Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: ETSI releases security specs; Virgin Media reacts to Labour's broadband plan; BT introduces the 5G ambulance.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

November 18, 2019

2 Min Read
Eurobites: Nokia Puts Its Network Functions on Amazon's Cloud

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: ETSI releases security specs; Virgin Media reacts to Labour's broadband plan; BT introduces the 5G ambulance.

  • Noting that telcos are increasingly turning to the public cloud to host applications and deliver services to customers, Nokia says that all new Nokia Software cloud-native network functions and applications will be available on AWS, a long-time partner of the Finnish vendor, from day one. Nokia says it already offers several applications on AWS, including customer experience, service fulfillment, and orchestration solutions. Now, the vendor says it will "prioritize 5G solutions including mobile core, network & service orchestration, and device management & operational support systems suites" for AWS availability.

    • The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has released the first three technical specifications to launch a new security platform, Smart Secure Platform (SSP), which it hopes will address IoT, 5G and related sectors. According to ETSI, the new system supports several authentication methods, as well as features defined for a UICC, the current security platform used for SIM cards. For those taking notes, the three specifications are ETSI TS 103 666-1, ETSI TS 103 666 2 and ETSI TS 103 713.

    • Lutz Schueler, the CEO of UK cable operator Virgin Media, has been telling the Sunday Telegraph how unimpressed he is with the opposition Labour Party's plans to nationalize Britain's broadband market and make it free to customers at the point of delivery, which caused a stir when they were announced late Thursday. The current, competitive broadband market is "good for the customer and this is good for the country," said Schueler, adding that if "competition is dead then clearly the role of Virgin Media has to be reconsidered, that's for sure." (See Labour Lobs Broadband Bomb Into UK Telecoms Market.)

    • BT has been showing how 5G can help power robotic technology in healthcare, laying on a demonstration at a medical devices testing center in Birmingham, UK, that introduced the concept of the 5G-connected ambulance. The onboard technology allows clinicians, wearing a VR headset, to visualize exactly what the paramedic sees in the ambulance and then remotely direct the paramedic in real time to perform any necessary scans and get close-up footage of wounds and injuries.

    • South Africa's Telkom has confirmed that is in discussions with mobile operator Cell C regarding a potential takeover. In an announcement on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange News Service, Telkom said it had "substantially concluded its due diligence" but cautioned that discussions were "at a preliminary stage." For more details, see this story on our sister site, Connecting Africa.

      — 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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