Low-cost mobile operator iD Mobile (Currys), which harnesses Three UK’s national 4G and 5G network via a virtual operator (MVNO) partnership, has today celebrated another significant milestone by reaching a total of 2 million subscribers (up by 488,000 in the year) and ahead of its original projections.

Despite facing some calls from Curry’s investors who want to see the mobile operator sold (here), iD Mobile has continued to pick up various awards over the past year for their budget offerings and earlier this year launched a refreshed set of fixed price SIM Only plans with a pledge of no annual price hikes (here).

Rohit Vedi, MD of iD Mobile, said: “Reaching 2 million subscribers is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team. The success has been driven by improvements to the service and proposition, combined with our strong partnership with Three UK and the benefits of being part of the Currys Group. We remain committed to providing customers with the best value on the latest technology as we continue to strive for excellence in everything we do.”

Customers of the operator can choose between 1, 12 and 24-month minimum contract terms, with the cheapest plans currently starting at £6 per month (15GB of data + unlimited calls/texts) and rising up to just £15 for unlimited data on a 24-month term. The plans also include EU roaming with a fair usage cap of 30GB.

However, it will be interesting to see whether iD Mobile can maintain this sort of pricing, particularly after the price protections under Three UK and Vodafone’s proposed merger run out in 3 years’ time (here).

After launching their commercial 5G Standalone (SA) mobile network during February 2024 (here), O2 (Virgin Media) has today followed that up by claiming to have become the “first UK operator to switch on 5G standalone small cells“. Customers in Birmingham city centre will be the first to benefit from the faster mobile broadband kit (up to 300Mbps).

Small cells are like mini shoebox sized mobile (radio) base stations, which have been designed to deliver limited coverage (usually up to around +/- 100 metres) and thus tend to be more focused on busy urban areas and specific sites – it’s not uncommon to find these discreetly sitting on top of lampposts, CCTV poles or old payphone cubicles (i.e. they can be more cost-effective than building new street assets or trying to secure wayleaves on buildings).

However, most small cells can only support up to Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G, which means they are still partly reliant upon older and slower 4G infrastructure. But SA networks are pure end-to-end 5G that can deliver ultra-low latency times, greater energy efficiency, better speeds (particularly uploads), network slicing, improved support for IoT devices, support for Voice over New Radio (VoNR or Vo5G) and increased reliability and security etc.

The big news today is that O2 (VMO2) have been able to shrink 5G SA down to the size of small cells, which have initially gone live to serve customers with increased mobile capacity (faster speeds) in the “exceptionally busy areas” surrounding Birmingham’s Broad Street and Fleet Street.

The new 5G SA small cells have been delivered in partnership with Ontix and Alpha Wireless, using MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology. O2 claims the first kit has been delivering speeds of up to 300Mbps to those nearby, which is pretty good by small cell standards, if not exceptional for 5G more widely (issues of backhaul capacity and spectrum frequency play a big role here, which will vary from place to place).

Jeanie York, CTO of VMO2, said:

“Small cells are playing a vital part in our mission to bring reliable mobile coverage to all customers and improve services in the busiest areas.

Having already turned on our cutting-edge 5G standalone network in more than 300 towns and cities, available to customers at no extra cost, we’re working hard to ensure all our customers consistently receive an exceptional network experience wherever they are and even at the busiest times.”

The deployment forms part of VMO2s broader network upgrade strategy, which has seen them investing £2 million every single day to “future-proof” their mobile network and meet the increasing demands of customers for seamless connectivity. This comes against a backdrop of rising demand, with the amount of mobile broadband data consumed by O2 customers increasing 26% in 2023.

O2’s wider 5G SA network went live, at “no extra cost” to customers, across busy parts of Manchester, Liverpool, London, Lincoln, Birmingham, Sheffield, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, York, Belfast, Cardiff, Nottingham and Slough earlier this year. The operator’s latest update states that it is now available in over 300 towns and cities. But as usual, you’d need a compatible device in order to benefit from this.

News 

The two companies first signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the cable in 2022 

Saudi Arabian telco Mobily has partnered with Telecom Egypt to launch the first submarine cable connecting Saudi Arabia and Egypt through the Red Sea. The new cable, which will be wholly owned by Mobily, aims to improve connectivity and meet the growing demand for internet services in both countries. 

The cable will land at two stations: Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt and Duba in Saudi Arabia. The connection will allow Mobily to link the Arabian Gulf and neighbouring countries to Egypt, enhancing access to various international networks. 

“The new cable represents a significant milestone in strengthening Saudi Arabia’s position as a leading international hub for telecommunications services and data traffic, in alignment with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030,” said Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Badran, Mobily’s CEO. 

“Complementing the newly established landing station in Sharm El Sheikh, we are developing new crossing routes to connect Sharm El Sheikh to the Mediterranean Sea. Telecom Egypt is dedicated to advancing the international telecommunications infrastructure by enhancing the geographical diversity of the global subsea cable networks. We are confident that this commercial agreement will be a valuable addition to our ongoing efforts to support this critical sector and cater to the rising demand for capacity and connectivity,” added Mohamed Nasr, Managing Director and CEO at Telecom Egypt.

In October last year, the Red Sea saw a rise in paramilitary activities, with Yemeni Houthi forces attacking commercial vessels, reportedly in response to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.  

By February, the situation, dubbed the “Red Sea crisis,” escalated to a critical issue for global telecommunications as damage to submarine cables in the area severely disrupted data traffic across Europe, Africa, and Asia. It is unclear whether or not this damage was deliberate.  

A report from network service provider RETN last month, said that the cable cuts impacted up to 70% of Europe–Asia data traffic – far greater than the 25% previously estimated. 

Keep up to date with the latest telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
CMA set to approve Vodafone–Three merger
Event highlights: Broadband Communities Summit West
Freedom Fibre and Zen Internet ink network sharing deal 

Mobile and broadband operator Sure, which serves the English Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, has announced the completion of their move to acquire rival Airtel Vodafone. The deal also signals the start of their pledge to invest £48m into building a new “world-class” 5G mobile network across the islands.

The deal, which only became possible after the States of Guernsey recently voted to temporarily suspend local competition law in order to allow the pair to merge (here), will also require Sure to make several legally binding commitments to help protect local competition, which among other things includes a requirement to launch a new virtual (MVNO) mobile operator with the Channel Island Co-Op (Coop Mobile) within the next 12-months.

Sure has also agreed not withdraw any Sure and Airtel tariffs that are active as at the date of clearance of the merger. This is designed to protect today’s prices for consumers for the 36 months following completion of the transaction, after which time Coop Mobile should be fully established and competing with Sure and JT.

Finally, Sure has promised to continue to offer unlimited data plans for at least the next three years, although in this modern age it would be quite a shock if they ever ended up scrapping those.

Sure’s Group CEO, Alistair Beak, said:

“The large investment we’re making will lead to significant improvements to customers’ connectivity, speeds and coverage, as well as value for money through innovative products and services. The new mobile network, complemented by our extensive fibre network, will mean we can stay ahead of future demand driven by our increasingly digital lifestyles.”

In terms of the coverage improvements, Sure said they will start to take place during 2025 and be completed in 2026. But otherwise there won’t be any immediate changes for Airtel or Sure customers.

News

The announcement comes after the company joining the Telco AI Alliance earlier this year 

SK Telecom has announced a new initiative to expand its AI capabilities by creating an “AI Infrastructure Superhighway.” The national network will rely on advanced data centres, cloud-based GPU services, and Edge AI technology. 

CEO Ryu Young-sang outlined his vision for the project at the company’s recent SK AI Summit 2024, explaining that SK Telecom aims to position South Korea as an AI leader in the Asia-Pacific. Earlier this year, SK Telecom became a founding member of the Global Telco Alliance, along with Singtel, Deutsche Telekom, e& and SoftBank. The five companies have agreed to develop Large Language Models (LLMs) that are specifically designed to meet telco needs, in areas such as improving customer interactions via digital assistants and chatbots. 

The company plans to build large AI data centres (AIDCs) in key regions, powered by renewable energy sources such as hydrogen, solar, and wind. SK Telecom intends to leverage SK Group’s energy-efficient technologies to make these centres regionally and globally connected, supported by submarine cables. 

In December, SK Telecom will open an AIDC testbed in Pangyo, featuring state-of-the-art cooling systems, AI semiconductors, and energy optimization tools. This facility will demonstrate next-generation AI infrastructure for industry experts and partners. 

To meet South Korea’s GPU demands, SK Telecom will introduce a cloud-based GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) model, providing NVIDIA GPUs for AI development. This service will allow companies to create AI applications affordably, strengthening Korea’s AI ecosystem. 

Additionally, SK Telecom is working on “Edge AI,” which integrates mobile networks with AI computing to reduce latency and improve security. The company is running trials in areas like healthcare, robotics, and CCTV to explore specific uses for Edge AI. 

“So far, the competition in telecommunications infrastructure has been all about connectivity, namely speed and capacity, but now the paradigm of network evolution should be changed,” said Ryu Young-sang at the event. 

“The upcoming 6G will evolve into a next-generation AI infrastructure where communication and AI are integrated.” 

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter  

Also in the news:
CMA set to approve Vodafone–Three merger
Event highlights: Broadband Communities Summit West
Freedom Fibre and Zen Internet ink network sharing deal 

News  

Network upgrades and price protections have been proposed by the CMA to keep the market competitive 

The Competition and Markets Authority has given the Vodafone–Three merger the provisional green light, if both companies commit to major network upgrades and customer protections, according to a new press released published this week. 

Back in September, the CMA had released its provisional findings, which raised concerns that the deal could lead to higher prices and reduced service quality for millions of UK mobile customers. It also warned of the impact on MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) who rely on Vodafone and Three’s networks, with Sky  Mobile and Lyca Mobile being named specifically. However, the CMA now believes that, with a legally binding commitment from Vodafone and Three to invest in the UK’s mobile network, including a significant expansion of 5G, these issues could be addressed. 

“We’ve carefully examined the potential effects of this merger. While it could improve network quality, the potential cost to customers and smaller providers is significant,” said the CMA in a statement. “We will now work to address these concerns while ensuring future network investments.” 

Key conditions would require Vodafone and Three to improve network quality across the UK over the next eight years, maintain certain mobile plans for at least three years, and offer competitive terms to smaller network providers. According to CMA inquiry leader Stuart McIntosh, these steps could encourage competition in the long term while protecting customers during the integration period. 

“We believe this deal has the potential to be pro-competitive for the UK mobile sector if our concerns are addressed,” said Stuart McIntosh, chair of the inquiry group leading the investigation in a press release. 

“Our provisional view is that binding commitments combined with short-term protections for consumers and wholesale providers would address our concerns while preserving the benefits of this merger,” he continued. 

The CMA is seeking public feedback on these proposed measures, with a final decision due by 7th December. 

Keep up to date with the latest telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
Nokia and Lenovo forge partnership to drive AI and automation in data centers
UK govt announces £22m investment in ‘smart data’
“We’re on track to close the loop”: Adtran talks data, AI, and network automation at Connected Britain

Press Release

Lightning-fast broadband on schedule to hit rural Nottinghamshire and West Lincolnshire by 2025

Alternative UK broadband ISP Connexin has today issued a short progress update to state that they’re about to enter the build phase on their £58.6m (state aid funded) Project Gigabit contract for rural parts of Nottinghamshire and West Lincolnshire (Lot 10), which aims to expand their full fibre (FTTP) network to cover 34,320 hard to reach premises.

The operator hasn’t said much about the contract since it was announced back in February 2024 (here), although it sometimes takes a few months for the usual engineering surveys and contractor arrangements to be sorted out before the construction phase begins. “Connexin will soon move onto the build stage, which will see the first premises connected by early 2025,” said the operator today – echoing the original announcement from early 2024.

As part of the work, rural properties in hard-to-reach areas such as Kirkby in Ashfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Annesley, Wragby and Market Rasen will undergo a major digital upgrade with the introduction of Connexin’s full fibre (FTTP) broadband infrastructure.

The move will also complement the provider’s wider aspiration of extending their 10Gbps capable network across 500,000 premises in East Yorkshire and beyond (England). But Connexin hasn’t provided a wider update on their deployment progress since May 2023, when they had just 25,000 premises covered by FTTP.

Furqan Alamgir, CEO at Connexin, said:

“As a company driven to improve lives through digital innovation, Connexin is delighted to be working with BDUK on bringing Ultrafast Connectivity to these hard-to-reach areas. This fibre network will not only offer significantly faster broadband speeds but will serve as a backbone for many other services to truly digitally enable rural Nottinghamshire and West Lincolnshire.“

The announcement follows shortly after the ISP launched a new 5Gbps (symmetric speed) package called “Fibre 5000“ (here), which costs £124.99 per month for 24-months (£149.99 thereafter) and includes “free” installation.

Infracapital-backed network provider Fibrus, which has spent several years rolling out their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across rural parts of Cumbria (England) and Northern Ireland, has announced that they’ve just connected their 100,000th customer (up from 90,000 on 31st Jul 2024).

The operator, which has so far built their full fibre network to cover 400,000 UK premises (up from 375k on 26th Aug 2024) and claims to be “fully funded to complete” their roll-out plan for 500,000 premises in the near future (here), added that they’ve already laid a whopping 24,042km of fibre across their network. Fibrus has also invested over £600k into local communities and grassroots sports clubs.

In order to celebrate this, Thinkbroadband has spotted that Fibrus are calling on families from connectable locations around Northern Ireland and Cumbria to nominate someone to be flown home in time for Christmas Day (i.e. a return flight from anywhere in the world, up to the value of £2,000), “turning their FaceTime realities into a Face-to-FaceTime Christmas dream come true” (here). But this is only for one person.

However, Fibrus added that the competition may be able to help additional travellers, but only if the flights are under the capped costs, then “we may be able to offer the leftover sum to pay for some of the additional traveller’s costs. Please note, the applicant or loved one will have to cover anything that exceeds the capped cost.”

Applications for this competition will close at midnight 19th November 2024.

Events

A look back at the top stories that came out of Broadband Communities Summit West last week in San Diego, California

Broadband Communities Summit West attracted community leaders, property owners, network infrastructure builders, and internet service providers to San Diego. Dozens of topics were highlighted in the summit’s agenda. Here’s a look back at some key highlights.

1. Boldyn Networks shares secrets behind success on military bases
   Boldyn Networks is spearheading over 90 network infrastructure projects on 70 military bases across the United States. Meanwhile, the firm has even higher hopes for the near future, aiming to double their current number of projects on military bases within 12 months.

2. Bygone subsidies led to LA County’s broadband plan
   Subsidies like the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) are unaffordable and set communities up for failure. That’s according to Eric Sasaki, the manager of major programs at L.A. County’s internal services department, who gave a keynote address at Broadband Communities Summit West last week.

3. Internet providers stress need to take accountability for mistakes
   Taking accountability for mistakes made and not pointing fingers to get out of the hot seat can go a long way towards winning over the hearts and minds of customers. That was the advice of Ben Elkins, the CEO of AireBeam and Utah Broadband, and Lexi Christensen, UTOPIA Fiber’s marketing director, at Broadband Communities Summit West in San Diego.

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

Also in the news:
Nokia and Lenovo forge partnership to drive AI and automation in data centers
UK govt announces £22m investment in ‘smart data’
“We’re on track to close the loop”: Adtran talks data, AI, and network automation at Connected Britain