BROWSING: EMEA

Unabiz ties-up with iWire on Sigfox (plus any-LPWAN) IoT push in MEA region

Dubai-based IoT network and solutions provider iWire Global, at one time in the running to buy Sigfox, has signed a regional collaboration and development deal with Singapore-based IoT outfit Unabiz, which eventually won the race to buy Sigfox’s technology assets in France. The partnership...

EU backs $100m venture capital fund for ‘Industry 5.0’ (Industry 4.0 with-a-conscience)

Zurich-based venture capital group Momenta has launched a $100 million target fund for ‘Industry 5.0’ tech – basically, for startups pushing Industry 4.0 with-a-conscience. The new fund is backed by the European Commission, which told IoT Solutions World Congress (IOTSWC) in Barcelona, where the...

Glass maker Euroglas takes Sigfox solution from Citymesh to track stillage racks in Belgium

Belgian glass manufacturer Euroglas-De Landtsheer (Euroglas) has deployed a Sigfox tracking solution from local pair Citymesh and HeronTrack to get live positional readouts on its entire fleet of 1,100 stillage racks, used to transport glass products across the Benelux region. The stillage racks are...

Norway opens 3.8-4.2 GHz band for private 5G (SA-NPN only; PNI-NPN not permitted)

Norway has opened up 400 MHz of prime mid-band spectrum, at 3.8-4.2 GHz, for enterprises to deploy local-area private 5G networks. Following pilots last year, the Norwegian Communications Authority (Nkom) is now offering four different-sized tranches of the 3.8-4.2 GHz band on 10-year deals....

“Tech is the problem, and the solution” – Telefónica on the future of work and society

A quick excerpt from a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, courtesy of José María Álvarez-Pallete, chairman and chief executive at Telefónica, who directly and powerfully addressed the elephant in the elite Alpine conference rooms: that unfettered digital change...

Orange’s 5G network reaches 840 cities across Spain

Spanish operator Orange is already offering 5G services in 840 towns and cities in 38 provinces across the country, the carrier said in a statement. According to the European operator, its 5G network infrastructure already reaches 58.6% of the Spanish population. Orange had said it expects...

EU starts WTO dispute against China over telecom patents

The European Union has filed a case against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for restricting EU high-tech companies from going to a foreign court to protect and use their patents. In a release, the European Commission noted that China "severely restricts EU companies...

CommScope secures Wi-Fi 6 deal with Vodafone Germany

CommScope announced that Vodafone Germany will deploy its Touchstone TG6442 DOCSIS 3.1 cable gateways to deliver Wi-Fi 6 performance to millions of subscribers across Germany. CommScope said that this deployment will enable Vodafone Germany to improve its customers’ in-home Wi-Fi connections and deliver faster broadband...

Juniper Networks, Vodafone and Parallel Wireless work on O-RAN trial

Juniper Networks announced that it is working with Vodafone and Parallel Wireless, conducting a multi-vendor Radio Access Network Intelligent Controller (RIC) trial for tenant-aware admission control use cases. The trial, initially running in Vodafone’s test labs in Turkey and with plans to move into its...

Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network covers over 90% of Germany’s population

German telco Deutsche Telekom said that a total of over 63,000 antennas are already transmitting 5G across the country, providing coverage to over 90% of the population. In a release, the operator said that it had activated 159 new 5G locations in Germany during January. The...

Virgin Media O2 reaches 64% of London’s population with 5G

U.K. operator Virgin Media O2 announced that its 5G network infrastructure in the city of London has reached 64% of the population. In a release, the telco said that the expansion in its 5G footprint in London and other cities across the U.K. was chiefly...

Telefonica validates its new O-RAN 5G standalone small cell

Spanish telecommunications operator Telefónica announced the successful validation of its new Open RAN 5G Standalone small cell. In a release, the European carrier said that the demonstration was carried out by Node-H and Askey in Telefonica’s Technology & Automation Lab. Telefonica noted that this demo is...

Vodafone UK selects Oracle to support 5G network core

U.K. operator Vodafone has selected Oracle Communications for the provision of cloud-native network policy management for its Standalone 5G network. In a joint release, Vodafone and Oracle noted that the supply of Oracle's cloud native network policy management solution will enable the European telco to...

Orange announces 700 MHz 5G deployment in Spain

Spanish operator Orange announced what it claims to be the largest deployment of 5G in the 700 MHz band in Spain. The European carrier said it will offer this technology progressively over the course of 2022 in more than 1,100 towns and cities, 820 of...

Deutsche Telekom expands 5G capacities at almost 1,000 sites

Deutsche Telekom said it has built up 5G capacities at 958 sites nationwide over the past six weeks, the telco said in a statement. In addition, Deutsche Telekom has created additional LTE capacities at 745 locations, while 352 new LTE sites were built across Germany. More...

Telenor inks deal with AWS to expand 5G core transformation

Nordic carrier Telenor signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help expand its 5G core transformation, the telco said in a release. The telco said that the new deal will allow it to deliver new 5G and edge services to enterprise...

Telefonica Deutschland activates O-RAN mini-radio cells in Munich

German operator O2/Telefónica Deutschland has activated the first mini-radio cells with Open RAN technology (O-RAN) in the city of Munich, the telco said in a statement. The telco said that these mini-radio cells will provide O2 customers with even more capacity and higher bandwidth at...

France to see 5G energy efficiency gains from 2023 in urban areas: Arcep

France is expected to achieve energy efficiency gains from 5G deployments in the most densely populated areas of the country from 2023, according to a study by local telecom regulator Arcep. Arcep has published a study evaluating different energy consumption scenarios to assess the impact...

Belgium kicks off process to award 5G frequencies

Belgian regulator BIPT has opened the call for participation in a mobile spectrum auction planned for June this year. The spectrum auction will provide the first 5G licenses and redistribute key 2G and 3G bands, with a package of spectrum rights also reserved for a...

Vodafone reaches over 45 million people in Germany with its 5G network

Vodafone Germany's 5G network is currently available to more than 45 million people across the country, the telco said in a release. The company had previously said it aimed to service over 30 million people with 5G in Germany by the end of 2021. The...

Vodafone to expand 5G coverage in Spain via 700 MHz spectrum

Vodafone Spain announced it will start to provide 5G coverage via the 700 MHz frequency in 109 municipalities in 30 provinces progressively from today, after the telco secured 2x10 megahertz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band in July. The telco noted that this first...

GSA reports 200 mobile carriers have already deployed 5G in 78 countries

A total of 200 operators in 78 countries have already launched one or more 3GPP-compliant 5G services as of the end of December, according to the latest update from the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA). Also, 487 operators in 145 countries were investing in 5G,...

Free Mobile’s 5G footprint reaches 77% of French population

French mobile operator Free Mobile, a subsidiary of Illiad, said its 5G footprint currently covers 77% of the population, up from 52% in May 2021. Free Mobile said that its 5G network currently reaches 9,100 municipalities across France. It also said the firm had already...

French telcos had 31,650 authorized 5G sites at end-2021

France had a total of 31,650 authorized 5G sites as of January 1, of which 22,180 were declared technically operational by the local mobile carriers, according to the latest information provided by France’s spectrum agency ANFR. ANFR said that the number of authorized 5G sites...