Eurobites: TIM under pressure to name new CEO – reportEurobites: TIM under pressure to name new CEO – report

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Ericsson's Cloud RAN passes the audition; AccelerComm joins Small Cell Forum; TalkTalk rejigs wholesale team.The chairman of Telecom Italia (TIM), Salvatore Rossi, is coming under pressure from a group of TIM directors to call a special board meeting to appoint a new CEO, according to a Reuters report citing two anonymous insider sources. The last CEO, Luigi Gubitosi, stepped down in November, shortly after an unsolicited takeover approach from US investment fund KKR, and since then the head of TIM Brasil, Pietro Labriola, and Chairman Rossi have been holding the fort. (See Telecom Italia CEO quits as KKR circles, Ex-CEO Gubitosi steps down from TIM board and Telecom Italia faces $12.2B privatization bid from KKR.)Ericsson's Cloud RAN offering has passed the independent Network Equipment Security Assurance Scheme (NESAS) audit, meaning it's been deemed fully compliant with security requirements defined by standards heavyweights 3GPP and the GSMA. NESAS was introduced to provide a "common security assurance framework" for product development and product lifecycle processes across the mobile industry.UK-based AccelerComm, which specializes in channel coding technology intended to boost the throughput and reduce the latency of wireless networks, has joined the Small Cell Forum. AccelerComm says it will contribute to the Forum's work by bringing its 5G physical layer expertise to the Forum's activities, including defining designs for 5G small cells.TalkTalk Wholesale Services has appointed Ruth Kennedy as its new chief sales officer. Kennedy has been with the TalkTalk Group for ten years, most recently serving as director of group fibre development. Richard Thompson, and 20-year TalkTalk veteran and until recently the company's managing director of wholesale, has moved on.Orange Polska says it has reached the 1 million customer milestone on its full-fiber broadband service. Around 50,000 of that number, however, are customers of other Polish operators riding on the Orange network.MLL Telecom, which provides managed network services to the UK's public sector, has won a five-year contract from the Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service. The deal will include the supply of SD-WAN-based services to boost network bandwidth, security and resilience at the organization's 27 sites.— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading