Vodafone is delaying the switch-on of its 4G services in the U.K. until the back end of the summer to coincide with the expected launch date of Apple Inc.'s next tweak of the iPhone, reports the Daily Telegraph. The operator had been expected to join the 4G fray either this month or the next. (See Euronews: Vodafone's Profits Plummet.)

Telecom Italia has dismissed reports that it is considering a spin-off of its mobile unit, reports Reuters. The news agency had earlier cited three people who had suggested that a "three-way split" was on the cards for the incumbent operator, which is laboring under a heavy debt burden.

Telefónica has put plans for an IPO of its Latin America unit on the back-burner, according to a Reuters report. Analysts reckon that such an IPO could raise more than $7 billion for the operator.

Rewheel, a Finnish research consultancy, has found that Germany's mobile data rates are up to 15 times greater than those in some smaller European Union member states. The reason? It believes that the owners of the German mobile networks have too much of a vested interest in fixed-line broadband, which keeps them from driving competition in the mobile sector. It also points out that-- contrary to what Neelie Kroes, the European Commission 's vice president for the Digital Agenda, is hoping with her pan-European telecom market blueprint -- economies of scale don't always happen. (See Euronews: 'Single Market' Plan Rolls Into Action.)

Almost half of U.K. smartphone users are keen to have their phone bills subsidized by advertising delivered straight to their handsets, according to a survey by analytics firm Guavus Inc. In a survey of 2,536 smartphone users, 47 percent said they would be happy to have promotional bilge pumped to their phones in return for a partial or fully-paid-for line rental. Almost as many would be willing for their 'anonymised' personal data to be sold on to third parties if it means their bills were reduced. Strange times.

Ericsson AB is to close down its telecom cable manufacturing operations, affecting more than 300 Swedish jobs in Hudiksvall and Stockholm. In a statement, Tomas Qvist, head of Special Products in Ericsson's Networks business unit, said that cable production had been outstripping demand in Europe for some time now.

France Télécom – Orange is planning to pump €30-€50 million ($38.7-$64.6 million) into its Dailymotion video-sharing website and continue to look for a partner for it, reports Reuters. Yahoo Inc. had looked at acquiring a 75 percent stake in Dailymotion but had got cold feet on the deal.— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading