Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Motorola faces ESN probe; KPN enjoys steady Q3; VEON opts for Amdocs out east.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

October 26, 2021

3 Min Read
Eurobites: Telecom Italia revs up fiber offer with XGS-PON

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Motorola faces ESN probe; KPN enjoys steady Q3; VEON opts for Amdocs out east.

  • Telecom Italia (TIM) has launched its new XGS-PON-based broadband service, claiming speeds that are ten times faster than those that it offers on its current GPON network – 10 Gbit/s on the download and 2 Gbit/s on the upload. Dubbed "Magnifica" (no pressure there then), the service will use the TIM TS+ Wi-Fi set-up to offer stable and secure indoor coverage. Initially, Magnifica will be available in the cities of Milan, Turin, Trento, Trieste, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Cagliari, Taranto and Brindisi.

    • Motorola is facing a formal investigation into whether it is deliberately delaying the introduction of its new Emergency Services Network (ESN) in order to push up profits. As the Guardian reports, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) alleges that Motorola supplied insufficient information on the cost implications of continuing to use the existing Airwave emergency services system, and says it was concerned that "Motorola could be cashing in on its position, leaving taxpayers to cover the cost." The CMA had earlier claimed Motorola could stand to make excess profits of about £1.2 billion (US$1.4 billion) in the period from 2020 to 2026 because of the extension of the Airwave contract. (See UK could force Motorola to sell Airwave following competition probe.)

    • Third-quarter numbers at Dutch operator KPN didn't set the world alight, but they didn't crash and burn either. Adjusted EBITDAal (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, after leases) inched up 1.4% year-on-year, to €607 million (US$705 million), on revenues that were up 1%, to €1.31 billion ($1.52 billion). The SME segment was a bright spot for the operator, with service revenues rising 2.9%, while in an accompanying statement CEO Joost Farwerck said that the "fiber engine is running at close to full speed in line with our ambition to cover the Netherlands with fiber by 2026." Looking ahead, KPN reiterated its full-year 2021 outlook.

    • Amsterdam-based VEON has agreed a seven-year BSS deal with Amdocs for its Beeline operations in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In the words of the VEON press release, Amdocs will provide "monetisation, service and network automation solutions, catalogue management, commerce and care systems," as well as enabling "new multi-channel front ends for digital services." (By the way, Amdocs wins this week's Meaningless Overblown Mission Statement Award: "Amdocs helps those who build the future to make it amazing," it says here. Steady on fellers, let's not put the BS into BSS.)

    • Commsworld, which describes itself as the UK's largest independent network provider, has teamed up with Alncom, a rural broadband provider based in north-east England, to take fiber broadband to businesses and public sector organizations in the more remote parts of Northumberland.

    • Meanwhile, in "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?" corner, the UK's intelligence services plan to start storing some of their most classified material on Amazon's cloud, according to a Guardian report. Apparently, all the data will be held within the UK, but that won't stop multiple eyebrows being raised at the prospect of the ten-year deal.

    • Swisscom is launching a new media library, Blue Play, which contains thousands of unlimited series, feature films and children's programs on demand. Starting now, Blue Play will gradually be rolled out, at no extra cost, to all Blue TV customers with an M, L or X subscription, accessible from the Swisscom Box, via the Blue TV apps and the desktop player on blue.ch.

      — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Paul Rainford

Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Paul is based on the Isle of Wight, a rocky outcrop off the English coast that is home only to a colony of technology journalists and several thousand puffins.

He has worked as a writer and copy editor since the age of William Caxton, covering the design industry, D-list celebs, tourism and much, much more.

During the noughties Paul took time out from his page proofs and marker pens to run a small hotel with his other half in the wilds of Exmoor. There he developed a range of skills including carrying cooked breakfasts, lying to unwanted guests and stopping leaks with old towels.

Now back, slightly befuddled, in the world of online journalism, Paul is thoroughly engaged with the modern world, regularly firing up his VHS video recorder and accidentally sending text messages to strangers using a chipped Nokia feature phone.

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