• DT’s CEO slams Europe’s ‘microregulation’
• Turkey’s president hails country’s 5G launch
• Telenor’s $621m broadband M&A deal might be nixed

In today’s industry news roundup: Deutsche Telekom’s big cheese takes EC regulators to task and highlights the potential of AI during a speech to shareholders; Turkcell, Turk Telekom and Vodafone switch on Turkey’s first 5G networks; Telenor’s plan to acquire GlobalConnect’s fixed broadband business in Norway might fall foul of the country’s competition watchdog; and much more!

Deutsche Telekom’s CEO Tim Höttges used the platform of the giant German telco’s shareholders’ meeting in Bonn to warn that Europe is in danger of missing the opportunity to develop its own meaningful sovereign digital infrastructure and services market unless European Commission lawmakers in Brussels get their act together. “We already have hundreds of authorities watching over Europe’s digital industry. And yet Brussels is planning further regulation. I believe that Europe wants the right thing, but there can be no European sovereignty without economies of scale. That is why we must not continue down the path of microregulation.” DT, though, is doing its best to develop new sovereign service opportunities in Europe, despite the current regulations: Citing the telco’s AI factory in Munich, he noted that “every company in Europe can use the factory, in particular SMEs, with full control over the data, the different applications, and the technology. ‘Made in Germany’ and ‘Made for Germany’ – it is a contribution to sovereignty for Germany, powered by [Deutsche] Telekom.” He also cited AI as “the biggest gift our economy has ever been given” and boasted that the telco, with its AI innovations and service launches, is “turning cables into capabilities. By building an AI assistant directly into the network, you only have to say ‘Hey, Magenta’ – and the assistant is there,” stated Höttges. “The network translates conversations in real time, meaning no more language barriers… and best of all, it works in fixed and mobile networks [and] on any device, even on an old Nokia 3310.” But Höttges also noted that “security and data privacy have top priority. The assistant only responds when called and no data is stored.”

Turkey’s three major operators – Turkcell, Turk Telekom and Vodafone – have all gone live with 5G services in what President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hailed as the beginning of a new era for the country. Turkey’s first commercial 5G networks went live today (Wednesday) across 81 provincial centres, with plans to cover the whole country in around two years, according to officials. The rollout was backed by a national R&D project involving 14 companies spanning telcos, vendors and software firms operating under Turkey’s Communication Technologies Cluster. Speaking at the “Strong Turkey in Communications with 5G” event in Ankara, President Erdogan said the launch of 5G was critical to the country’s national strength. “In today’s data age, political stability, economic independence, military deterrence and digital sovereignty are inseparable,” he said, according to reports from local media. 

Telenor’s plan to acquire GlobalConnect’s consumer business in Norway for 6bn Norwegian kroner ($621m) as part of the its ongoing efforts to strengthen its position on the highly fragmented local fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) market, a deal first announced in July 2025, could be scuppered by the Norwegian Competition Authority. The regulator has announced that it is “concerned that many consumers” – especially those in housing associations – “may face more expensive and lower-quality broadband services due to weakened competition if Telenor is allowed to acquire GlobalConnect’s consumer business” and that it “might intervene against the acquisition”. Telenor knew the regulator would be looking closely at the deal and both it and GlobalConnect “submitted proposed remedies intended to address the authority’s concerns,” but the regulator “has concluded that they seem insufficient to protect consumers from the negative effects of the acquisition”. The operators now have about two weeks to make further submissions before the competition watchdog issues its final decision, which will happen either before or on 15 May. 

There has been an update on the share of the spoils from Virgin Media O2’s recent radio access network (RAN) contract awards, about which TelecomTV reported on Tuesday. Nokia’s team had claimed a 45% share of the business, with Ericsson bagging 55%, but it turns out that isn’t accurate. A Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) spokesperson tells us that it “does not recognise the 55/45 number” but that it won’t be “providing specific details”. Ericsson, meanwhile, has described the 55/45 numbers as not accurately reflecting its position as the “primary vendor”. So, Ericsson’s share is bigger, but by how much is unclear, while Nokia’s share is smaller and comes with the unwelcome addition of a portion of humble pie.

Network operator Jazz (aka JazzWorld), and parent company Veon, has pledged to invest $1bn to deploy 5G and expand digital services across Pakistan, as its mobile money unit JazzCash reached a milestone of connecting one million merchants. JazzWorld CEO Aamir Abrahim, who recently spoke with TelecomTV about his company’s digital service provider and 5G plans, and Veon Group CEO Kaan Terzioğlu unveiled the three-year financial commitment in a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to Pakistan Today. They also announced that JazzCash has onboarded its millionth merchant using Pakistan’s national payment system, Raast. During the meeting, the telco’s leadership pledged its long-term commitment to Pakistan’s digital ecosystem and said the investment will focus on boosting connectivity, innovation and accelerating inclusive economic growth in the country, where Jazz, which recently launched its initial 5G services, has around 74 million subscribers. 

Springfield, Vermont-based VTel Wireless (VTel), which has been offering mobile services in Vermont, eastern New York and western New Hampshire since 2013, is to use Ericsson’s radio access network (RAN) and core platform technology for the deployment of a 5G standalone (5G SA) network. The deployment will make VTel the first rural operator in the US “to support fully native 5G SA VoNR (voice over new radio) roaming with nationwide communications service providers”. What this means is that subscribers of other national mobile service providers “will be able to maintain 5G SA quality connectivity in the rural areas served by VTel… unlike today’s roaming agreements, which rely on 4G LTE VoLTE underlays for voice, the new core network will enable end-to-end 5G roaming with VoNR. This removes legacy dependencies and delivers a modern, fully native 5G experience for nationwide users,” according to Ericsson. 

– The staff, TelecomTV