Nokia has completed its acquisition of Elenion Technologies, a US-based silicon photonics company. The Finnish vendor says that Elenion's brains will enable it to broaden its market coverage by "addressing the critical and rapidly evolving optical connectivity requirements of 5G, cloud and enterprise networking."

Nokia has also announced that it has completed the first phase of the Port of Zeebrugge's "5G-ready, industrial-grade" private network. Nokia's Digital Automation Cloud platform will provide private wireless connectivity to more than 100 endpoints across the port's range of operations. (See Nokia Lands Another 4G/5G Private Network Deal.)

Telia has completed its divestment of its 100% holding in Moldavian operator Moldcell to CG Cell Technologies DAC for US$31.5 million.

UK cable operator Virgin Media is the latest telco to update on how COVID-19 is changing data usage patterns. Downstream traffic on its network, says Virgin, has increased around 50% during daytime hours, but the most marked increase has been seen in upstream traffic, which soared by 95% as those working from home send monster files to corporate networks and attempt to hold video conferences. Uploads also spiked for Virgin last Sunday in the UK, which was Mothering Sunday: Scores of people held video calls with their mothers rather than seeing them face-to-face.

In related matters, Virgin Media is also taking on more than 500 extra customer contact center workers in the UK to help keep customers connected during the pandemic. Virus quarantine measures have meant some Virgin Media call centers have had to close, so the operator is prioritizing calls from vulnerable customers and asking customers to only call in if they have an urgent query that can't wait.

Disney's new streaming service, Disney+, launched in the UK on Tuesday but, as Reuters reports, more than a few households did not enjoy a fairytale start as they encountered problems logging on to the service for the first time. Some would-be viewers complained that they had problems getting the correct PIN codes; others that their email addresses weren't registered.

Three is the latest UK mobile operator to face the wrath of the Advertising Standards Authority, which ruled that a Three ad proclaiming "If it's not Three, it's not real 5G" was "likely to mislead."

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading