TOP NEWS
* Telefónica SA is bringing its O2 brand in Spain in the coming months, Mobile World Live reports, citing Spanish news reports. O2, which the company uses in the U.K. and Germany, will reportedly cater to customers who will opt out of convergent packages.
* International Business Machines Corp. said it plans to add 1,800 jobs in France over the next two years as part of the IT consulting company's investment strategy for the country, which also includes training programs for "new collar" skills. IBM will hire business consultants, IT architects, developers and technical experts, focusing on areas including artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and the internet of things.
* The European Union's incoming General Data Protection Regulation will boost Ireland's digital community, the country's prime minister has said. Finding the right balance between regulation and innovation is key, Leo Varadkar told 400-plus delegates during a keynote at the Temenos Group AG Community Forum 2018 in Dublin.
PAN-EUROPEAN
* 21st Century Fox Inc. activist investor Chris Hohn will back Comcast Corp.'s bid over the current offer from Walt Disney Co., The Wall Street Journal reports. It follows Comcast confirming that it is in advanced stages of preparing an offer to acquire assets that Fox earlier agreed to sell to Disney.
* Facebook Inc. may not compensate European users affected by the data misuse involving Cambridge Analytica LLC. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said "no bank account details, credit card information or national ID numbers were shared."
* European Union agencies involved in cybersecurity and cyber defense will today sign a memorandum of understanding to step up their efforts in combating cyber issues. Representatives from the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security, the European Defence Agency, Europol's European Cybercrime Centre and the Computer Emergency Response Team for the EU Institutions, Agencies and Bodies are expected to attend.
UK AND IRELAND
* The U.K. government is calling for a new partnership with the EU to safeguard their shared interests, including those related to data protection. The government said such an agreement would "ensure clarity on enforcing citizens' rights."
* British Telecom has launched a converged fiber and 4G plan, BT Plus, which provides an average speed of 300Mbps with a 100Mbps speed guarantee. The operator will provide £20 compensation if the speed drops below the promised level.
* Private equity firm HgCapital Trust plc, via the Hg Saturn Fund, is teaming up with the Intermediate Capital Group PLC for a joint investment in IRIS, a provider of business-critical software and services to the U.K. accountancy, education and business sectors. The investment places IRIS at an enterprise value of about £1.3 billion, with the deal touted as the largest in Britain in the software sector.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
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* German digital publisher Axel Springer SE has developed an Opt-in and Transparency Layer software which meets General Data Protection Regulation requirements for the use of cookies and tracking technologies. It therefore allows for legally compliant personalization of content and advertising offers.
FRANCE
* President Emmanuel Macron met with more than 50 representatives of the largest national and international digital businesses including Facebook, Microsoft Corp. and Uber Technologies Inc., Le Figaro reports. The Tech for Good meeting discussed the social transformations linked to new technology.
NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG
* Dutch operator KPN NV has appointed investor relations chief Wouter Stammeijer as executive vice president of strategy, effective June 1. Stammeijer will succeed Jan Wildeboer.
* KPN has also intends to distribute the expected Telefónica Deutschland GmbH dividend over 2017 to its shareholders earlier this year, declaring a special interim dividend of 1.30 euro cents per ordinary share.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* Modern Times Group has purchased all outstanding shares it does not own in Zoomin.TV for €6.2 million in cash. MTG previously had a 51% stake in Zoomin and has acquired the remaining shares from Adversa Media Groep BV.
* The Nordic states have agreed to develop and co-launch 5G across the region, the Nordic Council announced. The project, which includes a simultaneous rollout, is being run by the Nordic Council of Ministers for Digitalisation and the five Nordic governments.
* The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority has issued a letter of concern to Telia Co. AB that questions the telco's operator exchange practices. The PTS suspects Telia is stalling compliance with operator exchange rules which apply when customers choose to switch to a rival supplier.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
* A group of lenders are set to take majority control of Türk Telekomünikasyon via Turkish holding company Otas, which owns 55% of the telco, Reuters reports. The lenders have agreed on the takeover as part of a restructuring plan after Otas failed to make at least three loan repayments worth $290 million each since September 2016 for a $4.75 billion loan.
* Italian communications watchdog AGCOM said a 5G frequency auction will be held in September, in a bid to raise at least €2.5 billion, Reuters reports. The industry ministry will be in charge of the auction, with half of the €2.5 billion expected to be raised within 2018.
* Telecom Italia SpA launched what it claims to be the first 5G-enabled applications and the first millimeter wave 5G mobile test device in Italy. The new services were introduced along with 5G tests in partnership with Nokia Corp. at an event in San Marino, in which TIM targets to launch a 5G network.
* Ericsson's ex-CEO Kurt Hellström and Financial Controller Roland Hagman face bribery charges in Greece, writes Svenska Dagbladet. The court case concerns a defense radar sale by Ericsson Microwave Systems to Greece in 1999.
EASTERN EUROPE
* Russian national operator Rostelecom PJSC acquired information security services provider Solar Security OOO for 1.5 billion Russian rubles, Telecompaper reports. Following the acquisition, Rostelecom plans to create a national cybersecurity center that will rely on Solar Security's expertise.
* India's Reliance Industries Ltd.-owned Reliance Jio is looking to expand beyond India and is expected to set up a subsidiary in Estonia, Mint reported May 22, citing people familiar with the matter.
* Martin Kyncl is joining Czech broadcaster TV Nova Group as its vice president of digital advertising, Broadband TV News reports. Kyncl has worked in online advertising and served Publicis as digital planner and head of digital.
* The Talos cyber intelligence unit of U.S. tech company Cisco Systems Inc. has warned on a suspected plan by the Russian government for another cyberattack on Ukraine, Reuters reports. The warning came after the so-called VPNFilter campaign, in which hackers used malicious software to infect at least 500,000 routers and storage devices in dozens of countries, possibly in preparation for the planned massive hack.
FEATURED NEWS
Slovak Telekom debuts Netflix-type OTT; Mediapro inks YouTube soccer deal in CEE: Slovak Telekom rolled out a Netflix-type platform named Magio Kino, while Spain's Mediapro teamed up with Google to livestream a Brazilian soccer tournament via YouTube in selected central and eastern European markets.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Economics of Advertising: Reboots, reality shows top midseason TV program ratings: Among the prime-time TV shows launched in the first quarter, reboots and reality shows scored some of the highest live average ratings, based on a Kagan analysis of viewership data from comScore's TV Essentials.
Anne Freier, Sylvia Edwards Davis, Charlotte van Hek and Gerard O'Dwyer contributed to this report.
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