News 

India’s latest 5G spectrum auction completed on Wednesday after seven rounds 

The government collected 113.40 billion rupees ($1.35 billion) from the auction, which was far less than the total spectrum on sale, simply because demand for the spectrum is too low. The sale fell short of the 962.38 billion rupees worth of spectrum on offer. 

The auction covered spectrum in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz frequency bands, but it was the 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2500 MHz bands that were snapped up by the operators. “The unsold spectrum will again be put to auction next time,” confirmed the Indian Ministry of Communications. 

The country’s second largest telco Bharti Airtel topped the auction spending 68.57 billion rupees ($820.80 million), followed by 35.1 billion rupees from Vodafone Idea ($420.5 million) and then market leader Reliance Jio with 9.74 billion rupees ($116.7 million). 

The last spectrum auction in India took place in 2022. This auction was much larger, with 51.2 GHz of radio frequencies sold for a record 1.5 trillion rupees, mainly because much of this spectrum was on sale for the first time. 

In this auction, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea all took home spectrum licences. Since then, both Jio and Airtel have been hard at work rolling out their 5G networks, while Vodafone Idea delayed the process due to financial strain.  

But despite swift rollouts from the country’s two largest operators, uptake has been slow to follow, with both operators reporting relatively little in the way of 5G revenues in their latest financials, and are therefore reluctant to spend heavily on spectrum at the moment.  

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Also in the news:
Nvdia and Ooredoo launch data centre deal 
Nexperia to Invest 200 Million USD in Hamburg
US launches probe into Chinese telcos over data concerns 

News

USS Investment Management has demonstrated ongoing confidence in the growth of London full fibre broadband provider, G.Network, by providing access to additional funding of £85 million.

CEO, Kevin Murphy reflected that “Our vision to build a better-connected London is coming to fruition and would not have been possible without the ongoing investment and support of USS”.

The new funding will be used to facilitate G.Networks ambitions to developing their business in the B2B retail and wholesale sector, working with partners such as Boldyn Networks to build more fibre. This fibre will support small cells, CCTV and smart city applications as well as seeing additional work with landlords and developers to pre-wire flats and office blocks across the network.

The company pointed to a number of measures to showcase business success, including ARPU approaching £50 and customer satisfaction reflected by a Trustpilot score of Excellent 4.5.

USS Investment Management first invested in G.Network in late 2020 with an initial investment of £295 million.

For the latest on the changing landscape of the UK fibre market, make sure you attend Connected Britain, 11 – 12 September 2024 at ExCeL London and join 7,500 of your peers at the UK’s most important digital economy event.

Mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media) has today launched a new top tier ‘Ultimate‘ mobile plan, which combines the usual services with a range of benefits that are said to be worth more than £1,000 across the contract duration. Some of those include Ultimate cover, O2 Switch Up, an Extra from O2, McAfee Mobile Security Plus and inclusive roaming in 123 destinations worldwide.

The Ultimate Plan is available to both new and existing customers starting from £50.99 per month, which includes a data allowance of 30GB, unlimited calls and unlimited texts on a Pay Monthly tariff. This rises to £54.99 for 150GB and £59.99 if you want unlimited data. The price includes the £9.50 per month cost of their insurance feature, which is covered below as one of the key benefits:

O2 Insure – Ultimate Cover: A new level of insurance offering O2’s most comprehensive cover yet, including a 3-Year Warranty and unlimited claims against theft, loss, accidental damage and breakdown. Customers can also benefit from same-day delivery of a replacement device if the claim is successful before 12 noon, available Monday – Friday.

O2 Switch Up: Perfect for customers who like to keep up with the latest handset, O2 Switch Up enables customers to swap their current phone for any of the latest and greatest, or one of O2’s Like New mobiles, every 90 days.

Extras from O2: Customers can unlock even more value with an Extra included for the lifetime of their Ultimate Plan – choosing from options such as Disney+ Premium Plan, Amazon Prime and Cafeyn.

Online Privacy and Identity Protection McAfee Mobile Security Plus provides comprehensive privacy and identity protection, including VPN, safe browsing and Text Scam Detector, an AI powered feature that warns you of suspicious links in texts before you click.

O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Ultimate​: Ideal for globe trotters, customers can roam freely in more countries than ever before (123 destinations worldwide), including the USA, Mexico, Thailand, Turkey and Dubai, usually £6 per day with O2 Travel. A 25GB fair usage policy applies on data.

Priority from O2: For those that love getting more for their money, O2 customers can enjoy daily treats, experiences and early access to the most sought-after tickets in entertainment, with exclusive benefits worth nearly £500 a year according to Uswitch.

Flexibility: O2 Pay Monthly customers can flex their plan to suit their needs by changing the amount of data they have and their contract length once a month (at no extra cost) via the My O2 app.

Christian Hindennach, Chief Commercial Officer at VMO2, said: “Mobiles are essential to everyday life, so we’re putting the very best of O2 into one flexible plan, packed with perks for our customers to enjoy. With added benefits worth over £1,000, and carefully chosen based on what we know our customers want, Ultimate Plan offers enhanced value and freedom unlike any other mobile plan.”

A quick look at O2’s website this morning shows the plans, albeit at a different cost, with 30GB Ultimate starting at £32.49 per month, then 150GB for £35.49 and Unlimited for £44.49 on a 24-month term. But these prices don’t appear to include the insurance feature or some of the other benefits. You can of course still get one of their regular plans for a lot less (e.g. Unlimited data can be had for £25 per month).

Nearly three years have passed since CityFibre first started rolling out their gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network across the Cathedral City of Chichester in South East England (West Sussex). The good news is that they’ve now passed 12,000 premises and are “fast approaching around 85% coverage of the city“.

The operator claims to have completed “most of its rollout in the area“, covering the “vast majority” of homes and businesses. CityFibre’s Chichester rollout also includes the areas of Fishbourne and Stockbridge, as well as other businesses and housing estates on the outskirts of the city.

The work supports CityFibre’s wider ambition of covering up to 8 million UK premises (funded by c.£2.4bn in equity, c.£4.9bn debt and c.£800m of BDUK subsidy) – across over 285 cities, towns and villages (c.30% of the UK), although it’s unclear precisely when they will achieve this target (the original goal was for the end of 2025, but their current build + M&A plan may only get them to c.6m). The operator currently covers 3.6 million UK premises (3.3m RFS).

The company said they’re also exploring opportunities to reach more sites, including new build properties, multi-dwelling units, homes on private or unadopted roads and business parks – these are all often a bit harder to tackle due to issues of wayleaves (access), cost etc.

Adrian Smith, CityFibre’s Partnership Manager for Chichester, said:

“We’re really pleased to have brought our full fibre networks to the vast majority of homes and businesses in Chichester. This means even more people now have the opportunity to join our network and unlock the benefits of full fibre connectivity.”

As usual, CityFibre aren’t the only gigabit-capable broadband network present in Chichester, with both Virgin Media and Openreach also covering much of the area. Not to mention smaller deployments from Hyperoptic and OFNL etc.

Alternative network and UK ISP G.Network, which is building a Multi-Gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across parts of London (here), has today announced that they’ve agreed with USS, their long term equity investor, access to additional funding of £85 million to support their “next phase of growth“.

The provider, which is estimated to be live across around 250,000 to 300,000 premises in London, last received a funding boost from USS almost a year ago when the same investor committed “up to an additional” £150m (here) to help support their continued operations and expansion (the build programme resumed, after a long pause and some job cuts, in February 2024 – here).

G.Network claims that their “business is performing well and successfully executing against its strategic plan of creating a better-connected London, delivering improvements in revenues, productivity and customer service“. For example, the operator highlights how they’re driving blended ARPU towards £50 due to the “dense mix of affluent consumers and businesses served” by their FTTP network in central London.

The operator next plans to develop their B2B retail and wholesale business, while also building more fibre network with their Strategic Partners, such as Boldyn Networks. This network development will include fibre infrastructure to support small cells for mobile operators, CCTV and other smart city applications.

On top of that, they will also continue to make switching to fibre easy for customers by partnering with landlords and developers to pre-wire flats and office blocks across the network, where possible.

Kevin Murphy, CEO, said:

“It is an exciting time to be at G.Network as we continue to build momentum in terms of our operational and financial performance. Our vision to build a better-connected London is coming to fruition and would not have been possible without the ongoing investment and support of USS, who, along with the whole team, are looking to G.Network’s future with confidence”.

Residential customers of G.Network typically pay from £19 per month for a 150Mbps (50Mbps upload) service on a 24-month term with free installation (£24 thereafter), which rises to £30 for their top 900Mbps plan (£35 thereafter). Shorter 12 and 1 month contracts are also available, albeit at extra cost, and a symmetric speed 900Mbps plan also exists.

Press Release

Hamburg, June 27, 2024: Semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia today announced plans to invest USD 200 million (appx. 184 million Euros) to develop the next generation of wide bandgap semiconductors (WBG) such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), and to establish production infrastructure at the Hamburg site. At the same time, wafer fab capacity for silicon (Si) diodes and transistors will be increased. The investments are jointly announced with Hamburg’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Dr. Melanie Leonhard, on the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of the production site.

To meet the growing long-term demand for efficient power semiconductors, all three technologies (SiC, GaN, and Si) will be developed and produced in Germany starting in June 2024. This means Nexperia is supporting key technologies in the fields of electrification and digitalization. SiC and GaN semiconductors enable power-hungry applications, such as data centers, to operate with exceptional efficiency and are core building blocks for renewable energy applications and electromobility. These WBG technologies have great potential and are increasingly important for achieving decarbonization goals.

“This investment strengthens our position as a leading supplier of energy-efficient semiconductors and enables us to utilize available electrical energy more responsibly,” comments Achim Kempe, COO and managing director at Nexperia Germany. “In the future, our Hamburg fab will cover the complete range of WBG semiconductors while still being the largest factory for small signal diodes and transistors. We remain committed to our strategy of producing high-quality, cost-efficient semiconductors for standard applications and power-intensive applications, while addressing one of the greatest challenges of our generation: meeting the growing demand for energy and while reducing the environmental footprint.”

First production lines for high-voltage GaN D-Mode transistors and SiC diodes started in June 2024. The next milestone will be modern and cost-efficient 200 mm production lines for SiC MOSFETs and GaN HEMTs. These will be established at the Hamburg factory over the next two years. At the same time, the investment will help to further automate the existing infrastructure at the Hamburg site and expand silicon production capacity by systematically converting to 200 mm wafers. Following the expansion of the clean room areas, new R&D laboratories are being built to continue to ensure a seamless transition from research to production in the future.

In addition to advancing technology, the semiconductor supplier expects the initiative to stimulate local economic development. The investments make an important contribution to securing and creating jobs and enhancing the European Union’s semiconductor self-sufficiency. Nexperia works closely with universities and research institutes to benefit from each other’s expertise and promote highly qualified employee training. Nexperia relies on a robust research and development ecosystem in Hamburg and throughout Europe. Development partnerships and co-operations, e.g. in the field of GaN technology as part of the Industrial Affiliation Program (IIAP) of the nanoelectronics research center imec, play a crucial role. These and other collaborations ensure continuous innovation and technological excellence in Nexperia’s products.

“The planned investment enables us to bring WBG chip design and production to Hamburg. However, SiC and GaN are by no means new territory for Nexperia. GaN FETs have been part of our portfolio since 2019, and in 2023 we expanded our range of products to include SiC diodes and SiC MOSFETs, the latter in collaboration with Mitsubishi Electric. Nexperia is one of the few suppliers to offer a comprehensive range of semiconductor technologies, including Si, SiC, and GaN in both e-mode and d-mode. This means, we offer our customers a one-stop shop for all their semiconductor needs”, explains Stefan Tilger, CFO and managing director at Nexperia Germany.

The investment is yet another milestone in the 100-year history of Nexperia’s production site in Hamburg-Lokstedt. Since the foundation of Valvo Radioröhrenfabrik in 1924, the site has continuously developed and today supplies around a quarter of the global demand for small signal diodes and transistors. Since its spin-off from NXP in 2017, Nexperia has invested substantial sums in the Hamburg site, increased the workforce from 950 to around 1,600 and brought the technological infrastructure up to the state-of-the-art. This continued expenditure underlines the company’s commitment to remaining at the forefront of the industry and providing innovative solutions to its customers worldwide.

Private equity firm CVC (Fund IX) has this morning confirmed that they’ve acquired UK civil engineering firm M Group Services from PAI Partners. As well as catering for the water, energy and transport sectors, M Group also has a broadband and mobile focused telecoms division via several familiar brands (Avonline Networks, magdalene, Morrison and waldon).

M Group’s telecoms division typically provides a full end-to-end service offering to fixed, private and mobile operators that covers everything from the design, build and maintenance of the telecom infrastructure for key clients like Openreach, Virgin Media, Three UK, Gigaclear, CTIL, Hyperoptic, MBNL and more.

According to today’s announcement, CVC is investing in the business out of Fund IX, its most recent fund that closed at €26 billion in 2023, becoming the largest private equity fund ever raised, and brings substantial experience of investing in and growing UK businesses. Previous reports have valued the deal at around £1.5bn, although today’s announcement doesn’t confirm a specific figure.

CVC said they will work closely with M Group Services’ management team to accelerate its organic growth and development in this next phase, which is expected to be “complemented by further strategic value-enhancing” mergers and acquisitions in the near future. The new owner added that they were committed to upholding the Group’s commitment to safety, client-focused delivery, sustainability and innovation.

Andrew Findlay, CEO of M Group Services, said:

“We would like to thank PAI Partners for their strong support and commitment to our growth since 2018. We are delighted that CVC has decided to support our clear and ambitious plan to continue to grow and deliver at pace, built on our solid market-leading foundations. We look forward to working in partnership with CVC to deliver our future plans. This is great for our people, our clients and their customers.”

Dominic Murphy, Managing Partner and Co-Head of the UK Team at CVC and Tim Gallico (Partner), said:

“M Group Services is a leader in an attractive market growing on the back of structural trends linked to ageing infrastructure, decarbonisation initiatives and technology transitions. We are delighted to support its management team in this exciting next phase of its growth and development.”

According to M Group’s last investor update in November 2023, the company’s order book and bid pipeline were continuing to grow. On 30th September 2023, the order book was £6.7 billion (vs £5.4 billion last year) with a further £400m awaiting signature. This provided visibility for 94% of their FY24 budget revenues (up from 86% a year ago).

The transaction is expected to complete during Q3 2024. Deutsche Bank acted as lead financial adviser to PAI, with Citi also acting as financial adviser. Evercore acted as financial adviser to CVC.

Broadband ISP and mobile operator EE (BT) has today launched a second 1.6Gbps speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) package on Openreach’s network, which is called the ‘Broadband Made for Gamers‘ bundle and claims to offer online gamers “lower latency, game server geofencing and in-home network prioritisation,” among other things.

In case anybody has forgotten, EE already launched a 1.6Gbps (120Mbps upload) package for £69.99 per month last year (here), which came alongside their new Wi-Fi 6 capable Smart Hub Plus router and other kit. This was based on Openreach’s latest 1.8Gbps tier (requires a new 2.5Gbps port ONT to be installed in your home) and was also promoted for use by gamers.

The fact is that an FTTP connection, at any speed, should deliver excellent latency times for gaming and thus the key question we have to ask today is – what does that that extra £10 per month get you with this new bundle (the new bundle is £79.99 per month)? Followed by, is it worth the extra money?

According to EE, the Smart Hub Plus router that comes with this package includes ‘Game Mode‘, which is something that previously came as part of their WiFi Enhancer Boost. This feature is powered by Netduma and adds geo-filtering, as well as ping-optimise. On top of that, the bundle also includes 24-months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (worth almost £200 in total), giving players access to hundreds of games, which is good if you like Microsoft’s platform.

What is Game Mode?

➤ Geo Filter – chooses the highest quality servers and blocks any that have increased lag for best in game play.

➤ Ping Optimiser – allowing customers to enjoy a fine-tuned connection with less buffering when gaming, with reducing server ping by up to 24% according to tests carried out by developers Netduma.

However, whether or not you really need Game Mode is debatable, as a good vanilla FTTP line should already be delivering excellent latency and stability, unless your ISP is being particularly crap with their routing/peering/capacity arrangements. Not to mention that humans are usually pretty good at ‘Geo Filtering’ from a server list themselves.

Sam Kemp, Director of Gaming at EE, said:

“By introducing Broadband Made for Gamers, we believe we’re making a huge step in our ambition to become the number one destination for gaming in the UK, by creating a broadband package that has been truly tailored for gamers to enhance their in-game experiences. Features such as Game Mode as well as 1.6Gbps Full Fibre will give gamers the extra edge when they’re playing, and customers will never be short on the latest and most exciting titles with our inclusive 24-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.”

EE adds that tests conducted on their Full Fibre network using Cisco’s ThousandEyes (formerly SamKnows) performance monitoring technology “reveals it offers a latency reduction of over a third compared to standard broadband“, although they don’t provide any specific details or define what “standard broadband” means. A more interesting test would to see how the new package compares with their entry-level 100Mbps+ FTTP plans for latency.

Admittedly, we’re always a little bit sceptical when an ISP claims to offer a multiplayer optimised service for online video games because there’s a limit to how much you can tweak FTTP connections in order to extract improvements in latency. In addition, the netcode that multiplayer games use has to be optimised for slower connections too, which means that there’s an element of diminishing returns for those with the lowest latencies.

Not to forget that your latency (ping times) will also depend on aspects of your own local network setup too, such as whether your device is connecting via WiFi (what standard?) or wired etc. Overall, it seems like the main cost difference with this bundle is the addition of that Xbox Game Pass.

New and existing customers of UK internet provider File Sanctuary, which sells FTTP, G.fast (SOGFast) and FTTC (SOGEA) broadband packages via Openreach, may like to know that the ISP has just expanded their line-up of discounted routers, which now includes the FRITZ!Box 7690, FRITZ!Box 7530 AX routers, the FRITZ!Repeater 3000 AX, and the FRITZ!Fon C6.

According to File Sanctuary, these devices are available “significantly below RRP” (recommended retail price) for both new and existing broadband customers. “If you’re already a customer, there’s no requirement to renew your contract to get a new router! Better yet, the routers are yours to keep, and we don’t lock them to our network,” states the ISP.

A quick look at the provider’s website shows that they’re selling, for example, the FRITZ!Box 7690 at £216 inc. VAT, the FRITZ!Box 7530 AX for £108 and the FRITZ!Repeater 3000 AX is also being sold for £120. The provider previously only seemed to offer a range of Wi-Fi 6 routers from Zyxel.

FS’ Summary of the New Routers

FRITZ!Box 7690: The Powerhouse Router

The FRITZ!Box 7690 is a marvel of modern technology, supporting future connection speeds all the way up to 2.5 Gbps, while providing high-speed Wi-Fi 7 up to 5760 + 1400 Mbps. It’s the perfect choice for those who demand ultra-fast browsing, streaming, and gaming. With its intelligent Mesh Wi-Fi, you can enjoy seamless coverage throughout your home or office when paired with a FRITZ!Repeater.

FRITZ!Box 7530 AX: Affordable Connectivity

The FRITZ!Box 7530 AX brings you the latest in Wi-Fi 6 technology, with speeds up to 1800 Mbps + 600 Mbps. It’s designed to handle the increasing number of devices in our homes and offices, ensuring optimal data rates even under heavy network usage.

FRITZ!Repeater 3000 AX: Expanding Your Horizons

Say goodbye to dead spots with the FRITZ!Repeater 3000 AX. This tri-band wireless repeater supports Wi-Fi 6 and offers a speeds of up to 2400 Mbps. It works in harmony with your FRITZ!Box router to extend the range of your Wi-Fi network, ensuring perfect coverage in every corner.

FRITZ!Fon C6: The Smart Telephone

The FRITZ!Fon C6 is not just a telephone; it’s a smart device that supports HD telephony for natural sound quality and offers a range of features like email reception, web radio, and Smart Home control. It’s the ideal companion to our Hosted VoIP service and your FRITZ!Box, bringing you a great way to replace your landline phone, while bringing convenience and clarity to your calls.

File Sanctuary’s ultrafast FTTP packages start at £40 per month for 150Mbps (27Mbps upload) on a 12 or 18 month term and rise to £55 per month for their top 900Mbps (110Mbps upload) tier. They also have some slower packages for a slightly lower price than £40.

Network operator nexfibre, which shares some of their parentage with UK broadband ISP partner Virgin Media (O2), has today announced that they expect to cover 15,000 premises in the neighbouring Buckinghamshire (England) towns of High Wycombe and Marlow via their new wholesale accessible 2Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network.

The deployments reflect somewhat of an extension for Virgin Media, which already covers a sizeable amount of both locations. In addition, the towns also have some sizeable but patchy FTTP coverage via a mix of different operators, such as Openreach, Swish Fibre (All Points Fibre), OFNL, Hyperoptic, CityFibre, Trooli and others.

Nexfibre has already covered over 1 million premises across the UK with their new full fibre network, and they’re currently in the process of investing another £1bn during 2024, which should enable them to cover an additional 1 million UK premises (on top of their existing footprint).

Just for some context. Telefónica, Liberty Global and InfraVia Capital Partners originally setup the new £4.5bn nexfibre joint venture in 2022 (here), which aims to deploy an open access fibre network to reach “up to” 7 million UK homes (starting with 5m by 2026) in areas NOT currently served by Virgin Media’s network of 16m+ premises. The funding reflects £3.3bn of fully underwritten financing and up to £1.4bn in equity commitments.