What’s up with… ETSI, Qualcomm, Telecom Italia

• ETSI helps telcos measure data quality
• Qualcomm backs wearables startup
• Telecom Italia’s top team backs takeover

In today’s industry news roundup: Specifications group ETSI shares a framework for assessing the quality of data to be used in AI and digital ecosystems; Qualcomm is working with, and financially backing, a smart wearables startup; Telecom Italia’s CEO is among the executives selling his shares to Poste Italiane as the telco’s takeover process nears its conclusion; and much more!

In a move that identifies one of the key challenges facing network operators as they formulate and executive their AI-native telco strategies, industry specifications body ETSI has published a “standardised framework for quantitatively assessing the quality of data used across digital and AI ecosystems” that defines 18 data quality metrics “designed to help organisations assess whether datasets are sufficiently reliable, complete, accurate, representative and trustworthy for their intended purpose”. According to ETSI, its new technical report (TR), ETSI TR 104 180: Data Solutions; Development and Identification of Data Quality Metrics, “will help organisations determine whether data is fit for their intended purpose, while laying the groundwork for consistent, reproducible and standardised approaches to data quality testing.” It adds: “As AI adoption increases, organisations are becoming increasingly focused on the quality of the data underpinning AI ecosystems. ETSI’s 18 data quality metrics enable organisations to determine potential quality, reliability and bias issues.”

As mobile operators consider how to build out their networks over the next few years to support AI and, ultimately, 6G, they’ll be keeping an eye on the user device ecosystem, with a keen focus on products that might impact their data traffic flow patterns at the edge of the network. It’ll be noteworthy, then, that Bengaluru, India-based wearable tech specialist Ultrahuman has raised $70m in funding (at a valuation of $365m) from multiple investors including Qualcomm Ventures, reports TechCrunch. Ultrahuman is working with Qualcomm on the development of a new smart ring, with the wearables vendor set to incorporate technology developed by the wireless chip giant into a new product to work alongside chips supplied by Nordic Semiconductor, giving the product more on-device processing power, notes TechCrunch. For more on the way in which mobile operators are thinking about future traffic flow patterns, see TelecomTV’s latest free-to-download editorial report, The AI-Native Path to 6G. 

Telecom Italia (TIM)’s CEO Pietro Labriola and the telco’s “key managers” have tendered the shares they hold to the voluntary full public tender and exchange offer made by Poste Italiane, announced in March, that it is aiming to buy the 73% stake in the Italian national telco it doesn’t already own in a deal comprising cash and newly issued shares. The offer was approved by the Telecom Italia board in July, when the takeover offer was worth about €13.2bn (its value fluctuates in line with the price of the Poste Italiane stock), and Telecom Italia shareholders have until 11 September to accept the takeover offer. The vast majority of Telecom Italia shareholders have not yet accepted the offer, so maybe the announcement that Labriola and his colleagues have tendered their shares is a reminder and an encouragement to others to follow suit.    

Greek national operator OTE (Hellenic Telecommunications Organization), in which Deutsche Telekom holds a 55% stake, is to migrate from its commercial brand, Cosmote Telekom, to take on its parent company’s identity by adopting the Telekom brand already used across multiple markets. Kostas Nebis, chairman and CEO of OTE Group, managed to include an AI angle as he explained the decision: “The transition to the Telekom brand is a natural evolution for us. Cosmote was the brand that connected Greece to the digital era. Telekom connects Greece with the future of digital technology and the limitless potential of artificial intelligence. As our brand enters this new era, we are building on our legacy. We continue to have the country’s most advanced networks, leading expertise, highly skilled people and the same commitment to Greek society,” he added. Dominique Leroy, board member for Europe at Deutsche Telekom, stated: “Europe is a central pillar of Deutsche Telekom’s strategy, and Greece plays an important role in our ambition to be the leading digital telecommunications company and continue growing. Uniting our brands opens new opportunities for our customers in Greece. It allows us to combine the innovative strength of our group with our global partnerships to deliver even better solutions and experiences. Our ambition is not simply to follow digital development but to actively lead it. And now, we are making this ambition visible in Greece too, backed by the strength and reach of the world’s strongest and most valuable telecommunications brand.”

Still with Deutsche Telekom: The telco is feeling good about itself today, announcing that its mobile network in Germany has been ranked as Europe’s ‘Most Consistent Mobile Network’ by Ookla. “In a Europe-wide comparison of more than 120 mobile operators, Telekom ranked first for the consistency of measured mobile network performance in the first half of 2026,” noted the telco, adding that it “also ranks among the leading operators in other European categories, taking second place for ‘Fastest Mobile Network’ and third place for ‘Best Mobile Network’.” 

The expectation that UK-based B2B services specialist Gamma Communications will be the subject of a takeover bidding war is growing following a report from The Times (subscription required) that Dutch buy-out firm Waterland Private Equity Investments is set to trump the £1.015bn (1,120 pence per share) offer from private equity firm Epiris accepted last week by the Gamma board. The speculation of a new offer came as Gamma reported a 4% year-on-year increase in revenues for the first half of this year to £330m. Gamma’s share price currently stands at 1,188 on the London Stock Exchange, higher than the Epiris offer, which suggests the telco’s shareholders are also expecting an improved bid

O2 Business, the enterprise services unit of Virgin Media O2, claims to be the first UK mobile network operator to offer direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity to business customers with the launch of O2 Satellite for Business. With one in five registered businesses in England (more than 526,000) based in rural areas, O2 Business is hoping the service, which enables users to remain connected and use some mobile services beyond the reach of terrestrial radio access network (RAN) infrastructure, will appeal to enterprise customers. VMO2 launched its D2D service to consumer users in February this year in partnership with Starlink Mobile. 

Citymesh Group has secured debt financing of €70m from infrastructure investment giant Apollo Global Management to support the continued build-out of Digi Belgium, the joint venture challenger telco backed by Citymesh Group and Digi Communications. The funding takes Citymesh’s stake in the venture to 34% (from 23% previously). “The investment helps cement Digi Belgium’s position as the country’s fourth national challenger operator, and it reflects Citymesh’s deep conviction that Digi Belgium will disrupt the Belgian telecom market in a scalable and sustainable way,” noted Citymesh in this announcement. It added: “Since launching in December 2024, Digi Belgium has gained over 120,000 mobile customers and passed close to 200,000 premises with fibre – progressing towards its long-term targets of 2 million homes passed [with fibre] and a nationwide mobile network coverage by 2030.” Digi Belgium competes with Proximus, Telenet (now part of Liberty Global’s regional telco, Ziggo Group) and Orange Belgium. 

– The staff, TelecomTV