Eurobites: BT becomes a Teams player

And meanwhile, back in the real world, the CEO of BT's consumer division, Marc Allera, has used a blog to call on other UK fixed-line broadband providers to follow BT's lead and offer a "social" broadband tariff costing no more than £200 (US$272) a year and offering 40Mbit/s download speeds (where available) to those on low incomes and in receipt of Universal Credit welfare payments. BT offers a Home Essentials tariff costing £15 ($20.40) a month but, as Allera acknowledges, this could still be a stretch for hard-up households and further government subsidy "will be crucial."

Inwit has built what it claims is Italy's first mobile tower made of wood. The structure, located on the periphery of Milan, is 40 meters high and, says Inwit, is made "completely of sustainable and circular material." The tower stands adjacent to the Est delle Cave Park, and one of the reasons for going down the timber route was to help create a wildlife corridor in the area.

A group of advertisers and publishers going under the moniker "Movement for an Open Web" has called on the European Union to use the group's evidence in its long-running investigation into Google's advertising technology. As Bloomberg reports (paywall may apply), the group argues that Google's plan to phase out third-party cookies screams "antitrust" because it will make it difficult for its members to gather advertising-related data on web users. Movement for an Open Web's new complaint calls on EU officials to force Google to inform the relevant authorities of planned changers to its browser.

Commsworld, which describes itself as the UK's largest independent network provider, is to work with Scotland's Towns Partnership (STP) to support its connectivity-to-the-people Digital Towns initiative and help regenerate areas hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Scotland is Commsworld's patch: Last year it completed a full-fiber network connecting rural towns and villages in Renfrewshire.

Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, has announced a new switching process that it hopes will make it much easier for consumers to change their fixed broadband provider. Under the "One Touch Switch" process, those wanting to make the change will only need to contact their intended new home broadband provider, rather than having to have any awkward exchanges with their existing provider. The regulator did a similar thing with mobile operators in 2019. (See Eurobites: UK Mobile Operators to Get Dumped by Text.)

More than half of Telecom Italia's 43,000 employees will be able to continue working from home until the end of the year, according to a labor union document seen by Reuters. The document also said that the operator would keep some of its offices closed for now.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading