EU deal on common charger; Pearson's Courseware sale; TIM's job cut plans

TOP NEWS IN TMT

* The EU Parliament and Council agreed to make USB Type-C the common charging port for all mobile phones, tablets and cameras in the EU by fall 2024, according to a statement. Portable devices that are rechargeable through a wired cable will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port, regardless of their manufacturer. The sale of Apple Inc.'s product lineup equipped with the company's proprietary Lightning charger port may potentially face a ban in the EU following the deal on a common charging standard, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing The Wall Street Journal.

* Pearson PLC agreed to sell its K12 Courseware businesses in Italy and Germany to Finnish media and learning company Sanoma Oyj for £163 million, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The U.K.-based publisher will also enter into an agreement with Sanoma for the distribution of Pearson's English language teaching products in Italy.

* Telecom Italia SpA, or TIM, reached an agreement with unions to slash 1,200 jobs in Italy by November through a voluntary early retirement system, Reuters reported, citing two sources.

➤ Infrastructure deals to keep European telecom M&A buoyant

Some of the largest European telecom companies are actively seeking strategic alternatives for their noncore infrastructure assets as they look to reduce high debt loads and free up cash to fund ongoing 5G network developments.

➤ Data Dispatch: European box office grows 207.8% YOY as 'The Batman' lifts revenue

"Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore," a new fantasy film released in April, was among the top-grossing films in some of the tracked European markets and made it to the box office helm in Germany.

TECHNOLOGY

* International Business Machines Corp. will wind down its Russian operations and is already laying off its employees in the country, Reuters reported, citing a memo by CEO Arvind Krishna.

* Amazon.com Inc.'s Counterfeit Crimes Unit sued or referred over 600 people for investigation in the U.S., U.K., EU and China in 2021, according to a new brand protection report by the company.

* Atos SE and IBM will expand their partnership to support European financial enterprises and institutions in the adoption of cloud technology and to provide protection for their data in compliance with EU regulations.

* U.K.-based professional services provider Capita PLC secured a three-year extension to a Primary Care Support England contract with the U.K.'s National Health Service worth £94 million, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

* The U.K. launched the Centre for Emerging Technology and Security, based at The Alan Turing Institute, to help tackle disinformation amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

INTERNET & OTT

* Russia imposed sanctions on a number of CEOs and heads of American companies, including Netflix Inc. CEO Reed Hastings and Universal Pictures President Peter Cramer, according to Dow Jones Newswires, citing The Wall Street Journal.

* The EU net neutrality rules that support an open internet will be compromised if EU regulators force U.S. tech companies such as Alphabet Inc. unit Google LLC, Meta Platforms Inc. and Netflix to contribute to the cost of telecom infrastructure, Reuters reported, citing digital rights activists.

* Viaplay Group AB signed agreements with Norway's Altibox AS and TV and broadband provider Allente Norway to add live Premier League soccer to their long-term distribution partnership in Norway. Altibox and Allente's customers will have full access to 380 live games from the Premier League each season, effective August.

* The European Commission said the regulation for removing terrorist content from online platforms became effective June 7 and will ensure that hosting service providers take down terrorist content online in an hour.

MEDIA

* Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. tapped Christina Sulebakk as Nordic general manager, according to Broadband TV News.

* German media group Hubert Burda Media Holding Kommanditgesellschaft will increase its advertising prices across all titles by about 6% from July due to inflation, according to Horizont.

* Denmark-based Nuuday A/S appointed Henrik Christiansen CFO, effective Aug. 1, Digital TV Europe reported.

* Latvia banned the distribution of 80 Russian TV channels, Broadband TV News reported.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

* Nokia Oyj secured a 10-year network expansion deal with Orange Polska SA that includes network modernization and new 5G services in Poland. The extended deal will cover 50% of the Polish operator's network in northern Poland and will run until 2036.

* Telecom Italia and its cloud unit, Noovle Srl, signed a cooperation agreement with customer relationship management solutions provider Salesforce Inc. to streamline the digital transformation of companies and public administrations.

* Oman Infrastructure Fund unit Rakiza Telecommunication Infrastructure LLC agreed to acquire a 30% stake in the holding company for Oman Telecommunications Co. SAOG's passive infrastructure assets in Oman, according to Dow Jones Newswires. London-listed Helios Towers PLC will acquire the remaining 70% of the company.

* Orange SA commissioned two new energy-efficient data centers based in Amilly in the Centre-Val de Loire region and in Val-de-Reuil in Normandy, France.

* Deutsche Telekom AG is now using the 700 MHz frequency in its 5G network in an effort to improve mobile communications coverage in rural areas.

FILM & TV

* The French Tennis Federation and beIN Media Group LLC extended a deal to allow beIN SPORTS to continue to broadcast the Roland-Garros tournament across all 24 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region until 2026.

Click here for a summary of indexes on the S&P Capital IQ Pro platform.

Subscribe here to our weekly feature, APAC TechWatch, which highlights the latest on topics such as artificial intelligence, financial technology, the internet of things, cloud computing, cybersecurity, 5G and semiconductors in the Asia-Pacific region.

Frances Espeso, Anne Freier, Amanda Kelly, Koen Pijnappels and Gerard O'Dwyer contributed to this report.

The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 8 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.