Eurobites: Proximus sizes up Be-Mobile for the slab | Light Reading

11 Sep Eurobites: Proximus sizes up Be-Mobile for the slab | Light Reading

Also in today’s EMEA regional roundup: Czech operators unhappy at 5G auction conditions; Vodafone’s spare processing power helps in coronavirus fight; Google adds a Finnish data center.

Belgium’s Proximus has launched a “strategic review” of Be-Mobile, its smart-mobility subsidiary, according to a report in L’Echo. Be-Mobile’s specialisms include systems for navigation, traffic management and “intelligent parking.” Proximus took 61.02% of Be-Mobile’s capital in 2016.

The Czech units of Vodafone and T-Mobile have joined O2 Czech Republic in filing legal complaints against the conditions set for the Czech Republic’s planned 5G auction, Reuters reports.

A deserved round of applause for Vodafone UK, which says it has become Britain’s top contributor of computer processing power in the battle against COVID-19. According to the operator, the migration of its core network and IT systems to the cloud has freed up redundant hardware and spare capacity from new virtual machines to donate to the World Community Grid, a volunteer-led body comprising nearly 790,000 individuals and organizations donating computer processing power to help advance scientific research that benefits humanity.

Vodafone has also been selected by UK retailer Asda (which is owned by Walmart) as its new mobile virtual network operator, edging out rival EE. The five-year deal includes the provision of digital tools that will allow Asda Mobile customers to be bombarded with benefits and incentives.

Google is to open another data center at its Hamina complex in Finland, its sixth in this location. As YLE reports, the new facility will provide jobs for around 40-50 employees, bringing the workforce at Hamina to around 400.

Aalborg in Denmark has been named as the municipality “best prepared for a digital future” in the Nordic region, according to the latest edition of the Nordic Digital Municipality Index, which is conducted by Analysys Mason on behalf of Telenor. The study analyzed 60 different municipalities from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland, focusing on how well they are preparing the ground for a fully digital future by enabling infrastructure deployment, digital services and smart-city technology.

Aalborg: Smarter than your average Nordic municipality
(Source: Tomasz Sienicki under Creative Commons)

The much-delayed COVID-19 contact-tracing app for England and Wales has finally got a launch date, the BBC reports. As from September 24, smartphone users there will be able to download the app, which uses Apple and Google’s “decentralized” method of detecting other smartphones and will allow people to scan barcode-style QR codes that register visits to restaurants, pubs and other such venues, in case they later need to be informed that they have been in close proximity to someone who has tested positive for the virus. A first attempt at a COVID-19 app, which used homegrown technology, sank without trace after a trial on the Isle of Wight, where it proved of little use to those with iPhones.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading