Eurobites: 2G/3G sunsets are good for the planet, says Arcep

Shutting down 2G/3G networks and migrating to 4G/5G technologies instead will be good for the environment, despite the environmental cost of scrapping 2G/3G-dependent devices that are made obsolete by the move. That's the sunny verdict of a new study from French communications regulator Arcep, which concludes that the transition to the more energy-efficient technologies will, in sustainability terms, pay for itself within six months. According to Arcep, 2G/3G networks still account for between 21% and 33% of network basestations' energy consumption, though it expects this figure to reduce to around 17% by 2025.

UK-based Colt Technology Services is hoping to boost its multivendor offering through a collaboration with Nokia which will bring the Finnish vendor's 1830 product family along with Wavesuite software into the Colt optical fold.

Belgium's Proximus is providing 5G connectivity for a project that is testing the use of drones to help with stock management in large warehouses. A combination of 5G and AI will be used to autonomously fly a drone into a covered storage warehouse to enable up-to-date information to be transmitted to the company's stock manager – information that is often difficult to access accurately for a variety of reasons. At the moment the technology is being put through its paces at ID2Move's premises in Nantes but the ultimate aim is to deploy it at Deltrian International's Fleurus warehouses.

OneWeb, the satellite connectivity company co-owned by the UK government and India's Bharti Global, has signed a distribution agreement with SoftBank to broaden SoftBank's mobile coverage in Japan. Included in the agreement is a bandwidth guarantee intended to ensure that customers get the speed and stability of service they expect.

UK mobile operator Three has followed in the footsteps of rival EE by bringing 4G to Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road tube stations on the London Underground. Additional stations and tunnel-to-tunnel connectivity will be added in the autumn. As with EE, the service is being provided in partnership with Boldyn Networks. Three plans to enable customers to access 4G across the entire tube network by the end of next year.

Swiss company Zattoo has teamed up with 3 Screen Solutions (3SS) to bring live TV streaming to cars in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The fruits of their collaboration will be shown at the forthcoming IBC show in Amsterdam. Eyes on the road, guys…

Openreach, the semi-autonomous network access arm of BT, has published its latest list of exchanges that are to get the full-fiber treatment as part of its wider build program. There are 19 of them, and the full list, ranging from Perth in the north to Chichester in the south, can be seen here.