Eurobites: EE launches 5G standalone in 15 UK cities

EE, the mobile arm of UK incumbent operator BT, has launched 5G standalone (5G SA) in 15 UK cities, claiming that the new network is the "first of its kind" in the country to offer "near uninterrupted outdoor coverage" in every city where it is available. The network, says EE, benefits from an AI assist, using automation technology to improve reliability and machine learning to reduce energy demands on the grid by putting mobile cells into sleep mode when not being used. On the fixed-line side, EE is trumpeting the launch of its new WiFi 7 Smart Hub Pro powered by Qualcomm's chip technology, which, the operator promises, will give residential customers who have shelled out for the appropriate broadband tier a guaranteed minimum 100Mbit/s connection in every room if used alongside the Smart WiFi Pro platform (also launched today). (See BT takes 5G into the back of beyond.)

Kjell Johnsen is to step down as CEO of Nordic operator Tele2 after four years in the job. He will, however, remain in post until a successor has been appointed. In his prepared quote, Johnsen gave no indication of where he was off to next, saying only that he was "pleased to hand over Tele2 to a new CEO who can write the next chapter" and that he felt that now was right time to "pass the baton."

EXA Infrastructure is to acquire Bulgarian telco Global Communication Net (GCN), bringing GCN's 2,500km fiber network and other assets under its wing. EXA says the deal will will provide it with key access to international interconnection points in Turkey, Greece, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia and Georgia. Following this deal, London-headquartered EXA now owns 155,000km of fiber network infrastructure across 37 countries. GCN's current CEO, Dimiter Angelov, will leave the company. Financial details of the deal have not been released.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concluded that Microsoft's wholesale hiring of Inflection AI's employees in March did amount to a merger between the two companies, but not one that gave rise to a serious lessening of competition in the markets in which they operate. In its review of the transaction, the CMA focused particularly on two AI-related products: foundation models and consumer chatbots.

Huawei and friends have been testing a 5G-connected emergency response system in Greece that, its backers hope, will help tackle the problem of wildfires in the increasingly hot Mediterranean country. The system comprises an AI-based "command center" networked to 5G-connected drones and sensors that detect particles in the air, CO2, temperature, wind direction and speed. In the trials, the system was able to predict the fire's path and area it would cover, the time it would take to reach inhabited areas and which areas would be at risk from fires and require evacuation. Huawei's partners in the project were the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and startup Probotek.

Sweden-based Accedo has added what it calls "advanced customer engagement metrics" to its video analytics or "observability" software. Accedo says that the additional capabilities are (inevitably) AI-based and will enable "deeper, faster and more effective data analysis." Accedo's observability software, created in collaboration with New Relic, was launched in February 2024. It will be demonstrating the software at the IBC trade show, which starts in Amsterdam on September 13.