NSN is vigorously denying a Reuters report that it is looking for a new CEO to take over from the incumbent Rajeev Suri. Nokia dismissed the report as "complete rubbish," and an NSN spokesman added that the vendor's board of directors has "full confidence in Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Suri." In 2011 NSN, which is in the throes of a significant restructuring program, appointed an executive chairman who was given the task of overseeing the vendor's "strategic direction." Suri has been CEO since Oct. 1, 2009. (See NSN to Cut 2,900 Jobs in Germany, NSN Unveils Its Kill List , NSN Gets $1.36B & New Leader and Nokia Siemens Replaces Its CEO.)

Huawei continues it European push with the opening of an optical equipment unit in Cserkut, near Pecs in south-west Hungary, reports Budapest Business Journal. The Chinese giant will be working with Flextronics, a local electronics manufacturer. (See Euronews: Huawei Buys Optical R&D Lab and Huawei, NSN Land Euro Network Share Deal .)

BT's video services unit, BT Vision, is to replace Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT)'s Mediaroom software on its set-top boxes with a "Linux variant," according to a report on The Register. BT now plans an online upgrade to its more than half a million BT Vision customers. (See BT Sticks With Microsoft for IPTV.)

The Daily Telegraph reports that Vodafone has abandoned its plans for a merger with Greece's third-biggest mobile operator, Wind Hellas Telecommunications S.A. It is thought the two parties doubted whether they could get the proposed deal past the regulators. (See Euronews: Vodafone Eyes Greek Merger.)

Patents ping-pong latest: Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) has been granted a temporary suspension of the German sales ban that was applied to some of its iPhones and iPads following legal action by Motorola Mobility LLC . (See Moto Beats Apple in German Court, Google Didn't Want All of Motorola Mobility and Making Sense of the Handset Patent Plays.)

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading