Telef nica Germany plans to expand its fixed-line business coverage of its core O2 brand by another approximately 3 million households by reaching a long-term network sharing agreement with Deutsche Glasfaser. This move will increase the operator's fiber optic coverage by about 20%, reaching around 19 million households. The project is expected to be launched in the first half of next year, with a focus on rural and suburban areas of Germany, where O2 has so far only been able to provide DSL or cable television services. (See " Eurobites: Telef nica Germany Plans to Lay Off Staff and Close Stores".)
VodafoneThree has launched a feasibility study to evaluate a new digital corridor between the UK and Norway. This corridor will connect mainland Scotland with the Shetland Islands via an undersea cable route, and further extend to Norway. According to a study commissioned by Vodafone, this route could generate up to £8.2 billion (US$10.9 billion) in economic value over the next 10 years, while also enhancing the resilience of the UK's digital infrastructure. Although local residents may have different opinions on this, such connections could make northern Scotland and the Shetland Islands more attractive for data center investments.
The UK Secretary of Defence Wes Streeting called this announcement a "very welcome step." The announcement is based on a feasibility study previously completed by Vodafone Three, which investigated the possibility of a high-speed link connecting the Shetland Islands with mainland Scotland.
The revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and leasing (EBITDA) of Telecom Italia (TIM) Group in the third quarter both increased by 4.3% year-on-year on a organic basis, reaching 3.6 billion euros (4 billion US dollars) and slightly over 1 billion euros (1.1 billion US dollars) respectively. However, the performance of its domestic business was affected by changes in the wholesale customer base, as well as the expected decline in the business of mobile virtual network operators (MVNO). TIM has confirmed its financial targets for 2026.
TIM is currently in the process of being acquired by the state-owned Italian Post Office (Poste Italiane). Since September 30th, TIM has been under the guidance and coordination of Poste Italiane, and both sides are clearly moving forward with "integration activities." (See "TIM is closer to nationalization through the acquisition of Poste Italiane").
Finnish operator Elisa has formed a joint venture with defense technology company Sensofusion to build a private drone detection network. The new company, named Masthead, will combine the sensor technology of Sensofusion with the mobile network infrastructure of Elisa in Finland and Estonia. (See "The Drone Detection Services of Orange Business Launch" and "AT & T and Ericsson Demonstrate 5G Awareness for Drone Detection.")
Despite the ongoing instability in the regional situation, Middle Eastern operator Zain saw its revenue increase by 2% year-on-year in the third quarter, reaching 615 million Kuwaiti dinars (2 billion US dollars), and its net profit increased by 30% year-on-year, to 84 million dinars (273 million US dollars). Zain currently has 53 million active customers in its various markets, a year-on-year increase of 3%.
A new study by Virgin Media O2 and the National Federation of Market Traders ( National Market Traders Federation ) in the UK suggests that due to mobile network congestion, card payments fail during busy periods, resulting in an estimated annual loss of £10 million in sales for market traders in the UK. VMO2 is using this study to push for reforms to the net neutrality rules; the company claims that these rules prevent it and other operators from giving priority to “business-critical” traffic on the network. The owner of a street food business interviewed in the report estimated that mobile network congestion caused his business to lose over £80,000 ($106,000) in sales on one weekend.
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