Also in today's EMEA roundup: German mag reveals BlackBerry security flaws; EE strikes MVNO deal with Virgin Mobile; AlcaLu wins an Emmy!

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

September 11, 2013

3 Min Read
Euronews: Single Telecom Market Is Go!

Also in today's EMEA roundup: German mag reveals BlackBerry security flaws; EE strikes MVNO deal with Virgin Mobile; AlcaLu wins an Emmy!

  • It's official: the European Commission is plowing ahead with proposals for a single European market for telecom. In his State of the Union address today, EC President José Manuel Durão Barroso told delegates:

    • I'd like to announce that, today, we will formally adopt a proposal that gives a push towards a single market for telecoms. Citizens know that Europe has dramatically brought down their costs for roaming. Our proposal will strengthen guarantees and lower prices for consumers, and present new opportunities for companies.

    Full details of the reforms, which could include measures to make the way spectrum auctions are carried out across the region more consistent, are expected to be presented on Thursday. (See Euronews: 'Single Market' Plan Rolls Into Action and Euronews: Roaming Cuts Kick In, Big-Time.)

    • German magazine Der Spiegel has got its hands on an internal report from the US National Security Agency (NSA), which, amongst other interesting tidbits, suggests that the BlackBerry is not as "surveillance-proof" as its makers liked to claim. And that's bad news for a company that is currently open to offers. (See Selling BlackBerry: The Options, BlackBerry: Is There Still Value? , For Sale: One Used BlackBerry, and Another Day, Another Domestic Spying Revelation.)

    • EE has agreed an MVNO deal with the UK's Virgin Mobile, which could be worth up to £400 million (US$530 million), according to a report in the Financial Times (subscription required). This follows news of a similar contract win with Wal-Mart supermarket subsidiary Asda earlier in the week.

    • Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT)'s Polish unit has struck a 4G network-sharing deal with the Orange (NYSE: FTE)-owned Telekomunikacja Polska SA , reports Reuters. TPSA failed to win 4G spectrum in the Polish auction earlier this year.

    • Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) has deployed 100G technology on an additional 350 miles between Brussels and Frankfurt, bringing the total number of "100G miles" it operates in Europe to 5,100. Another 1,400 miles are planned in Europe by the end of this year.

    • French network optimization specialist Ipanema Technologies has appointed former Riverbed Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: RVBD) and Zeus Technology executive Jim Darragh as its CEO with immediate effect. His appointment strengthens a team that has until now been led by executive chairman and co-founder Jean-Yves Leclerc. (See Ipanema Goes Virtual.)

    • Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) has landed a billing contract with Zain Jordan, with the Middle Eastern operator opting for Ericsson's Charging & Billing in One offering.

    • And the winner is… Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU)! Yes, it's time for tearful cringe-inducing speeches and posh frocks as the Franco/US vendor is awarded an Emmy -- for "Pioneering Work in Implementation and Deployment of Network DVR."

      — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

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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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