Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: HMD Global does IoT with Nokia's WING; Ekinops lands Croatian transport deal; Deutsche Telekom updates on 5G rollout.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

June 16, 2021

3 Min Read
Eurobites: CMA puts mobile 'ecosystems' under the microscope

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: HMD Global does IoT with Nokia's WING; Ekinops lands Croatian transport deal; Deutsche Telekom updates on 5G rollout.

  • The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says it plans to scrutinize the respective mobile operating systems and web browsers run by Apple and Google, flagging concerns about the potential harm caused to users and rival businesses by the two companies' "effective duopoly." Specifically, the CMA is concerned that the two companies' control over mobile "ecosystems" is "stifling competition across a range of markets," which could lead to "reduced innovation" across the sector, it said in its statement. Interested parties – which includes app developers who feel they are adversely affected by "duopoly" – have until July 26 to chip in with their views, and the CMA says it has given itself 12 months to conclude the study.

    • HMD Global, the Finnish company that makes and sells smartphones under the Nokia brand, is teaming up with your actual Nokia to bring IoT connectivity to enterprises via Nokia's Worldwide IoT Network Grid (WING) platform. The HMD Connect Pro service allows businesses such as logistics companies and energy providers to remotely monitor and manage their connected assets, using multi-operator SIMs within enterprise devices to attach to the best available network. (See Nokia WINGs It With Global IoT Move.)

    • France's Ekinops has landed an optical transport network deal in Croatia with Telemach Hrvastska, a United Group subsidiary. Ekinops' 200G and 400G FlexRate single carrier products are being combined with its Flex Grid ROADM architecture to improve the long-term flexibility of Telemach's regional and core networks. Netherlands-based United Group is planning to invest more than €500 million (US$605 million) over the next five years to extend its optical fiber networks into new areas and upgrade existing ones.

    • Deutsche Telekom has been updating on its 5G rollout, laying claim to having switched on the technology in around 50 cities, deploying 1,800 antennas on the 3.6GHz frequency and reaching more than 66 million people, or 80% of the German population. The operator uses two frequencies for its 5G services: 3.6GHz, which offers the fastest download speeds, for urban areas; and the longer-wave 2.1GHz for larger, less densely populated regions.

    • The GSMA has revised down its latest figure for the expected number of in-person visitors to this month's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to 35,000 in its latest pre-show bulletin. Previously the CEO of the GSMA, John Hoffman, said he was confident that up to 50,000 people would walk through the doors of the Fira Gran Via. The update also revealed more details of the "hybrid" aspect of the event, with one third of the 350 speakers now participating virtually and Microsoft Teams being chosen as the event's videoconferencing platform.

    • The UK's Colt Technology Services is expanding the footprint of its IQ Network, becoming one of the first oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) FastConnect Partners to provide on-demand access to Oracle Cloud via a new dual-region cloud in Newport, Wales.

      — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Read more about:

Europe

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.

Subscribe and receive the latest news from the industry.
Join 62,000+ members. Yes it's completely free.

You May Also Like