Euronews: Ericsson Accentuates the Positive

Ericsson AB, Telefónica SA, Tele2 AB and Nokia Corp. start the week in today's trawl through the EMEA headlines.

Ericsson tells Bloomberg that it's feeling reasonably chipper about its 2013 prospects, claiming that the outlook for overall demand for its gear is "stable and slightly on the positive side," with the U.S. and China offering particular grounds for optimism. The vendor is in need of a turnaround in its fortunes following last month's revelation that its share of the overall network equipment market dipped from 27 percent to 24 percent in 2012. (See Ericsson Lost Market Share in 2012.)

Telefónica has agreed a £170 million (US$260 million) loan from Export Development Canada, a government-backed body, to encourage it to buy BlackBerry-related goods and services, reports The Guardian. The loan comes as the Canadian handset maker, formerly known as Research In Motion, prepares to launch its new Q10 phone in Europe. (See BlackBerry's Second Bite.)

Norway's Tele2 is going on the acquisition trail in Europe following the sale of its Russian unit last week for $3.5 billion, reports the Financial Times (subscription required).

Catwalk, the next smartphone release from Nokia, is set to be unveiled on May 15, according to this My Nokia Blog item.

Etisalat has put an $8 billion loan facility in place to bankroll a bid to acquire Vivend's controlling stake in Morocco's Maroc Telecom, reports Reuters. Two other bidders, Qatar Telecom QSC (Qtel) and KT Corp., have also thrown their respective hats into the ring.

There's not much sign of peace, love and understanding among U.K. operators when it comes to fiber rollout, reports the Daily Telegraph. BT CEO Ian Livingston rejected claims by broadband rival TalkTalk that it is effectively a monopoly throwing its weight around, and said that it and others were "copper Luddites" who were "not prepared to invest in fiber themselves." — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading