Also in today's EMEA roundup: KPN Foundation concerned about Slim's intentions; German court makes things awkward for Liberty Global; Kabel Deutschland falls short

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

August 14, 2013

2 Min Read
Euronews: Infinera & Dante Claim World Record

Infinera Corp., Dante, América Móvil S.A. de C.V. KPN Telecom NV and Liberty Global Inc. are just some of the heavy hitters being paraded in today's roundup of EMEA headlines.

  • Infinera, the US optical equipment vendor, and Dante, the pan-European research and education network operator, are together claiming a new world record for the fastest provisioning of long-haul transmission capacity on a live network -- in this instance, Dante's Géant network. The pair took just 19 minutes and 1 second to install and activate 8 Tbit/s of long-haul super-channel optical capacity, enough, they say, to simultaneously stream 1.6 million HD movies in each direction. (See Infinera Predicts a Profitable Q3.)

    • The KPN Foundation, an independent body which could in theory block America Movil's proposed takeover of the Dutch incumbent, has expressed concerns about the deal, reports Bloomberg. "There is considerable uncertainty about America Móvil’s intentions," said the Foundation in a statement Tuesday. (See Euronews: Slim Makes Move on KPN and Euronews: Does Slim Want All of KPN?)

    • Also to be filed under "potential spanner in the works of a takeover," is the Reuters report that a higher German regional court has overturned a decision by the national antitrust regulator to give the green light to Liberty Global's proposed €3.16 billion ($4.18 billion) acquisition of Germany's third-largest MSO, Kabel BW GmbH & Co. The court, in Düsseldorf, ruled that the case would need to be looked at again. (See Liberty Global Scoops Up KBW for $4.5B.)

    • Still in the lively world of German cable, Kabel Deutschland GmbH, which is currently being bought by Vodafone Group plc, failed to meet analysts' expectations in its first-quarter results, according to a report on Reuters. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) reached €217 million ($287.4 million): Analysts polled had been hoping for €226 million ($299.4 million). (See Euronews: Vodafone Strikes €7.7B Kabel Deal.)

    • Two Dutch mobile operators, T-Mobile Netherlands and Tele2 Netherlands Holding NV, have agreed to share antenna sites in a bid to reduce their maintenance costs. The agreement runs for ten years.

    • Another day, another hard-won fiber-to-the-cabinet contract for BT Group plc in the partly government-funded Broadband Delivery UK program. This one's in the south-eastern county of Essex, and is worth £24.6 million ($38 million).

      — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

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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