• Telia achieves cross-border network slicing
• Infineon to advance its smart vehicle strategy with Marvell unit acquisition
• The EC unveils its AI Continent Action Plan

In today’s industry news roundup: Telia partners with Nokia to demonstrate 5G’s potential for secure, continuous communications in defense and critical sectors across three countries; German chip vendor Infineon believes it can further strengthen its position in the software-defined vehicle sector with its $2.5bn purchase of Marvell’s Automotive Ethernet business; the European Commission aims to at least triple Europe’s datacentre capacity over the next five to seven years; and much more!

Nordic telco Telia, in partnership with Nokia and the Finnish Defense Forces, says it has conducted “the world’s first standalone 5G slice handover between multiple countries in a live network.” According to Telia, the trial “demonstrates how 5G is ready to provide mission-critical capabilities for defence and other key sectors,” while Nokia’s president of Mobile Networks, Tommi Uitto, noted that “seamless 5G slice continuity over borders is a breakthrough for defence operations, enabling secure and reliable communications for collaborative missions that extend beyond national territories”. Telia claims that, during the test, a “continuous and secure data connection was maintained in the slice while moving across three separate networks” in three countries where Telia has operations (Finland, Sweden, Norway). “This ability is crucial for modern defence forces,” noted the operator, as “personnel are increasingly operating in coalitions beyond national territories and require uninterrupted access to connected applications and services.” Jarmo Vähätiitto, Major General of the Finnish Defense Command and chief of C5, the agency that provides IT and communications services to the Finnish forces, noted: “This trial marks a significant milestone in showcasing the dual-use possibilities of 5G for defence while also enhancing communication capabilities within the NATO domain. We are delighted to have partnered with Nokia and Telia on this project and are eager to explore further opportunities for integrating 5G into our operations.” Jari Collin, CTO at Telia Finland, added: “5G and network slicing enable secure, mission-critical communications. This trial meets the Defense Forces’ needs and proves that commercial 5G networks can be utilised in this domain.” Nokia’s 5G Core Software as a Service (SaaS), AirScale 5G base stations powered and MantaRay NM network management system were used for the trial.

German semiconductor firm Infineon Technologies says it is “accelerating the build-up of its system capabilities for software-defined vehicles” by striking a $2.5bn cash deal to acquire Marvell’s Automotive Ethernet business, including the US chip vendor’s Brightlane Automotive Ethernet portfolio and related assets. “Ethernet is a key enabling technology for low-latency, high-bandwidth communication, which is crucial for software-defined vehicles,” noted Infineon. “Additionally, it has significant potential in adjacent fields of use such as humanoid robots. The planned investment will strengthen Infineon’s already strong footprint in the US, including extensive R&D activities,” it added. According to Infineon, Marvell’s Automotive Ethernet business has more than 50 automotive manufacturer customers, including eight of the 10 market-leading manufacturers. The deal, which will add between $225m and $250m (€250m to €277m) to Infineon’s annual revenues, is set to be completed this calendar year: Infineon is currently on course to generate full fiscal year revenues of more than €13bn. Infineon CEO Jochen Hanebeck stated: “The acquisition is a great strategic fit for Infineon as the global number-one provider of semiconductor solutions to the automotive industry. We will leverage this highly complementary Ethernet technology by combining it with our existing, broad product portfolio to provide our customers with even more comprehensive, leading solutions for software-defined vehicles. The transaction will support our profitable growth strategy going forward, including new opportunities in the field of physical AI, such as humanoid robots,” he added. Infineon already claims to be one of the leading vendors in the global automotive semiconductor market and the global market leader in automotive microcontrollers, as it outlined in this recent announcement. As for Marvell, its chairman and CEO Matt Murphy noted: “Marvell has transformed itself into a leading data infrastructure solutions provider, with the datacentre end market driving 75% of consolidated revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025. We are immensely proud of the progress we have made in organically growing our Automotive Ethernet business. We believe this transaction delivers the strongest financial return for Marvell shareholders, given its compelling valuation. With Infineon’s optimised platform for automotive applications, we are confident the Automotive Ethernet business is well positioned for continued growth and success.”

The European Commission has unveiled its AI Continent Action Plan which, the regional body hopes, will “transform Europe’s strong traditional industries and its exceptional talent pool into powerful engines of AI innovation and acceleration”. To get anywhere near its goals, the European Union member states are going to need significant, cutting-edge tech infrastructure, which essentially boils down to having a lot of significant datacentre facilities housing state-of-the-art AI chips, but as we noted earlier this week, the world’s hyperscale power mainly exists elsewhere. As a result, the EC’s plan comprises (in part) the development of “large-scale AI data and computing infrastructure”, namely a “network” of AI factories – 13 of which are already being deployed – and the construction of AI Gigafactories, which are described by the EC as “large-scale facilities equipped with approximately 100,000 state-of-the-art AI chips, four times more than current AI factories”. The EC has issued a call for expression of interest for consortia interested in developing such facilities, noting that €20bn of EC funding will be made available to those prepared to pump private funds into those facilities, with that public funding to be made available to support five gigafactory developments. Overall, the EC’s aim is to at least triple the EU’s datacentre capacity over the course of the next five to seven years, with “highly sustainable datacentres” as the priority. The development of regional AI infrastructure is one of five AI Continent Action Plan pillars, with the others being: Increasing access to large and high-quality data; developing algorithms and fostering AI adoption in strategic EU sectors; strengthening AI skills and talents; and regulatory simplification (something for which the EC is not renowned). This all sounds great, but the EC is renowned for dragging its feet and taking forever to actually get anything done – will its efforts be in vain by the time it can get its continental act together? Answers can be sent to Brussels via digital carrier pigeon. Ironically, in presenting the action plan to the media on Wednesday morning, the EC’s executive vice president for technological sovereignty, security and democracy, Henna Virkkunen, stated that the “time for action is now”. (It’s all very well saying that, but actually kicking some continental ass into immediate action is quite another…) She claimed that Europe has “an unparalleled pool of top talents: Our universities and research institutions are among the best in the world. It is not said enough, but we have today 30% more AI researchers than in the US!” You can read all that Virkkunen had to say here, but she ended by noting that the EC is “hitting the ground running… this afternoon I have invited in Brussels representatives of all the 13 AI Factories as well as of AI SMEs to discuss together the implementation of this Action Plan.” Well, at the very least, Virkkunen and her team will be able to say they tried. Meanwhile, the telcos based in the European Union will no doubt be wondering how they fit into this plan, how they could benefit, and whether developing their own AI factories might be a good idea – it should be noted that while the AI factories developed by Swisscom (in Switzerland) and Telenor (in Norway) to support sovereign AI are (of course) based in Europe, neither of those countries are EU member states. However, the AI factory set up by Swisscom subsidiary Fastweb (now part of Fastweb + Vodafone) in Italy is in the EU. One of the other European companies likely to be paying very close attention is Colt DCS…

Colt Data Centre Services (Colt DCS) is to develop four new datacentre facilities in Germany in a move that “represents a €2bn investment” in the German economy. The four facilities will be Frankfurt 4 and 5, and Berlin 1 and 2: They will add 117MW of IT capacity to Colt DCS’ operations in Germany, bringing its total in-country capacity to 176MW. The two Frankfurt datacentres will be built on an 18-acre site and provide a combined 63MW of IT capacity, while the Berlin datacentres will be constructed on a 9.5-acre site and provide a total 54MW of capacity. The new facilities will be designed to Colt DCS’ Global Reference Design (GRD), which can cater for both traditional cloud and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads, powering racks up to 130kW. The Frankfurt 4 and Berlin 1 are set to be ready for service by the end of 2028 and renewable power contracts have already been secured. “The move strengthens Colt DCS’ position in the Frankfurt market, which continues to be one of Europe’s leading datacentre hubs,” noted the company. “Berlin has emerged as a secondary market, driven by Germany’s digital transformation and increasing demand for cloud and AI services,” it added. Colt DCS is part of Fidelity Investments-funded Colt Group Holdings, which is also the parent company of Colt Technology Services.  

Belgian network operator Telenet, a Liberty Global subsidiary, has extended access to its digital entertainment marketplace to its mobile customer base. The entertainment marketplace was already available to the service provider’s 1.97 million fixed broadband and TV customers and now, via the operator’s My Telenet app, it can be accessed by the telco’s 2.87 million mobile customers. The digital entertainment marketplace is underpinned by the ‘super bundling’ Digital Vending Machine (DVM) platform developed by digital payments and marketing technology specialist Bango. Ivor Micallef, director of product entertainment at Telenet stated: “Our goal is to provide customers with the most seamless and engaging entertainment subscription experiences. In a highly competitive industry, the Bango DVM sets us apart, allowing us to deliver a sophisticated variety of bundled entertainment subscription offers… With a single integration, Telenet gains access to a rapidly growing network of global subscription providers. This allows for the swift deployment of new subscriptions, ensuring customers always have access to the latest entertainment options. Additionally, valuable insights from the Bango DVM enable Telenet to tailor subscription offerings to suit different customer preferences.” 

– The staff, TelecomTV