Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VMED) is on the brink of joining Sky 's Adsmart advertising network, a deal that could allow the two cable operators to improve their ability to target specific consumers with appropriate ads. As the Daily Telegraph reports, Adsmart in theory allows TV advertisers to target consumers based on a range of attributes, including postcode, wealth and age. It is thought the deal, if it goes ahead, will help the help the pair divert advertising spend away from traditional local media, as well as from Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Facebook .

Telefónica has deployed Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. 's Smartcare SOC (Service Operations Center) offering on its networks in Germany, Chile and Argentina. The operator hopes that the move will help it better understand its mobile customers' network experience. The SOCs use anonymized and aggregated customer data to help Telefónica identify network black spots and anticipate potentially disruptive incidents.

Google has agreed to open up its Android operating system to rival search engines in Russia in an out-of-court deal with the country's competition authority, Reuters reports. In 2015 the FAS ruled that Google was contravening its rules by requiring the pre-installation of certain applications, including its own search engine, on Android devices. Google will still have to pay the FAS a total of 439 million roubles ($7.85 million) in fines.

Twenty percent of UK firms have fallen victim to cyber attacks in the past year, according to new research from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), though those companies with more than 100 employees are far more likely to be targeted (42% suffered a cyber hit) than their smaller brethren (18%). Only a quarter of those responding have cybersecurity accreditations in place. The BCC surveyed 1,285 business people in the UK.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading