News 

The news comes just days after the company won €1 billion from the Italian government in a legal battle 

Telecom Italia (TIM) has announced that it has signed a €1.5 billion bridge loan to strengthen its financial position ahead of the sale of its fixed network infrastructure business, NetCo, to KKR and the Italian government for up to €22 billion. 

It is expected that the loan will reassure investors while the sale remains to be approved by regulators.  

In a short press release, the company confirmed that “the transaction is aimed at covering re-financing needs until the closing date of the NetCo transaction and it presents conditions in line with the market benchmarks.” 

The loan has a maturity of up to 18 months and was arranged with BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, Santander, and Unicredit as bookrunners. 

The sale of NetCo is the brainchild of TIM CEO Pietro Labriola, who says the move is necessary for TIM to reduce its debt pile of over €26 billion by €14 billion and therefore allow the company the financial flexibility it needs to compete in the market effectively. 

TIM’s largest shareholder, French media company Vivendi, however, has expressed its disapproval of the deal, saying that it greatly undervalues TIM’s fixed network assets. In a November press release, the company confirmed that it would “use any legal means necessary” to challenge the decision. 

This new tranche of funding comes in a week when TIM’s financial outlook was already looking up, having just  won a 15 year-long court battle with the Italian government over licensing fees it was ordered to pay in 1998, the year after the Italian telecoms sector was liberalised. The Rome Court of Appeal has ordered the Italian government to repay the €500 million fee, plus revaluation and accrued interest, which leaves the fee standing at €1 billion. 

The government is appealing the decision. 

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Also in the news:
FCC rejects SpaceX’s request for spectrum
Amazon invests $2.75 billion in AI startup Anthropic
T-Mobile gets green light to appeal class action lawsuit

News

A new report from the Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA) shows 69% of Brits would accept new poles being installed in exchange for better broadband

There is no two ways about it: telephone poles can be an eyesore.

Local news outlets in the UK publish a near constant stream of Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY)-related stories, in which residents decry the deployment of ugly connectivity infrastructure near their picaresque homes.

But this week a new survey from ISPA suggests that these concerns may be overblown when looking at the UK at large, with results suggesting that almost 70% of people would accept a new telephone pole being erected in their street if it delivered better broadband.

The survey, which included 2,563 respondents, found that:

Three quarters (75%) of British adults surveyed accept having telephone poles in their street if they deliver great broadband
Almost 7 in 10 (69%) surveyed would accept a new telephone pole in their street today if it delivered better broadband to their house and community
Less than 1 in 5 (17%) Brits surveyed would not accept a new telephone pole in their street today if it delivered better broadband to their house and community

The survey also showed that poles are perhaps less of an eyesore than previously thought: 37% of respondents said they ‘rarely or never telecoms poles when out and about’, while 19% say they notice them “frequently or always”.

Another factor to consider here is that providing broadband infrastructure via overhead poles, while undoubtedly uglier than burying the cables underground, is a markedly cheaper way to deploy this infrastructure.

When the respondents were asked if they would be willing to pay extra in order to have the network deployed underground, 61% said they would not be willing to pay extra to this end. Of those who would pay extra (30%), the average additional contribution suggested was £179 – less than a tenth of how much it would actually cost to hide cables underground in someone’s street per household.

“Poles have always been a historic feature of the UK telecommunications network and the new data clearly shows that the vast majority of the UK population is fine with that,” said ISPA’s chairman Steve Leighton.

“Our members will avoid erecting new poles but that is not always possible, and in those cases our members try their best to accommodate local concerns, However, the data clearly shows that the public does not want to pay more to hide cables underground.”

“We will continue to engage proactively with the Government to ensure that local concerns are reflected appropriately but we need to avoid a situation where objections from a minority lead to higher prices for everybody,” he added.

Naturally, it is in the interest of ISPA’s members to promote telephone poles as method of deploying broadband given that it is both faster and cheaper than digging below ground, but the timing of this study is worth noting too.

Last month the UK government called on network operators to limit telegraph pole deployments wherever possible to reduce impact to communities. Given that the government also has lofty goals of making gigabit-capable broadband available to 85% of UK premises by the end of 2025, threatening to put formal limitations on deployment methods no doubt caused a stir within the country’s broadband community.

However, it seemed the ISPA had anticipated this move by the government, conducting this survey back in February, likely to help convince the government that telegraph poles are less of a burden on communities than some complainants would have them believe.

Join the telecoms ecosystem in discussion at Connected North live in Manchester later this month!

Also in the news:
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News

The telco has been hard at work upgrading its network to the new architecture since the start of the year 

This week, Vodafone Germany has announced its network construction update for the first quarter of this year. Within this time frame, Vodafone has made strides in bolstering mobile connectivity infrastructure across the country, completing over 1,200 construction projects.  

According to the company, this effort, which averaged 13 projects daily, underscores the company’s commitment to enhancing its LTE and 5G network capabilities. 

During this period, Vodafone commissioned 155 new base stations and upgraded almost 500 existing stations to 5G standalone (SA), which Vodafone calls 5G+. Nearly 170 measures were implemented to address LTE dead spots, ensuring more consistent coverage across the country. 

Deploying 5G SA constituted almost 40% of the total construction efforts. As a result, approximately half of Germany’s population now has access to Vodafone’s 5G+ network. 

Favourable weather conditions in March 2024 further expedited construction efforts, with over 550 locations seeing project completion. On average, three new mobile phone stations were activated daily during this period, contributing to the integration of 67 new locations into the Vodafone network. 

In related company news, last month Vodafone Germany announced that it will cut 2,000 jobs over the next two years as part wider company restructuring. It is hoped that the move will save the company €400 million. 

The cuts are part of cost-cutting measures announced by new Group CEO Margherita Della Valle in May last year, in which 11,000 jobs are expected to be cut globally over the next three years. 

 “Vodafone wants to make itself even simpler, faster, leaner and therefore more powerful in the next two years,” said Vodafone Germany CEO Philipp Roggein a speech to employees. 

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

Also in the news:
FCC rejects SpaceX’s request for spectrum
Amazon invests $2.75 billion in AI startup Anthropic
T-Mobile gets green light to appeal class action lawsuit

Press Release

AXIAN Telecom, one of the leading pan-African telecom groups, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Vivek Badrinath to its Board of Directors as a Non-Executive Director (NED)

Before his new appointment, Mr. Badrinath spent three years at Vantage Towers AG where he was the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board. He led the establishment of the towers company in 2020, facilitated its IPO in 2021, and eventually its sale to Private Equity in 2023. Under his leadership, Vantage Towers effectively managed 88,000 telecom towers across eight European countries.

Mr. Badrinath has held extensive leadership roles within the telecommunications sector. In 2016, he assumed the position of CEO of Africa Middle East Asia Pacific at Vodafone, joining their Executive Committee. In this capacity, he provided oversight to Vodafone’s operations across various regions including the Vodacom Group, India, Australia, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and New Zealand. Additionally, he served as the Interim CEO of Vodafone Business during his tenure. Prior to his time at Vodafone, Mr. Badrinath held key positions at Orange, starting in 2004 as the CTO of Orange Mobile before advancing to the Group CTO. His journey at Orange culminated in his appointment as CEO of Orange Business Services and subsequently as Deputy CEO of Orange Group, where he spearheaded initiatives in Innovation, Marketing, and Technology.

He also served as the Deputy Chief Executive at the renowned international hospitality group Accor Hotels where he was responsible for overseeing marketing strategies, digital solutions, distribution channels, and information systems.

Hassanein Hiridjee, Chairman of the Board commented: “We are delighted to welcome Vivek Badrinath to the AXIAN Telecom Board. Badrinath’s leadership in managing telecom infrastructure and driving strategic growth aligns perfectly with AXIAN Telecom’s vision of responsible expansion across Africa. With his wealth of knowledge and commitment to excellence, we are confident that he will make significant contributions to our mission of enhancing connectivity and improving the lives of communities throughout the continent. On behalf of the Board, I extend our warmest welcome to Badrinath.”

 “I’m thrilled and deeply honored to become a part of AXIAN Telecom. Drawing from my experience and expertise in the telecommunications sector, I am looking forward to playing a pivotal role in driving AXIAN Telecom to new heights in Africa. I firmly believe that together, we can make a substantial and noteworthy impact across the continent,” said Mr. Badrinath about his appointment.

Mr Badrinath also previously served on many boards as a Non-Executive Director including Nokia, GSMA, Atos and Accor Group.

He is a recipient of the French Legion of Honor and the National Order of Merit.

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Also in the news:
FCC rejects SpaceX’s request for spectrum
Amazon invests $2.75 billion in AI startup Anthropic
T-Mobile gets green light to appeal class action lawsuit

A couple of years have now passed since Plusnet announced that it would no longer be providing managed broadband and phone services to new customers under the John Lewis brand (here). But until now the ISP has continued to provide a service to remaining customers who haven’t yet moved to Plusnet or another provider, yet that is now about to end.

According to a new report in The Sun (via Birmingham Mail), JLB will finally switch off its remaining broadband and email services for good on 28th May 2024. A spokesperson for the provider said: “John Lewis Broadband, provided by Plusnet, is closing its service. We’re no longer offering packages to new customers. We’ve worked with Plusnet for over 10 years and you can get the same great service by signing up for an award-winning broadband deal from Plusnet.”

The above statement is, however, not entirely correct since customers won’t be able to get exactly the “same great service” via Plusnet because they will lose access to the JLB associated email addresses (e.g. @john-lewis.com, @greenbee.net or @waitrose.com).

Rochdale-based UK ISP Zen Internet has informed ISPreview that they’ve passed an important milestone after their broadband subscriber (circuit) base surpassed the 200,810 mark, which represents an increase of 14,810 on the total of 186,000 that was published in their last annual accounts to the end of September 2022.

The news comes only a few months after the provider revealed that they had finally completed their exchange rollout (unbundling) programme (here), which means that 86% of the United Kingdom are now within reach of their cheaper on-net based Ethernet (leased lines) and broadband products (e.g. FTTP).

Network operator X-Fibre, which is exclusively supported by UK broadband ISP Shere Internet (vertically integrated), has announced that their new self-financed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network build recently started to go live in the Surrey Hills area of England.

Just to recap. X-Fibre is a company that previously focused on building full fibre networks for other operators (i.e. acting as a civil engineering contractor), such as for F&W Networks and Box Broadband (CommunityFibre) in Cranleigh during 2021. The following year they also installed about 70km of fibre for ITS Technology in Birmingham and then a few villages for Quickline in Yorkshire.

However, last year we noted (here) that the company had pivoted to focus all their energy on their own self-financed build, which highlighted an aspiration to “surpass” 10,000 homes across parts of Surrey, West Sussex, and Hampshire in England “within the next five years” (i.e. by 2028). But at the time there wasn’t a lot of information available.

The operator’s Director, Leroy Patterson, has now informed ISPreview that they have initially been focusing their own-build efforts on the Surrey Hills area. As a result of that, their network is now said to be live for customers in Bramley, Wonersh, Shalford, Chilworth, Aldbury, Blackheath, Shere, Gomshall, Burrows cross and Abinger Hammer.

X-Fibre has also approached the Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency for support with funding to help them serve more areas in 2024, although Leroy added that the postcode checker “currently covers nearly 4,000 UPRNS [premises] ready for service.”

Residential customers in related areas can sign-up, via Shere Internet, from £49.99 per month for their one and only 1Gbps broadband package with free installation on a 24-month term (the website incorrectly describes this as “GB” for GigaBytes, rather than “Gb” for Gigabits).

Subscribers can also choose a monthly rolling plan for the same price, except you’ll then have to pay £99 for the one-off installation. But we do think they are overlooking the entry-level market (users who only need a basic service) by seemingly failing to offer a slower and cheaper tier.

Edinburgh-based UK business ISP Commsworld has today launched a new and more “cost effective” business-grade broadband service using Ethernet over Fibre to the Premises (EoFTTP) technology, which they say can provide “minimum bandwidth assurances as well as rapid repair times in the event of a fault.”

EoFTTP typically sits somewhere in the middle between consumer FTTP broadband lines, which often have no or very little in the way of guarantees regarding reliability or higher bandwidth when put under pressure by heavy usage, and more expensive Ethernet leased lines that offer guaranteed higher bandwidth all day every day with a strong Service Level Agreement (SLA).

The EoFTTP solution is thus more intended to cater for smaller businesses that don’t need a leased line, but where consumer FTTP might well be too risky for some of their needs. Commsworld’s EoFTTP also utilises the growing FTTP coverage from a number of network builders, including Openreach and CityFibre, as well as Commsworld’s own fibre infrastructure across many major Scottish cities and large areas in Northumberland.

Charlie Boisseau, CTO at Commsworld, said:

“The lack of a quality option that sits in the middle of the market for business is a problem that has persisted for years, but hasn’t been filled due to lack of fibre infrastructure. Commsworld’s EoFTTP leverages the growing abundance of this new FTTP coverage across multiple operators to fill that gap – especially for SMEs that do not need the top-end service more suited to bigger corporates.

In essence, it utilises the infrastructure that is now on the market for individuals and homeowners, where they share networks with other neighbours, with just a single fibre cable delivering this shared network to their homes.

But in terms of reliability, flexibility and speed of service, Commsworld’s EoFTTP is a true Ethernet circuit and is therefore capable of delivering all Commsworld’s standard Fibre Ethernet features reliably and flexibly – with the usual end-to-end resilience of all our products, as well as a highly valuable burstable increase to 1Gbps when needed.”

Through this fibre connection, EoFTTP pledges to guarantee 100Mbps as a minimum, but is also ‘burstable’ to 1Gbps during higher demand periods. Commsworld plans to add additional alternative network operators to further extend coverage of EoFTTP in the coming months.

We should point out that a number of other ISPs have also launched EoFTTP products over the past few years.

Broadband ISP and UK mobile operator EE (BT) has announced that they’ve boosted their 4G mobile coverage in the Welsh county of Ceredigion by upgrading services at over 10 mobile masts. The work forms part of more than 150 other locations across Wales where EE has expanded 4G under the £1bn industry-led Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme.

The SRN – supported by £500m of public funding and £532m from operators – involves both the reciprocal sharing of existing masts in certain areas and the demand-led building and sharing of new masts in others between the operators (MNO). The target is to extend geographic 4G coverage (aggregate) to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025, which falls to 84% when only considering the areas where you’ll be able to take 4G from all providers.

The recent work in Ceredigion has, for example, seen EE strengthen its 4G connectivity along two of the county’s major roads, the A44 and the A487, as well as in several towns and villages including Aberystwyth, Aberteifi (Cardigan), Llangrannog, and Morfa Borth amongst others.

EE’s mobile connectivity has also been boosted at popular locations such as Aberaeron Beach, Llangrannog Beach, Teifi Estuary, Bwlch Nant yr Arian Forest, Ynyslas National Nature Reserve and along the Wales Coast Path in Cardigan Bay.

Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer at BT Group, said:

“Ceredigion is famous for its Cardigan Bay coastline and the wild Cambrian Mountains. It is also one of the most sparsely populated parts of Wales. These new 4G upgrades will not only mean residents will be able to stay connected to the people and things they love most, but businesses and community groups can use our network to offer new services and experiences to the many tourists who visit every year.

Having brought our 4G connectivity to a further 1,600 rural locations across the UK as part of our significant contribution to the Shared Rural Network, we have gone further than anyone to deliver reliable mobile connectivity for rural communities who need it most.”

In terms of EE’s own service, the operator recently reported that their geographic 4G mobile network overage in each individual nation now stands at: England (94%), Northern Ireland (89%), Scotland (77%), and Wales (86%).

Network operator Freedom Fibre, which has deployed a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cover 300,000 UK premises (27th Mar 2024) – mostly in the North West of England, is extending their “Freedom Fund” to North Shropshire in England from 5th April 2024 and has allocated £25,000 for distribution.

Just to recap, the operator’s fund is usually open to non-profit community groups and environmental projects in areas where Freedom Fibre are currently deploying their new full fibre network. Projects can apply for up to £500 worth of funding.

The Fund is now in its third year and has previously provided funds for a range of projects, such as community orchards and gardens, solar panels and habitat improvement projects.

Neil McArthur MBE, CEO of Freedom Fibre, said:

“We pride ourselves on investing in the communities where we are rolling out our network, so I’m delighted that we’ll be investing such a large amount of money in to good and green causes across North Shropshire. I can’t wait to see what applications we receive this time round.”

Community non-profit groups interested in applying to the Freedom Fund can find out more and apply at www.freedomfibre.com/fund. Applications of up to £500 can be made online and must be made before 5pm on Friday 28 June 2024.