French operators step up pace of 5G activations in December
FRANCE 09:52

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.

Sunrise plans to cut 190 jobs to streamline operations
SWITZERLAND 09:12

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.

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

Devoteam to acquire French process automation specialist Infinity
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

Siemens, Nvidia expand partnership for industrial AI
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.

Orange data analytics venture Hexadone acquires French start-up Hyvilo  
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.

Orange delays plan to stop selling ADSL in France
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,

Deutsche Telekom introduces new functions to protect customers from unwanted calls, messages
GERMANY 7 JAN

Deutsche Telekom introduces new functions to protect customers from unwanted calls, messages

Deutsche Telekom is introducing new functions to protect customers against unwanted calls and messages sent over the mobile network. It said the service Branded Calls displays the name of the calling company as text alongside their number, verifying the caller and thus improving transparency. Like the Call Check service launched in December, Branded Calls are an in-network offering. Clients do not need to install apps and the consent of the customer is not required. Telekom is partnering with service provid

Arcep welcomes new powers to enforce data sharing regulation
FRANCE 6 JAN

Arcep welcomes new powers to enforce data sharing regulation

French telecom regulator Arcep has expressed support for draft legislation that extends its remit and powers to new areas. As the competent authority for implementing the EU's Data Act, Arcep will be responsible for enforcing data sharing regulation, which will become part of the regulator's broader investigative activities, supported by dedicated sanctioning and dispute-settlement powers. These changes are included in draft legislation known as DDADUE (dispositions d'adaptation au droit de l'Union europeen

RTL+ surpasses 7 mln paying subscribers
GERMANY 5 JAN

RTL+ surpasses 7 mln paying subscribers

RTL+, the streaming service of German private broadcaster RTL, has surpassed 7 million paying subscribers at the turn of the year. RTL said it has one of the fastest growing streaming services on the German market. Last year, RTL+ attracted an average of more than 10 million monthly users, recording a cumulative net reach of 10.24 million people per month.

Bouygues Telecom increases price of fibre-only plan to EUR 25/month
FRANCE 5 JAN

Bouygues Telecom increases price of fibre-only plan to EUR 25/month

French operator Bouygues Telecom has raised the price of its standalone fibre plan, B&You Pure Fibre, from EUR 23.99 to EUR 24.99 per month. This is the first price increase since the plan was introduced in early November 2024. Less than six months after its launch, the plan was upgraded to support Wi-Fi 7 connectivity.

Deutsche Glasfaser CFO joins Zalando
GERMANY 5 JAN

Deutsche Glasfaser CFO joins Zalando

Anna Dimitrova has joined Zalando as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) from Deutsche Glasfaser, effective 01 January. Zalando announced the new hire in October, while Deutsche Glasfaser has yet to announce a replacement. Dimitrova has over 20 years of international experience in finance and previously held a number of senior management positions at the Vodafone Group, including CFO of Vodafone in Germany and the Czech Republic.

GERMANY 5 JAN

Telefonica Germany reports small rise in mobile data traffic over New Year's

Telefonica Germany handled around 885,000 GB of data traffic in the first hour of 2026, up 2 percent compared with 865,000 GB during the same period last year.  The company said 21,000 GB was uploaded in the 15 minutes before New Year's Eve, and 55,000 GB during the first 15 minutes of 2026. From 20.00 to 03.00 hours approximately 5.7 million gigabytes of mobile data flowed through the O2 network, compared with 5.5 million during the same period a year ago.

FRANCE 2 JAN

French spectrum agency orders recall of several smartphones over regulation breaches

France's spectrum agency ANFR announced that it is monitoring the recall of six smartphone models that should not be marketed in Europe, as well as two other models found in breach of EU regulations on radio frequency (RF) exposure. These actions follow separate procedures implemented by the agency as part of its ongoing testing campaigns to ensure compliance with safety rules.

FRANCE 31 DEC 2025

Data4 enters exclusive negotiations for new data centre campus in Hauts-de-France

European data centre operator Data4 has been selected to build a new data centre campus in Escaudain (Hauts-de-France region). Following the selection process, the local authority responsible for the site will now enter a 60-day period of exclusive negotiations to finalise the agreement. The 38-hectare site, located within the 'La Porte du Hainau' area, previously hosted a factory and requires decontamination. Once this phase is completed, the partners plan to install AI-ready data centres with a strong foc

GERMANY 31 DEC 2025

Deutsche Telekom releases first update of Speedport 7 broadband router

Deutsche Telekom has released the first update for the Speedport 7 broadband router introduced to the market in October.  The update improves communication between home devices, especially with older devices that still use WPA2 standards, according to the Changelog released by Deutsche Telekom. Devices switch seamlessly between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Switching Wi-Fi security options (WPA3/WPA2, WPS) no longer causes errors, and access to the 5 GHz Wi-Fi network with the "MagentaWLAN" SSID works reliably a

GERMANY 30 DEC 2025

Deutsche Telekom to expand fibre network in Stuttgart region in 2026

Deutsche Telekom plans to expand its fibre-optic network in 52 areas in Stuttgart in the coming year, in partnership with the company Gigabit Region Stuttgart and associations in and around the southern Germany city. The plan is underpinned by expansion projects funded through grants and fibre-optic rollout in cooperation with partners. Telekom plans to expand the network to 178 municipalities in the region, including the city of Stuttgart and the five neighbouring districts of Boeblingen, Esslingen, Goeppi

SWITZERLAND 30 DEC 2025

Mobilezone reshapes management team after completing German business sale

Mobilezone said it will restructure its management following completion of the sale of the German business, Mobilezone Deutschland, to Freenet on 29 December. From January, the new executive management will consist of CEO Roger Wassmer, CFO Bernhard Maechler and COO Lars Keller, replacing the previous group executive board. A leadership team comprising Claudio Barandun, Daniel Ringger, Gregor Vogt, Mark Schwarz, Pascal Boll, Stephanie Hunzike and Thomas Gueluenay will support the executive management. Moreo

FRANCE 30 DEC 2025

Google updates Pixel 9 in France after breaching parental controls obligation

Google has taken remedial action in France after its Pixel 9 A smartphone was found in breach of local regulations mandating free parental controls on connected devices. The phone's Android 16 software was remotely updated to achieve compliance. This automatic update was issued following a formal request from French spectrum agency ANFR, which tested the Pixel 9 A model as part of its monitoring activity. In a statement, the agency explained that the smartphone had failed to prompt activation of a parental

FRANCE 29 DEC 2025

Free Mobile admits 3G switch-off technical snag blocking calls

French operator Free Mobile (Iliad group) has acknowledged a technical issue preventing certain customers from making calls, including to emergency numbers. A company spokesperson told Frandroid that the problem is caused by incompatible software on some older smartphone models, which prevents the devices from using the operator's VoLTE service. Some customers reported the issue on online forums after Free Mobile began refarming its 900 MHz spectrum from 3G to 4G. According to these customers' direct experi

GERMANY 29 DEC 2025

Vodafone Germany expands gigabit coverage with cable splits, FTTH build

Vodafone Germany carried out 2,500 cable network splits in the past year to ensure fewer households are served in each area, boosting network performance for each individual connection. Stability and performance further improved this year for 620,000 cable connections as a result, the operator said. 

FRANCE 24 DEC 2025

Phoenix Tower closes acquisition of Infracos from Bouygues and SFR

Phoenix Tower International said it has successfully closed the acquisition of Infracos, the joint venture owned by Bouygues Telecom and SFR that manages approximately 3,700 mobile sites in medium dense areas of France. The investment brings PTI's French portfolio to nearly 10,000 nationwide sites, including committed Build-to-Suit (BTS) deployments. Pro forma for this transaction and contracted deployments, PTI will own and operate over 33,000 telecom towers in Europe, the US, Latin America and the Caribbe

GERMANY 24 DEC 2025

Freenet launches new mobilfunk.de mobile tariff comparison platform

German operator Freenet is launching a new mobile tariff comparison platform called mobilfunk.de to make it easier for consumers to find plans. The new platform presents Freenet's tariffs from Germany's three major mobile networks - Telefonica, Telekom and Vodafone. 

GERMANY 24 DEC 2025

Triodos Bank writes off third of loans to German fibre operators

Triodos Bank is taking a provision of EUR 60 million to cover potential losses from investments in the German fibre networks market. The pretax charge covers loans for building fibre-optic networks in Germany. The Dutch bank's total loan portfolio for the sector is worth EUR 180 million.

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Background

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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

22 DEC 2025 00:25

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15 DEC 2025 01:04

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