Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Nokia clinches fixed access deal with POST Luxembourg; Sparkle and Mobileum team up on roaming security; Tele2 Russia calls on Anam for SMS smarts.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

October 27, 2020

3 Min Read
Eurobites: More regulation? No way, says Telefónica's José

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Nokia clinches fixed access deal with POST Luxembourg; Sparkle and Mobileum team up on roaming security; Tele2 Russia calls on Anam for SMS smarts.

  • Telefónica's chairman, José María Álvarez-Pallete, used a speech in London yesterday (Monday) to sound off on a number of issues close to his heart, not least the need – as he sees it – for deregulation of the telco sector. Conversely, he said he welcomed the European Commission's initiative to regulate what he called the "gatekeepers of the digital world." He also encouraged policymakers not to focus on maximizing 5G auction revenues, and highlighted the paradox of telcos' revenues falling while, during the coronavirus pandemic, connectivity becomes increasingly important. "We need new competition rules that allow the creation of strong carriers and healthy domestic markets in Europe. This is critical!" declaimed the Telefónica boss.

    • Nokia has signed a seven-year deal with POST Luxembourg to help the operator supply high-speed fiber access to consumers and businesses across the country. POST will deploy Nokia's Multi-PON line cards, supporting GPON and XGS-PON simultaneously and offering up to 10Gbit/s data rates.

    • Sparkle, the international services arm of Telecom Italia, has teamed up with analytics firm Mobileum to provide integrated roaming and security services to mobile operators worldwide. End-to-end IPX connectivity, data roaming, signaling security services for SS7, Diameter and GTP, and analytics-based roaming solutions are all part of the deal.

    • Dublin-based Anam Technologies has struck a two-year deal with Tele2 Russia, involving the provision of managed A2P SMS – or "robotexts"– services to complement Anam's already deployed SMS firewall, which protects subscribers from unauthorized SMS messages and SMS-driven fraud, and fulfills Russian regulations in the messaging arena.

    • Sweden's Net Insight has released the latest version of its cloud-based Nimbra Edge video delivery platform. New features include an open API and built-in synchronization for remote and distributed workflows in the cloud.

    • MTN and 9Mobile have been trialing a national roaming service in the Ondo State region of Nigeria. MTN is Nigeria's biggest mobile operator, with around 71 million subscribers at the end of June 2020, while 9Mobile is the smallest, with around 12 million users, according to statistics from market research company Omdia.

    • The European Union's competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, has revealed she is in the throes of drafting the criteria that will govern which companies will feel the force of the forthcoming Digital Services Act. The Act will set out how digital marketplaces can operate within the European Union, including how data can be shared without trampling over EU citizens' rights. As Reuters reports, Vestager denied it was strictly a FAANG thing: "Well obviously it will not be targeted at any specific company or any specific nationality. What is important is that they target a certain market weight, market influence and this is what will be guiding these criteria that we will set out." (See Google says advertisers will pay digital services tax.)

    • Saudi Telecom Company has announced the launch of an Advanced Cloud Based Data Analysis Laboratory as part of its stated commitment to the use of artificial intelligence to boost innovation. The lab is intended to create a cooperative environment for the analysis of big data and the development of artificial intelligence models with local, regional or international partners.

      — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Paul Rainford

Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Paul is based on the Isle of Wight, a rocky outcrop off the English coast that is home only to a colony of technology journalists and several thousand puffins.

He has worked as a writer and copy editor since the age of William Caxton, covering the design industry, D-list celebs, tourism and much, much more.

During the noughties Paul took time out from his page proofs and marker pens to run a small hotel with his other half in the wilds of Exmoor. There he developed a range of skills including carrying cooked breakfasts, lying to unwanted guests and stopping leaks with old towels.

Now back, slightly befuddled, in the world of online journalism, Paul is thoroughly engaged with the modern world, regularly firing up his VHS video recorder and accidentally sending text messages to strangers using a chipped Nokia feature phone.

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