Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: UK iPhone users could be in line for privacy payout; Europe addresses chip crunch; Telefónica's transcendental new logo.
In an announcement that seems tinged with sadness, Telia Finland says it has achieved "almost a world record," clocking up data speeds of more than 4 Gbit/s and latency of less than ten milliseconds on its 5G network, using spectrum in the 26GHz frequency band. The speeds were achieved near a basestation in eastern Helsinki. Telia believes 5G over 26GHz will have an important role to play in applications such as automated vehicles at a port, equipment in a factory, or just to deliver lots of mobile capacity to crowded areas such as city centers or stadiums.
Millions of UK iPhone users could soon be £750 (US$1,043) richer if Google fails to defend itself in the Supreme Court this week against a class action over what is alleged is the search giant's illegal data tracking. As the Telegraph reports, the case centers on what is claimed was Google's manipulation of the iPhone's Safari browser between 2011 and 2012, which allowed it to hoover up user data relating to political leanings, shopping habits and much more besides. The legal action was launched in 2018 by Richard Lloyd, a former director at consumer rights organization Which?.
In a bid to protect Europe from the worst effects of the much-documented global "chip crunch," EU commissioner Thierry Breton is to this week meet up with a top executive from Taiwanese chipmaker TMSC and the CEO of Intel, Pat Gelsinger. As Reuters reports (paywall applies), Breton is hoping to persuade a major chipmaker to set up a fabrication plant within the EU as it pursues an ambition to double Europe's share of global semiconductor production to 20%. (See It's boom time for TSMC, but the chips are down for everyone else, Huawei short on answers to chips crunch as growth stalls and Car, phone makers square off over tightening chip supply.)
To the casual observer, it may look like something that was spewed out of a bottom-of-the-range dot-matrix printer back in the 1980s. But look a little closer and you will see that it is a no-holds-barred typographic metaphor for the age of digitalization, communication and, well, stuff. At least, that's what Telefónica hopes will be the case when you clap eyes on its new logo. "It reflects the soul of the company, which is the talent of the professionals who drive the present and future of the company. And it reflects the transcendence of everything we do, of our purpose," said Telefónica CEO José María Álvarez-Pallete, with a straight face. What he didn't say was that it also bears an uncanny resemblance to a BT logo from the 1980s…
Spots the difference
Telefónica's new logo...
...and BT's old logo
WPD Telecoms, the telecom unit of electricity network operator Western Power Distribution, has chosen Infinera's XTM Series metro optical platform for its transport network, enabling delivery of high-speed services to customers across south-west England.
— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading
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