The anticipated demand for location-aware multimedia devices has prompted the merger of wireless chip firm CSR with Zoran Corp. (Nasdaq: ZRAN), the video technology specialist. The new company will be valued at US$679 million, and the deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2011. CSR, based in Cambridge, U.K., recently settled its differences with Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM) in the U.S. courts. (See CSR to Merge With Zoran and CSR, Broadcom Settle Litigation.)

Interoute has acquired KPN's 3,600km German dark fiber network, giving it coverage in nine of Germany's main cities, including Berlin, Munich and Hamburg. As part of the deal, the Dutch incumbent will lease back four or five fiber pairs from Interoute to support KPN customers in Germany. (See Interoute Buys KPN's Dark Fiber and Interoute Looks Tasty.)

If you can remember as far back as September 2009, then you may recall the formation of a joint venture forged by Juniper Networks and Nokia Siemens Networks called Carrier Ethernet Solutions BV. (If that doesn't ring a bell, don't worry -- you're not alone.) Well, the joint venture has announced Carrier Ethernet Transport 2.0, which includes two new Ethernet access switches and enhancements to the venture's ASPEN network management system. That Service Provider Information Technology (SPIT) software, and the access switches, can trace their ancestry back to noisy Ethernet startup Atrica. Ah, now it's all coming back to you, isn't it… (See NSN, Juniper Update on Carrier Ethernet, Juniper, NSN Launch Joint Venture and Nokia Siemens to Acquire Atrica.)

The Near Field Communications World website has revealed details of Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT)'s plans for its NFC rollout: The German incumbent will begin commercial NFC services this year in both Germany (through T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH ) and Poland (through Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa Sp. z.o.o. (PTC) , with services in both countries sharing a "common platform." Rival Orange (NYSE: FTE) has already announced that it is launching NFC services in the U.K., France, Spain and Poland. (See Orange Launches NFC Services, Roaming Tariffs.)

U.K. giant BT is being accused of leaving gaps in its rollout of "super-fast" (up to 40Mbit/s) broadband, reports ISPreview UK, citing PC Pro. The claim is that in some exchange areas up to 60 percent of street cabinets have been left out of the rollout, meaning that the upgrade of those exchanges hasn't delivered the expected improvements to everyone.

Israel-based access and transport equipment vendor ECI Telecom Ltd. is to supply Amprion, an ultra-high-voltage grid operator in Germany, with the necessary gubbins to support Amprion's smart-grid ambitions. More specifically (isn't "gubbins" enough for you?), the utility firm will be deploying ECI's BroadGate All-Native Packet Optical Transport offering. (See ECI Wins Transport Deal in Germany.)

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading