Canal Plus and BeIN Sports lose appeal against French football league
FRANCE 07:37

Canal Plus and BeIN Sports lose appeal against French football league

France's football league governing body, the LFP, has welcomed a ruling by the Paris appeal court in the long‑running legal dispute with pay-TV operators Canal Plus and BeIN Sports over the fallout from the 2018 football rights auction. The court sided with the LFP in rejecting a compensation claim from the two operators, which amounts to around EUR 660 million according to L'Equipe. Reacting to the court decision, Canal Plus said that it would examine the available avenues to continue defending its claim.

Mobilezone cuts CO2 footprint with refurbished phones business
SWITZERLAND 15 JAN

Mobilezone cuts CO2 footprint with refurbished phones business

Mobilezone has saved approximately 900 tons of CO2 equivalent in 2025 through the sale of refurbished smartphones under the retailer's Jusit brand. The company conducted an analysis, taking into account different scenarios, and examining the entire circular economy process, throughout Switzerland, to calculate its CO2 footprint. The analysis considered the buyback process in 125 mobilezone shops or via mail order, the certified refurbishment and subsequent quality control process, and the resale.

Altitude completes debt refinancing for fibre venture in Haute-Garonne
FRANCE 15 JAN

Altitude completes debt refinancing for fibre venture in Haute-Garonne

French infrastructure operator Altitude has announced a refinancing operation for the Fibre 31 venture created in the Haute-Garonne department to roll out and manage a public initiative network covering 280,000 rural premises. After securing the deployment contract in 2018, Altitude is now responsible for operating the open-access infrastructure under a 25‑year concession. It holds a 75 percent stake in Fibre 31, with the remaining 25 percent owned by its financial partner Banque des Territoires. Under the

Amazon Prime Video adds M6+ to French content catalogue
FRANCE 15 JAN

Amazon Prime Video adds M6+ to French content catalogue

Amazon Prime Video has expanded its content library in France through a new distribution agreement with local broadcaster M6. Under this latest deal, Prime Video customers will gain direct access to more than 30,000 hours of content on M6+, the broadcaster's streaming platform, along with four linear channels (M6, W9, 6ter and Gulli). Through this partnership, M6 also aims to bolster the activities of its in-house advertising agency, M6 Unlimited.

German government provides another EUR 1.8 bln for fibre expansion
GERMANY 15 JAN

German government provides another EUR 1.8 bln for fibre expansion

The German government has held a ceremony to mark the latest allocation of EUR 1.8 billion in federal funding towards fibre-optic expansion in areas where it is not commercially lucrative for companies to build networks. Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation Karsten Wildberger said the state provided the funds last year to 536 projects. This went to expanding the fibre broadband coverage even in small villages and communities, and he presented certificates to some of the o

Swiss competition authority starts preliminary investigation into Microsoft licence fees
SWITZERLAND 15 JAN

Swiss competition authority starts preliminary investigation into Microsoft licence fees

The Swiss Competition Commission started a preliminary investigation to look into Microsoft's increasing prices for license fees in the country, a move that might lead to an unlawful restriction of competition. The price increase relates mainly to the licence to use Microsoft 365 by private businesses, government agencies, public companies and other government-related bodies.

Free fined EUR 42 mln for failure to protect customer data
FRANCE 14 JAN

Free fined EUR 42 mln for failure to protect customer data

Free and Free Mobile, part of the Iliad group, have been fined EUR 15 million and EUR 27 million respectively for security failings that led to their databases being hacked in October 2024. This follows an investigation into the incident by French data protection watchdog Cnil, which received more than 2,500 complaints from individuals impacted by the security breach. The investigation found that the cyber attack concerned 24 million subscriber contracts, and concluded that a number of basic security measur

SCION Association trials enhanced data plane powered by upgraded border router
SWITZERLAND 14 JAN

SCION Association trials enhanced data plane powered by upgraded border router

SCION Association, the Swiss-domiciled non-profit promoting the adoption of security-first internet architecture SCION, has announced plans to upgrade components in its open source border router for SCION connections. The association said it is working on a zero-copy underlay based on the Linux technology AF-XDP, which has been available for high-speed networking applications since August 2018.

Idemia's platform to support French communication system for first responders
FRANCE 14 JAN

Idemia's platform to support French communication system for first responders

Idemia has announced that its Secure Transactions arm (IST) has been selected to supply SIM connectivity services for RRF (Reseau Radio du Futur), a communication system for first responders commissioned by France's ministry of the interior. IST will contribute by deploying its eSIM mobile connectivity platform, compliant with eUICC (Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card) specifications. The platform will deliver remote network management, enabling over‑the‑air (OTA) connectivity, and subscription mana

Ionos inks partnership with German information security agency BSI to protect cloud infrastructure
GERMANY 14 JAN

Ionos inks partnership with German information security agency BSI to protect cloud infrastructure

European hosting provider Ionos has signed a strategic cooperation with the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) to strengthen the security and resilience of sovereign cloud infrastructures for public administration and the private sector. Under the agreement, BSI gains access to the architecture and operational processes of Ionos cloud platform. Ionos will exchange​ confidential technical information with BSI. Another pillar of the cooperation is the investigation into the use of post-quantum cryp

Free increases price of entry-level fibre package
FRANCE 14 JAN

Free increases price of entry-level fibre package

French operator Free has increased the price of its 'Pop S' dual‑play broadband package for new sign‑ups to EUR 24.99/month, up from EUR 23.99 previously. All the inclusive services within the package remain unchanged, except for the guarantee to keep the cost unchanged for five years, which has now been removed following its introduction in May 2025. As before, Free is marketing this broadband bundle with inclusive VoIP calls as a web-exclusive 'Serie Speciale' (Special Series) offer, which usually indicat

Telefonica Germany expands 5G to Daisendorf, Gudow, GeldersheimIn
GERMANY 13 JAN

Telefonica Germany expands 5G to Daisendorf, Gudow, GeldersheimIn

Telefonica Germany has expanded its 5G network to Daisendorf, Gudow, and GeldersheimIn. In Daisendorf and in Geldersheimt the company has upgraded a mobile site to 5G, while in Gudow Telefonica has started to operate a new 5G mobile site. Telefonica's network in Germany currently runs on 29,000 mobile sites, with 5G reaching approximately 99 percent of the population. 

FRANCE 13 JAN

French competition authority starts review into AI chatbots

France's competition authority has begun an enquiry into specific issues arising from the adoption of AI‑powered conversational agents. As part of this initiative, a public consultation will start soon to gather input from stakeholders. This new enquiry will focus on the downstream segment of the value chain to evaluate the impact of these agents on competition in key sectors of the economy.

FRANCE 13 JAN

Bouygues leads French rivals in nPerf's mobile and fixed internet performance tests

Bouygues Telecom secured the top position in the 2025 rankings for both mobile and fixed internet performance, according to the latest benchmarks compiled by internet speed test specialist nPerf. These two rankings are based on performance tests carried out by broadband users through nPerf's platform in the twelve months to December 2025. In the mobile benchmark, Bouygues came first in four out of the five indicators included in nPerf's scoring system, with SFR in runner‑up position ahead of Orange and Free

GERMANY 12 JAN

Altice revives OXG Glasfaser stake sale process - report

Telecom billionaire Patrick Drahi is reviving the process to sell Altice's 50 percent stake in its German fibre-optic expansion joint venture, OXG Glasfaser, according to a report in the FT. The other 50 percent of the venture is in the hands of Vodafone.  According to the FT, Drahi has sent teaser documents to potential buyers in recent weeks as he is keen to divest the stake to reduce debt amounting to more than USD 50 billion. OXG is valued at around EUR 2 billion, according to New Street Research. Infra

GERMANY 9 JAN

Allianz signs global AI partnership with Anthropic

Anthropic has signed a global strategic partnership with Allianz to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) at the German insurance group. The partnership focuses on teaching employees how to use AI, using AI to accelerate internal processes, and setting new standards for accuracy. Under the partnership, Anthropic's Claude models are integrated in Allianz's internal AI platform, which is free for all Allianz employees to use. Claude Code is redefining software development for a large number of developers at All

FRANCE 9 JAN

French data centres could see 3.7-fold increase in energy use by 2035 – study

France's environment agency Ademe has published a study on electricity consumption by data centres, including forecasts on how this demand could evolve in the medium to long term under different scenarios. Among the key findings, the study shows that the electricity needs of French data centres amounted to 9.91 TWh in 2024. This could rise to 36.73 TWh by 2035 and 63.58 TWh by 2060 under the trend-based scenario.

FRANCE 9 JAN

French operators step up pace of 5G activations in December

The footprint of 5G cell sites emitting a signal across mainland France increased by 757 during December, reaching 45,955 as of 01 January, according to spectrum agency ANFR. This monthly increase was up from 445 in November and 701 in the year-earlier period. All four network operators accelerated the pace of 5G site activations, led by Orange with 521 additional sites across the 700 MHz, 2.1 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands.

SWITZERLAND 9 JAN

Sunrise plans to cut 190 jobs to streamline operations

Swiss operator Sunrise plans to cut 190 jobs, including leadership positions, as it moves to streamline the business structure. Employees in shops and in customer-service are largely spared, while apprentices are not affected at all by the cut. Redundancies are expected to take place in February and March, after completed a consultation process with employee representatives and the trade union syndicom.

GERMANY 8 JAN

RTL+ to offer new bundle with HBO Max at launch in Germany

RTL+, the streaming service of German private broadcaster RTL, will combine its offering with that of HBO Max for the launch of the streaming service from Warner Bros in Germany on 13 January. RTL+ and HBO Max will offer subscribers two options, one including RTL+ Premium and HBO Max Basic with advertising for EUR 11.99 per month, and a second option including RTL+ Premium Max, its ad-free subscription, and HBO Max Standard for EUR 17.99 per month.

FRANCE 8 JAN

Devoteam to acquire French process automation specialist Infinity

IT services and tech consulting group Devoteam has agreed to acquire Infinity, a French consulting company specialising in RPA (Robotic Process Automation) transformation projects. Founded in 2020, Infinity helps clients boost operational performance by tailoring digital automation software to their needs. The acquisition of Infinity complements Devoteam's own hyperautomation and hyperbot offering, reinforcing the group's ambition to lead in automation platforms augmented by generative and agentic AI agents

GERMANY 7 JAN

Siemens, Nvidia expand partnership for industrial AI

Siermens and Nvidia are expanding their partnership to develop AI solutions for industrial applications and build a factory with AI technology. Under the latest agreement, announced by the CEOs of the companies Roland Busch and Jensen Huang at the opening of the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas, Nvidia provides AI infrastructure, simulation libraries, models, frameworks and blueprints, while Siemens supplies hardware and software with the help of its industrial experts.

FRANCE 7 JAN

Orange data analytics venture Hexadone acquires French start-up Hyvilo  

Hexadone, a French venture backed by Orange and Banque des Territoires, has agreed to acquire Hyvilo, a French start-up founded at the end of 2020 in Besancon. Hyvilo's software development expertise helps clients extract value from their data and break down information silos to improve operational performance. Its data management platform addresses the specific needs of different organisations and sectors, such as local authorities and real estate asset specialists.

FRANCE 7 JAN

Orange delays plan to stop selling ADSL in France

Orange France has been forced to revise its plans to withdraw ADSL connectivity from its commercial offers, reports Le Monde. An analysis of an Excel document released in mid-December shows that the operator has postponed the deadline for this withdrawal for nearly 23 million premises, representing approximately half of the country's total. This decision leaves open the option for B2C and B2B customers across this footprint to subscribe to a new ADSL line until 31 January 2027. Under the previous deadline,

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Commentary

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15 DEC 2025 13:56

Video market set for slower growth ahead

8 DEC 2025 11:38

Netflix buys Warner Bros to deepen content catalogue

31 OKT 2025 11:11

KPN's mixed performance in Q3 raises questions for strategy day

Background

15 JAN 08:55

Fairphone still a small player but market share growing in Netherlands

12 JAN 00:04

The week in telecoms: CES brings Wi-Fi 8 and more smart glasses, while Warner sticks with Netflix

5 JAN 00:52

The week in telecom: Finnish security check, M&A completions and telco job cuts

23 DEC 2025 10:32

Netherlands TV-video market grows 2.6% in Q3 to EUR 759 mln