On today's plate of Euro tidbits: euNetworks acquires German rival, UK mobile operators take on Ofcom (again) and mobile wallets are go!

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

May 20, 2011

2 Min Read
Euronews: euNetworks Bolsters German Presence

euNetworks Group Ltd. , Vodafone UK and Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) get with the program in today's regional roundup.

  • euNetworks, the pan-European service provider which owns and operates 13 fiber-based metropolitan networks across Europe, is to acquire rival LambdaNet Communications Deutschland AG for €25 million ($35.7 million). euNetworks hopes the acquisition will enable it to deliver its services to a broader German market. (See euNetworks Buys LambdaNet and euNetworks Reports Q1.)

  • U.K. mobile operators Vodafone, EE and Telefónica UK Ltd. are challenging the decision by regulator Ofcom to slash their termination rates, reports the Financial Times. In March, Ofcom said that the operators had to cut their termination rates by 84 percent over the next four years. (See Ofcom Cuts Mobile Termination Rates.)

  • The "mobile wallet" concept seems to be, erm, gaining currency. The BBC reports on the launch of the Quick Tap service, which is a collaboration between Orange UK and Barclaycard and allows shoppers armed with accounts with the aforementioned and Samsung Corp. 's Tocco Lite handset (also out Friday) to buy goods up to the value of £15 ($24) with a nonchalant Near Field Communication (NFC) waft of their phones. So not that many goods then. O2, meanwhile, has named the firms it will be collaborating with for the launch of its mobile wallet service later this year: Wave Crest, FIS, Intelligent Environments and Visa Europe are all on board. (See O2 Names Mobile Wallet Partners.)

  • The European Commission is satisfied that the German government will not give undue legal protection to incumbent Deutsche Telekom in the country's broadband market, reports Reuters. Germany had planned to introduce legislation that would have made it difficult for other operators to compete in the market, the Commission believes.

  • It's the end of an era for Era, as the Polish mobile brand, owned by Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa Sp. z.o.o. (PTC) , shall henceforth be known as T-Mobile Poland. More than 1,000 PTC shops will be given the full T-Mobile makeover. (See Poland's Era Rebranded as T-Mobile.)

    — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Paul Rainford

Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Paul is based on the Isle of Wight, a rocky outcrop off the English coast that is home only to a colony of technology journalists and several thousand puffins.

He has worked as a writer and copy editor since the age of William Caxton, covering the design industry, D-list celebs, tourism and much, much more.

During the noughties Paul took time out from his page proofs and marker pens to run a small hotel with his other half in the wilds of Exmoor. There he developed a range of skills including carrying cooked breakfasts, lying to unwanted guests and stopping leaks with old towels.

Now back, slightly befuddled, in the world of online journalism, Paul is thoroughly engaged with the modern world, regularly firing up his VHS video recorder and accidentally sending text messages to strangers using a chipped Nokia feature phone.

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