Two weeks into lockdown to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, Indian villages are witnessing a surge in data consumption. Local news media reports a data consumption jump of nearly 100 percent in rural India after the lockdown was announced by the Central government.

Corona crisis is gripping the world. As part of efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, Orange has allocated an additional three million euros to the Orange Foundation. This special fund will be used to support a variety of healthcare and preventive initiatives, and to provide essential supplies in all countries in which the Group is present. The decision to allocate this additional funding was taken by Orange’s Executive Committee and supplements contributions of five million euros already committed by Orange Foundations in countries in Europe and the Africa and Middle East region.

Microsoft has announced an agreement to acquire Affirmed Networks to deliver new opportunities for a global 5G ecosystem. With Affirmed Networks in the team, Microsoft will be able to offer new and innovative solutions tailored to the unique needs of operators, including managing their network workloads in the cloud.

Japan-based Furukawa Electric has developed a new Pump Source FRSi4XX Series for Forward Raman Amplifiers. The Pump Source, as the company reveals in a press release, achieves Higher Speeds and Long-Distance Transmission.

BT and Computacenter today announce that they have entered exclusive negotiations on the acquisition of BT’s domestic operations in France by Computacenter. The transaction is subject to consultations with works councils over a minimum period of two months. This process will adhere to any additional French Government guidance issued as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It will then be subject to regulatory approval, with completion expected to take place by the end of 2020.

Orange has proceeded to land Google’s transatlantic Dunant cable in Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez, in the Vendée region of France, first and terrestrial stage of the laying of this cable on 13th March 2020.