Europe is bracing itself for mobile network blackouts this winter, according, at least, to a Reuters report citing unspecified "telecoms industry officials." The report says that various EU countries, France and Germany among them, are fretting over the potential impact of power cuts that look likely to be brought on by the war in Ukraine. In France, for example, the report claims that the government, telcos and electricity supply companies have been holding crisis talks on this matter over the summer.

Scott Petty has been promoted to CTO of Vodafone, effective January 1, 2023. He succeeds Johan Wibergh, who is retiring after eight years in the role, stating on LinkedIn that the Vodafone position would be his last "operational job." Alberto Ripepi, currently deputy group CTO at Vodafone, becomes chief network officer. Last year, Vodafone carried out a restructuring of its networks and technology departments that put Petty in charge of digital and services at group level. (See Vodafone UK CTO Petty to lead group digital in new tech strategy.)

Proximus has teamed up with the government of the German-speaking part of the Belgium and insurance company Ethias in a joint venture, Glasfaser Ostbelgien, that has been given the task of rolling out fiber throughout Belgium's nine German-speaking municipalities, reaching rural areas that until now have remained unserved. Around 40,000 homes and business will be covered in the program.

Telecom Italia (TIM) has signed up to Open-es, a digital platform that allows companies to measure the sustainability performance of their suppliers. The initiative forms part of TIM's decarbonization journey, which will ultimately see it (if all goes to plan) achieve net zero by 2040.

Orange has opened another 5G lab, this time in Abdali, Jordan. As with all the other 16 such labs the operator has opened, the facility is intended to provide an open space for co-innovation and development to enable companies to test new applications through 5G networks and equipment.

Nordic operator Tele2 has appointed Johan Gustafsson as EVP of corporate communications and sustainability. He is currently doing something similar at financial firm Klarna.

UK pay-TV and broadband provider TalkTalk has added more than 90 new HD channels to its TV offer, which arrives in people's homes via the TalkTalk TV 4K Box powered by Netgem TV.

UK communications regulator Ofcom is again urging providers to do more to support customers who are struggling with the rising cost of living. It points to its annual affordability study, which finds that nearly a third of customers – around 8 million households – are having trouble paying their phone, broadband and pay-TV bills. This represents a near-doubling of last year's figure. Ofcom also highlights the fact that only 3% of eligible households have signed up to the discounted "social tariffs" that a number of providers have launched (though, as far as broadband is concerned, not TalkTalk, Vodafone or EE).

Colt Technology Services is offering connectivity services to the Oracle Cloud Paris Region via Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) FastConnect. Colt already offers a similar connection to Oracle's Cloud Marseille Region.

UK altnet Hyperoptic has signed a juicy deal with the powers-that-be in Islington, the schizophrenic London borough where multi-million-pound residences sit cheek-by-jowl with some grim social housing. Under the terms of the deal, more than 90% of its homes and businesses are set to receive a full fiber connection within the next three years.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading