Nokia Networks sheds staff, Telecom Italia (TIM) slips into the red and Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VMED) takes on BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA) in the Wi-Fi space in today's skip through the regional headlines.

Nokia Siemens Networks is cutting about 1,500 GSM- and WiMax-related jobs worldwide -- including positions in the U.K. -- following the acquisition of wireless network assets from Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI) earlier this year. It is thought that a further tranche of redundancies could follow. (See NSN Slims Down GSM, WiMax Teams.)

A domestic goodwill writedown to the tune of €3.18 billion (US$4.49 billion) has taken Telecom Italia's half-year figures into the red, reports Bloomberg. The writedown was largely to blame for the net loss of €2.01 billion euros ($2.83 billion). Perhaps more worryingly, domestic wireless revenues were down more than 10 percent. (See Telecom Italia Reports H1, Euronews: T Italia Gets Busy in Brazil, Mixed 2010 for Euro Giants and T Italia's Latino Lunge.)

Cable operator Virgin Media is planning to take on BT's Openzone service in the U.K. with the launch of a free public Wi-Fi scheme in London, reports the Daily Telegraph. If the plan gets the green light, the Wi-Fi network will be freely available to anyone at 0.5 Mbit/s, and to Virgin's home broadband subscribers at up to 10 Mbit/s, via Wi-Fi routers installed in Virgin's existing infrastructure. (See Virgin Gives 1.5-Gig Wideband a Whirl, Virgin's Business Broadband Broadside and ISPs Shamed by UK Broadband Speed Tests.)

We don't suppose the soldiers' families give a hoot, but it seems the ongoing withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan is costing U.K.-based satellite communications firm Inmarsat plc (London: ISAT) around $1 million a month in lost revenue, reports The Guardian.

Elsewhere in EMEA:

• OTE Reports Q2

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading