Telefonica Deutschland joins Blue Planet for concept trial of agentic 5G slicing
GERMANY 23 JUN

Telefonica Deutschland joins Blue Planet for concept trial of agentic 5G slicing

Telefonica Deutschland has completed a proof of concept (PoC) with Ciena's Blue Planet to gauge agentic AI's capability in drawing up complex telecom offerings such as advanced 5G network slices. The joint concept trial was delivered as part of an ongoing transformation of Telefonica Deutschland's OSS systems aimed at achieving higher levels of network autonomy. AI agents are being tested in Telefonica Deutschland's Multi-Domain Service Orchestration environment, which aims to facilitate end-to-end orchestr

NorthC loses appeal over extra power capacity in Almere
NETHERLANDS 23 JUN

NorthC loses appeal over extra power capacity in Almere

NorthC is not entitled to additional power transmission capacity at its data centre in Almere, Netherlands from grid operator Liander, the corporate appeals court CBb has confirmed. The court ruling upholds an earlier decision by the energy market regulator ACM, which rejected a claim from NorthC.

EU funds Baltic, Mediterranean hubs for rapid subsea cable repairs
EUROPE 23 JUN

EU funds Baltic, Mediterranean hubs for rapid subsea cable repairs

The European Commission (EC) announced it will grant EUR 5.8 million to establish the first two Regional Cable Hubs in the EU, in the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, as part of efforts to accelerate submarine cable repairs and increase infrastructure resilience. It is also launching a call for EUR 40 million more funding to increase European capacity to repair submarine communication cables.

FTTH Council Europe names new board with Adtran's Fogli as president
EUROPE 23 JUN

FTTH Council Europe names new board with Adtran's Fogli as president

The FTTH Council Europe has elected a new board and restructured its committee framework following its 2026 Spring General Assembly in Brussels, reflecting the organisation's expanding role in the connectivity ecosystem. The newly-appointed president Stefano Fogli, Director Technology and Solutions at Adtran, described the industry body's evolution as part of a strategic shift toward strengthening fibre network resilience and extending fibre applications beyond traditional access networks.

Ciena onboards former HP senior VP as chief supply chain officer
GLOBAL 23 JUN

Ciena onboards former HP senior VP as chief supply chain officer

Ciena has appointed HP's former senior vice president of operations and solutions to the newly created executive rank of chief supply chain officer. Grant Hoffman's arrival marks the elevation of Ciena's supply chain operation into a dedicated C-suite position.

ACM blocks Delta/Glaspoort deal - what can KPN do?
NETHERLANDS 23 JUN

ACM blocks Delta/Glaspoort deal - what can KPN do?

Delta Fiber's plan to sell part of its network to KPN joint venture Glaspoort has been blocked on competition grounds. The deal would have eliminated a relative newcomer in those geographic areas, while the ACM is also concerned about KPN boosting its market share through a series of small acquisitions that fall below the threshold for vetting. Ahead of the publication of its full decision on the takeover, the ACM provided some insight to Telecompaper on how it came to the decision. The extensive investigat

Ecuador merges telecoms and transport into new infrastructure ministry
ECUADOR 23 JUN

Ecuador merges telecoms and transport into new infrastructure ministry

Ecuador's government has created a new Ministry of Infrastructure and Technology, merging the portfolios of telecommunications and transport as part of President Daniel Noboa's plan to cut public spending and centralise state functions.The new ministry, to be led by current transport minister Roberto Luque, will absorb the responsibilities of the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society (Mintel) and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.

Cisco buys WideField Security to equip Splunk with SOC-grade agentic AI observability
GLOBAL 23 JUN

Cisco buys WideField Security to equip Splunk with SOC-grade agentic AI observability

Cisco is acquiring California-based WideField Security to bolster agentic AI-targeted security operations centre (SOC) workloads in its big data observability suite Splunk. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Cisco said WideField's core technology would dovetail with Splunk to inject in-depth context into monitoring of AI agent activity, including signals from the Cisco Identity Intelligence tool.

Italy's Open Fiber tops 20 mln homes passed with FTTH, FWA
ITALY 23 JUN

Italy's Open Fiber tops 20 mln homes passed with FTTH, FWA

Italy's wholesale broadband operator Open Fiber said it has connected 20.2 million homes to its ultra-broadband network, according to its 2025 Sustainability Report, describing it as a key milestone in the country's fibre rollout. The company, owned by state lender CDP (60%) and Macquarie Asset Management (40%), said the figure includes both fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and fixed wireless access (FWA) coverage.

Nokia intros Gemini-based assurance agents to accelerate fault resolutions
GLOBAL 23 JUN

Nokia intros Gemini-based assurance agents to accelerate fault resolutions

Nokia and Google Cloud are collaborating to bring Gemini-built AI agents to telecoms use cases, with a focus on automating network IT and resolving system bottlenecks. Six specialised agents powered by Gemini multi-mode AI technology will roll out in the Nokia Assurance Center, a service assurance platform for telecoms, neutral hosts and enterprise networks. The partnership deploys agents to accelerate processing of telecoms-grade assurance data, allowing operators to identify and respond to critical networ

Talkpool signs EUR 10 mln deal with German operator
GERMANY 23 JUN

Talkpool signs EUR 10 mln deal with German operator

Talkpool has signed a two-year agreement worth EUR 10 million with an unnamed leading operator in Germany for planning and documentation of mainly fibre-optic networks across Germany. Through the new contract Talkpool expands its footprint to cover all German regions. Talkpool said it intends to continue its growth trajectory on the German market in fibre-optic services.

Fibritel joins GR-IX ecosystem
GREECE 23 JUN

Fibritel joins GR-IX ecosystem

Greek internet exchange GR-IX has added Fibritel as its newest member. By integrating Fibritel into the platform, the exchange aims to upgrade regional connectivity, and reduce data latency. Operating as a neutral and independent hub, GR-IX seeks to facilitate IP traffic exchange and accelerate overall internet growth in Greece. The exchange connects the nation's largest internet service providers, content delivery networks, and cloud platforms.

PORTUGAL 23 JUN

Altice Labs pioneers AI-native telecom operations with NOSSIS One upgrade

Altice Labs is advancing telecom operations with the integration of AI agents into its NOSSIS One suite, aiming for "AI-native" and autonomous systems. Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for NOSSIS One expose specific NOSSIS One capabilities as standardised tools, built on TM Forum Open APIs. This allows AI agents, copilots, and intelligent assistants to easily access operational context, retrieve data, and perform actions across assurance, fulfilment, and inventory functions.

SPAIN 23 JUN

Telefonica set to double infrastructure leasing revenues - report

Spain's communications watchdog CNMC has begun the process to eliminate the so-called MARCo offer, which regulates the price that alternative operators have to pay to access Telefonica's physical infrastructure, as part of the full deregulation of the country's wholesale fixed broadband access markets, reports business daily Expansion. The MARCo offer is being replaced with a document outlining the former incumbent's voluntary commitments for the next five years that includes a 17 percent annual price incre

PHILIPPINES 23 JUN

ETPI joins NetIX's Global Internet Exchange

NetIX has announced that Eastern Telecommunications Philippines (ETPI) has joined its Global Internet Exchange (GIX), to  expand its reach across Europe and beyond. As a new member, ETPI will have access to the GIX platform from Equinix Singapore's SG1 facility. The initial deployment is provisioned at 10G, with plans to scale this capacity as traffic demands grow, and routing optimisation opportunities are identified. 

IRELAND 22 JUN

NBI on track to complete Carlow network build by end-2026

National Broadband Ireland (NBI) is on schedule to complete its main County Carlow network build by end-2026, with the National Broadband Plan (NBP) rural network roll-out entering its final stage. The State Intervention Area of the NBP covers 8,000 premises across County Carlow. Overall, the network will reach 566,000 homes, farm and businesses across rural Ireland. 

GLOBAL 22 JUN

Mavenir unveils agentic telecoms layer built to TM Forum spec

Mavenir is preparing to launch a TM Forum-compliant framework for agentic telecoms implementations. The Agentic Service Assurance Framework complies with TM Forum's IG1251 and IG1453 specifications, and was announced ahead of the alliance's DTW Ignite event in Copenhagen.

GLOBAL 22 JUN

Radcom intros analytic design module with 10-second resolution to support agentic ops

Radcom has introduced an analytics configuration module in its network service assurance suite Radcom ACE. The Analytics Design Module (ADM) is used to define and configure network analytics, key performance indicators (KPIs) and alarm thresholds. Launching in Q3, ADM draws on Radcom ACE's assurance data and correlates it on the fly with Call Detail Record (CDR) sessions to create reliable datasets for analysis.

BELGIUM 22 JUN

Telenet procures Netcracker BSS to unify B2B services stack

Netcracker  has announced an extended contract with Belgian cable operator Telenet to consolidate business-grade services into a unified BSS infrastructure. Telenet will migrate enterprise accounts and B2B products onto Netcracker's digital BSS platform, including dedicated modules for Revenue Management, Commerce Management, Customer Management, Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) and Service Inventory Management.

GLOBAL 22 JUN

Genexis taps shareholders for long-term funding to deliver on growth roadmap

Genexis has completed a recapitalisation with its existing shareholders to support its long-term product strategy and business growth. Genexis's institutional investors were represented in talks by Mark Hoffman, a portfolio manager at Robus Capital Management.  Hoffman said the agreement had provided financial headroom for strategic investments to help cement Genexis's market foothold. It follows an earlier negotiation with Genexis's bondholders. In its Q1 statements for the three months to 31 March, Genexi

ARMENIA 22 JUN

Armenia, Azerbaijan telecom operators sign internet transit agreement

Armenian and Azerbaijan's national operators Telecom Armenia and AzerTelecom have signed a bilateral agreement on the commercial transit and delivery of internet traffic through the territories of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Under the agreement, Telecom Armenia, a transit operator, will expand the geography and number of countries receiving international internet traffic through its network infrastructure, providing transit services toward Azerbaijan. The companies said the agreement is aimed at enhancing the d

MEXICO 22 JUN

Mexico launches consultation on 2.3 GHz spectrum tender for industrial use

Mexico's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT) has opened a public consultation on a proposed tender for spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band, aimed at supporting industrial use and digital transformation. The watchdog intends to grant 10-year commercial concessions for the use and operation of frequencies intended to boost technological infrastructure and competitiveness across productive sectors.

UNITED KINGDOM 22 JUN

CityFibre announces expansion of VodafoneThree partnership to mobile backhaul

CityFibre announced an expansion of its long-term partnership with VodafoneThree with a new mobile network transmission contract to support the latter's 5G standalone network roll-out. The expanded agreement sees CityFibre become a preferred supplier for network transmission to connect VodafoneThree mobile sites across the UK. CityFibre is already a preferred digital infrastructure supplier to VodafoneThree, supporting its retail broadband services.

EUROPE 22 JUN

Italtel, OctaiPipe using AI to cut data centre cooling costs

Italian ICT firm Italtel and deep-tech company OctaiPipe have partnered to deploy an AI system designed to help operators meet rising power demands and tighter European regulations by substantially reducing energy use in data centres. The technology, already deployed at a 2MW carrier-neutral facility owned by a major Italian group, has reduced cooling-related energy costs by up to 30 percent and improved overall site efficiency by more than 10 percent, said the partners.

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Commentary

23 JUN 09:56

ACM blocks Delta/Glaspoort deal - what can KPN do?

5 MEI 10:55

KPN: the art of making one-offs structural

4 MEI 14:25

Open Dutch Fiber outlook: time to restart roll-out?

20 APR 10:36

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Background

21 JUN 22:52

The week in telecom: sovereignty debate comes to VivaTech, Ericsson succession and Fox buys Roku

1 JUN 00:13

The week in telecom: EU telcos push sovereign services as governments question foreign tech investors

23 MEI 23:42

The week in telecom: Starlink ready to go public, Singapore telco M&A and Google courts AI subscribers at I/O

18 MEI 00:31

The week in telecom: US operators mount rural satellite challenge, Cisco cashes in on AI boom