Andrus Ansip, the candidate to lead the European Union’s Digital Internal Market, is willing to suspend the safe harbor agreement with the U.S. if Europe’s security concerns are not addressed. The safe harbor agreement regulates the transfer of Europeans’ personal data to the U.S. …
Neelie Kroes, the outgoing EU digital commissioner, fired some parting shots at telcos last week, telling them to “adapt or die.” Speaking at a Brussels conference held by the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ association (ETNO), she said that sometimes “the telecoms sector …
An interesting LTE race is brewing in Slovenia, primarily between Telekom Austria and Telekom Slovenije — or whoever winds up buying a majority stake in the state-owned Telekom Slovenije. Slovenia was a bit slow off the LTE mark in auctioning off …
As the European Parliament met in Brussels to question the incoming telecom head, Gunther Oettinger, industry leaders convened across town with their own agenda for Europe — one that involves less regulation. “We need fewer rules that are streamlined toward an investment-friendly climate and a simpler institutional …
Although Europe lags other regions in LTE adoption, the region is pushing hard to develop “5G.” Of all the countries involved, it seems the United Kingdom is pushing the hardest. The country recently hosted the “5G Huddle” conference, following a pledge by flamboyant …
Vladimir Putin wants to take Russia off the global Internet in case of an emergency, like war or anti-government protests, according to recent reports — reports which, of course, the Kremlin denies. It’s easy to dismiss this move as the madness of …
LTE has been quietly growing in the Middle East. The lack of big announcements and headlines does not mean there’s been a lack of deployments — at least in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Every single carrier in the GCC, …
The European Union appears to be taking a couple of regulatory steps that will please Europe’s biggest carriers. First, EU member states voted this week to deregulate the voice market, according to Reuters. The measure would remove caps on the amount …
Netflix is making a splash in Europe with red carpet parties and announcements with major carriers in France and Germany. The streaming video service started its European rollout with a party at a Paris night club on Monday followed by a bash …
Competition in the U.K. telecom market is so fierce that prices changed 1,800 times in one week, according to a recent Sparks Market Intelligence report. The study conducted by ForNova found an increase of 25% in the number of unique …
Cyber war is not the stuff of science fiction any more. More than disruptive hacks and information theft, cyber attacks are now a significant part of the conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. At a press conference in Wales last week, …
This week, the Kenyan parliament is hearing arguments about whether Equity Bank’s “Thin Sim” card can be used with carrier Safaricom mobile phones. But as is often true, the fight is really about money, or more specifically, mobile money. Safaricom, which …
When President Obama visited Estonia last week to deliver a warning to Russia, he also drew the spotlight to one of the most connected countries in the world. Estonia was freed from Soviet rule in 1991 and the tiny Baltic country …
Despite significant regulatory and economic challenges in Africa, several carriers are pushing ahead with LTE deployments and finding ways to reach customers eager for the high-speed mobile technology. In Africa, only 26 operators have commercially launched LTE in just 12 …
All European Union countries should make the coveted 700 MHz band available for mobile broadband use by 2020, plus or minus two years, according to a recent report presented to the European Commission. The report concerns the “ultra-high frequency” spectrum …
TeliaSonera’s focus on its Nordic operations is creating some waves. First, the Stockholm-based carrier’s acquisition of Tele2’s Norwegian operations prompted that country’s regulator to delay the 1800 MHz spectrum auction originally planned for January 2015. The Norwegian Post and Telecommunications …
European carriers seem to be emphasizing the “Long” in “Long Term Evolution” technology. While the region is home to some of the world’s biggest economies, it continues to trail other developed markets in adopting LTE-based high-speed mobile technology, often referred …
EE, which has the biggest and arguably the most complained about mobile network in the U.K., just earned top honors in RootMetrics’ latest performance report. The research firm tested more than 920,000 locations throughout the U.K., testing networks for reliability, speed, mobile Internet, …
Telekom Austria reported a net loss of $401 million in the first half of 2014. The Vienna-based telecom, which is now controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim’s América Móvil, blamed the decline on economic problems in central and eastern Europe, regulatory problems …
T-Mobile US played a large role in driving parent company Deutsche Telekom’s profits this quarter, even as bids from Sprint and Iliad to buy the U.S. unit failed — and new interest from Dish Network emerged. On August 7, the Bonn, …
Amsterdam-based Vimpelcom reported an 83% drop in profits for its second quarter. The group’s recent debt refinancing of its Wind unit in Italy is partly to blame, but CEO Jo Lunder remained optimistic about Vimpelcom’s operations in the country, saying that it continued “to outperform …
Alcatel-Lucent (ALU), which announced its “Shift Plan” a year ago, is now looking to shift some of its submarine cable business. When the Paris-based telecom equipment company released its 2014 second quarter results, it announced a planned initial public offering …
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is “deeply disturbed” by Verizon Wireless’ plan to limit the data speeds of some its LTE customers. In a July 30 letter to Verizon Wireless CEO Daniel Mead, Wheeler accused the country’s largest wireless …
French telecom operator Orange showed more signs of stabilizing when it released results for the first half of 2014 . To keep its momentum, the telecom upped its cost cutting goal to about $402 million from its previous goal of …
With rare bipartisan support, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow consumers to unlock their cellphones, making it easier to switch carriers and keep their device. President Obama is expected to sign the “Unlocking Consumer Choice and …
