TeliaSonera announced plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs, or 7 percent of its workforce, as part of a strategy to reduce costs by a net 2 billion Swedish kronor (US$300 million) over the next two years. The cost-cutting measure was revealed with the operator's third-quarter financial results, in which the company's revenues were down by 3.2 percent to SEK 25.8 billion ($3.9 billion) and operating income fell 6.2 percent to SEK 7.5 billion ($1.3 billion) compared with the same period last year. TeliaSonera CEO Lars Nyberg said in a statement: "Although Eurasia continues to deliver double-digit growth and Broadband Services reports a moderate decrease, we are experiencing weakness in service revenues in many of our markets within Mobility Services." He also noted that as customers' usage behavior is quickly changing, "we must change our business models from being voice to data centric." (See TeliaSonera to Shed 2,000 Jobs, TeliaSonera Abandons VoIP Charge, TeliaSonera Replaces Mobility Services Exec and TeliaSonera Launches Uzbek Review.)
Over at the Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam, the FTTH Council Europe has revealed the top three fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) markets in Europe. And the winners will come as no surprise (really!), because they are the same as last year. Topping the FTTH charts are: Lithuania with 30 percent penetration, Norway with 18 percent and Sweden with 14.5 percent. (See Lithuania Tops EU FTTH Ranking, EC's FTTX Gamble and Why 9.2 Is the Magic Number.)
Polish operator Telekomunikacja Polska SA cut its revenue outlook for 2012 from an expected 3 percent decline to a drop of between 4 and 5 percent, sending its share price tumbling, reports Reuters. The operator cited intense competition in the mobile services market as well as an economic slowdown as reasons for the change.
Mamma Mia! Telecom Italia said it will launch LTE services in Italy on Nov. 7. The first devices to support the mobile broadband service will be USB modems and tablets, and the operator said smartphones will be introduced at a "later date." A one-year USB modem contract with a data cap of 20GB per month will cost €349 (US$458) in total -- or about €29 ($38) per month. The operator is also offering the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 with a package that costs €45 ($59) for 30 months a 20GB data cap. (See Telecom Italia to Launch LTE Next Month.)
Deutsche Telekom has added an application delivery network to its content delivery network (CDN) service offer through its wholesale division, International Carrier Sales and Solutions. The service aims to improve the performance and throughput of Web applications, such as those used for social media services, customized information portals, or e-commerce and booking engine apps. (See DT Launches App Delivery Network.)
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