Euronews: AlcaLu, Telefónica Go 100G & Beyond

Alcatel-Lucent, Telefónica de España and Vodafone Germany set out their stalls in today's jumble of EMEA headlines.

Telefónica de España and Alcatel-Lucent have completed what they are calling a "successful" trial of 100Gbit/s, 200Gbit/s and 400Gbit/s data transmissions using AlcaLu's "agile optical networking" technology, which, says AlcaLu, more than doubles an operator's fiber capacity without having to shell out for additional infrastructure.

The ferocity of the domestic competition in the mobile sector and regulatory changes are being blamed for Vodafone's decision to cut 500 jobs in Germany, in areas such as network technology and customer service, reports Reuters. Some of the jobs will be shipped out to Romania and India, where labor costs are considerably lower. (See Euronews: Europe Puts Brakes on Vodafone.)

And just to underline the intensity of the competition in Germany, Reuters also reports that Deutsche Telekom AG has announced it is revising its mobile charging structure as it tries to keep pace with its rivals by encouraging migration to smartphones, with lower prices at the high end but higher ones at the low end. Come on, keep up.

U.K. regulator Ofcom is offering its definition of "5G," which seems, in essence, to be "4G, but more of it." Talking to the Financial Times (subscription required), Ofcom's Chief Technology Officer Steve Unger says: “There are three ways to meet the demand for more data -- more spectrum, better use of spectrum and more cell sites. We need to progress on all three fronts, which is in effect what we mean by 5G, to meet the 80-fold increase in data usage we predict by 2030." (See The 5G Landgrab.) — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading