Eurobites: Virgin Media O2 panned and praised on same dayEurobites: Virgin Media O2 panned and praised on same day

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Elisa's earnings; Tesla 5G patents lawsuit thrown out in UK, Euro soccerfest drives data deluge.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

July 16, 2024

2 Min Read
Virgin Media O2 billboard
(Source: Maureen McLean/Alamy Stock Photo)
  • It's a confusing time for Virgin Media O2. The UK converged operator has, on the same day, been panned by Which? – the high-profile consumer rights organization – for its broadband customer service and praised for its broadband "experience" by testing company Global Wireless Solutions (GWS). According to Which?, VMO2 received "dismal scores across the board," with the long wait to speak to an actual human topping the familiar list of customer gripes. GWS, however, draped not one but two gongs around the proverbial neck of VMO2 – Best Broadband Experience and Best Combined Connectivity Experience. Go figure.

  • Finland's Elisa saw second-quarter EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) climb 4% year-over-year, to €190 million (US$207 million), on revenue that increased 2% to €541 million ($589 million). The upward trajectory was driven by mobile service revenue, efficiency improvements and improving momentum in the B2B segment, said the company, which has made a name for itself as one of the more forward-thinking operators. Since June it has been building out its fiber network using XGS-PON technology, while this month it acquired fiber networks in the eastern and northeastern parts of Finland from Kaisanet. (See Finland's Elisa bucks trend of telco decline.)

  • London's High Court has thrown out a lawsuit launched by carmaker Tesla, which had sued InterDigital and Avanci in a bid to gain a patent license ahead of its launch of 5G-connected vehicles in the UK. As Reuters reports, Judge Timothy Fancourt ruled that Tesla's bid for a license was to be rejected but its attempt to revoke three of InterDigital's patents can continue.

  • The recently concluded Euro 2024 soccer tournament predictably piled heaps more data onto BT's UK broadband network, with traffic reaching 30 times its average volume when the live matches were being screened, particularly those involving the two "home nations" of England and Scotland – BT estimates that fans burned through more than 11,000 terabytes of data watching those two teams play. The highest peak in broadband traffic during the final came as Cole Palmer equalized for England just after 9.30 p.m. and then… well let's not go into that.

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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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