Swisscom and content delivery network (CDN) operator Akamai have forged a strategic partnership focused on the “content delivery, Web application acceleration and cloud security market” that will see them jointly invest in sales, customer support and marketing. Swisscom will integrate Akamai’s suite of services into its enterprise and consumer service packages. The move is notable as Swisscom is opting to rely on Akamai’s CDN infrastructure and applications acceleration capabilities, in a similar way to AT&T Inc. and France Télécom – Orange, while other telcos have opted to build their own content delivery architectures. (See AT&T Hands Its CDN Over to Akamai, Orange, Akamai Form CDN Alliance and CDN: Build or Buy?)

Telecom Italia's attempts to spin off its fixed-line network are running into the sand, according to a report on Bloomberg. The Italian incumbent is looking to reduce its debt pile through job cuts and asset sales.

U.K.-based Vodafone has felt the full wrath of a disgruntled hedge fund manager for its performance during the past decade, reports The Guardian. Presumably speaking from his lavish Bondi Beach hideaway, the Aussie boss of Bronte Capital, John Hempton, described Vodafone as "incompetent" and said that it should put itself up for sale. Fair dinkum? Or is this a case of the "whinging pom" cliché being turned on its head?

Well this bit of cost-cutting might please Mr Hempton: Vodafone is terminating its sponsorship of the McLaren Formula 1 motor racing team at the end of the season, reports Autosport.

Alcatel-Lucent has been running 4G trials with the enigmatically named mobile operator R, which has around 300,000 customers in the northern Spanish region of Galicia. Let's hope they found time between tests for a spot of this.

Viacloud, a U.K. company that describes itself as a "mobile virtual network aggregator" facilitating the relatively painless setting-up of MVNOs, has made several key appointments: Emanuele Angelidis becomes CEO; Tim Stone is chief commercial officer; and Richard Schafer is CFO.

Romanian operator Romtelecom has a new CEO in the form of Nikolai Beckers, formerly of T-Systems France. He will also head up Cosmote in Romania.— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading