Euronews: UK Preps for 5G

Ofcom , Türk Telekomunikasyon A.S. , Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), Infinera Corp. (Nasdaq: INFN), the Cyprus Telecommunication Authority (CYTA) , Orange France , Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) and VimpelCom Ltd. (NYSE: VIP) are all in the headlines this Wednesday.

Only a day after 4G services finally arrived in Britain, U.K. regulator Ofcom is already preparing for the sale of additional spectrum that could be used for so-called 5G services, reports The Daily Telegraph. (See Euronews: 4G Arrives in UK and UK Kicks Off 5G R&D.)

As part of its "FiberkenTT" network transformation strategy, Türk Telekom is deploying Alcatel-Lucent’s 7353 ISAM fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) gear so that it can offer VDSL2 services to its broadband customers. The operator has a long-standing access gear history with AlcaLu. (See Turk Telecom Checks Out AlcaLu's Phantom DSL and Turk Telekom Deploys Alcatel .)

Infinera's DTN-X platform has been deployed by the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (Cyta) as part of the TE-North Cable System subsea network that links Asia and Africa to Europe. Infinera is one of the optical system vendors now competing with long-standing submarine network incumbents such as AlcaLu for new subsea transport equipment deals. (See Coherent Breathes New Life Into Subsea.)

Altimo has increased its stake in Russian mobile operator Vimpelcom to 47.85 percent, making it the dominant shareholder, reports Reuters. The move has unsettled Vimpelcom's other main shareholder, Telenor Group (Nasdaq: TELN).

Orange France is using near-field communications (NFC) tags to provide its mobile customers with on-site restaurant reviews. See this press release for more details.

Ericsson has been ranked global market leader (for 2011) in the Real-Time Charging/Prepaid Billing and Mediation Service Provider Information Technology (SPIT) sectors by Analysys Mason .

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading