Germany prolongs banning Chinese 5G equipment

Germany has announced plans to ban critical components made by Chinese firms like Huawei and ZTE from its 5G networks, citing security concerns. The decision – revealed by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Thursday – will be implemented in two phases starting in 2026, with a longer timeline than initially expected.

Under the new agreement, critical components from Huawei and ZTE will be barred from 5G core networks by the end of 2026, a year later than previously envisaged....

11 July 2024 | 5G

Dutch 5G auction: KPN, Odido, and VodafoneZiggo secure crucial spectrum

Netherlands’ telecoms regulator announced this week that KPN, Odido, and VodafoneZiggo have each successfully acquired 100 MHz of spectrum in the coveted 3.5GHz band.

The long-awaited auction, which raised a total of €174.4 million, saw each operator secure their spectrum allocation for just over the reserve price.

KPN invested €58.4 million, VodafoneZiggo paid €57.5 million, and Odido (formerly T-Mobile Netherlands) acquired its share for a comparable amount....

2 July 2024 | 5G

Nordic satellites targeted by Russia after Sweden’s NATO accession

Swedish authorities have accused Russia of deliberately targeting the country's satellite networks with "harmful interference" shortly after Sweden's accession to NATO earlier this year.

This information comes from a previously unreported letter dated June 4, sent by the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a United Nations agency based in Geneva.

The PTS has requested that the ITU's radio regulations board address...

21 June 2024 | Hot Topics

EU antitrust chief warns against telecoms mergers  

EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager has issued a stern warning against further consolidation in the bloc's telecommunications industry, countering a recent EU report that advocated for mergers among operators to bolster networks.

Speaking at a conference in Brussels, Vestager forcefully rejected the notion that more concentrated national telecoms markets would lead to better outcomes.

"No evidence suggests that more concentrated national markets lead to better...

18 April 2024 | 5G

UK led European full fibre rollout in 2023 but lags in uptake

The UK added 4.7 million homes to its full fibre broadband footprint in the year leading up to September 2023, outpacing every other European country.

According to the latest market report from the FTTH Council Europe, this rapid expansion brought the UK's total fibre homes passed to 17.1 million—ranking it third in Europe behind France (26.3 million) and Turkey (18 million).

Given the UK's population size and need to catch up on fibre deployment, its leading position...

21 March 2024 | Broadband

UK to rejoin EU’s Copernicus and Horizon schemes

In a step forward for European space and scientific collaboration, the UK is set to rejoin the Copernicus and Horizon Europe programs. 

The UK was a major expertise and financial contributor to both programs prior to its decision to leave the EU. The EU blocked an agreement in the Brexit deal for the UK to become an associate member of Horizon over the long-running dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

A resolution to the dispute was reached under the Windsor...

7 September 2023 | Legislation & Government

EU greenlights Vodafone-Altice FTTH plans

The EU Commission has given the green light to a joint venture between Vodafone and Altice to deploy fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) across Germany.

The joint venture is called FibreCo and will see the partners deploy FTTH to up to seven million homes over a six-year period.

Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone Group, commented:

“This partnership builds on Vodafone’s significant next-generation network with Altice’s industrial expertise and proven Fibre-to-the-Home...

21 February 2023 | Broadband

Half of Brits think European roaming fees are ‘unfair’

Half of Brits think it’s unfair they have to pay additional charges for using their mobile devices while travelling elsewhere in Europe.

That was the key finding from a survey conducted by Virgin Media O2. As it’s keen to point out, it was the only UK operator not to reintroduce EU roaming fees post-Brexit.

Gareth Turpin, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Media O2, said:

“We know that many people will be cost-conscious when going on holiday this year,...

6 February 2023 | Networks

Pro-Kremlin hackers attack EU Parliament website

Pro-Kremlin hacking group KILLNET has launched a “sophisticated” cyberattack on the EU Parliament website.

The attack was launched after the Parliament designated Russia a state sponsor of terrorism:

https://twitter.com/EP_President/status/1595443471518777345

Users were unable to access the Parliament’s website for a few hours and some parts were rendered inoperable. As of writing, access has been restored.

In a Telegram post, KILLNET claimed...

24 November 2022 | Security

GSMA: EU’s slow 5G rollout threatens ‘Digital Decade’ goals

The GSMA warns that a slow 5G rollout in the EU compared to rival markets threatens the bloc’s “Digital Decade” goals.

In the 2022 Mobile Economy Europe report, the GSMA notes that 108 operators in 34 markets had launched commercial 5G services at the end of June. Six percent of Europeans are now enjoying 5G.

Norway is leading 5G adoption, with 16 percent of citizens using the latest mobile network technology. The GSMA notes that “positive momentum” is also...

7 October 2022 | 5G