Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Vodafone trials GSM-LTE Dynamic Spectrum Sharing with Huawei; Iraq blocks comms channels as militants run amok; shareholders say "ciao" to Telecom Italia.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

June 17, 2014

2 Min Read
Eurobites: Vodafone, NTT in M2M Pact

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Vodafone trials GSM-LTE Dynamic Spectrum Sharing with Huawei; Iraq blocks comms channels as militants run amok; shareholders say "ciao" to Telecom Italia.

  • We told you M2M was hot! Yesterday we heard about Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD)'s intention to buy automotive technology firm Cobra; today comes word of Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo Inc. (NYSE: DCM) expanding their existing partnership agreement to address the delivery of M2M services to the global enterprise sector. In a statement, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao said the agreement "will help both organisations develop their enterprise business, as we enable our customers to apply M2M throughout the world in new and innovative ways." (See Eurobites: Vodafone Revs Up M2M Strategy.)

    • Still on a Vodafone theme, the mobile giant's Spanish subsidiary has completed a trial of GSM-LTE Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (GL DSS) with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. The Chinese vendor claims that GL DSS is able to improve LTE capacity by up to 50% by making the most of available spectrum. (See Vodafone, Huawei Trial GSM-LTE Dynamic Spectrum Sharing.)

    • The ongoing carnage in Iraq has prompted the authorities there to block VPNs in the hope that this will impede the progress of the Sunni militants, who have been using the secure communications channels to coordinate their campaign of terror, reports Reuters. Iraq Telecommunications and Post Company (ITPC) had already blocked several social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, and Skype, according to the report.

    • Three major shareholders in Telecom Italia (TIM) have now bailed out of the operator's largest investor group, reports Bloomberg. Mediobanca SpA, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA , and Assicurazioni Generali SpA have exercised their right to seek a demerger of Telco, the investment vehicle which owns nearly a quarter of Telecom Italia's shares.

    • Swisscom AG (NYSE: SCM)'s bid of 214 Swiss francs per share for media firm PubliGroupe has won the approval of PubliGroupe's board, reports Reuters. Swisscom is hoping to get its hands on PubliGroupe's online directory platforms.

    • Orange (NYSE: FTE) has combined with French banking group BNP Paribas to offer customers in Africa the ability to transfer money to their Orange Money accounts directly from their BNP Paribas accounts. The service kicks off in Ivory Coast and will be extended to other African countries where both Orange and BNP Paribas have a presence.

    • YouView, the UK Internet TV platform that has had its share of problems since its initial inception, now has another: It may well have to change its name following a court ruling that it has infringed another company's trademark, reports the BBC. British service provider Total registered the YourView name for a billing platform it launched in 2006. Total is now seeking an injunction, while YouView TV Ltd. is looking to appeal.

      — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

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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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