• Intel takes a stake in Jio Platforms
• UK government, Bharti take stake in OneWeb 
• Vodafone shows off standalone 5G
• Trade bodies pitch Open RAN to Europe 

Intel’s investment in Jio Platforms and an investment by the UK government and Bharti Global in bankrupt satellite company OneWeb take pride of place in this news roundup.

• Intel is the latest company to sink some cash into India’s Jio Platforms, which counts the country’s largest mobile operator, Reliance Jio, as one of its assets. Intel Capital is taking a 0.39% stake in Jio Platforms for INR18.945 billion ($254 million), taking the total investments by external parties in Jio Platforms since April 22 to INR1,176 billion ($15.75 billion) for a combined 25.09% of the company. For the full list of the investors prior to Intel Capital, and the stakes they have taken, see this announcement made on June 19.
• It’s only gone and bloody done it! The UK government has committed a $500 million investment in bankrupt low-earth-orbit satellite company OneWeb as part of a funding partnership with Bharti Global. “The move signals the government’s ambition for the UK to be a pioneer in the research, development, manufacturing, and exploitation of novel satellite technologies,” the UK government says. “Pull the other one,” says TelecomTV. OneWeb says it will “resume operations as soon as possible.” Further analysis of why this doesn’t seem like the optimum use of public funds will be forthcoming…
• Vodafone is boasting that it’s the first operator in the UK to “showcase the next phase of 5G technology” with a rollout at Coventry University. “The new network, which uses what is known as ‘Standalone’ 5G technology, will be used to show the true benefits of 5G, including ultra-low latency, guaranteed speed performance, and the Internet of Things on a never-before-seen scale.,” stated the operator. Coventry University will use the new 5G network to “trial state-of-the-art virtual reality learning technologies to support training for student nurses and allied health professionals, as part of its ambition to be the leading university for 5G-enabled technology.”
• Industry bodies ETNO and the GSMA have issued a joint statement to note that “the European telecommunications industry stands ready to work with EU institutions, national governments and the broader stakeholders’ community to lift the Continent out of this recession,” and urging European Union institutions and national governments to support 5G and fibre rollouts. They also urge that “open and interoperable interfaces in the RAN” should be supported: “Initiatives such as Open RAN have the potential to support Europe’s multi-vendor approach, while reducing deployment costs, further strengthening the security of the equipment and unleash more network innovation,” they stated.
• Another day, another bumper crop of Ericsson announcements: The Swedish giant has provided the core and RAN technology for the launch of 5G services by Taiwanese operator Far EasTone, is working with TDC NET and Danish water solutions provider Grundfos to “explore the benefits of 5G dedicated network production connectivity,” and is upgrading the mobile core for UAE-based mobile satellite services provider Thuraya. Meanwhile, Vodafone Ireland is trialling Ericsson’s dynamic spectrum sharing technology as it seeks to speed up its rollout of 5G, reports The Irish Times.
• Cloud-oriented BSS vendor Optiva is having something of an unsettling summer. Recent days have witnessed a boardroom power struggle, a move organized by two major shareholders (EdgePoint Investment Group and Maple Rock Capital Partners) to buy out another major shareholders (ESW Capital), and the earlier-than-planned departure of CEO Danielle Royston, who had resigned and been due to leave in August. Independent director Robert Stabile is now in charge of sorting out the mess and appointing a new CEO pronto.
• An alliance of CEOs from leading Nordic businesses – including Sigve Brekke, President and CEO of the Telenor Group, and Allison Kirkby, President and CEO of Telia Company – have “presented their principles, commitments and asks towards the Nordic Council of Ministers in their joint effort to accelerate sustainability action on climate and diversity.”
• As part of a previously-announced shift of focus for its business units, Deutsche Telekom has announced that T-Systems is now focused on IT and digitization solutions and that its telecoms services operations have been transferred to Telekom Deutschland’s B2B unit.

- The staff, TelecomTV