Eurobites: Telefónica Has a Marketing Brainstorm

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) has become the latest beneficiary of Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD)'s Project Spring investment program, being signed up by the mobile giant as a "supplier of reference" of LTE public access small cells. The "supplier of reference" tag means AlcaLu can bid for business in all Vodafone territories for metro small cell contracts. The pair have been doing enterprise small cells business together for several years, latterly in a trial in the Netherlands. (See Vodafone Ups 'Project Spring' Capex to $11B+.)

Mobile money platform specialist Monitise plc has reported an increase in revenues of about 32% to an estimated £95-97 million (US$162-166 million) for the fiscal year to the end of June 2014, though this was below the expected 40% increase due to the delay in some large long-term deals. The company, which has its app loaded onto 60 million smartphones globally, is expecting sales to increase by a further 25% in the financial year ending June 2015. The company counts Telefónica as a customer and MasterCard as a partner and investor. (See Monitise, Telefónica Forge Partnership.)

Tele Columbus AG , the third-largest cable operator in Germany, has let the world know that it is considering an IPO, following media speculation to that effect.

The good folk of Arzachena, a city on the Italian island of Sardinia, can now access 4G services courtesy of Telecom Italia (TIM) . The operator's 4G network now encompasses 745 Italian towns and cities, providing coverage to more than half of the Italian population.

British mobile joint venture EE has struck its latest MVNO deal -- with the Post Office, the UK's national postal service, reports the Daily Telegraph. Post Office handsets and related services will be launched in the fall, through an initial rollout in 50 Post Office branches, as well as via online promotion. For a sneak preview of how the handsets may look, click here.

At Eurobites Towers there's nothing we like better than a serious scientific study that just oozes gravitas, so here's one for you: A survey commissioned by TigerMobiles.com has discovered that British couples' attachment to their smartphones is killing their sex lives. Shockingly, 40% of those asked have turned down sex with their partner in favor of playing on their smartphone. Even shockinglier, 18% revealed that they had checked their phone while they were actually, y'know, doin' it. Well some of those Groupon offers are very good these days. Figure 1: Not now, love, I'm booking a chest waxing.

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading