Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Infinera enhances bid for Sweden's Transmode; Huawei claims LTE breakthrough on French trains; charging mobiles though movement.
Telefónica is hoping to benefit from economies of scale by entering into a joint smartphone procurement program with China Unicom Ltd. (NYSE: CHU), with the intention of selecting handsets based on shared specifications. The first fruits of the collaboration, 4G devices sourced from Lenovo and TCL, are expected to be on the market in the second half of 2015 in Europe, China and Latin America. (See Telefónica, China Unicom Boast Savings From 4G Handset Procurement Deal .)
Infinera Corp. (Nasdaq: INFN) has improved its bid for Sweden's Transmode Systems AB , providing shareholders with a potential all-cash consideration alternative. Infinera made the initial $350 million offer for the Swedish optical vendor back in April, based on a mixture of cash and shares. (See Infinera Makes $350M Offer for Sweden's Transmode.)
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and train manufacturer Alstom have completed a trial of 4G LTE multi-services based on Communications-based Train Control (CBTC), a railway signaling system based on wireless ground-to-train communication. The trial was carried on the railway network in the Valenciennes area of France.
A UK firm has acquired the rights to two "energy harvesting" technologies that enable mobiles devices to be powered by human movement, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. Tekcapital, based in Oxford, bought the rights to the two technologies from the University of Michigan and the Georgia Institute of Technology respectively.
— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading
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