Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telefónica promotes disability in the workplace; Jurassic Fibre extends into Cornwall; Deutsche Telekom's smart home offering wins independent approval.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

August 3, 2022

3 Min Read
Eurobites: Telecom Italia commits to voluntary redundancies in 2022-2023

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telefónica promotes disability in the workplace; Deutsche Telekom's smart home offering wins independent approval; Virgin Media does its bit for foodbanks.

  • Telecom Italia (TIM) has confirmed that any redundancies implemented between now and the end of 2023 – which could amount to 2,200 workers leaving the company – will be voluntary in nature. In addition to these, there are around 1,200 voluntary early retirements provided for in the agreement signed with the labor unions in June that regulates retirements by seniority. TIM CEO Pietro Labriola is seeking to make about €1 billion (US$1.07 billion) in savings between now and 2024 as the debt-burdened operator struggles to cope with weakening domestic demand. (See Domestic woes weigh heavily on Telecom Italia.) Figure 1: (Source: Arcansel/Alamy Stock Photo) (Source: Arcansel/Alamy Stock Photo)

    • Jurassic Fibre, the Internet service provider based in the southwest of England, is extending its fiber rollout to the county of Cornwall. The company already has a presence in the neighboring counties of Devon, Dorset and Somerset. The buildout will begin in the fall in the surfers' hotspot of Bude.

    • Nokia and Ericsson have landed 5G contracts with India's Bharti Airtel. Nokia will provide equipment from its AirScale range, including modular and scalable baseband as well as high-capacity 5G massive MIMO radios, while its Swedish rival will supply 5G connectivity in 12 circles (geographical regions), using RAN products from its Ericsson Radio System range.

    • Telefónica says it is the first Spanish company – and the first major telco – to join the "Generation Valuable" program, a global initiative that seeks to provide opportunities to disabled people in the workplace. The program will aim to identify and create a community of disabled talent to report on their interactions company bosses, with the aim of making said companies more inclusive. The initiative is backed by The Valuable 500, a group made up of companies from the FTSE 100, Fortune 500 and the Nikkei.

    • Deutsche Telekom's smart home offering, MagentaZuhause, has won the approval of AV-TEST, an independent IT security testing organization. According to AV-TEST, Deutsche Telekom's handling of customer data is "exemplary," with the operator providing detailed information about data protection issues. All data related to the app is processed in Germany or other European countries.

    • Virgin Media O2, the UK-based cable/mobile operator, has joined a pilot scheme which allows its customers to more easily donate to foodbanks, using engineers' vans to deliver donations. Virgin Media customers in Bournemouth (on England's south coast) who have an installation booked will be notified of the initiative via an SMS which will provide guidance on items that can be donated. The use of foodbanks has soared in the UK in recent months as the cost of living – and in particular the cost of energy – has risen steeply.

      — 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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