Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Huawei requests level laying field in Italy; ADVA adds a dash of AI to satellite signaling analytics; Galileo crashes and burns; Telenor's Q2 dented by Bangladeshi 'errors.'

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

July 15, 2019

2 Min Read
Eurobites: Israel Sets 5G Spectrum Auction in Motion

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Huawei requests level laying field in Italy; ADVA adds a dash of AI to satellite signaling analytics; Galileo crashes and burns; Telenor's Q2 dented by Bangladeshi "errors."

  • Israel is joining the 5G party, albeit rather belatedly, with the launch of its 5G frequency auction yesterday (Sunday). As Reuters reports, the telecom regulator is anticipating bids from three groups (Cellcom, Partner Communications and Pelephone), including a joint bid from a combination of operators. (See 5G4REAL: Israel Prepped for 5G With Next-Gen Apps.)

    • Huawei is attempting to send the Italian authorities on a summer guilt trip by declaring that it intends to spend $3.1 billion in the southern European country during the next three years while also pleading for "fair" 5G decision-making by the Italian authorities, reports Reuters.

    • Germany's ADVA has launched a new AI-powered analytics service, SatAware, that helps communications service providers monitor the signal quality at their GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) satellite receivers. According to ADVA, SatAware allows operators to identify any physical objects blocking GNSS signals and resolve issues before they impact the synchronization network.

    • And in related matters, Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system has, since late Thursday, been suffering a major outage, the BBC reports. The glitch means that more recent smartphones will not be receiving accurate timing or positional information, having to rely instead on data from the American Global Positioning System (GPS). Galileo comprises 24 satellites, and is a project backed by the European Commission and the European Space Agency.

    • Telenor's second-quarter earnings, due out tomorrow (Tuesday), will take a hit from "errors" that emerged at Grameenphone, the Norwegian operator's Bangladeshi unit, Reuters reports, citing a Telenor statement. The errors apparently relate to commission payments, and mean that Telenor's earnings before interest, tax, debt and amortization (EBITDA) would be reduced by 299 million crowns Norwegian kronor ($35.05 million) in the second quarter.

    • Swisscom has admitted deleting customers' photos, music and other treasured files from its MyCloud cloud-based storage system, World Radio reports. The operator says it does not know exactly how many of its customers have been affected by the stuff-up.

      — 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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