Nokia Siemens Networks may be making cutbacks in some areas, but it is still keeping its end up on the R&D front, opening a mobile broadband testing and development facility in Silicon Valley. Located in Mountain View, Calif., this is NSN's second such "Smart Lab" facility in the U.S., and it has several others around the world. (See NSN Opens Silicon Valley Smart Lab, Nokia Cuts 4,000 More Jobs , NSN Suffers in Q4, NSN, Skolkovo Foundation to Innovate and NSN to Build Smart Lab in Korea.)

Fujitsu plans to make its debut in the European mobile devices market with a range of smartphones and tablets that will be on show at the forthcoming Mobile World Congress, reports the Financial Times (subscription required). Biometric security will be incorporated into the handsets to bolster confidence in their use for NFC-based mobile payment.

The patents spat between Apple and Motorola Mobility continues. (I could have sworn I've typed that sentence before.) Motorola Mobility (or MMI as it's known by the legal eagles) reports in its latest 10-K document filed with the SEC that it received a letter from the European Commission 's Competition Commission on Feb. 17 notifying it that Apple has complained to the EC that MMI's enforcement of its "standards-essential patents" are in breach of MMI's FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) commitments. Apple wants to force MMI to play fair, it seems. The only thing one can reasonably conclude from this squabble is that the main losers are likely to be the general public, the very people that keep Apple and MMI in business. So, hearty sarcastic congratulations to all those involved. (See Moto Wins a Round vs. Apple, Apple Sues Moto and Motorola Sues Apple.)

The four-week long World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 wrapped up last week, and the good news for the mobile industry is that there will be more spectrum allocated for mobile broadband services in the 700MHz frequency band at the next WRC meeting in 2015. The decision, which was applauded by the GSM Association (GSMA) , also means that rules for awarding this spectrum to mobile operators will be more consistent and uniform across different geographical regions. (See GSMA Applauds WRC-12 Considerations.)

The MoroccoBoard.com news service is reporting that Maroc Telecom , Morocco's incumbent operator, is blocking access to several free VoIP services, Skype among them, though the story hasn't been officially confirmed by any other sources as far as Euronews can tell.

ST-Ericsson , the handsets joint venture, has appointed Carlo Ferro as COO. Ferro was previously CFO of STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE: STM), and had been with that half of the joint venture since 1992. (See ST-Ericsson Appoints COO, Euronews: ST-Ericsson Appoints New CEO and ST-Ericsson Loses $231M in Q4.)

CeltixConnect, a fiber gateway connecting Dublin to London and Manchester, has gone live. Its operator, Sea Fibre Networks Ltd. , claims it offers the lowest-latency of any link between Ireland and the U.K. and onward to mainland Europe. (See CeltixConnect Goes Live and Colt Hooks Up to CeltixConnect.)

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading