Eurobites: Europeans open their doors to smart-home systems

Deutsche Telekom is teaming up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) for a collaboration that will allow enterprise customers in Germany and Austria to use a special Integrated Private Wireless on AWS portal to help them find the private or campus network offering that best meets their needs. After a customer makes their selection from the portal, Deutsche Telekom is responsible for planning, deploying and operating the network. The German operator is clearly hoping that a sprinkling of AWS fairy-dust will help its private network offerings reach more business customers.

Orange's Totem tower subsidiary has deployed a 5G private network at the Orange Vélodrome in Marseille, France. The network of private pooled antennas will be made available to all French mobile operators – namely Bouygues Télécom, Free Mobile, Orange and SFR – to provide their mobile services simultaneously. The Orange Vélodrome has a capacity of almost 68,000.

The two companies bidding for Telecom Italia's landline network are getting ready to increase their existing offers of around €20 billion (US$22 billion) by between €1 and €2 billion ahead of a Tuesday deadline, according to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources close to the matter. The on-the-table offers, from US fund KKR and Italian state-backed lender CDP, both fall far short of the €31 billion ($34 billion) price tag set by Vivendi, Telecom Italia's largest stakeholder. (See TIM soldiers on amid political turmoil.)

Ericsson, which announces its first-quarter results today, is on the hunt for a new chief financial officer following the news that the current incumbent, Carl Mellander, is stepping down at the end of Q1 2024. In a statement announcing the decision, Ericsson boss Börje Ekholm said: "For almost seven years Carl has been a valued member of the Executive Team and instrumental in the turnaround of Ericsson. We have come to a mutual agreement that this is a good time for a change, as the turnaround phase is completed and the foundation for the next chapter of Ericsson's strategy has been laid."

Virgin Media O2 is hoping to tempt people onto its pricier broadband packages with a "free" Xbox Series S console. New customers signing up to a Bigger + Sports, Bigger + Movies or Ultimate Volt bundle on an 18-month contract will receive the Xbox Series S at no additional cost or a £200 ($248) bill credit.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading