In related matters, Telefónica UK (O2) has revealed that since 2009 its device recycling scheme has paid out more than £250 million (US$355 million) in "cash back" to members of the public for their old tech, tech that they want to get rid of but not send to landfill. In the last year alone, O2, in partnership with Ingram Micro, has recycled more than 128,000 phones, tablets and smart watches – an estimated 21 tonnes of tech waste. O2 says that almost 95% of that discarded tech is refurbished and reused. O2's recycling scheme is open to everyone, regardless of their network.

Intelsat has opened a customer operations center in Johannesburg, South Africa. The facility will cover the entire African continent, handling various technical and service issues.

Will Elon Musk bring a Tesla factory in the UK? That's the possibility being mooted by some following the mouthy mogul's visit to Britain last weekend. As the BBC reports (citing a paywalled Telegraph story), his private Gulfstream jet touched down at glamorous Luton Airport, prompting fevered speculation that Musk might be bringing some jobs across the Atlantic. The northern England region of Teesside is particularly getting its hopes up on this front, if this report on Gazette Live is anything to go by.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading