Eurobites: UK explores energy efficiency in open RAN

Digital Catapult, a government-linked agency that supports high-tech businesses in the UK, has launched a program of research into ways of boosting energy efficiency in the open RAN sector. Supported by communications regulator Ofcom and with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the SONIC Labs Technology Programme will run for eight months, with the fruits of the program being showcased at an event in early 2025. Five organizations are taking part in the project: NetAI, the University of York and zTouch Networks will explore how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology can enhance the performance of open RAN networks, while G Reigns and Jet Connectivity will benchmark and optimize the energy consumption of the CPU server cores used by the distributed unit and centralized unit to provide energy efficient options for mobile network operators and providers of private networks.

Following an edict by Ofcom last month mandating that annual price rises should be set out in "pounds and pence" rather than being based on inflation, mobile operator Three UK has announced a new tiered pricing structure. As from April 2025, mobile contracts will increase by between £1 (US$1.26) and £1.50 ($1.90) a month, dependent on the data allowance of the particular contract. Broadband customers will see annual rises capped at £2 ($2.53) a month per contract. UK operators faced flak for using a logic-challenging inflation-plus-3.9% formula in a practice that became particularly unpopular after inflation hit double digits in 2022.

Brits enjoying long-haul vacations could find themselves spending more than £7,200 ($9,141) for a single gigabyte of mobile data, according to research from eSIM company Saily. Its research found that prices advertised online at the beginning of July 2024 show that some of the biggest UK operators may charge customers up to £7.20 ($9.14) per megabyte when traveling outside of the UK to destinations like the US, Japan, Turkey and South Korea. (See The eSIM spells trouble for operators.)

This week Sky is launching another TV channel, Sky Sports+, for those who have a particular passion for lower-tier UK soccer. The channel offers four times as many matches from the English Football League (i.e. not the Premier League) as Sky's existing sports offering. Sky Sports+ will also allow viewers to "live pause and rewind" on all live streams.

Nokia is offering a new drone-based inventory control feature for warehouses. The feature, which forms part of the Nokia Autonomous Inventory Monitoring Service (AIMS), will enable warehouse operators to utilize autonomous drones to individually count items, such as cases or cartons, in any racked inventory location accurately and efficiently. The feature will initially only be available to customers in the US.

Wearable "watch phones" that aren't connected to the Internet are becoming more popular with Finnish parents as a device for kids at elementary school, Finnish website YLE reports. A survey by telecom operator DNA found that around 10% of parents chose a watch phone for their children this year, up from just 1% a few years ago. The Finnish government has plans to give teachers more powers to prevent students from using mobile phones during lessons, the report adds.