Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: AlcaLu sells government-focused unit; French say oui to more data-snooping; Telefónica/E-Plus deal under scrutiny.
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. says it has completed a successful test of a 400G WDM system with a single carrier wave on the live network with Polish operator Exatel. As opposed to 400G networks with multiple aggregated waves that require several optical transceiver systems, a 400G WDM system with a single carrier wave requires only one, says the vendor, thus reducing power consumption and making it easier to manage. (See Exatel Tests Single Carrier 400G With Huawei.)
Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) has crossed something else off its Shift Plan things-to-do list by agreeing the sale of LGS Innovations LLC, a subsidiary that sells communications technology and support services to the US government, for up to $200 million. The buyer is a consortium of investors led by Madison Dearborn Partners , a private equity outfit. (See AlcaLu Sells US Unit for $200M.)
Rather running counter to the post-Snowden prevailing mood, the French government has decided to extend its powers to monitor phone and connection data, reports Reuters. A new military budget law grants data-snooping powers to more agencies, such as tax authorities, and strips judges of the power to carry out judicial reviews of monitoring requests.
Telefónica SA (NYSE: TEF)'s plan to merge its German mobile unit with KPN Telecom NV (NYSE: KPN)'s E-Plus Service GmbH & Co. KG is going to face some tough scrutiny from the European Commission over concerns that the Spanish-owned group will bag an unhealthily large amount of spectrum from the deal, reports Bloomberg. The ability -- or lack of it -- of would-be MVNOs to piggy-back on Telefónica and KPN's spectrum is thought to be a particular worry. (See Euronews: KPN to Sell E-Plus for €8.1B.)
Italy's telecom regulator has ignored the wishes of the European Commission and gone ahead with cutting the wholesale access prices that Telecom Italia (TIM) can charge its broadband rivals, reports Reuters. The EC had earlier warned that the proposed cuts would discourage investment. (See Euronews: Telecom Italia Boss on the Brink.)
UK regulator Ofcom has produced its latest roundup of customer satisfaction levels in the country's telecom market, and cable operator Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VMED) wins the lion's share of the plaudits, coming top in the landline category and joint top (with Sky ) in the fixed broadband category. On the mobile front, Telefónica UK Ltd. (O2) rules the roost, scoring an 82% satisfaction rating, while Orange UK languishes at the bottom of the pile, with 67%. BSkyB triumphs in pay-TV, increasing its satisfaction rating to 80%, a 9% rise on its score last year. BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA)'s TV offering is the clear loser, managing only 59%. For more details, the actual report is here.
Euronews puts its laptop back under the stairs now for the holiday break and will return on January 2 with more tales of telecom turmoil. See you next year!
— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading
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