Eurobites: ETNO, GSMA lean on EU (again)

The European telecom industry has renewed its plea to the EU to create what it believes is a more level playing field, calling for a "fair contribution mechanism" that will force Big Tech to cough up for using the industry's networks, simplified regulation and a more relaxed attitude towards proposed mergers. In a statement responding to a European Commission consultation on the future of the communications sector and its infrastructure, the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO) and the GSM Association (GSMA) said that the industry was at a tipping point, with EU policy change "urgently needed to create the right conditions for future European leadership in connectivity, and prevent the continent from falling further behind its global competitors." (See Fair share or net neutrality? Cakeist EC thinks it can have both and Europe is awash with networks that don't cover their costs.)

The UK government is trumpeting its new National Semiconductor Strategy, which will see it invest up to £200 million (US$248 million) over the next two years and up to £1 billion ($1.2 billion) over the next decade in a bid to grow the UK's chip industry, mitigate the risk of future supply chain disruptions and protect national security. The strategy will focus on what the government believes are particular UK strengths in this sphere, namely semiconductor design, cutting-edge compound semiconductors and the country's "R&D ecosystem." Julian David, the CEO of trade association TechUK, welcomed the initiative but warned that "it is vital the Government moves quickly with the industry and our international partners to turn the strategy into action."

Nokia has extended its distribution agreement with Westcon-Comstor, taking it beyond Germany and into Belgium, the UK, Portugal and Spain. Nokia and Westcon have been working together in Germany since 2021, focusing exclusively on marketing Nokia's Digital Automation Cloud private wireless offerings.

OneWeb, the satellite connectivity company co-owned by the UK government and India's Bharti Global, plans to launch 16 more satellites today in California on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. One of the satellites going up is a demonstration model, JoeySat, which will test an innovative beam-hopping capability that will allow satellites to switch between different places on Earth and adjust the strength of the communications signals based on customer need.

Angola Cables and Orange have signed an infrastructure-sharing agreement on the Orange-built West African Djoliba network. The deal gives both companies the option to extend their respective global connectivity by sharing inland networks and the subsea cable network and backbone infrastructure of Angola Cables.

Reuters reports that EU bigwig Thierry Breton has been telling the boss of TikTok that the short-form nonsense-disseminator still has "a lot of room for improvement" when it comes to data privacy, or the lack thereof. (See Eurobites: EU lawmakers give green light to digital oversight legislation.)