Eurobites: Alcatel-Lucent Claims 300G Record

News Analysis Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe 7/13/2015

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Mobily announces new CEO; Huawei's 5G push in Europe; Telefónica bags La Liga matches.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) is claiming a distance record for subsea data transmission, covering more than 10,000km using 300G technology in a trial at its research lab in Villarceux, France. The trial deployed 300G 8QAM (8 quadrature amplitude modulation) technology in combination with second-generation coherent submarine fiber (CSF-2).

Etihad Etisalat Co. (Mobily) , the Saudi mobile operator, has appointed Ahmad Farroukh its new CEO, reports Reuters. Farroukh arrives from the strike-hit MTN Group Ltd. , where he headed up the carrier's South African business. Mobily's previous CEO, Khalid al-Kaf, stepped down in February, following an investigation into accounting issues at the operator.

Chinese giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is trumpeting its role in the European 5G Public Private Partnership (5GPPP) initiative, highlighting its role in five co-funded projects, including METIS-II and Fantastic-5G. The first phase of the 5GPPP, which hopes to generate €3.5 billion (US$3.87 billion) from private investment and €700 million ($774 million) in EU funding, was launched on July 1, 2015. (See Lines Get Drawn in Road to 5G.)

Telefónica has bagged the rights to transmit matches in La Liga, Spain's premier soccer division, for the 2015/2016 season in a €600 million ($668 million) deal, reports Reuters. Telefónica customers can look forward to a few of these…

South African operator Telkom SA Ltd. (NYSE/Johannesburg: TKG) is abandoning plans for compulsory redundancies and is instead looking at other options such as early retirement to reduce costs by as much as 1 billion South African rand annually, reports IOL Business.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading