Eurobites: VMO2 turns to Starlink for UK rural coverage

UK converged operator Virgin Media O2 has turned to Starlink's low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity to provide mobile backhaul to masts located in the more remote areas of the country as part of the government-funded Shared Rural Network (SRN) program. VMO2's countrywide rollout of the technology, which sees it collaborating with Starlink reseller Telefónica Global Solutions (TGS), follows a recent trial in northern Scotland.

Nokia has teamed up with SURF, a Dutch research organization, to carry out trials of a single-carrier 800Gbit/s optical transmission over SURF's existing cross-border infrastructure that could pave the way for much faster data exchange between Dutch research facilities and the CERN particle accelerator in Switzerland. The trials were conducted over a 1,024-mile point-to-point fiber link connecting Amsterdam and Geneva, crossing Belgium and France.

Vodafone Business has appointed Marika Auramo as its new CEO, luring her away from German software giant SAP, where she worked for more than 20 years and was most recently chief business officer for the EMEA region. Auramo will take over from interim CEO Giorgio Migliarina.

In other CEO news, Enrico Maria Bagnasco has been confirmed as top dog at Sparkle, which, for the moment at least, is Telecom Italia's international services arm – though that could change in the near future. Alessandro Pansa has been appointed to the chairman's role.

US data center firm EdgeConnex has secured an additional $1.9 billion in sustainability-linked financing to support its expansion in the EMEA region. The deal ties the interest rate on the investment to the company's success in achieving predetermined sustainability targets. Edgeconnex already has more than 20 data centers in Europe.

Orange has teamed up with the EU and German organization GIZ for a €7.6 million ($8.07 million) project intended to accelerate the digitization of agriculture in Côte d'Ivoire. Among other objectives, the project aims to strengthen the professional skills of young people and women in the digital sector by offering them new opportunities in the labor market.