Eurobites: Italy's NetOp chooses Sandvine for network traffic analysis

NetOp, an Italian 5G wholesaler, has turned to US software company Sandvine to bolster its network traffic analysis capabilities in what Sandvine describes as a first step toward NetOp offering B2B Internet services with strict service level agreements (SLAs). OpNet formerly operated as Linkem but changed its name following a corporate spinoff of the retail branch and its recent merger with Tiscali (itself now called Tessellis).

Neos Networks has landed a backhaul gig with Brsk, a UK altnet that currently covers more than 266,000 homes with fiber but has its sights set on raising that number by another 800,000 in due course. (See Neos Networks eyes a fifth more in sales in UK fiber rush.)

Heliot Europe says it has fully integrated the Sigfox network operations of WND UK and IoT Denmark into its pan-European business. Heliot, which claims to serve more than 1.3 million IoT-connected devices across Europe, acquired WND UK and IoT Denmark earlier this year.

A new study by Vodafone UK reveals, among other, much dafter findings, that people are keeping their devices for longer, with most upgrading every four years, compared to every two years five years ago. According to Vodafone, Brits get through an average of 18 phones in their lifetime, with 40% admitting to "feeling sad" when their phone gives up the ghost. Get a grip.

Is Snap doing enough to remove underage users from its messaging platform? That's the line of inquiry being pursued by the UK's data regulator which, as Reuters reports, suspects that far too many children aged under 13 (the age threshold for such platforms in the UK) have adopted Snapchat as their messaging platform of choice. Last year a report from Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, found that 60% of children aged 8-11 said they had a profile on at least one social media app.

Converged UK operator Virgin Media O2 has for some time now been keen to make hay from what it sees as its more transparent approach to mobile plan pricing, with a clearer policy than most of its rivals when it comes to separating airtime charges from handset charges. Indeed, it has accused the competition of perpetrating a "smartphone swindle." Now VMO2 is plugging an online calculator which, says the holier-than-thou operator, allows smartphone users to quickly check if they've been paying over the odds for their device. (See Eurobites: VMO2 points finger at rivals over handset charges.)

Norway's data regulator has lost patience with Facebook owner Meta and decided to fine it 1 million kroner ($98,500) per day over data privacy breaches, starting August 14, until the social media giant puts its house in order. As Reuters reports, regulator Datatilsynet had warned Meta that it could not hoover up users' data for advertising purposes.