Eurobites: UK considers clampdown on streaming giants

Swisscom has teamed up with US analytics firm Teoco to enable the operational deployment of drones over the operator's mobile network. The deal, which builds on an earlier collaboration focusing on initial analysis and optimization of the network for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) traffic, will see Teoco's AirborneRF system extended to present monetization opportunities to Swisscom.

Belgium-based BICS has announced its support for Microsoft's Azure Peering Service, providing businesses with direct access to Microsoft's services. Azure Peering is an IP service that uses the public Internet to improved customer connectivity to Microsoft cloud services such as Microsoft 365.

The Internet of Things? It's mainly about boring Things, right? Water meters and that? But wait just a minute, what's this gently gurgling in the corner? Orange Business Services has struck a deal to provide global IoT connectivity to De Jong Duke's line of connected coffee machines for offices. According to Orange, De Jong Duke's ConnectMe software is "essentially using the coffee machine as an interactive communication platform." Make mine a large one – I'm barely halfway through Eurobites.

Vodafone has confirmed that its entire European operations will be 100% powered by electricity from renewable sources from July 1, 2021. The announcement, says Vodafone, marks a milestone towards its goal of reducing its own carbon emissions to "net zero" by 2030 and across the company's entire "value chain" by 2040. Vodafone has made good progress on its green journey: In July 2020, the operator brought forward its plan to purchase 100% renewable electricity in Europe to July 2021 from its previous target of 2025 and is committed to meeting the same target in Africa by 2025.

Sparkle, the international services arm of Telecom Italia (TIM), has unveiled a new direct route between Athens and Milan. Called "Albania Crossing" and built in cooperation with Albtelecom, the new optical fiber link crosses Albania, the Bari-Durres submarine cable and the Italian backbone.

Nokia is to provide Uninett, Norway's national research and education network, with high-capacity optical network technology to help expand the fiber infrastructure in the north of the country. The expansion is being driven mainly by the extreme (8Tbit/s) capacity needs of the Eiscat Scientific Association, which is carrying out research into the ionosphere and upper atmosphere in the northern region. Uninett is part of GÉANT, the pan-European network for scientific research.

If you happen to be in the general neighborhood of Scotland's Forth Road Bridge today (Wednesday) you might want to don a pair of earmuffs, as Openreach engineers are set to use a giant air compressor to blow a continuous 3km stretch of glass fiber right across the bridge at speeds of up to 60 meters a minute. It's being done this way as it's apparently impossible to join up spans of fiber on the bridge in the traditional manner. The engineering feat will connect the town of South Queensferry to Openreach's gigabit network. Figure 1: Not the Village People
(Source: Openreach)

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading