Orange (NYSE: FTE) is interested in acquiring the video technology developed by the British broadcasting companies behind the now defunct Project Kangaroo, reports The Guardian.

Project Kangaroo was effectively killed off by the U.K.'s Competition Commission late in 2008. (See UK Regulator Kills Kangaroo.)

Now two of the driving forces behind Kangaroo, the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) and ITV plc (London: ITV), are involved in a similar venture, Project Canvas, along with BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA). Project Canvas aims to develop a standards-based platform for the delivery of broadcast-quality TV and on-demand video over broadband. (See BT Unveils Its CDN Plans and BBC, BT, ITV Team Up.)

The potential pension fund shortfall at BT Group has been giving investors the jitters during the past week, with various reports suggesting the British incumbent may need to scrap its dividend payments as it looks for ways to pump extra cash into the fund.

This Sunday Times report suggests BT may transfer what's left of its property portfolio into the fund to help shore it up.

BT reports its full fiscal year results (to March 31, 2009) on May 14. Its share price is up 5.4 percent to 84 pence in Monday trading.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) is looking to outsource the management of its global IT systems, and may even outsource some R&D processes for legacy product lines, according to French newspaper Les Echos. Check out the details in this Reuters report.

— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading