Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Ericsson buys Envivio for $125 million; CityFibre chooses Accedian; Telefónica does healthcare deal.
UK mobile joint venture EE is making a play for the Internet of Things with the launch of what it claims is the UK's first 4G-capable dedicated M2M platform. EE Connect, says EE, offers real-time monitoring of all devices, and an M2M service team has been set up to provide customer support.
It's all go over at Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) HQ in Stockholm. Not only has it announced its acquisition of video encoding specialist Envivio Inc. (NASDAQ: ENVI) for $125 million, it has also struck two TV-related deals, the first with AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), to support the US telco's U-verse and DirecTV platforms, and the second with UK broadcaster Channel 5, to provide a range of broadcast services, including playout and media management. Phew!
Performance assurance offerings from Accedian have been chosen by CityFibre to support its Gigabit Cities initiative in the UK. CityFibre is setting itself up as a major infrastructure rival to BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA), and has various gigabit projects on the go in UK cities. (See CityFibre Aims for BT's Wholesale Business.)
Telefónica is partnering with information systems company Indra Sistemas SA on the rollout of various digital healthcare projects, with a particular focus on Latin America. The initial agreement runs for two years.
Orange (NYSE: FTE)'s funding arm, Orange Digital Ventures, is investing in Chain, a startup that plans to develop so-called "blockchain" technology applications for use in the Internet of Things and other areas. Blockchain, says Orange, is a new model for transferring digital assets that replaces third-party intermediaries with "cryptographically decentralized secured networks."
— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading
Comment (0)
