Elliott Management, an activist hedge fund run by Paul Singer, is attempting to build up its stake in Telecom Italia (TIM) in a bid to lessen the influence of Vivendi on the Italian incumbent. As Bloomberg reports, Elliott has become concerned about the future of TIM since France's Vivendi took a controlling stake in the operator. TIM, whose shares have lost nearly 30% of their value over the past two years, is due to publish its annual results later today. (See Eurobites: TIM's Management Turmoil Continues and Telecom Italia Drama: What Is Vivendi Up To?)

Orange (NYSE: FTE) CEO Stéphane Richard is looking to beef up his group executive committee with the addition of seven new members, including Orange Spain CEO Laurent Paillassot, who becomes group deputy CEO, and Helmut Reisinger, who replaces Thierry Bonhomme as CEO of Orange Business Services. There will also be changes of responsibilities for some existing board members, such as Gervais Pelilissier, delegate chief executive officer, who has been tasked with pushing through the "transformation" of the group. For the full run-down of who's in and what job they've got, see this press release.

Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) and Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) have signed an agreement preparing the ground for collaboration on 5G trials in Saudi Arabia. The agreement forms part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which sees the kingdom becoming "a global investment powerhouse" and a "global hub connecting three continents."

Deutsche Telekom is throwing itself headlong into the "genuine unlimited" data game with the launch of two new tariffs, one aimed at businesses, the other at residential customers. Business Mobil XL Plus costs €87.95 ($109) a month, while MagentaMobil XL comes in at €79.95 ($99) a month.

Telefónica Business Solutions has added Microsoft's Azure services to its multicloud offering for the business-to-business market.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading