (See Tough UK limits on Huawei's role in 5G threaten telco plans and Eurobites: Trump Blows His Top at Boris Over Huawei – Report.)

Ireland-based Cubic Telecom is collaborating with Kymeta on a network platform that enables customers to switch from satellite to LTE connectivity "seamlessly." The technology is aimed largely at the emergency services, military users and the transport sector, with connected buses, ships, trucks and trains potentially benefiting.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading