In today's EMEA roundup: Mobile giant expands Middle East reach; Kabel Deutschland gets with Wi-Fi; TalkTalk TV creates 500 new jobs

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

September 3, 2012

2 Min Read
Euronews: Vodafone Confirms Zain Deal

Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD), Zain Group and IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) head up today's foray into the world of EMEA telecom news.

  • As predicted last week in Euronews, Vodafone has struck a multi-country partnership agreement with Kuwait-based Zain. Vodafone, which already has regional operations in Egypt and Qatar, hopes the non-equity deal will expand its presence in the Middle East by enhancing network coverage and harmonizing roaming rates. (See Vodafone, Zain Strike Partner Deal and Euronews: Vodafone Eyes Middle East Expansion.)

  • Vodafone is also collaborating with IBM on M2M (machine-to-machine) matters. It is using the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin to demonstrate the remote management of a washing machine and other so-called "smart home" devices connected by Vodafone's Global M2M Platform running on IBM's new SmartCloud service delivery platform. (This "platform" business is getting out of hand...) (See Vodafone, IBM Team on Smart Home.)

  • German cable operator Kabel Deutschland GmbH is making moves on carrier Wi-Fi as it plans to deploy wireless hotspots to extend the reach of broadband services to smartphone and tablet users, according to this article on Heise Online (in German).

  • U.K. broadband provider TalkTalk is creating around 500 jobs through its planned launch of pay-TV services, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

  • Dublin-based Sea Fibre Networks Ltd. , which owns and operates the CeltixConnect subsea network that connects Ireland and the U.K., has launched a new managed dark-fiber service, called Bright Fibre. Bright Fibre, says the company, offers fiber, co-location services and the customer's optical gear, all managed from a single point of contact. (See Sea Fibre Networks Offers Managed Dark Fiber and CeltixConnect Goes Live.)

  • TV5MONDE, the French language channel that is available globally in a variety of formats, has extended Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC)'s broadcast-platform contract until the end of 2018. (See TV5MONDE Expands Ericsson Deal.)

    — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Paul Rainford

Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Paul is based on the Isle of Wight, a rocky outcrop off the English coast that is home only to a colony of technology journalists and several thousand puffins.

He has worked as a writer and copy editor since the age of William Caxton, covering the design industry, D-list celebs, tourism and much, much more.

During the noughties Paul took time out from his page proofs and marker pens to run a small hotel with his other half in the wilds of Exmoor. There he developed a range of skills including carrying cooked breakfasts, lying to unwanted guests and stopping leaks with old towels.

Now back, slightly befuddled, in the world of online journalism, Paul is thoroughly engaged with the modern world, regularly firing up his VHS video recorder and accidentally sending text messages to strangers using a chipped Nokia feature phone.

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