Internet and web hosting provider Freeola has informed ISPreview that they’ve just become the latest on a small list of UK ISPs to launch consumer home broadband packages based off Openreach’s new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) powered 1.2Gbps and 1.8Gbps (both 120Mbps upstream) download speed tiers.

The 1.2Gbps tier is being promoted alongside “average” advertised download speeds of 1Gbps (true gigabit) for £64 per month, while 1.8Gbps is being advertised with speeds of 1.6Gbps for £73 per month (average advertised uploads are 110Mbps for both).

One crucial point to make here is that both of these plans are sold alongside a short 30-day contract and include a static IP address, much like all their other packages. But customers will need to pay extra if they want to add a pre-configured broadband router to their package, which might be wise given that the new tiers will benefit from having a higher end device with a 2.5Gbps LAN port.

Rome/Athens, 22 May 2024

Sparkle, the first international service provider in Italy and among the top global operators, announced this morning the landing of the BlueMed submarine cable in Chania (Greece) during a press conference hosted at the Residence of the Ambassador of Italy in Athens and attended by Paolo Cuculi, Ambassador of Italy, Dimitris Papastergiou, Minister of Digital Governance, Alessandro Pansa, Chairman of Sparkle, Enrico Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle, Daniele Mancuso, CEO of Sparkle Greece, Nikos Konstantinidis, Head of Open Hub at Sparkle and moderated by Stella Tsitsoula, Communication Consultant for ICT and CEO of RED.comm.

BlueMed is Sparkle’s new cable connecting Italy with France, Greece and several countries bordering the Mediterranean. It is part of the Blue & Raman Submarine Cable Systems built in partnership with Google and other operators that stretch further in the Middle East up to Mumbai, India.

With four fibre pairs and an initial design capacity of more than 25 Terabits per second (Tbps) per pair, BlueMed offers high-speed Internet connections and high-performance solutions to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), carriers, telecom operators, content providers, enterprises, and institutions to support the growing needs and digital evolution of the connected countries.

Laying began in 2023 with the main Tyrrhenian trunk from Genoa to Palermo and with branches to Marseille and Bastia (France), Golfo Aranci (Sardinia), Pomezia (Rome). From Palermo, the cable crossed the Strait of Messina to reach the Greek island of Crete from where it will continue with further branches in the Mediterranean up to Aqaba in Jordan. The Tyrrhenian and the Middle Eastern terrestrial sections are in full operation, while further Mediterranean landings and the full operation from Genoa to Aqaba are expected by this year.

In Crete, BlueMed reaches Sparkle’s data centre in Chania, a cable landing station interconnected with the island’s terrestrial networks and Sparkle’s MedNautilus network (with connections to mainland Greece, Turkey, and Italy). Sparkle is further developing the hub to accommodate other submarine cable projects including GreenMed that will cross the Adriatic Sea connecting Italy to Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece and Turkey, thus creating a diversified, low latency route between Central Europe, the Balkans and the Central and Eastern Mediterranean countries.

Paolo Cuculi, Ambassador of Italy, commented: “The arrival in Greece of the BlueMed submarine cable represents a fundamental step in the process of digital connectivity between Italy and its partners in the Mediterranean Basin, with the island of Crete as an important strategic hub. Sparkle confirms itself as an absolute Italian excellence and a leading global player in fostering the digital transition, fundamental for the sustainable development of our two countries.”

The Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou, declared: “This is an important milestone that marks a new era in connectivity and highlights the central role of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea, placing Greece at the heart of a digital route that bridges Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It is a critical infrastructure, which will significantly enhance the capacity and resilience of digital data traffic, while underlining our commitment to the European Union’s strategic autonomy objective. Advanced infrastructures such as BlueMed will also support other important developments like “Daedalos” Hyper Performance Computer that promotes Greece to the forefront of computing innovation and research, supporting technologies such as AI and big data. The landing of the BlueMed cable reflects all that we can achieve when we commit together to an important goal.“

“With the landing of BlueMed in Crete, Greece is enabling a new digital route for Internet traffic between Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia,” said Enrico Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle. “We have been operating in Greece for more than 20 years and here we have the skills and infrastructures needed to develop it as a new Internet hub of the Mediterranean, a role destined to grow further in the future thanks to the landing of new submarine cables.”

“With BlueMed, we strengthen our longstanding presence in Greece and reaffirm our commitment to fostering the development of a digital ecosystem increasingly connected to the world,” added Daniele Mancuso, Chief Marketing & Product Management at Sparkle and CEO of Sparkle Greece. “With four data centers in the country and a wide portfolio of digital services including IoT and networking solutions, we ensure Greek enterprises and institutions efficient communications both within their sites and with their external ecosystems.”

Press kit

About Sparkle

Sparkle is TIM Group’s Global Operator, first international service provider in Italy and among the top worldwide, offering a full range of infrastructure and global connectivity services – capacity, IP, SD-WAN, colocation, IoT connectivity, roaming and voice – to national and international Carriers, OTTs, ISPs, Media/Content Providers, and multinational enterprises. A major player in the submarine cable industry, Sparkle owns and manages a network of more than 600,000 km of fiber spanning from Europe to Africa and the Middle East, the Americas and Asia. Its sales force is active worldwide and distributed over 33 countries.

In Greece, the company is active since 2001, managing and operating four open data centers – three in Athens, in the areas of Koropi and Metamorfosis, and one in Chania – as well as a proprietary fiber optic network connecting all its facilities and fully integrated with Sparkle’s Tier-1 global backbone.

Find out more about Sparkle following its X and LinkedIn profiles or visiting the website tisparkle.com

Media Contacts:

sparkle.communication@tisparkle.com

X: @TISparkle

WALTHAM, MA — May 21, 2024 — Netcracker Technology announced today that Ooredoo Qatar will extend its long-term partnership with Netcracker, utilizing Managed Services for Ooredoo’s Revenue Management and CRM solutions to support B2C and B2B customers across a wide range of telecom and other services, including ICT, IoT and Cloud. This engagement will also expand to other industries including Fintech and Entertainment as Ooredoo Qatar continues its forward-looking initiatives and innovative digital offerings to maintain its position as a technology leader in Qatar.

The partnership extension will provide Ooredoo Qatar with improved agility and time to market as the operator takes the lead in making Qatar one of the best-connected countries in the world. By entrusting its solutions and support services to Netcracker, Ooredoo Qatar will be able to focus on its goals of empowering its customers by delivering an elevated experience, including simplified journeys and touchpoints.

“Our renewed partnership with Netcracker allows us to stay at the vanguard of technological innovation and market responsiveness,” said Thani Ali Al-Malki, Chief Business Officer at Ooredoo Qatar. “By leveraging Netcracker’s expertise, we can deliver superior service to our customers. This collaboration is crucial as we lead the way towards digital transformation across multiple areas, significantly contributing to Qatar’s vision of becoming one of the world’s most connected and digitally empowered nations.”

“Ooredoo Qatar is at the forefront of creating a customer-focused network and delivering excellence in customer experience, which we are proud to help support,” said Mervat El Dabae, EMEA Regional Vice President at Netcracker. “We value our long-standing partnership and look forward to working closely together for even greater success.”

About Netcracker Technology

Rapid digitization is disrupting the status quo of today’s communications markets. Constantly evolving customer needs and behaviors require service providers to adapt quickly and diversify their businesses to deliver the outcomes that their customers expect. Building digital ecosystems, anticipating customer requirements and delivering a digital-first experience are essential for service providers to accelerate innovation, expand into new markets and become the disruptors in the 5G era.

Netcracker Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, has the expertise, culture and resources to help service providers around the world transform their businesses to thrive in a digital economy. Our innovative solutions – including our flagship cloud-native Netcracker Digital Platform – value-driven services and unbroken delivery track record of three decades help service providers to achieve their digital transformation goals, drive the telco to techco evolution within their organizations and realize business growth and profitability. For more information, visit www.netcracker.com.

Media Contact

Anita Karvé
Netcracker Technology
MediaGroup@Netcracker.com   

Chepstow, 21st May 2024: TXO, the leading provider of end-to-end circular telecom network solutions, today announces the appointment of Simon Wort as Group Chief Commercial Officer. The latest move in a string of senior appointments and acquisitions, Wort will lead TXO’s expansion into new commercial areas, focusing particularly on integrating the existing business with recently acquired companies Lynx and TEQPORT to strengthen TXO’s global offering. 

Joining TXO from ITS Technology Group, Simon Wort is a seasoned leader with a strong background in international commercial leadership. Shaped by years of experience in global, privately owned, and private equity-backed organisations, Wort brings a deep understanding of market dynamics to TXO as it continues its growth journey to become the premier end-to-end circular economy solutions and services company for the telecoms industry.

Simon Wort joins TXO to help it lead the market shift towards more sustainable practices. Sustainability, both financial and in terms of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices has become top of the agenda for global operators. The challenge for operators is balancing this against maintaining and updating the network amid limited support for existing hardware from OEMs and regulations mandating the removal of hardware such as Huawei equipment or older technology like 2G and 3G. This often comes at great environmental and financial cost, but TXO is helping operators mitigate through services such as decommissioning and recovery, test and repair, second-user product supply, reselling, and recycling.  

Simon Wort, the new TXO Group CCO comments: “TXO has a hugely exciting opportunity to serve a global customer base and lead the charge for an ESG-conscious and circular economy-driven telecoms industry and I’m looking forward to helping drive this as much as I can. While the journey TXO is undergoing is exciting the one we can bring our customers on is even more so. Operators around the world are at different stages of this evolution, but TXO is going to be a crucial partner in this, helping them unlock untold financial and environmental benefits.” 

As Group CCO, Simon Wort is expected to put renewed focus on the customer, with a people-first approach. This will be key in TXO’s continued transition beyond a transactional model to become an end-to-end solutions and services partner. His extensive experience in leading market transformations and his commitment to customer-centric strategies will be instrumental in realising TXO’s vision of being the world’s local partner for sustainable telecom networks.

Darren Pearce, Group CEO of TXO, said: ‘We’re excited to welcome Simon to our leadership team. His expertise in driving sustainable growth will be crucial as we continue to expand our services and reach. Simon will play a key role in enhancing our customer relationships and ensuring that our expansion aligns with the high-quality, comprehensive solutions our clients expect from us as we grow.”

The appointment of Simon Wort as Group CCO continues TXO’s strategic enhancements in its leadership team. Prior moves included the recruitment of Farid Seddar as COO, and earlier, the bolstering of its board with Kevin Taylor MBE as Chairman and two new non-executive directors. Heading into 2024, TXO also expanded its capabilities through two major acquisitions: German decommissioning and network solutions provider TEQPORT, and UK-based specialist in network decommissioning and engineering solutions, Lynx.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITOR

About TXO

TXO, a collective of four brands including MMX, Lynx, and TEQPORT, is a global leader in sustainable telecom network solutions. Our vision: to be the world’s local partner for sustainable telecom networks, drives our commitment to the circular economy. We offer a full range of services to extend the life of telecom networks, from sourcing nearly a million multi-vendor network parts to responsible decommissioning.

Our approach not only saves costs but also reduces environmental impact. With advanced asset management and recovery solutions, we ensure maximum value and quality without compromising performance. Our expanded capabilities, bolstered by Lynx and TEQPORT, cover meticulous testing and restoration of equipment.

In partnership with TowerBrook Delta, we’re dedicated to sustainable, efficient telecom network management, guided by our ‘circle of value’.

TXO’s circle of value streamlines sustainable telecom network management, focusing on asset recovery, testing, repair, efficient spare parts management and network & engineering services. This approach underscores our commitment to the circular economy, enhancing environmental sustainability while delivering financial efficiency. Through innovation and global reach, we empower networks with smarter, eco-friendly solutions.

https://www.txo.com/

News

The development will provide Manchester and the north of England with higher capacity connectivity 

Virgin Media Business Wholesale, the fixed wholesale arm of Virgin Media O2 (VMO2), has upgraded Manchester’s Equinix MA5 data centre with new high-capacity fibre routes. 

Manchester MA5 is now a key part of Virgin Media Business Wholesale’s network, which includes over 160 data centres across the UK.  

VMO2 says the site is ideal for hyperscalers, connectivity resellers, and enterprises needing ultra-low-latency connections due to its “premium colocation services and long-term capacity”. 

The press release describes the new site as a “significant addition to what is considered the UK’s most important network ecosystem and interconnection hub outside of London.”  

The development will enhance the connectivity options for businesses in Manchester and the North, providing access to high-speed infrastructure.  

The new infrastructure at Manchester MA5 can support bandwidths up to 100Gbps, catering to services like 10Gbps National Ethernet, and 10Gbps and 100Gbps National High-Capacity Services. 

“This further investment in Manchester will help the UK’s position as a strategic digital business hub, where a 43% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in interconnection bandwidth is expected by 2025, driven by network, content and media, and financial services demand,” said Lorraine Wilkinson, Equinix UK’s Regional Vice President. 

Virgin Media Business Wholesale is also upgrading network capabilities at four other UK data centres: Equinix LD5 (Slough), Equinix LD8, Telehouse North, and Global Switch (all in the London Docklands area). These upgrades are now live and offer diverse and cost-effective solutions for building scalable networks.  

“We’re excited to add this flagship site to our already extensive portfolio of data centre locations across the UK,” said John Chester, Wholesale Fixed Director at Virgin Media O2. 

“It sets us up to provide our wholesale partners with more efficient and cost-effective network solutions, and further increases the reach and diversity of our network across the region,” he continued. 

The upgrades are part of a multi-million-pound investment by Virgin Media Business Wholesale to enhance their 10Gbps portfolio, focusing on faster connections through increased automation and shorter delivery times. Further expansions to more sites are planned for later in 2024, aiming for full nationwide availability. 

The UK’s largest data centre hub, Slough, is home to 34 datacentres and counting. It is also considered the largest data centre hub in Europe. 

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

Also in the news:
UK government conditionally approves £15bn Vodafone–Three merger
Nokia and Vodafone trial Open RAN with Arm and HPE
T-Mobile and Verizon to buy US Cellular, reports say 

News

A survey of 104 Conservative and Labour MPs found less than a quarter believes the UK will meet its targets for gigabit broadband and 5G rollouts

This week, a new connectivity report from Cluttons titled ‘Connecting today for tomorrow‘ has painted a bleak picture of the UK’s ongoing connectivity infrastructure rollouts.

The study, which surveyed over 104 MPs and over 500 councillors from all major parties, showed that confidence is low that the government’s connectivity goals, related to both gigabit-capable broadband and 5G, would be reached by their 2030 deadline.

Of the MPs surveyed, only a quarter were confident the government can meet its own targets of making gigabit-capable broadband available to over 99% of properties by 2030. The situation was even less positive for 5G, with only a fifth of MPs confident the UK can reach nationwide 5G standalone coverage by 2030.

Of course, the torrid political environment in which this survey takes place should be noted here, particularly in an election year. Opposition (Labour) MPs are somewhat motivated to disavow the effectiveness of the existing government’s projects, and this is clearly reflected in their survey answers. Only 3% of surveyed Labour MPs said the government will meet its 5G targets, with none at all saying it would meet the gigabit-capable broadband goals.

What is more concerning, however, is the lack of confidence shown from the incumbent Conservative MPs. Less than half (44%) were confident that the country’s broadband goals would be met, while only a third (33%) were positive on meeting 5G coverage targets.

With five and a half years still to go until we hit 2030, it is hard to say whether these sentiments are overly pessimistic or not. When it comes to broadband rollout, the start of the year saw the government announce that gigabit-capable broadband is now available at 80% of premises across the UK, just 5% short of its target for the end of 2025.

However, as the national rollout gets more and more advanced, the remaining premises will become harder – and more expensive – to cover with gigabit-capable infrastructure. The government is already targeting many of these (primarily rural) areas with funding programmes, such as the £5 billion Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network project, but whether this will be enough to reach every premise by 2030 remains to be seen.

For 5G, the situation is even murkier. Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2023 report, released last September, stated that “the level of 5G coverage provided outside of premises by at least one mobile network operator (MNO) rose from 67–78% in 2022 (across a range covering Very High and High Confidence levels of availability) to 85–93% in 2023”, and this is still increasing.

It is worth noting, however, that this Ofcom report does not differentiate between non-standalone and standalone 5G. In fact, of the UK’s four mobile network operators, only Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 have launched commercial standalone 5G services so far, and even these launches are confined to a small number of cities. BT (EE) says it is still testing the technology and is aiming for a commercial launch in H2 this year, while Three UK has yet to announce any standalone plans at all, presumably due to uncertainty around its merger with Vodafone.

Upgrading to 5G standalone has been on the operators’ to-do list for a number of years now, but the process’s cost, complexity, and unclear path to monetisation means that urgency remains relatively low. Existing deployments are only in densely populated urban areas, with remote areas unlikely to receive the upgrade in the short-term.

In addition to the MPs’ lack of positivity around infrastructure itself, the report also highlights some the issues that underpin this trend; namely, a perceived lack of consumer understanding about the benefits of 5G and gigabit broadband.

Only 12% of MPs said that they were confident their constituents understood and would support the rollout of these technologies, while 46% said they were not confident this was the case. Local councillors were similarly gloomy, with just 28% saying local residents understood the benefits of gigabit broadband and 19% the benefits of 5G.

Clearly, greater public education around connectivity infrastructure is required, though how this can be achieved remains a challenge. The report suggested that a government-led information campaign could be a solution, a proposal to which 61% of MPs agreed.

Ultimately, this report reflects an environment in which ubiquitous connectivity is increasingly vital to the country’s economy and society, but delivering that infrastructure – and convincing the public of its value – is proving a struggle.

Is the government doing enough to support the UK’s ambitious connectivity goals? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s Connected Britain conference, the UK’s largest digital economy event

Also in the news:
UK government conditionally approves £15bn Vodafone–Three merger
Nokia and Vodafone trial Open RAN with Arm and HPE
T-Mobile and Verizon to buy US Cellular, reports say

News

Mediacom is testing its new mobile service in anticipation of a commercial launch in the coming weeks

Mediacom Communications has confirmed that its long-anticipated mobile service will soon be rolled out across its 22-state footprint. The company has been “testing the product and the activation process” by providing service to employees in anticipation of a commercial launch in the coming weeks.

In June 2022, the company’s Chairman, CEO, and Founder Rocco Commisso confirmed that Mediacom was “actively evaluating whether a compelling business case” could be made for a mobile offering.

Mediacom Mobile was developed in partnership with Reach, a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) which can work with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Astound Broadband and WOW! both have mobile services powered by Reach, offered over T-Mobile’s network.

The National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC) has an MVNO agreement with AT&T, under which several operators have launched mobile services.  As a member of NCTC, Mediacom could have used that agreement to launch mobile, but they opted for a custom, flexible solution. At present, Mediacom said it does not have permission to announce its MVNO partner.

Tapan Dandnaik, Mediacom’s SVP of operations, product strategy, and consumer experience, told CableFAX that the company will initially offer an unlimited plan started at $40/month and a by-the-Gig plan from $15 for 1 gigabyte of data.

Initially, Mediacom will not offer stand-alone mobile service. At launch, mobile will be available for home broadband, home phone, or pay-TV customers, while stand-alone service will be considered at a later date.

Mediacom plans to work with an external partner to offer a variety of devices and financing options. However, Dandnaik noted that they may not be able to offer some of the latest devices, such as iPhone 14 or 15, at launch.

Employees will be key to Mediacom Mobile’s customer acquisition strategy. The company’s agents and technicians are “really good at letting people know what sort of service we have,” Dandnaik said. “Every time our tech goes out to someone’s house, they see a product and they say, ‘oh, you have a mobile product. What’s that about?’ and our techs are really good at communications. That’s why we wanted to get employees engaged and give them first dibs of the product … I think our employees will be the first to go out there and communicate that every time they go out on a truck roll or a trouble call.”

Mediacom Mobile is expected to launch for customers in early June.

Also in the news:

BT fined £2.8m over EE and Plusnet contract failures
TalkTalk founder Sir Charles Dunstone attempts rescue with £150m cash injection
Spanish govt matches STC’s Telefónica stake with 10% acquisition 

News 

The company is scrambling to revive its financial health ahead of its looming debt repayments  

Along with its other shareholders, Talk Talk’s founder Sir Charles Dunstone is set to inject over £180 million into the company as struggles under the weight of a debt pile exceeding £1 billion. 

According to an article from the Telegraph, the company’s lenders are putting pressure on the main shareholders to reduce its revolving credit facility from £330 million to £150 ahead of its refinancing in November, which would require a cash injection of £180 million. The article confirms that talks between the two sides are ongoing. 

The company has 3.8 million broadband customers, making it the fourth largest provider in the UK.  

It has been battling debts for some time, with the total currently sitting around £1.1 billion. 

In September last year, the company announced plans to break up the business into three standalone companies, focussing on wholesale, consumer broadband, and small businesses, respectively. This, the company said, would allow for a more efficient sale process and allow it to meet its debt obligations. 

The following month, TalkTalk confirmed the sale of its business unit back to a group of its own shareholders for £95 million under a special purpose vehicle called TFP Telecoms. 

By February, another Telegraph report was suggesting that Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) was in discussion with TalkTalk to acquire its separated consumer division, although no sale has been agreed so far.  

VMO2 have attempted to acquire TalkTalk on multiple occasions, most notably for £3 billion in 2022, which was eventually scrapped due to unfavourable regulatory and economic conditions. 

Time is running out for TalkTalk to bolster its finances. The company is due to repay £685 million in bonds in February. In its 2023 financial report published in December, it warned that failure to meet this would “cast significant doubt” over the company’s future. 

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

Also in the news:
UK government conditionally approves £15bn Vodafone–Three merger
Nokia and Vodafone trial Open RAN with Arm and HPE
T-Mobile and Verizon to buy US Cellular, reports say

News

The scale of the fine reflects the “seriousness of this breach”, said Ofcom 

BT, the parent company of EE and Plusnet, has been hit with a £2.8 million fine from Ofcom after failing to provide potential customers with clear contract information before signing up.  

Since June 17, 2022, UK telecom companies have been required to provide customers with detailed contract information before they commit to a new service. Such details include pricing, contract length, service speeds, and any early termination fees.  

According to Ofcom, an investigation into EE and Plusnet showed both to have fallen short of these requirements, making 1.3 million sales without supplying the correct information. In total, Ofcom said this affected 1.1 million customers, undermining efforts to help them shop around effectively. 

BT had previously assured Ofcom that it would meet the deadline, but internal documents have shown that BT knew as early as January 2022 that it could not comply with the regulations. In some instances, BT knowingly chose not to comply on time, which Ofcom says saved them implementation costs. 

BT have since reached out to the majority of affected customers to update them and to give customers the chance to cancel their contracts without penalties. However, some sales channels are still non-compliant, meaning some customers are still not receiving the correct contract information at the right time. 

In addition to the fine, Ofcom also require BT to: 

Identify and refund any early exit fees within five months;  
Contact the remaining affected customers who have not yet been informed and offer offering them the correct contract information with the option to cancel their contracts for free, within three months;
And bring all its sales processes up to standard within three months.

“When we strengthened our rules to make it easier for consumers to compare deals, we gave providers a strict timeline by which to implement them,” said Ian Strawhorne, Ofcom’s Enforcement Director.  

“It’s unacceptable that BT couldn’t get its act together in time, and the company must now pay a penalty for its failings,” he continued. 

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

Also in the news:
UK government conditionally approves £15bn Vodafone–Three merger
Nokia and Vodafone trial Open RAN with Arm and HPE
T-Mobile and Verizon to buy US Cellular, reports say