(Source: Vladimir Gerasimov/Alamy Stock Photo)

As Donald Trump and Elon Musk play deadly games with Starlink, Nokia and Finnish satellite company Iceye have signed a letter of intent with the Ukrainian military to develop "sovereign" satellite connectivity that the beleaguered country's armed forces can rely on. Iceye owns what it claims is the world's largest and most advanced SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite constellation. Earlier this month, Nokia and Iceye announced a partnership to develop secure, sovereign low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications systems for governments. The hope is that such systems will give nations "ownership" and control of satellites, rather than being subject to the whims of, say, for argument's sake, sociopathic billionaires or criminally insane presidents. (See Eurobites: Nokia and Iceye plan 'sovereign satellite' comms.)

UK gets tough on subsea cable damage

In the face of growing threats to critical undersea infrastructure from sovereign states, the UK government is proposing tougher new punishments for those who deliberately damage subsea cables and pipelines. Under the proposals, those caught damaging cables and pipelines carrying data, electricity and gas could face lengthy prison sentences and unlimited fines. Subsea telecom companies would be required to comply with new security and resilience obligations, including stricter requirements to identify and manage risks to their networks. (See Eurobites: Finland plans to curb subsea cable carnage.)

Sunrise rows back on job cuts

Swiss operator Sunrise has concluded its consultation process on a proposed restructuring, reducing the number of redundancies involved in the "multi-year transformation" from 450 to 358. Sunrise claims a "strong social plan" has been put in place to support those affected, with expanded benefits, particularly for older employees. (See Eurobites: Job-cuts shadow looms over Sunrise employees.)

Telia surprises itself in Q3

Adjusted third-quarter EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) at Sweden's Telia increased 2.9% year-over-year in like-for-like terms to 8.87 billion Swedish kronor (US$890 million), on revenue that was up 4.5% to SEK21.30 billion ($2.14 billion). CEO Patrik Hofbauer admitted the results were "somewhat better than anticipated," attributing the pleasant surprise to "solid service revenue growth and lower operational expenses." The full-year EBITDA outlook has been upgraded slightly, from around 3% to 3-4%. Earlier this month Telia announced it was planning to cut around 900 jobs by the end of the year as part of what it called a "localization" drive targeting SEK1 billion ($100 million) in annual gross savings. (See Eurobites: Telia wields jobs axe again.)

Telefónica brings quantum to Madrid

Telefónica has been regularly dabbling in the mysterious world of quantum technology in recent years – in January 2025, it signed a collaboration agreement with IBM to develop security technology robust enough to withstand the potential threat posed by future quantum computers powerful enough to crack the current cryptography. Now it's teamed up with IQM Quantum Computers to deploy an actual hulking-great quantum computer for research purposes in the Madrid region of Spain. The IQM Spark computer will be installed at the Technical University of Madrid before the end of the year. (See European telcos prepare for quantum hackers.)

Openreach helps out with leak detection

In the UK, Portsmouth Water has partnered with Lightsonic to roll out leak-detection technology across part of its network using Openreach's fiber infrastructure. The technology will use fiber optic cables that run alongside the company's water pipes to detect the sound of leaks, helping to identify and repair leaks more quickly as the winter season approaches in earnest. Lightsonic's technology uses distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) to effectively transform existing fiber cables into a continuous sensing network.

Two years ago today…

Eurobites reported that UK operator BT had switched on its first "self-powering" mobile site, which, said the operator, is able to generate around 70% of its energy needs through on-site solar panels and a wind turbine.