Euronews: EC's Kroes on the Warpath (Again)

Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT), Nokia Networks and Cable & Wireless Worldwide plc (London: CW) stay on the scene in today's regional roundup.

Steely Neelie's at it again! Following last week's Brussels-based roaming shenanigans, Neelie Kroes, vice president of the European Commission 's Digital Agenda, has announced plans to extend the price caps on EU data roaming charges to 2016, reports the Daily Telegraph. According to the Telegraph, the wholesale cap on data roaming charges will be set at 30 euro cents (43 U.S. cents) per megabyte from July 2012, falling to around 10 cents by 2014. The full details are expected to be announced on Wednesday. (See Euronews: Ericsson Buys, Vodafone Sells.)

Deutsche Telekom is appointing two new faces to its board: Claudia Nemat, currently head of the EMEA technology sector at consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. , takes over the Europe Board department in October; Marion Schick, who has an academic background, will take over the Human Resources Board department next year. Bloomberg is interpreting this as symptomatic of Deutsche Telekom's quota policy for getting more women into management positions, commentary that should please Nemat and Schick no end. (See DT Adds Two to Board.)

Nokia Siemens Networks has landed one of the more curious fixed-broadband access contracts of recent times by striking a deal to supply Bulgarian Internet service provider (ISP) EVO.bg with GPON Optical Line Termination (OLT) and Optical Network Terminal (ONT) equipment. It's curious because NSN effectively consigned its GPON strategy to the technology dumping yard in 2008, labeled the technology as uneconomic and vowed to concentrate on VDSL and its Next Generation Optical Access (NGOA) developments. (See NSN Wins GPON Deal in Bulgaria , 'Run Away!' Nokia Siemens Retreats From GPON, Nokia Siemens Confirms PON Plans and Nokia Siemens Dumps on GPON.)

Star Technology Services Ltd. , a U.K.-based cloud services firm, has set up the U.K. Cloud Alliance, a collective of 15 (so far) U.K.-based technology firms and service providers which it hopes will "guarantee the full transformational benefits of cloud computing." No pressure, then. (See UK Firms Form Cloud Alliance.)

Following last week's change of leadership at Cable & Wireless Worldwide, shareholders in the U.K.-based enterprise services firm have been warned that there may be serious corporate governance issues ahead, reports City AM. (See Pluthero Back in C&W Hot Seat.)

An international study carried out by Cambridge University on behalf of BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA) has come to the conclusion that one in three people have felt "overwhelmed" by communications technology to the extent that they feel the need to escape from it. That's all very well, but what about all the people who feel completely underwhelmed? (See Help! I'm Overwhelmed by Telecom.)

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading