A quick wrap-up of global carrier news.
• SK Telecom and Telecom Italia are teaming up to work on LTE and the “Internet of Things.” SK Telecom said the partnership will have a positive impact on technology and communication in both Asia and Europe. SK Telecom is also partnering with Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung on other research projects.
• Mobile tower company Bharti Infratel is looking to buy towers from Vodafone and Idea Cellular in seven out of 22 telecom circles. Executives have made it clear that the towers they are interested in buying are in circles where Bharti Infratel is the sole operator.
• Telecom Egypt may be backing out of selling it’s 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt. Reuters Middle East reports that Telecom Egypt is waiting to receive a license to offer its own mobile services. The Egyptian government owns 80% of Telecom Egypt and is demanding that the company exit Vodafone Egypt once it gets the license because of competition reasons.
• Russia is apparently having Internet routing security issues thanks to China Telecom. Dyn Research found that on several occasions last year Russian Internet traffic was re-routed out of the country because of mistakes made by China Telecom. The routing miscue puts Russian Internet security and performance at risk.
• Furniture is getting smarter. SK Telecom and Hyundai Livart, a South Korean furniture designer, are working together to offer new smart home technology. For example, cooking a chef-inspired dinner is now as easy as searching for the recipe on your cabinet door that’s equipped with a touch screen for Web browsing.
