Belgium's Proximus is taking part in a program that combines 5G-connected drones and artificial intelligence to explore ways of achieving more sustainable weed control in agriculture. Researchers in Flanders used a fully automatic drone, equipped with a high-tech camera, to provide field images that were transmitted to the cloud via a Proximus 5G antenna. AI was then used to decipher the images in real time and work out which were the weeds and which were the crops; this data was in turn relayed to a self-positioning tractor equipped with an "intelligent sprayer."

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is moving onto the next phase of its investigation into Amazon and Google's efforts (or lack thereof) to combat fake product and service reviews on their sites. If, after investigating, the CMA considers the companies have broken UK consumer protection law, it can take enforcement action, including the taking of said companies to court if the CMA feels this is appropriate. This latest work builds on action taken by the watchdog last year over the trading of fake reviews, which resulted in Facebook, Instagram and eBay removing groups and banning individuals for buying and selling fake reviews on their sites.

Telecom Italia (TIM) has created a 5G private network for EXOR International, a manufacturer of digital platforms for the industrial sector. The network, which uses 3.7GHz and 26GHz millimeter wave frequencies, is intended to improve the EXOR's "smart factory" processes through reduced latencies and higher levels of safety and reliability. According to TIM, EXOR's is the first Italian factory connected to 5G.

UK fiber latest: Hyperoptic will be rolling out gigabit-capable broadband to social housing in the West Midlands cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton; while TalkTalk is doing its full-fiber thing a few miles east, in the city of Derby, providing average top speeds of 506 Mbit/s to residential customers.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading