Ericsson has announced commercial availability of its dynamic spectrum-sharing offering, which allows 4G and 5G to be deployed in the same band and on the same radio through a software upgrade. The Swedish vendor claims that its product provides the most economically feasible way of deploying 5G on existing bands. Ericsson's EVP and head of networks, Fredrik Jejdling, predicts that within the next 12 months, more than 80% of the commercial 5G networks that his company supports will use Ericsson's spectrum-sharing technology to achiever broad 5G coverage.

Nokia has teamed up with Lufthansa Technik, a provider of technical aircraft services, to deploy a 5G industrial-grade private wireless network that will enable the remote inspection of engine parts via high-definition video link. Currently, Lufthansa Technik's customers have to travel to Hamburg in Germany to carry out components inspections when engines are overhauled: If the network trial is successful, this will no longer be necessary.

Elsewhere on the Nokia front, Reuters reports that shares in the Finnish vendor outperformed a falling market on Thursday morning, following yesterday's Bloomberg story (paywall applies) saying that Nokia was exploring various strategic options, including possible asset sales or mergers. (See Nokia hires advisers for possible asset sales or a merger – reports.)

Orange is to integrate SES's satellite-based O3b mPower communications system into its network to help it meet the growing demand for connectivity in Africa. Positioned 8,000km away from Earth, the system will be integrated into existing terrestrial networks, providing multiple terabits of throughput globally when it becomes operational in 2022.

Swiss operator Sunrise saw 2019's fourth-quarter revenue increase 5.2% year on year to 511 million Swiss francs (US$526 million), while adjusted EBITDA also rose by 5.2%, to CHF161 million ($166 million). Results were complicated by the cancellation of the acquisition of UPC Switzerland, which meant that reported (unadjusted) EBITDA dropped by 56.4%.

Jim Casteele has been appointed chief consumer market officer at Belgium's Proximus. Casteele started his career as a software engineer, and has been with Proximus for 22 years.

Altibox, a provider of broadband and video services in Norway and Denmark, has chosen Technicolor's Android TV Jade set-top box. Altibox is using software from 3SS to enhance the customer viewing experience.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading