MADRID (Reuters) - France Telecom and Vodafone have asked Spain's telecoms watchdog to convince Telefonica to enter into negotiations over granting them access to its infrastructure, which they need to roll out fast broadband. France Telecom and Vodafone announced in March they would team up to develop a fibre optic network that would bring superfast internet speeds to six million homes in Spain. But they need agreement from Telefonica to access connections into individual homes.

By Sinead Carew (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on the performance of its wireless business, which reined in costs without slowing growth. Verizon also ramped up the pressure on Vodafone Group Plc, which owns 45 percent of the Verizon Wireless unit. Verizon has been seeking to buy that stake and take full control of the top U.S. mobile company.

By Danilo Masoni MILAN (Reuters) - If debt-laden Telecom Italia SpA <TLIT.MI> wants to agree a tie-up with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd <0013.HK>, it may first have to sell its strategic fixed-line network to the state. Franco Bernabe, chairman of Italy's former telecoms monopoly, was tasked last week alongside four directors with looking into a deal that would make the Hong Kong-based group Telecom Italia's biggest shareholder.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom followed its three main rivals and revised its German mobile charges on Monday as the turf war intensifies Europe's biggest national market. KPN's E-Plus, Vodafone Germany and Telefonica Germany's O2 have already changed their prices as German consumers catch up with the rest of the continent by switching to smartphones from basic mobiles. Deutsche Telekom said it would offer customers who already own a mobile device a 20 percent discount and add free data access to all packages.