Nokia has signed a deal with Nedaa, described as the security network provider for the Dubai government, which will see the pair explore the opportunities to upgrade Nedaa's network – both RAN and core – via the magic of 5G, including network slicing technology. Through the introduction of 5G, Nedaa reckons it will be able to improve public safety services, such as immersive applications for first-responders and connected vehicles.

Nokia has also announced a new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy, focusing on five strategic areas it calls Environment, Industrial Digitalization, Security & Privacy, Bridging the Digital Divide, and Responsible Business. Specifics include reducing energy consumption in its various chipsets and cutting carbon dioxide emissions at its basestations by up to 80%.

Deutsche Telekom says it's taking the lead on the 6G NeXt (Native Extensions for XR Technologies) project, which is investigating 6G requirements for real-time and reliable transmission of demanding XR (virtual reality, augmented reality, that kind of thing) applications. One specific application being looked at is an anti-collision system for aviation. Nine other partners, from German industry and academia, are also involved in the project.

Belgium's Proximus saw underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) rise 0.6% to €460 million (US$456 million) in the third quarter, on underlying revenue that climbed 7.8% to €1.51 billion ($1.49 billion). International units BICS and Telesign were two of the stars of the show, recording 16.4% and 44% growth respectively.

Octaplus, a recent addition to the UK ISP market, has agreed to a deal to make its broadband services available in all locations across CityFibre's network where homes are ready for service. CityFibre's network currently passes more than 2 million premises, and around 1.8 million of those homes are ready to sign up for full-fiber broadband services via the network, should they so choose.

Virgin Media O2 says that more than 1 million customers have now signed up for its Volt broadband service, which was the first fruit of the £31 billion ($35.7 billion) merger between Virgin Media and O2 in 2021. Volt customers receive average broadband download speeds of 452 Mbit/s, according to the company.

Diego Galli, general manager of towers firm Inwit, has bought 30,000 ordinary shares in his company, at €8.75 a pop.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading