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Featured Story HPE claims to have beaten Cisco to a proper self-driving network Marvis, described as an AI brain, now unifies all the various parts of the Aruba and Mist portfolios to create a truly autonomous system, says HPE. Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: VMO2's Schüler slams BT's 'backroom deal' with TalkTalk; KPN and Telenor's Q3s; Reiter set to leave Vodafone. Ukraine's Kyivstar has agreed to acquire cloud infrastructure provider GigaCloud for around $50 million to boost its technology offer to large businesses and public institutions. According to Kyivstar, GigaCloud brings with it a strong enterprise customer base, cloud knowhow and infrastructure spanning Ukraine and Poland. The deal also strengthens Kyivstar's hand in "sovereign" cloud infrastructure and, says the operator, creates a platform to support the development of AI-enabled services. Based on unaudited accounts, GigaCloud generated approximately $14 million in revenue and $4.7 million in EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) in 2025. (See Eurobites: Kyivstar plans 'sovereign' data center in Ukraine.) The CEO of UK converged operator Virgin Media O2, Lutz Schüler, says what he calls BT's "backroom deal" to buy failed fixed-line provider TalkTalk must be properly scrutinized. In a no-punches-pulled blog, Schüler demands that the Competition and Markets Authority should be allowed to conduct an in-depth review of the deal – a deal Schüler feels has been effectively nodded through by the government. "BT has dominated the wholesale market for decades and is the largest retail broadband provider in the country," writes Schüler. "Should this acquisition of one of its closest competitors be waved through, BT's market power will be further enhanced with less incentive to compete." When, earlier this month, BT announced it had bought TalkTalk, it claimed it was motivated by fears over what consequences the company's potential collapse might have for vulnerable customers and key public services after no buyer emerged. (See Eurobites: BT seeks 'continuity of service' with £400M TalkTalk purchase.) Dutch operator KPN saw third-quarter adjusted revenues grow 2.9% year-over-year to €1.49 billion (US$1.65 billion), though adjusted EBITDAaL (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, after leases) was down 0.1% to €671 million ($747 million). In the consumer sector, postpaid mobile subscriber numbers rose by 24,000 during the quarter. Broadband subscriber numbers, however, fell by 7,000 overall. KPN confirmed its full-year 2026 outlook, with service revenue growth of approximately 1.5%, adjusted EBITDAaL of approximately €2.67 billion ($2.97 billion) and capex of approximately €1.25 billion ($1.39 billion). Service revenues at Telenor grew by 1.6% to 14.8 billion Norwegian kroner ($1.6 billion) in the third quarter, with EBITDA up 1.5% to NOK8.8 billion ($940 million). During the quarter, Telenor's subsidiary KNL consolidated its position in secure defense communications by signing a framework agreement enabling the Danish Armed Forces to procure KNL's ultra-secure high-frequency communication systems. Joakim Reiter is to leave Vodafone after more than nine years with the company, most recently as its chief external and corporate affairs officer. In the new year, he will take up his new role as the secretary general of the European Roundtable for Industry. Before joining Vodafone, Reiter was the assistant secretary general of the United Nations. Europe's sovereign AI and cloud initiatives are not yet mature enough to be adopted by major banks, according to the boss of a Swiss banking software company. As Reuters reports (paywall may apply), Temenos CEO Takis Spiliopoulos said that such offerings will take time to develop into platforms that large banks could use, despite Europe's desire to move away from mainly US-based hyperscalers for its cloud needs. London-based RETN is expanding its presence in the Balkans with a new point of presence at Neterra's SDC data center in Sofia, Bulgaria. Neterra is now connected to RETN's international backbone, gaining access to RETN's network across Europe and Asia. Read more about: Europe
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