Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: KPN acquires IS Group; MTN CEO resigns; Deutsche Telekom wants women on its boards.
Nokia Networks has teamed up with UAE operator Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co. (du) for a test that used drones carrying smartphones equipped with network testing applications to analyze the operator's network. The test was carried out at the Dubai International Stadium, the test data being collected automatically and sent to a server for processing. Drones were also used for tower inspections, radio planning and line-of-sight testing between radio towers. (See DroneComm 2015: Pics Above the Clouds and The Trouble With Drones....)
Dutch incumbent KPN Telecom NV (NYSE: KPN) has acquired IS Group, a managed hosting and cloud services provider, for an undisclosed sum. In a statement, the company said the acquisition is part of its drive into cloud-based services.
The CEO of South Africa's MTN Group Ltd. , Ahmad Farroukh, has resigned for personal reasons, as a strike by 2,000 MTN workers enters its second month, reports Reuters.
Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) is trumpeting the fact that it has created a pool of 24 female candidates for supervisory board positions at its subsidiaries through an internal training program. Currently, only around a quarter of seats on Deutsche Telekom's internal supervisory board bodies are held by women and the carrier wants to redress that imbalance. (See Breakfast of Champions: Women in Tech at BTE.)
Sweden's Tele2 AB (Nasdaq: TLTO) is providing M2M technology to Spotter, a Dutch company that specializes in so-called "track and trace" offerings for the consumer market, allowing, for example, concerned parents to keep track of their offspring via a GPS device linked to an online account. Spooky.
Viber, the company behind the instant messaging app of the same name, is expanding into central and eastern Europe, appointing Atanas Raykov as general manager for the region.
Telefónica has launched a new TV offering, Movistar+, the fruit of the merger between Movistar TV and Canal+. Current Movistar TV customers will find the new package brings them more live sport, Hollywood releases and, erm, bullfighting. The basic package costs €20 (US$22) a month. (See Rakuten Buys Viber for $900M.)
— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading
