News In Brief: Orange, BT, Greenpeace, Youku.com, China Telecom, EC

Orange has launched a new mobile apps testing scheme for its App Store, to speed development and marketing of mobile content. The Partner Connect program offers a 70:30 revenue split, and initially covers Android apps, with Java and BlackBerry to follow in 1Q11.
 
The Netherlands will become one of BT’s main European data hubs in 2011, when a new, eco-friendly, data center comes on stream. The site will play a key role in serving the telco’s cloud-based Virtual Data Centre customers, following expansion of the service into Benelux markets.
 
Environmental campaign group Greenpeace has ranked Ericsson number two on its Cool IT Leaderboard, which rates firm’s efforts to cut their energy footprint and produce technologies that reduce emissions.
 
Chinese video site Youku.com made the biggest IPO gain of any US stock in five years, surging 160% to $33.44 (€25.21) in its Nasdaq debut.
 
China Telecom, Huawei and optical component vendor Corning have completed a trial of 100Gbps ultra long haul WDM transmission in China, claiming a new record distance of 3,000km using terrestrial fiber.
 
The European Commission has opened a consultation over further changes to roaming rates to help reach its goal of near-zero difference between national tariffs by 2015.