There's growing evidence that BT wants to get properly back into mobile, a decade or so after taking the now surely lamented decision to bail out. According to this Daily Telegraph report, CEO Ian Livingstone is saying it's "highly possible" that BT-branded SIM cards will be in customers' smartphones this time next year, probably as part of quad-play bundle. (See Euronews: BT Seeks 4G Partner and Euronews: BT Lands 10-Year Deal With O2.)
Telecom Italia has been fined €103.8 million (US$135.9 million) by Italy's antitrust authority for abusing its market position in the country's fixed-line sector, reports Reuters. Responding to the judgment, the operator said in a statement that it "has always assured alternative operators full and equal access to its network," and that it intends to appeal. (See Euronews: Telecom Italia Suffers Sales Slump.)
Vodafone Group plc and Telefónica UK Ltd. (O2) are just two of the companies eyeing up a £1 billion ($1.54 billion) contract to provide secure radio networks for the U.K.'s emergency services, according to The Independent. For the past seven years, Australian conglomerate Macquarie has had a monopoly on the various contracts, but these are up for renewal between 2016 and 2022.
Bezeq, The Israel Telecommunications Corp. Ltd. has had a poor first quarter: It posted a 14 percent year-on-year decline in quarterly net profits, reports Reuters, down to 497 million shekels ($140 million). Intensifying competition, particularly in the mobile sector, is being fingered for the blame.
— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading
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