Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Qualcomm appeals against antitrust fine; meet the new Martin Dawes; Iskratel and Teleste join forces on GPON/DOCSIS hybrid.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

June 5, 2018

3 Min Read
Eurobites: Telia & Ericsson Snuggle Up on Stockholm 5G Testbed

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Qualcomm appeals against antitrust fine; meet the new Martin Dawes; Iskratel and Teleste join forces on GPON/DOCSIS hybrid.

  • Sweden's Telia has joined forces with Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology to build a "5G innovation arena" at the KTH campus in Stockholm. It is hoped that the collaboration will provide a testing ground for all things 5G, with different industry players putting the technology and its applications through their paces.

    Meanwhile, in Helsinki, Telia has opened what it claims is the biggest and "greenest" data center in Finland. It plans to use the heat produced by the tens of thousands of servers in the data center to heat up to 20,000 homes in Espoo. For a slightly spooky tour of the new facility (the data center speaks!), see the video below:

    • Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM), the US chip giant, is hoping that the European Union's second-highest court will overturn a €997 million (US$1.16 billion) fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators for anticompetitive practices related to Qualcomm's exclusive provision of chips for Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhones and iPads. As Reuters reports, Qualcomm claims that the ruling that led to the fine was strewn with procedural and legal errors. A final judgement on the case isn't expected anytime soon. (See Eurobites: Qualcomm May Face EU Antitrust Probe.)

    • BSS-as-a-service specialist Martin Dawes Systems has revamped itself as MDS Global Ltd. , unveiled a new corporate identity and launched a new corporate website to reflect the company's broader strategy, which encompasses virtual network operators, enterprise managed service providers and IoT players as well as fixed, mobile and cable network operators. The Warrington, UK-based company boasts the likes of BT, O2 UK, eir, TalkTalk and Dixons Carphone amongst its customers.

    • An unspecified cable/satellite operator in central Europe is using a combination of access network systems from Iskratel d.o.o. and Teleste Corp. to deliver gigabit broadband. Iskratel is supplying the GPON technology, while Teleste brings its DOCSIS-based mini-CMTS.

    • UPC Hungary has chosen Agama Technologies AB 's video assurance platform to give its operations teams a real-time view of the video delivery chain, from the headend to the consumer.

    • BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA) has extended its partnership with Cisco Meraki to launch an expanded set of managed services that will "combine business-grade connectivity with security features and the option to add Wi-Fi, LAN and IP Voice services." The operator says the move is the latest addition to its Dynamic Network Services program.

    • Got an old phone box in your street that you don't know what to do with? Turn it into a disco! That was the approach taken by the swinging folk in the UK town of Kingsbridge, who persuaded BT to install a music system, hang a glitterball and rig up some lighting as part of a deal that would see the town council take over ownership of the redundant K6 kiosk. The nano-nightclub will raise money for a local charity by allowing would-be groovers to pay £1 to use a dial-a-disc-type record system, presumably loaded with telecom-themed floor-fillers such as this. Figure 1: Phone Box Disco She's dancing on her own tonight. She's dancing on her own tonight.

      — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Paul Rainford

Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Paul is based on the Isle of Wight, a rocky outcrop off the English coast that is home only to a colony of technology journalists and several thousand puffins.

He has worked as a writer and copy editor since the age of William Caxton, covering the design industry, D-list celebs, tourism and much, much more.

During the noughties Paul took time out from his page proofs and marker pens to run a small hotel with his other half in the wilds of Exmoor. There he developed a range of skills including carrying cooked breakfasts, lying to unwanted guests and stopping leaks with old towels.

Now back, slightly befuddled, in the world of online journalism, Paul is thoroughly engaged with the modern world, regularly firing up his VHS video recorder and accidentally sending text messages to strangers using a chipped Nokia feature phone.

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