Eurobites: Elisa assembles its AI armyEurobites: Elisa assembles its AI army

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telxius upgrades Carrier Ethernet service, with Ciena's help; PoP goes the Balkans; Brit bosses ahead of the GenAI uptake game.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

January 21, 2025

2 Min Read
Soldiers on parade
(Source: Roger Bamber/Alamy Stock Photo)

Finland's Elisa is planning to hire up to 100 AI and software experts over the next 12 months to work at its domestic and Estonian units. The company says it is looking in particular for "people who know technology and who also understand business," candidates that are able to "see the business value that code is enabling." Elisa has long prided itself on being more than just an operator; it is heavily into network automation and as long ago as 2018 was claiming that its network operations center was run entirely by machines. (See Finland's Elisa bucks trend of telco decline.)

Telxius taps Ciena for Carrier Ethernet upgrade

Telefónica-owned Telxius has upgraded its Global Carrier Ethernet (GCE) service, providing new bandwidth options for businesses in the Americas and Europe. The service, powered by Ciena technology, offers speeds ranging from 50 Mbit/s to more than 100 Gbit/s. It is supported by a global network spanning more than 100,000km of subsea and terrestrial backhaul connections throughout Europe, the US and Latin America.

Markets react to Telefónica mayhem

In related news, Telefónica's shares fell by around 3% on Monday following the removal of former CEO José María Álvarez-Pallete over the weekend. As Reuters reports (paywall applies), Álvarez-Pallete was replaced by Marc Murtra, head of defense company Indra, following an intervention by SEPI, a state fund that owns a 10% stake in the operator.

RETN makes its presence felt in Greece

London-headquartered RETN has established its first point of presence (PoP) in Greece, located at the Balkan Gate Data Centre in Thessaloniki. The new PoP, says the company, adds an important link to RETN's pan-Eurasian network, bridging the Balkans and the Mediterranean, and establishing a protected wavelength route that connects to RETN's DWDM backbone in Sofia, its major hub in the region.

Safaricom offers unit trust for M-Pesa users

Kenyan operator Safaricom has hooked up with two fund managers – Standard Investment Bank and ALA Capital – to launch Ziidi MMF, a money market fund geared to the needs of users of mobile wallet platform M-Pesa. Ziidi MMF is a unit trust enabling customers to earn interest by investing funds from their M-Pesa wallet into the Ziidi account, with interest being accrued daily. (See M-Pesa remains Safaricom's most profitable service.)

UK bosses quick to adopt to GenAI – but can they monetize it?

Britain's CEOs are ahead of their peers elsewhere when it comes to their companies adopting generative AI (GenAI) – but translating this into greater profits is another matter. That's the conclusion of consultancy PwC's 28th Annual Global CEO Survey. Nine in ten UK bosses say their businesses have adopted GenAI "to some extent," more than double the equivalent number in the same survey published last year. However, just 36% of them believe GenAI will increase profitability in the next 12 months, compared with 49% of global CEOs. (See AI enters 2025 as the biggest charlatan of tech.)

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About the Author

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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