ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063; Hong Kong: 0763), KPN Telecom NV (NYSE: KPN), VimpelCom Ltd. (NYSE: VIP) and Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) are the big cheeses on today's deli counter of Euro telecom news nibbles.

Dutch carrier KPN has struck an agreement with ZTE to deploy the Chinese vendor's radio access network (RAN) equipment in its networks in Belgium and Germany. As part of a broad relationship between the two companies, KPN's German operation, E-Plus Service GmbH & Co. KG , will undertake a field trial of the vendor's Long Term Evolution Time Division Duplex (LTE TDD) equipment during the first quarter of 2011. (See E-Plus to Trial LTE With ZTE .)

Russian giant VimpelCom is looking to get shareholders on its side for the proposed acquisition of Orascom Telecom and Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA by offering an extra US$250 million in interim dividends, reports Reuters. The takeover is being opposed by Norwegian carrier Telenor Group (Nasdaq: TELN), which owns a substantial stake in VimpelCom.

Net income at Swisscom AG (NYSE: SCM) is down 7.1 percent year-on-year in full-year results that were hit by a provision of €70 million ($95 million) set aside in the first quarter of 2010 for VAT proceedings against its Italian subsidiary, Fastweb SpA (Milan: FWB). (See Swisscom Posts Full-Year Results and Euronews: Nov. 3.)

By contrast, British cable operator Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VMED) has recorded what it is calling its "best ever" financial year, with annual operating income up 144 percent year-on-year to £322 million ($519 million). Virgin was one of the few companies to receive a favorable report in a review of U.K. broadband speeds carried out by the Ofcom in 2010. (See Virgin Media Posts Q4, Full-Year Results, ISPs Shamed by UK Broadband Speed Tests and Virgin's Business Broadband Broadside.)

Deutsche Telekom's pay raise offer of slightly more than 2 percent to its workforce has been rejected by the employees' union, Verdi, reports Reuters. Around 7,000 employees came out on a "warning strike" on Wednesday, and more industrial action looks likely as the union is seeking an ambitious 6.5 percent pay hike.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading