Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Eir pulls out of sports rights auction; Sparkle gets immersive on cybersecurity training; Asda Mobile moves over to Vodafone's network.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

March 22, 2021

2 Min Read
Eurobites: Nokia claims 5G speed record with Turk Telekom

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Eir pulls out of sports rights auction; Sparkle gets immersive on cybersecurity training; Asda Mobile moves over to Vodafone's network.

  • Nokia is claiming a "5G speed world record" after what it says was a successful trial on live commercial equipment with Turk Telekom in the Turkish capital, Ankara. The trial, carried out over the 5G New Radio (5G NR) standard on 26GHz mmWave spectrum, 800MHz bandwidth, and a single user device, achieved a peak throughput of 4.5 Gbit/s. Turk Telecom is clearly taking the long view on the technology front: According to Yusuf Kıraç, the operator's chief technology officer, the technologies being put through their paces "act as a bridge to develop and pave the way for 'Terahertz' systems that provide ultra-high-speed and capacity, which are planned to be used in 6G."

    • Nokia has also deployed what it says is the first 5G standalone RAN sharing network in Southeast Asia, for Antina, the M1-StarHub joint venture in Singapore. The network will draw on products from Nokia's AirScale range and use the 3.5GHz spectrum band.

    • Eir, the Irish incumbent telco, has decided not to participate in the latest round of sports content rights auctions. As the Irish Independent reports, a combination of major sports events being canceled and the pandemic closure of pubs where live sports could be seen has "fundamentally changed" the business model, says the operator. Eir said it was "currently exploring options" for the future of Eir Sport, the umbrella brand for its portfolio of sports channels.

    • Sparkle, the international services arm of Telecom Italia (TIM), has launched a cybersecurity training platform aimed at enabling enterprises to assess the vulnerability of their security procedures and learn to protect their networks against live attacks. Sparkle's product is based on the Cyberbit platform and offers a "hyper-realistic and immersive environment" in which security teams can give themselves a thorough workout.

    • Customers of Asda Mobile, the UK MVNO that is part of the Walmart retail group, will, as from today, find themselves being shifted away from EE's network and onto Vodafone's instead. Asda expects to complete the transferral process by mid-September.

      — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Paul Rainford

Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Paul is based on the Isle of Wight, a rocky outcrop off the English coast that is home only to a colony of technology journalists and several thousand puffins.

He has worked as a writer and copy editor since the age of William Caxton, covering the design industry, D-list celebs, tourism and much, much more.

During the noughties Paul took time out from his page proofs and marker pens to run a small hotel with his other half in the wilds of Exmoor. There he developed a range of skills including carrying cooked breakfasts, lying to unwanted guests and stopping leaks with old towels.

Now back, slightly befuddled, in the world of online journalism, Paul is thoroughly engaged with the modern world, regularly firing up his VHS video recorder and accidentally sending text messages to strangers using a chipped Nokia feature phone.

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