News 

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to regulatory approval

Equinix has announced it will acquire BT Group’s datacentre business in Ireland for €59 million. The deal includes two datacentres in Dublin, located in CityWest and Ballycoolin, covering a total of 150,000 square feet.

This acquisition follows BT’s strategic review of its international operations and is part of the company’s shift toward an asset-light model. By stepping away from owning and operating datacentres, BT aims to focus more on its core strengths in cloud, networking, and security, while partnering with global companies like Equinix to deliver scalable datacentre services to its customers.   

Shay Walsh, Managing Director of BT Ireland, explained that this deal marks an exciting new phase for the company’s datacentre business in Ireland. “This announcement with Equinix marks an exciting new chapter for our datacentre business in Ireland. The deal builds on our existing successful partnership with Equinix and ensures that customers will benefit from top-tier datacentre services nationally and globally, allowing BT to specialise in our core strengths in cloud, networking, and security,” he said in a press release. 

Equinix a digital infrastructure company, has a long-established presence in Ireland. With this acquisition, Equinix will strengthen its position in the Irish market, offering customers more robust interconnection services through its vast global platform.  

“This acquisition of assets from our existing facility enables us to continue to offer exceptional interconnection services from our unique global platform, augmenting the €35 million annual contribution to national economic output arising from Equinix’s direct and indirect spend, measured in 2022,” added Peter Lantry, Managing Director of Equinix Ireland. 

In the coming months, Equinix will work closely with BT to ensure a smooth transition of the datacentres, with minimal disruption for customers. The two facilities will soon be fully integrated into Equinix’s global network. 

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news direct to your inbox from Total Telecom 

Also in the news:
Part 1: Some US broadband industry predictions as we approach 2025
Part 2: More US broadband predictions as we approach 2025
Europe is the top target for hacktivists, Orange Cyberdefense report reveals 

Contributed Article 

This month, at the Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit 18th edition in Dubai, the world’s first 5G-A region in the mobile AI era was launched. Under the theme ‘Global. Regional. Digital.’ the Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit spotlit the industry’s main trends, including 5G, cloud, data centers, and digitilisation

The launch followed a panel discussion, in which a group of ten industry professionals gathered to discuss the challenges and opportunities in advancing 5G technology in the Middle East. Key points included the need for cross-industry collaboration, open APIs, and spectrum utilisation.  

The panelists included: 

Fayez Abu Awad, Policy Director, MENA, GSMA 

Khalid Al Awadi, Manager, Broadcasting and Space Services, TDRA UAE 

Hasan Alshemeili, Head of Technology Planning, du 

Dr. Ayman Elnashar, VP of Technology Strategy, Architecture & Innovation, e& 

Ramy Boctor, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone Qatar 

Stelios Savvides, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone Oman 

Hicham Siblini, Chief Technology and Infrastructure Officer, Ooredoo Qatar 

Allen Tang, President of ICT Marketing & Solution Sales Dept, Huawei MECA 

Zoran Lazarevic, Chief Technology Officer, Ericsson MEA 

Mohamed Samir, VP Middle East Market, Nokia 

Etisalat and du highlighted their 5G network coverage and speed achievements, with Etisalat covering 99% outdoor populated areas. The discussion emphasised the importance of AI in network management and the potential for 5G to enhance digital transformation across different sectors. 

“We believe that 5G advanced influence in the Middle East will help accelerate digital transformations by enhancing connectivity across different sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation,” said Hasan Alshemeili, Head of Technology Planning at du. 

“When moving to 5G Advanced, we are more in need of cross industry collaboration, an aspect which the GSMA is actively working on,” said Fayez Abu Awad, Policy Director, MENA at the GSMA. 

5G Advanced, also known as 5.5G, is the next evolution of 5G technology, designed to enhance current networks while paving the way for 6G. This upgrade will deliver even faster speeds, lower latency, and improved coverage, making it ideal for applications like connected vehicles, industrial automation, and immersive technologies such as AR and VR. By integrating AI, 5G Advanced networks will be smarter and more efficient, capable of handling more devices and optimising performance in real time. 

The Middle East is already becoming a world leader in 5G-A, having become a global leader in 5G already. According to the GSMA, 5G networks now cover 75% or more of the population in the GCC states, whilst also increasing investment in 5G standalone (SA) and 5G-Advanced use cases. 

For example, earlier this month, UAE-based operator du launched its 5G-Advanced Commercial Innovation Centre in Dubai, aimed at exploring how the capabilities of 5G-A can create innovative new services.  

The Innovation Centre will work to develop new services in the consumer, home, and enterprise segments, leveraging 5G-A’s improved capabilities over traditional 5G, including speeds of up to 5Gbps, lower latency, and greater capacities. 

The event finished with the launch ceremony celebrating the joint efforts of regulators, operators, and vendors, and in positioning the Middle East as a global leader in 5G-Advanced technology. 

The launch “symbolises a new era of connectivity and innovation. Everyone here’s presence underscores the collaboration and technological strides that have made this milestone possible.” 

Looking ahead, the launch of the world’s first 5G-A region marks a major step forward in next-generation connectivity. With the Middle East leading the way, the focus will now be on expanding 5G-Advanced applications, from smart cities to immersive digital experiences. 

The milestone highlights the power of collaboration between regulators, operators, and vendors. As investments and innovation continue to grow, the region is set to play a key role in shaping the future of mobile AI and advanced connectivity worldwide. 

Viewpoints

The broadband industry is poised for significant change as we move forward into 2025

By: Bob Bartz, VP of Engineering at CHR Solutions

To read the Part 2 of this viewpoint series, click here.

New technologies and evolving challenges are driving innovation and adaptation with respect to how we expand connectivity, especially in rural and underserved areas. As a result, and based on my three decades of experience in telecommunications and broadband engineering, I thought I’d share some key predictions for the year ahead — from the rise of satellite solutions like Starlink to advancements in engineering tools and the ongoing challenges of permitting.

1. Starlink’s expanding influence on wireline broadband

We’re seeing Starlink make more of an impact on the broadband landscape than initially expected, particularly in rural and remote areas. The company’s constellation of low-earth orbit satellites has become a viable alternative to traditional wireline builds, which have become cost-prohibitive. Starlink’s reach into underserved regions will not only change the way we think about connectivity but also how federal funding is allocated.

The implications here are profound. As Starlink continues to evolve, government agencies may begin re-evaluating their funding priorities to better support a hybrid broadband model. By blending satellite and wireline solutions, broadband needs can be addressed in a more balanced way, focusing resources where they’re most effective. I anticipate that in 2025, federal funding will increasingly accommodate this hybrid approach, thus reshaping the landscape of rural broadband builds.

2. Enhanced imagery: The next frontier in broadband engineering

The role of imagery in broadband engineering is evolving, with enhanced and high-resolution imagery becoming a crucial tool for efficient project planning and risk mitigation. In the past, we relied on imagery mainly for initial assessments and mapping, but I see it becoming indispensable for real-time decision-making.

Drone technology, in particular, is a game-changer – even in this space. Drones provide high-resolution aerial images that allow engineers to capture data about terrain and vegetation with exceptional precision. With the ability to conduct aerial surveys over hard-to-access or expansive areas, drones eliminate the need for time-intensive, costly ground inspections, speeding up the design process and minimizing risks from changing environmental factors.

This combination of enhanced imagery and drone technology allows us to address challenges more efficiently, as it reduces the need for repeat site visits and cuts down on project costs, all of which accelerates the deployment of broadband infrastructure. In 2025, I anticipate that drones and high-quality imagery needs to be standard tools in broadband engineering, helping us streamline projects and build networks that are resilient to environmental changes.

3. The permitting process: A rising challenge

In my view, permitting is now the second biggest roadblock to broadband deployment, right behind funding. Submitting a permit application is usually just the start of a long, complex process. The real challenges come with tracking its status, adjusting designs to accommodate permit requirements, and managing communications with permitting authorities—all of which can drive up costs for providers.

This ongoing permitting process also adds significant overhead, particularly for projects where multiple layers of bureaucracy can lead to delays. In 2025, I believe we’ll see a renewed push to simplify permitting processes at local, state, and federal levels. However, until those reforms take effect, providers should prepare for the increased time and costs associated with permit management and compliance.

Left to right: By: Bob Bartz, VP of Engineering and By: Jason Malmquist, EVP, Head of Software and IT Services Business at CHR Solutions.

Moving forward

The broadband industry is on the brink of transformative change. Starlink’s expanding role, the rise of enhanced imagery in engineering, and the complex permitting landscape each bring their own challenges and opportunities.

By leveraging these insights, broadband providers can make informed decisions, overcome obstacles, and help bridge the digital divide. We’re on a path toward broader, more accessible connectivity, and 2025 promises to be a year where we see meaningful strides in that direction.

Click here to read the Part 2 of this viewpoint series, by Jason Malmquist, EVP and head of software and IT services business at CHR Solutions.

Join the conversation about connectivity in North America. Click here to learn more about Broadband Communities Summit 2025.

Viewpoint

[Beijing, China, December 16, 2024] Huawei announced today that Forrester, an international authoritative organization, recently released The Zero Trust Edge Solutions Landscape, Q4 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”), which provides an overview of zero trust edge solutions (secure access service edge or SASE technologies like SD-WAN, ZTNA, SWG) of 25 vendors. This report provides an authoritative definition and overview of the zero trust edge market. Huawei has been named among notable vendors for two consecutive years.

The report analyzes the business value of SASE and covers the market maturity, technologies, and application scenarios of SASE solutions provided by different vendors. The report allows readers to identify potential partners who are the right fit for their organizations to implement a zero trust edge security model.

Huawei Xinghe Intelligent SASE Solution Building an Intelligent Security Protection System for Enterprises

In an increasingly complex network security environment, zero trust architecture has become the key for enterprises to ensure business continuity and cope with uncertainty. Huawei is one of the world’s first mainstream vendors to develop SASE solutions and has won multiple international security awards.

As more services are moved to clouds and more people are opting for hybrid working, enterprise branch networks face tremendous security challenges, and network security incidents occur one after another around the world. To address these challenges, Huawei’s Xinghe Intelligent SASE Solution provides a network security system featuring intelligent detection, collaboration, and integration by leveraging the cloud-network-edge-endpoint integrated architecture.

Intelligent detection: Huawei has made a breakthrough in the lightweight file emulator technology, which can unpack files in milliseconds. The lightweight Site AI model on the local gateway and 18 small AI models on the cloud are used to detect unknown threats, improving the detection rate to 95%.

Intelligent collaboration: Huawei’s HiSec Endpoint uses the innovative threat source tracing graph engine to accurately identify ransomware, achieving a 100% ransomware detection rate. With endpoint-network-storage collaboration, once ransomware is detected on one node, the information is synchronized to all network and storage devices for them to take protective measures.

Intelligent integration: Huawei’s unified security analysis platform has over 8000 inference rules and automatically delivers matching rules to automatically handle 99% of security events on the entire network in seconds. Branches do not need to assign dedicated maintenance personnel, improving operation efficiency by 100 times.

Huawei’s Xinghe Intelligent SASE Solution has been recognized by governments and enterprises in the finance, energy, transportation, education, healthcare, and other sectors around the world, helping them deploy zero trust architecture and build a next-generation security system for future business development.

Looking ahead, Huawei will continue to invest in the research and development of new technologies based on customer needs and help customers build a secure zero-trust network environment in the intelligent era.

The Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency recently revealed that their £114m (state aid) Project Gigabit broadband roll-out contract for Norfolk (Lot 7), which was won by CityFibre in July 2023 (here), has seen its scope expanded. As a result the public funding has been boosted to £128.8m and the targeted premises for intervention has risen from 62,282 to 75,587.

The first homes under CityFibre’s state aid supported build contract for Norfolk started to go live on their new 10Gbps capable full fibre (FTTP) network, in the rural communities of Newton St Faith and Horsham St Faith, a few short months ago (here). The connections marked an important milestone for CityFibre’s contract, which originally looked like this:

CityFibre’s Norfolk contract (Lot 7) – Original

• £114m Project Gigabit investment (state aid)
• £43m CityFibre investment (commercial)
• Connections for 62,200 rural homes and businesses (state aid supported part)
• Locations including Buxton, Castle Acre and Horning will be among those to benefit.
• A further 8,000 premises in the north west of the county are being reviewed for inclusion subject to survey in the next six months.
• Survey work completed anticipated December 2023
• Build commences anticipated January 2024
• Build completion anticipated December 2028

The reference to a further 8,000 premises being reviewed for possible future inclusion into the project is relevant, although if confirmed this would have only taken them to slightly over 70k premises. The good news is that BDUK have now identified even more eligible premises that could be added to the Norfolk Intervention Area, increasing the total contract scope to 75,587 premises (i.e. greater coverage than planned). The additional postcodes can be found here.

The changes seem to reflect, at least in part, reductions to the plans of commercial operators, which have led to an increased need for intervention in the areas of Hemsby, Winterton, Ormsby St Margaret, Loddon and Harleston. At the same time, there have also been increases in commercial operator coverage plans, which has led to a smaller reduction of public investment requirement in the areas of Poringland and Framlingham Earl.

Neil Madle, Partnership Manager at CityFibre, told ISPreview:

“Our Project Gigabit rollout of full fibre broadband to hard-to-reach communities in Norfolk is ongoing, having already connected the first customers to our network earlier this year. We welcome the increased scope from BDUK which will allow us to extend our reach across Norfolk, bringing the benefits of enhanced digital connectivity to even more residents.”

Changes to existing contracts can occur due to various reasons, such as operators finding certain areas to be more expensive (or possibly cheaper) to build than originally expected, as well as greater than expected coverage of commercial networks (i.e. reducing the need for state aid builds) or knock-on impacts from neighbouring build contracts in other LOTS etc. Suffice to say that such changes are not unusual, and contracts often need to adapt.

The Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband roll-out scheme ultimately aims to help extend 1Gbps (download) capable networks to reach “nationwide” coverage (c. 99%of the UK) by 2030. This is focused on upgrading the final 10-20% of hardest to reach premises (usually those in rural areas), with the other 80-90% being largely done by commercial deployments (current UK coverage is already over 85%).

Infracapital-backed network provider Fibrus, which is busy rolling out their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network across rural parts of Cumbria (England) and Northern Ireland, has published a limited preview of their latest financial results for 2024 – showing a 58% increase in revenues and a 143% increase in connected customers.

The operator, which has already built their full fibre network to cover 400,000 UK premises (up from 375k on 26th Aug 2024), has previously claimed to be “fully funded to complete” their roll-out plan for 500,000 premises in the near future (here) and last month passed the 100,000th customer mark (here).

At the time of writing we couldn’t find a full copy of Fibrus’ latest 2024 accounts on Companies House (here or here) and the provider didn’t include one alongside today’s announcement. But they have provided a summary that covers some selected highlights from their upcoming release.

Fibrus’ 2024 Accounts

• 58% increase in revenues to £17.6m from £11.1m; the company experienced a record breaking year for customer growth reporting a 143% increase in connected customers, which grew by 46k during the year from 32k to 78k and have passed the 100k milestone subsequent to year end.  Customer penetration now exceeds 25%.
• 64% increase in gross profit to £6.1m from £3.8m as revenue growth exceeded the increase in direct costs.
• EBITDA loss increased to £7.2m from £3.2m due to the increased investment in customer acquisition and maintaining our growing customer base.  The company expects to be at EBITDA breakeven during the current financial year.
• Capital invested in infrastructure for the year was £153m from £142m, the number of premises which can connect to the Fibrus network increased by 100k during the year to 353k at 31 March 2024 and have subsequently passed the 400k milestone.  Our total investment in fixed assets stood at £412m at 31 March 2024.
• The investment in infrastructure has been financed by an increase of £70m in third party debt and £41m in funding from shareholders.
• Subsequent to the end of the financial year the Company secured a £100m extension to its senior debt facility which means it is now fully funded to complete its planned build programme.

The provider was also ranked as the fastest growing company in Northern Ireland earlier this month in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 leaderboard. The company was elsewhere placed as second-fastest growing company on the island of Ireland.

Colin Hutchinson, Chief Financial Officer at Fibrus, said:

“Our financial results reflect the significant growth in our customer base driven by the quality of the service we are delivering to our customers, evidenced by our Trustpilot score.”

This year we passed the milestone of connecting 100K customers, and we’re nearing the end of our first Government funded project, Project Stratum, which is being delivered on time and within budget.”

The Fibrus network has made a significant contribution to regional connectivity, more so than ever over the past year, and this set of financial results are a marker of that.”

Transforming the digital infrastructure and changing the lives of the people in our communities is our number one priority and we are proud to play such a key role in democratizing broadband access for thousands of people living and working in the areas we serve.

We have big ambitions for the year ahead and are looking forward to continuing this positive trajectory for the company, our employees and our shareholders and investors, on our journey to reach half a million homes.”

However, while Fibrus have been making good progress, it’s worth remembering that they did also suffer a slowdown in build earlier this year and pulled out of the state aid supported Project Gigabit contract for the North East of England (here and here). Like all network operators, they’ve had to adapt to a difficult and highly competitive environment, where build costs and interest rates have both been on the rise.

Network operator Openreach (BT) has today updated the build plan for the ongoing roll-out of their 1.8Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP technology, which is the first update since May 2024 when they added 517 new UK locations to their deployment. But this update mostly just reflects changes and progress with their existing locations.

Just to recap. Openreach are currently investing up to £15bn to expand the coverage of their new full fibre network to reach 25 million UK premises by December 2026 (here), which includes around 6.2m premises in rural or semi-rural areas. On top of that, they’ve also expressed an ambition to reach up to 30m by 2030, which will partly depend upon a favourable outcome from Ofcom’s next Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR).

The last update to Openreach’s build plan, which occurred in May 2024 (here), was particularly significant because the locations it introduced effectively completed their roll-out plan to 2026 (i.e. the 25 million premises target). Overall, this meant that around 3,500 towns, cities, boroughs, villages and hamlets were now included in the build programme, and we aren’t likely to see any major additions until the direction of Ofcom’s TAR becomes clearer.

Suffice to say that today’s December 2024 Build Plan (and map) seem to largely represent a progress update for the locations they’ve already announced. Unfortunately, the format adopted by the operator makes it difficult to identify any new additions to the tentative list, or even removals, although we have asked Openreach if they can clarify such changes and will report back when they respond.

However, ISPreview has previously been told that this update might include locations for their recent Project Gigabit contract wins (here), which we’ll recap below. Both contracts – worth £288 million (state aid) – aim to connect approximately 96,600 extra homes and businesses in hard-to-reach parts of England and Wales. 

Openreach’s August 2024 Project Gigabit Contract Awards

Type C (Call Off 1): Lancashire (Lot 9C), North Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire (Lot 30C) , West and Mid -Surrey (Lot 22C), Staffordshire (Lot 19C), West Berkshire (Lot 13C) and Hertfordshire (Lot 26C)
Premises: 54,300
Value: £149.7m

Type C (Call Off 2): West and North Devon (Lot 6C) , North West Wales, Mid Wales (Lot 43C) and South East Wales (Lot 44C)
Premises: 42,200
Value: £139.1m

The new service, once live, can be ordered via various ISPs, such as BT, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Vodafone and many more (Openreach FTTP ISP Choices) – it is not currently an automatic upgrade, although some ISPs have started to do free automatic upgrades as older copper-based services and lines are slowly withdrawn.

Network operator Openreach (BT) has today updated the build plan for the ongoing roll-out of their 1.8Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP technology, which is the first update since May 2024 when they added 517 new UK locations to their deployment. But this update mostly just reflects changes and progress with their existing locations.

Just to recap. Openreach are currently investing up to £15bn to expand the coverage of their new full fibre network to reach 25 million UK premises by December 2026 (here), which includes around 6.2m premises in rural or semi-rural areas. On top of that, they’ve also expressed an ambition to reach up to 30m by 2030, which will partly depend upon a favourable outcome from Ofcom’s next Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR).

The last update to Openreach’s build plan, which occurred in May 2024 (here), was particularly significant because the locations it introduced effectively completed their roll-out plan to 2026 (i.e. the 25 million premises target). Overall, this meant that around 3,500 towns, cities, boroughs, villages and hamlets were now included in the build programme, and we aren’t likely to see any major additions until the direction of Ofcom’s TAR becomes clearer.

Suffice to say that today’s December 2024 Build Plan (and map) seem to largely represent a progress update for the locations they’ve already announced. Unfortunately, the format adopted by the operator makes it difficult to identify any new additions to the tentative list, or even removals, although we have asked Openreach if they can clarify such changes and will report back when they respond.

However, ISPreview has previously been told that this update might include locations for their recent Project Gigabit contract wins (here), which we’ll recap below. Both contracts – worth £288 million (state aid) – aim to connect approximately 96,600 extra homes and businesses in hard-to-reach parts of England and Wales. 

Openreach’s August 2024 Project Gigabit Contract Awards

Type C (Call Off 1): Lancashire (Lot 9C), North Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire (Lot 30C) , West and Mid -Surrey (Lot 22C), Staffordshire (Lot 19C), West Berkshire (Lot 13C) and Hertfordshire (Lot 26C)
Premises: 54,300
Value: £149.7m

Type C (Call Off 2): West and North Devon (Lot 6C) , North West Wales, Mid Wales (Lot 43C) and South East Wales (Lot 44C)
Premises: 42,200
Value: £139.1m

The new service, once live, can be ordered via various ISPs, such as BT, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Vodafone and many more (Openreach FTTP ISP Choices) – it is not currently an automatic upgrade, although some ISPs have started to do free automatic upgrades as older copper-based services and lines are slowly withdrawn.

The Publishers Association (PA) has convinced the High Court to force most of the major broadband ISPs in the United Kingdom (BT, Sky Broadband, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, EE and Plusnet) to extend and expand their existing block of websites, focusing on those that were found to facilitate internet copyright infringement (piracy) of books and journals.

At present such blocking orders, which in the UK flow from Section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (CDPA), aren’t cheap to bring but have over the past 15 years or so become very common. Hundreds of websites have been blocked through this approach (thousands if you include their many proxies and mirrors), which usually include file sharing (P2P / Torrent), streaming sites, Sci-Hub and those that sell counterfeit goods etc.

In this case the new order will continue the blocking of sites first blocked in 2015, but the main change this time is that it will also be extended to ‘copycat’ (mirror) domains (i.e. sites linked to the original targets and a number of newly added domains) and some new domains (e.g. Library Genesis, Z-Library and Anna’s Archive). Some previous blocking orders for different sites / industries have already introduced similar extensions.

The PA claims that the sites and networks, which are the subject of this order, infringe copyright on a “massive scale“. For example, the Publishers Association has identified through its Copyright Infringement Portal over 1 million copyright infringing book and journal URLs on Anna’s Archive domains. In addition, rights holders have requested delisting from Google search results of over 280 million URLs which link to “copyright-protected content made available without permission” on Anna’s Archive domains.

A Publishers Association spokesperson said:

“Expanding digital markets and technological advancement inevitably result in growth in levels of online infringement. Our members need to be able to protect authors’ works from such illegal activity. Authors need to be compensated for their work and publishers and booksellers need to be able to continue to innovate and invest in new talent and material.

We are pleased that the High Court has granted this extended order and, in doing so, recognised the damage inflicted on UK authors, publishers and booksellers by online piracy. This could not be more important than at a time when the internet is being scraped and books and journals used at scale unlawfully in the training of LLMs without compensation or acknowledgment.”

Blocking orders like this do not come cheap and some years ago Wiggin LLP revealed that an unopposed application tends to cost around £14,000 per site. On top of that the additional admin required to maintain the block and keep ISPs up-to-date with related IP changes and new URLs (Proxy Servers) comes to around £3,600 per site per year. But those figures will have changed a lot since then.

Meanwhile ISPs also incur on-going costs as part of their work to introduce the blocks. Some years ago EE suggested that a “near four figure sum” was involved with each update, while Sky Broadband hinted at a “mid three figure sum” and then roughly half that for future updates. Similarly Virgin Media pegged their own annual costs at a “low five figure sum“.

On the flip side such blocks don’t always stop the targeted websites and indeed they may even help to advertise their existence. Naturally, those who actively engage in internet piracy will easily be able to circumvent the restrictions by using all sorts of different approaches. Otherwise, the ISPs now have 10 working days from the notification to block customer from accessing the sites. The ISPs are not themselves accused of any wrongdoing.

News 

Orange Cyberdefense, cybersecurity arm of Orange Group, has published its Security Navigator 2025 report, a strategic guide to understanding changes in the cyber threat landscape 

Now in its sixth year of publication, this year’s report reveals a stark increase in politically motivated cyberattacks across Europe since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.  

At a launch event this month in London, Char van der Walt, Head of Security Research at Orange Cyberdefence, and Sara Puigvert, EVP of Global Operations, discussed one of the report’s themes: the geopolitical hacktivist threat to Europe.  

A hacktivist is defined as a hacker who engages in attacks on computer systems based on political motivations but is not state sponsored. 

The report focuses on one (unnamed) pro-Russian hacktivist group, which has conducted over 6,600 attacks since 2022. A staggering 96% of these incidents were directed at European countries such as Ukraine, Czech Republic, Spain, Poland, and Italy. 

These groups have shifted focus to “cognitive warfare,” aiming to manipulate public trust and perception rather than solely causing technical disruptions. Whilst not directed by the Russian government, the groups are often what van der Walt described as ‘government tolerated’, using the Russian state playbook of societal disruption to portray the West, NATO, an those supporting Ukraine as morally degenerate.  

By attacking election systems and other symbolic institutions, these hackers seek to spread disharmony and discontent, undermining the fabric of trust that our societies are built on. A lot is unknown about such groups, but typically their activities are triggered by geopolitical events, such as European elections, protests, or the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.  

Hacktivist activity is also extending to operational technology (OT) systems, which are critical for infrastructure in sectors like energy, manufacturing, and healthcare. Nearly 23% of OT-targeted attacks in 2024 were linked to hacktivists, and 46% of these incidents resulted in the manipulation of control processes. The utilities sector has been particularly affected, underscoring the vulnerabilities of essential infrastructure. 

AI continues to play a key role in the ongoing transformation of the cybersecurity sector, being used both defensively and offensively. Threat actors are using GenAI to produce realistic phishing attacks and deepfakes, while cybersecurity teams are deploying AI-driven tools to detect advanced threats faster. However, vulnerabilities within GenAI systems pose additional risks, the report warns. 

In addition to the report, Orange Cyberdefense has also released its Cybercrime Now tool, a free to use interactive platform to provide education on the criminal ecosystem of hacktivists. Find it here. 

Join us to discuss the topic of Cybersecurity at next year’s Submarine Networks EMEA, 18-19 February in London. Get discounted tickets here! 

Also in the news:
TalkTalk to cut hundreds more jobs in effort to save £120m
Heavily delayed ADC submarine cable system finally goes live in East Asia
World Communication Awards shine a light on AI Excellence