Also in today's EMEA roundup: NSN breaks LTE TDD upload record; German regulator presses ahead with auction; Allot scores LTE hat-trick

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

June 25, 2013

2 Min Read
Euronews: Swisscom Opts for Some OTT Action

Swisscom AG, Nokia Siemens Networks, Deutsche Telekom AG and Allot Communications Ltd. are all aboard for today's express tour of EMEA headlines.

  • Swisscom has followed in the footsteps of Telefónica Digital by launching an over-the-top (OTT) multimedia communications application that can be used by any Android or Apple iOS smartphone user, whether they're a Swisscom customer or not. The application, called iO, allows users to make calls, send messages and swap images with other iO users for free. Registration is made using the user's mobile phone number, which enables iO users to make calls with their own telephone number directly from the iO app, a feature that distinguishes iO from other free services. Telefónica Digital launched its free smartphone communications app, Tu Me, about a year ago. (See Swisscom Launches iO and Et Tu, Telefónica?)

  • Nokia Siemens Networks is claiming another LTE TDD upload record, this time on a test network in Hangzhou, China. Using its Flexi Multiradio 10 base station with multiple antenna technology and a single 20MHz carrier, NSN says it achieved peak upload speeds of 56 Mbit/s. (See NSN Claims LTE TDD Upload Record and Defining 4G: What the Heck Is LTE TDD?)

  • The German regulator is keen to stick to its original 2014 schedule for its auction of 900MHz and 1800MHz frequencies, despite operator requests that it be delayed for at least four years, reports Reuters. Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone Germany, KPN Telecom NV and Telefónica Deutschland GmbH all argued that in the current commercial climate they just didn't have the financial wherewithal to take part in such an auction.

  • Allot, the Israeli purveyor of Service Provider Information Technology (SPIT) systems, has been boasting of new LTE-rollout-related orders for its packet inspection/policy enforcement platform from "three of the world's top ten operators." One of them sees a Tier 1 European operator using the traffic detection function of the Allot Service Gateway to help analyze subscriber behavior. (See Allot Boasts Trio of LTE Orders.)

  • Irish incumbent eircom has bolstered its cloud portfolio by offering a direct, private connection to Amazon Web Services (AWS) through its managed data centers. (See Eircom Offers Direct Line to AWS.)

  • Conditions set out by the Czech regulator for its mobile spectrum auction pave the way for a fourth entrant in the country's market, reports Reuters. Telefonica Czech Republic a.s., T-Mobile and Vodafone Czech Republic a.s. have it all to themselves at the moment.

    — 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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