Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: BT and T-Systems get closer; UK government trumpets new digital strategy; ARM has M&A ambitions.
Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) has joined forces with local Tigo Tanzaniaand the GSM Association (GSMA) to bring 3G to a part of rural Tanzania for the first time. The first in a series of pilot tower sites has been launched in the Lindi Mtwara region, where there was previously no mobile broadband connection. The project is part of a wider infrastructure-sharing program set up by the GSMA, Tigo, the Tanzanian government and two other mobile network operators to help connect the 13 million people living in rural parts of the country. The announcement was made at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona -- chekc out all the big news from the event at Light Reading's MWC industry show news site.
And Ericsson is busy in the Middle East too, landing the contract to supply a regulatory monitoring system (RMS) to help oversee Dubai's public transport system. The Swedish vendor will supply cloud services relating to analytics and fleet management. The contract forms part of Dubai's ongoing smart city project.
BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA) has struck a deal with T-Systems International GmbH , Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT)'s IT services unit, that will enable T-Systems' customers to use a range of BT services to connect their global operations. According to BT, the partnership means that T-Systems will be able to extend its international reach by more than 60%. Towards the end of 2016, the two partners announced that BT customers would be able to connect to T-Systems' data centers to access SAP cloud services.
The UK's Department of Culture, Media and Sport has launched a new Digital Strategy which, among other things, confirms a £1 billion program to "keep Britain at the forefront of digital connectivity," which was originally announced in the Autumn Statement. It also promises to create five international tech hubs in emerging markets to create partnerships between UK companies and local tech firms.
The CEO of UK-based chip designer ARM Holdings plc (Nasdaq: ARMHY; London: ARM), which was bought by SoftBank Corp. in July for $32 billion, has hinted that M&A action could be on the cards, according to a Bloomberg report. Simon Segars says that SoftBank boss Masayoshi Son has given him his wholehearted backing, and is "constantly discussing… the best way to build the business even more strongly." (See Eurobites: SoftBank Gives ARM a Free Hand and SoftBank's Tanaka to Take ARM by Hand, Not Boss It.)
Telecom Italia SpA (NYSE: TI) is to sell wireless headphones and speakers from B&O Play, the sub-brand of high-end audio retailer Bang & Olufsen, in its stores.