Eurobites: Dish Dials DT Over T-Mobile Bid
Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: BT under pressure over fiber access; UK "national roaming" plan pooh-poohed; Ericsson opens first Global ICT Centre.
US satellite-TV provider Dish Network LLC (Nasdaq: DISH) has expressed an interest in acquiring Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT)'s T-Mobile US Inc. , according to a Bloomberg report. The development follows the breakdown of talks between T-Mobile and Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S), and T-Mobile's rejection of an out-of-left-field offer from French operator Iliad (Euronext: ILD). According to Bloomberg's sources for the story, Dish Chairman and Co-founder Charlie Ergen has a history of talking to Deutsche Telekom about such a deal.
UK regulator Ofcom is reviewing whether BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA)'s access division, Openreach , should be required to provide rival operators with physical access to its fiber infrastructure and ducts, instead of just providing a wholesale service offering. According to the Daily Telegraph, rivals such as Vodafone, TalkTalk, BSkyB and Virgin Media are pressuring the UK regulator to change the current rules, a move that could significantly dent Openreach's business. Don't hold your breath, though…
UK mobile operators have roundly rejected the British government's plan for more network sharing to help fill in coverage gaps in rural areas, according to a report in the Financial Times (subscription required). Ed Vaizey, the UK government's digital economy minister, wrote to mobile operators seeking their agreement on so-called "national roaming" plans by the start of next year, but the idea has been dismissed by executives as unworkable for a combination of technical and legal reasons.
Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) is opening the first of three new Global ICT Centres in Linköping, Sweden. The plan is to consolidate most of the data centers and test labs Ericsson already has around the world into the new, cloud-focused ICT Centres (there will be another in Sweden, and one in Quebec), providing a central resource for R&D engineers. The ICT Centres will house Ericsson's complete portfolio of solutions, be energy-efficient and, combined, equate in terms of footprint to 14 soccer fields.
Gemalto , the French mobile security specialist, has launched its Allynis security hub, which is intended to accelerate the rollout of mobile payments and other secure services by providing a single connection for ensuring the security of transactions.
Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: BT under pressure over fiber access; UK "national roaming" plan pooh-poohed; Ericsson opens first Global ICT Centre.
US satellite-TV provider Dish Network LLC (Nasdaq: DISH) has expressed an interest in acquiring Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT)'s T-Mobile US Inc. , according to a Bloomberg report. The development follows the breakdown of talks between T-Mobile and Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S), and T-Mobile's rejection of an out-of-left-field offer from French operator Iliad (Euronext: ILD). According to Bloomberg's sources for the story, Dish Chairman and Co-founder Charlie Ergen has a history of talking to Deutsche Telekom about such a deal.
UK regulator Ofcom is reviewing whether BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA)'s access division, Openreach , should be required to provide rival operators with physical access to its fiber infrastructure and ducts, instead of just providing a wholesale service offering. According to the Daily Telegraph, rivals such as Vodafone, TalkTalk, BSkyB and Virgin Media are pressuring the UK regulator to change the current rules, a move that could significantly dent Openreach's business. Don't hold your breath, though…
UK mobile operators have roundly rejected the British government's plan for more network sharing to help fill in coverage gaps in rural areas, according to a report in the Financial Times (subscription required). Ed Vaizey, the UK government's digital economy minister, wrote to mobile operators seeking their agreement on so-called "national roaming" plans by the start of next year, but the idea has been dismissed by executives as unworkable for a combination of technical and legal reasons.
Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) is opening the first of three new Global ICT Centres in Linköping, Sweden. The plan is to consolidate most of the data centers and test labs Ericsson already has around the world into the new, cloud-focused ICT Centres (there will be another in Sweden, and one in Quebec), providing a central resource for R&D engineers. The ICT Centres will house Ericsson's complete portfolio of solutions, be energy-efficient and, combined, equate in terms of footprint to 14 soccer fields.
Gemalto , the French mobile security specialist, has launched its Allynis security hub, which is intended to accelerate the rollout of mobile payments and other secure services by providing a single connection for ensuring the security of transactions.