Euronews: Ericsson Seals Telcordia Deal

Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC), Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) and Telefónica Deutschland GmbH are the big beasts lumbering through today's EMEA news jungle.

Ericsson has completed the US$1.15 billion cash acquisition of Service Provider Information Technology (SPIT) specialist Telcordia Technologies Inc. , a move that adds 2,600 staff to its payroll. (See Ericsson Closes Telcordia Acquisition, Ericsson to Buy Telcordia, Why Ericsson Wants Telcordia , Ericsson + Telcordia: What the Analysts Say and Ericsson's SPIT Vision.)

Separately, Ericsson is looking to squeeze more from its patents portfolio. To this end, it has been decreed that Kasim Alfalahi, Ericsson's chief intellectual property officer, will report directly to President and CEO Hans Vestberg. The vendor has a portfolio of 27,000 wireless-related patents. (See Ericsson Puts Focus on IPR Licensing, Intellectual Property Boom, Euronews: Ericsson Eyes Patents Cash Cow, Ericsson Sues ZTE Over IPR Theft and Ericsson Sues ZTE Over IPR Theft.)

U.K. regulator Ofcom has set out a number of proposals that it hopes will extend Long Term Evolution (LTE) coverage in Britain, come the day the technology finally arrives. Amongst other pronouncements, it now believes that one of the 800MHz licenses should carry an obligation to cover 98 percent of the U.K. population, as opposed to the 95 percent figure it cited earlier. It also states that it would like to see at least four national wholesalers of mobile services in the U.K. (See Ofcom Tweaks LTE Spectrum Proposals, Euronews: Concern Over UK LTE Auction Plan and UK Plots 4G Spectrum Auction .)

Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica Deutschland have signed a fiber network cooperation agreement, according to a report on Telecompaper citing the German edition of the Financial Times (subscription required). Telefonica needs the extra capacity for its LTE services, says the report.

Following the entry of value operator Iliad (Euronext: ILD) into the French mobile market, Arcep , the regulator, is warning that the French state may have to accept a cut in its dividend from Orange (NYSE: FTE), reports Reuters. This, says ARCEP, would allow the incumbent to maintain the necessary level of investments in its business and compete with Iliad's aggressive pricing. (See Iliad Disrupts the French Mobile Scene .)

Hard on the heels of Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX)'s arrival in the U.K. and Ireland comes news of another video-on-demand service about to throw its hat into the ring in the British market, reports Screen Daily. Vdio is the brainchild of Janus Friis, who made his name as a co-founder of Skype Ltd. . (See Netflix Launches in UK & Ireland and Skype Founders to Target Netflix, LoveFilm.)

Effortel SA , the Belgium-based mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), has set up and is now managing Bladna, an MVNO and Vodafone Egypt subsidiary that operates in Italy but is aimed at the country's North African community.

The Confederation of British Industry, a lobby group for business leaders in the U.K., has produced a report urging its government to "think big" when it publishes its forthcoming Communications Bill. Among the report's recommendations is that "regulations are supportive of convergence, are targeted at a clear outcome and work with the grain of consumer demand."

Following the entry of value operator Iliad (Euronext: ILD) into the French mobile market, Arcep , the regulator, is warning that the French state may have to accept a cut in its dividend from Orange (NYSE: FTE), reports Reuters. This, says ARCEP, would allow the incumbent to maintain the necessary level of investments in its business and compete with Iliad's aggressive pricing. (See Iliad Disrupts the French Mobile Scene .)

Hard on the heels of Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX)'s arrival in the U.K. and Ireland comes news of another video-on-demand service about to throw its hat into the ring in the British market, reports Screen Daily. Vdio is the brainchild of Janus Friis, who made his name as a co-founder of Skype Ltd. . (See Netflix Launches in UK & Ireland.)

Effortel SA , the Belgium-based mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), has set up and is now managing Bladna, an MVNO and Vodafone Egypt subsidiary that operates in Italy but is aimed at the country's North African community.

The Confederation of British Industry, a lobby group for business leaders in the U.K., has produced a report urging its government to "think big" when it publishes its forthcoming Communications Bill. Among the report's recommendations is that "regulations are supportive of convergence, are targeted at a clear outcome and work with the grain of consumer demand."

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading