Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Pompeo heads for London to sound the Huawei alarm (again); Proximus revenue down in Q1; big-buttoned phones still rockin' it for Doro.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

May 3, 2019

2 Min Read
Eurobites: Open Fiber, Fastweb Extend Fiber Network in Italy

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Pompeo heads for London to sound the Huawei alarm (again); Proximus revenue down in Q1; big-buttoned phones still rockin' it for Doro.

  • In what will be seen as a significant challenge to incumbent Telecom Italia, Open Fiber has extended its network fiber access agreement with Swisscom-owned Fastweb to 80 Italian cities, Reuters reports. The deal will include what are described as "uneconomic areas," where Open Fiber is rolling out broadband through a process of state tenders. Open Fiber uses the ducts of Enel, the state-owned utility company that, together with state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), owns Open Fiber. (See Eurobites: Italy's Open Fiber Secures €3.5B Loan for Mega-Rollout.)

    • As if she didn't have enough on her plate with the ongoing Brexit debacle, UK Prime Minister Theresa May now faces getting well and truly mired in the controversy surrounding the potential use of Huawei equipment and expertise in the rollout of the country's 5G network. As the backwash from this week's sacking of the Defence Secretary over Huawei-related leaks from the National Security Council threatens to submerge the UK government's more urgent business, the Daily Telegraph now reports (paywall applies) that Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump's US Secretary of State, is coming to London next Wednesday to once again bang the drum about how dangerous it could be for the UK, in the eyes of Team Trump at least, to use Huawei in its next-gen network. It sounds like it's shaping up to be another long week for Prime Minister May… (See Eurobites: Huaweigate Triggers Political Earthquake in UK.)

    • Belgium's Proximus saw domestic underlying revenue fall 2.25%, to €1.096 billion ($1.222 billion) in the first quarter, despite EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) growing by the same percentage. A decline in handset sales was largely blamed for the revenue decline, and because of this, Proximus has taken the decision to "refocus" its revenue outlook to "domestic revenue excluding terminals."

    • It's not all about high-end smartphones with three cameras and a pocket-busting price tag. Doro, the Swedish maker of feature phones aimed mainly at the older market, has enjoyed a successful first quarter, with net sales up 11% year-on-year to 466.2 million Swedish kroner ($48.5 million). A closer look at the figures, however, reveals that Doro's principal growth area is actually services, such as its Welbeing subsidiary in the UK, which sells a monitoring system that helps elderly people contact friends or family at a time of crisis.

      — 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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