Webwire: Eircom, O2 sharing deal; Du ends Etisalat monopoly

Irish operators Eircom and O2 have signed the first mobile network sharing deal in Ireland. The 10-year agreement will see the operators' equipment consolidated and a number of new sites built.

The UAE's Du has signed to provide fixed phone and broadband services to twofour54 and its partner companies, in a deal that will break Etisalat's monopoly on fixed-line services in Abu Dhabi.

Canada's Telus will build an LTE network starting in the nation's major cities from the second half of 2011, but has not specified whether it will conduct the rollout with existing 3G partner Bell Canada.

Two bidders have dropped out of the running to buy Poland's Polkomtel, which the owners are seeking to sell for over $5 billion.

A US district court judge has overturned the jury's award of $660 million to Mirror Worlds for winning its patent battle against Apple, stating the damages had not been correctly calculated.

Google, Facebook, eBay, video site Dailymotion and other web giants have filed a court challenge against the French government's plan to order web firms to retain users' personal data for a year.