EC

SK Telecom CTO says the operator wants to be the front runner in 5G

Naturally 5G has been one of the most talked about topics of this year’s Mobile World Congress with numerous around the matter been made even before the event from companies including Nokia and Ericsson. While many operators in Europe continue with their LTE roll-outs, South Korea’s SK Telecom has recently shown a lot of push towards the next generation. CTO Alex Jinsung Choi told Telecoms.com why the operator is already so keen on 5G.

Ofcom moves to contain BT’s ambitions

Ofcom has announced proposals to introduce new rules to force BT to maintain a minimum margin between its wholesale and retail fibre network charges. The move comes as BT is in talks with the owners of EE to acquire the UK’s largest mobile operator in a bid to become the dominant player in the entire UK telecoms market with a quad-play offering of fixed, mobile, broadband and TV services.

EC launches public consultation on future use of 700MHz

The European Commission (EC) has announced a public consultation on the future use of the ultra-high frequency (UHF) 700MHz spectrum band. It is currently mostly used by the broadcasting sector in much of Europe, but it is increasingly sought after by telecoms providers for wireless broadband.

EC expands scrutiny of Orange’s Jazztel bid

The European Commission (EC) has decided to expand on its assessment of the proposed acquisition bid by Orange for Jazztel. The EC announced the in-depth investigation is to determine whether the proposed acquisition is in line with EU merger regulation.

Europe urges telecoms single market €260 billion opportunity

European Commission (EC) VP Andrus Ansip has said creating a digital single market across the 28 EU member states will benefit Europe by €260 billion a year, “potentially more”, as he put it. He claimed it is vital, and crucially depends on forming a telecoms single market first as a basis.

Kroes’ final plea for EU digital harmony, Hungary mulls internet tax

Neelie Kroes, the outgoing Digital Agenda VP at the European Commission (EC), has urged the telecoms industry and EU member states to end digital divide. Speaking at the Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam, Kroes claimed Europe is still split between “the digital haves and the analogue have-nots.”

EC urges German regulator to lower mobile tariffs for the fifth time

The European Commission (EC) has asked the German telecoms regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetza) to amend or withdraw its proposal on mobile termination rates (MTRs), saying it is the fifth time it has had to intervene in the regulator’s pricing model. This comes as BNetza proposed MTRs for Sipgate Wireless 80% higher than in most EU countries. […]

EC to soften roaming caps blow for telcos – report

The European Commission’s (EC) plans to abolish retail roaming rates within EU altogether by 2016 could be changed to a watered-down ‘fair-use’ policy instead, according to a draft report seen by the Financial Times.

EU single market package draws closer to approval

The European Parliament’s Industry and Research Committee (ITRE) has voted to approve the telecoms single market package proposed by the European Commission. The package, outlined in September 2013, aims to abolish roaming rates within the EU as well as coordinate spectrum assignment across the region. It also calls for consumer rights to be harmonised across Europe, EU-wide protection of net neutrality and simpler rules across the EU to enable companies to invest more and cross borders with their offerings.

MEPs call for universal device charger

European lawmakers have called for a common charger to be used for all mobile handsets sold in the EU. MEPs said that such that introducing a universal charger would reduce waste, cost and hassle for users. A draft outlining the legislation has been informally agreed with the EU’s Council of Ministers.

GSMA’s Bouverot sends operator-backed open letter to Kroes calling for European reform

The director general of the GSMA, Anne Bouverot, has sent an open letter to EC Commissioner Neelie Kroes calling for policy reform that will encourage investment in Europe’s telecoms sector. Bouverot secured endorsements from the CEOs of ten European operators with a combined European mobile customer base of almost three quarters of a billion subscriptions, according to data from Informa’s World Cellular Investors service.

Orange includes European roaming in high-end contracts

French operator group Orange has said it has included roaming services in high-end tariffs for customers travelling across its entire European footprint. The operator has also launched an online portal to enable customers to remotely top up mobile credit for over 350 operators globally.

European telecoms reform faces delay

Further restrictions on European roaming charges are now likely to be introduced in September or October, rather than July as originally planned. In its initial proposals to reform the EU telecoms market, the European Commission intended to ban incoming call charges for roaming citizens within the region by July 1st 2014.

Telefónica and Orange grow European startups

European operator groups Telefónica and Orange have thrown their weight behind a project led by the European Commission to help the region’s technology startups to grow into global internet firms. The EC said it plans to “take on Silicon Valley” with the launch of two initiatives; an acceleration programme called the Startup Europe Partnership and a think tank called the European Digital Forum.

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