Eurobites: Ericsson's 5G blows into Greece with WIND Hellas

Dutch cable operator Ziggo has upgraded its network with 40 VB120 broadcast probes courtesy of Oslo-based Bridge Technologies and its installation partner, Burst Video. Part of the attraction for Ziggo was the probe's return data path (RDP) technology, which allows for re-routing of remote signals from regional location into a centralized point for decryption and advanced signal analysis.

Colt Technology Services has unveiled a new, improved version of its SD-WAN offering, dubbing it – predictably, you gotta say – "SD WAN 2.0." The vendor says the new version is more geared towards remote working, a better firewall and "enhanced network insights."

Slovenia's Iskratel is touting a new eight-port XGS-PON optical line terminal (OLT), which it says allows operators to virtualize the network without having to replace any other hardware. The SI3000 Lumia XG8 is optimized for smaller fiber-access deployments and can be used in a range of urban and rural environments, says Iskratel.

Airtel Africa has extended its long-standing partnership with CSG for managed services, including customer relationship management and billing software. The operator has a presence in 14 countries across the continent.

Vonage, the cloud-based business communications company, has teamed up with Dutch software firm Yameo to offer Yameo's customers customizable video offerings powered by the Vonage Video API. One such customer is Dekra, a vehicle inspection company based in Germany, which is using the Vonage Video API to power its i2i remote inspection tool.

UK altnet CityFibre has broken ground on its latest full-fiber dig, in Crawley, a town about 30 miles south of London. The company is investing £23 million (US$30.6 million) in the project, which forms part of a wider rollout across the UK. (See CityFibre to Raise £200M, Ramp Up FTTH Challenge to BT.)

OK, guys, this is getting boring, now: Ericsson-powered Swisscom has come first in Connect magazine's mobile coverage test for the eleventh year in a row, scoring 960 points out of a possible 1,000. (For comparison, rival Salt scored 926 points, improving its core for the third year in a row.)

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has, among other things, exposed the depth of the "digital divide" across the world, with a large swathe of people unable to get online and thrive in the brave new digital world. With this – and the issue of environmental waste – in mind, Telefónica UK (O2) is teaming up with charity Hubbub and calling on UK businesses to donate unused mobile devices to support the digitally unconnected as the holiday season approaches.

Finland's Nokia is providing LTE connectivity to Pelindo 4, an Indonesian port management company, for remote monitoring of its cranes in the Makassar container terminal.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading