Broadband ISP Virgin Media UK (VMO2) has today announced that more than 14,000 additional homes and businesses in the Derbyshire (England) town and civil parish of Alfreton can now access their new 2Gbps speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network, which was made possible by nexfibre’s supporting network expansion. Alfreton is only the latest in a long list […]

Press Release

Verizon has announced that Verizon Innovative Learning, the company’s award-winning education initiative focused on supporting digital equity and inclusion for students nationwide, has reached seven million students with digital skills training.

According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), there are still nearly 17 million school children in the U.S. that lack internet access at home. That’s why, over a decade ago, Verizon Innovative Learning was launched to address barriers to digital inclusion in Title I schools. With leading education partners, we empower students with new ways of learning through extensive support for educators, technology-integrated curriculum, emerging technologies including 5G, and free internet access. We have expanded access to our education programs to all nationwide through free immersive applications for any device, microcredential-aligned professional development, and tech-focused learning resources.

This effort is part of Citizen Verizon, the company’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement, which uses leading-edge technology to help drive social impact and create lasting change across communities. This extended reach of the flagship program brings Verizon one step closer to the company’s goal of reaching 10 million youth with digital skills training by 2030.

“For over 11 years, it has been our commitment to ensure students are provided equal access to digital technology and next-gen tools. Without this access, millions of young people risk being left out of the digital economy, and the world will be deprived of the economic, social and environmental benefits of a diverse tech workforce,” said Rose Stuckey Kirk, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at Verizon. “Reaching 7 million students is a monumental milestone toward this goal. We are, of course, keeping the momentum going so that millions more students can have access to next-gen technologies to unlock educational and career opportunities.”

Bringing Digital Learning Skills to Classrooms in Need

This year, Verizon is continuing to expand its Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program, in partnership with Digital Promise, and will welcome 34 new Title I schools from 13 school districts to its 11th cohort for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year.

These additions include expanding partnerships with returning school districts, such as Miami-Dade County Public Schools (FL), Kansas City Public Schools (MO) and Norwalk Public Schools (CT). The Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program is also excited to welcome 10 new school districts, including two new cities, such as Whitehall City School District in Columbus, Ohio, and the Albuquerque School of Excellence in New Mexico. The addition of these schools brings the program’s reach to 626 middle and high schools nationwide.

Participating schools in the transformative Verizon Innovative Learning program receive free tablets or laptop devices with up to a four-year Verizon data plan for every student and teacher. Teachers gain access to extensive professional development that supports powerful teaching and learning with technology in and out of the classroom. In addition, these schools receive a subsidy for a full-time technology coach to support teachers in effectively integrating technology into learning.

Extending Innovative Lessons to Teachers Nationwide

In addition to supporting Title I schools across the U.S. with access to technology and innovative learning programs, Verizon also provides educators nationwide with access to tools to help bring new ways of learning into their classrooms through Verizon Innovative Learning HQ. The free next-gen online K-12 education portal offers hundreds of free lessons across subjects ranging from supplemental turnkey lessons to yearlong courses and immersive learning experiences with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). The portal combines nearly a decade of experience working in STEM education through the award-winning Verizon Innovative Learning initiative with resources created in partnership with Discovery Education, McGraw Hill, Arizona State University, Digital Promise, and others at the forefront of innovation in education. This portal has helped to reach millions of new students, more than doubling Verizon Innovative Learning’s impact in the last year.

More than two dozen new courses and activities have been recently added to the platform for teachers to access for free. This includes Bridge to the Future, a virtual field trip experience from Discovery Education, which allows students to learn about Extended Reality (XR) and discover how this innovative technology impacts industries like entertainment, medicine and education.

Verizon Innovative Learning HQ also provides educators with extensive training and resources, which now includes over 50 professional development courses, many aligned with microcredentials, enabling them to learn new skills and feel confident integrating technology into the learning experience. New courses available now on the platform in partnership with NYC Media Lab include programming from museums and cultural institutions like the ‘Developing and Using Models Course’ by The Franklin Institute and ‘Using Visceral Science in Your Classroom’ by the Liberty Science Center. Educators can visit Verizon.com/Learning to sign up at no cost.

Citizen Verizon is the company’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement. Citizen Verizon empowers Verizon to deliver on its mission to move the world forward through action by expanding digital access and resources, protecting the climate, and ensuring people have the skills needed for jobs of the future. Through Citizen Verizon, and the key pillars of Digital Inclusion, Climate Protection and Human Prosperity, the company’s responsible business goals include providing 10 million youths with digital skills training by 2030, supporting 1 million small businesses with resources to help them thrive in the digital economy by 2030, achieving net zero emissions in its operations by 2035, and preparing 500,000 individuals for jobs of the future by 2030. Learn more at CitizenVerizon.com.

Are US operators doing enough to counter the digital divide in towns and cities across the country? Join the discussion next week at Connected America, live in Dallas. Tickets available now!

Also in the news:
BT wins £26m contract to connect UK schools
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Japan to reduce regulatory pressure on incumbent NTT

News

Cellnex revealed late last year that its Irish unit was likely to be sold 

Florida-based wireless infrastructure company Phoenix Tower International (PTI) has announced a deal with Cellnex to acquire 100% of the latter’s Irish business for €971 million. 

Cellnex has been operating in Ireland since 2019, when it when it acquired tower operator Cignal as part of an agreement with CK Hutchinson to acquire its infrastructure portfolio in six European countries (which included Ireland). Since then, the number of towers Cellnex owns and operates in Ireland has grown to around 1,900 sites all of which will now be handed over to PTI. 

“The sale of our business in Ireland – at an appropriate valuation– is one further step within the company’s ‘Next Chapter’, in line with our strategy, to achieve the goal of consolidating, simplifying our corporate structure and focusing our efforts in the existing growth opportunities in the main markets in which we operate,” said Cellnex CEO Marco Patuano in a press release. 

Cellnex is on a mission to get its finances in order after its major M&A activities in recent years have left it  with a debt of €17.2 billion. 

This new focus was one of the main topics at Cellnex’s Capital Markets day in London this week, outlining its plans for the year ahead as the company switches its focus towards capital preservation. The company unveiled four new strategic pillars for their future organic expansion: 

Simple: Cellnex will undertake a strategic portfolio review to focus on core markets and divest from non-core business lines.
Focused: Towers will remain at the core of the business, but Cellnex will invest in selected business lines – DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems), SCs (Small Cells) & RAN (Radio Access Network) as a service; and wholesale fibre, connectivity & housing services – aiming to grow these from 11% to 15% of total revenues by 2027.
Efficient: Cellnex will launch a comprehensive efficiency plan to improve the EBITDAaL margin by 500 basis points to 64% in 2027.
Responsible: Cellnex will continue to commit to its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles within its strategic framework.

The full Capital Markets Day details can be found here. 

For PTI, on the other hand, appears to be on the opposite trajectory, with this purchase the latest in a number of moves in the European tower sector.  

Back in September, PTI announced the acquisition of 2,000 cell sites in urban France, now making it the largest market of the 21 in which PTI operates. In 2020, the PTI also struck a deal with Bouygues Telecom to build and operate 4,000 new tower sites in France over the next 12 years. 

The closing of the deal is subject to standards regulatory approvals. 

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

Also in the news:
BT wins £26m contract to connect UK schools
Apple fined €1.8bn by European Commission over Spotify row
Japan to reduce regulatory pressure on incumbent NTT

The CCO of the Complete Technology Group (CTG), Kevin Monaghan, has criticised today’s Spring Budget 2024 announcement for both failing to “crackdown” on broadband ISPs “inflicting substantial mid-contract price hikes” on consumers and not announcing any new provisions to help upgrade digital infrastructure. The Government currently has two headline investment programmes for improving broadband and […]

Network operator and UK ISP CommunityFibre, which has deployed a 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across a big chunk of London, has sadly just begun informing existing customers about a new round of annual price increases. The only good news is that their packages are still fairly competitive. The operator, which also owns Box […]

Broadband operator Netomnia, which is supported by ISP YouFibre and had been aiming to cover 1 million UK premises with their 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network by early 2024, has announced that they’ve covered 850,000 premises (up from 730k in Nov 2023) and raised a further £147.5m to fuel their rollout. The group, which now […]

Viewpoint 

On day one of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024, Huawei’s Bob Chen, President of Huawei Optical Business Product Line, launched the company’s latest Innovative All-Optical Products

Huawei estimate that 2024 will be the year that F5.5G will be used commercially, and within this, 10Gigabit connections are the foundation of intelligent applications. The products launched by Huawei will support the global operators to build F5.5G all-optical target networks and accelerate the development of 10G ultra broadband, which will help F5.5G to be commercialised.

The three products launches were the Industry’s 1st DC-oriented OTN product, OptiX OSN 9800 K36; the Industry’s 1st intelligent OLT product, OptiXaccess MA5800T; and the Industry’s 1st FTTR+X product, iFTTR OptiXstar F50 for ultra-broadband backbone, 10G access, and all-optical smart home scenarios. All three of the product launches will all help operators build a F5.5G all-optical target network and accelerate development of 10G ultra broadband, which will help to expand the commercial use of F5.5G.

In his address, Chen explained that operators must build a an F5.5G all-optical target network that supports “1+3+4” core features amid 10G ultra broadband development in to boost the development of F5.5G further. The three all-optical products that Huawei has launched will help this:

Ultra-broadband backbone: The OptiX OSN 9800 K36 is the industry’s first Data Centre-oriented optical transport network product. It has three innovations. First, it provides single-wavelength 1.6Tbps, 33% higher than the next highest rate and reducing cost-per-bit by 30%. Second, it has an innovative dual-3D orthogonal architecture that quadruples the capacity, so it can deal with traffic surges. The built-in intelligent unit implements detection and real-time intelligent fault analysis within milliseconds, supports accurate construction of digital optical networks, secures the optimal working state for networks, and improves the network availability.

10G access: The industry’s first intelligent optical line terminal (OLT) product, MA5800T, also has upgrades. It enables he capacity of a single slot on the device reaches 2T, more than twice the industry average, and can evolve to 200G PON. It also has built-in intelligent computing to improve user experience.

All-optical smart home: The industry’s first FTTR+X product, the iFTTR F50, features a C-WAN architecture coupled with Wi-Fi 7, resulting in a rapid access rate of 3000 Mbps. It also is equipped with a built-in storage and computing unit providing users with up to 8TB of storage space and intelligent album search functions.

“2024 is the first year of F5.5G commercial use, and fixed networks will take a new leap forward. Amid the development of 10G ultra broadband, Huawei released three innovative all-optical products…helping operators build the F5.5G all-optical target network with “1+3+4” core features, continuously broaden service boundaries, and advance the intelligent world,” concluded Chen.

News

If the deal gets the go-ahead, it will mean the removal of UK listed Spirent from the London Stock Exchange 

 

This week, US technology company Viavi Solutions has made a £1 billion takeover bid for UK-based telecoms testing group Spirent Communications. 

Viavi offered 175 pence per share for Spirent, with Chief Executive Oleg Khaykin saying in a press release that the deal would “deliver enhanced product solutions and applications, accelerate growth in new markets and strengthen innovation through expanded engineering and design capabilities”. 

The deal is expected to help Viavi Solutions boost its expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning, security, cloud-native architecture, and automation.   

Viavi, who claim they are a “global leader in communications test and measurement and optical technologies” have outlined their strategic and financial rationale for the acquisition, saying they expect the deal to create a leading provider of test, assurance and security solutions; provide diversification and higher growth; achieve better R&D; and reduce costs, with operational efficiencies set to decrease by $75 million two years after the acquisition. 

“Spirent has undergone a period of significant transformation and growth over recent years and I am proud of the significant progress we have made, thanks to the efforts and commitment of our people,” said Spirent CEO Eric Updyke. 

“More recently, however, we have endured significant challenges due to the macro backdrop and the impact of this on our core end markets. These conditions are likely to continue for some time,” he continued. 

The acquisition will be funded by a combination of Viavi’s existing cash, an $800 million 7-year loan from Wells Fargo Bank, and a $400 million investment from investment firm Silver Lake. 

The deal is subject to standard regulatory approval and is set to close in the second half of the year. 

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

Also in the news:
BT wins £26m contract to connect UK schools
Apple fined €1.8bn by European Commission over Spotify row
Japan to reduce regulatory pressure on incumbent NTT

News

Colt Technology Services released findings from a comprehensive study involving 1,114 IT leaders across 12 countries. The research highlights a surge in optimism around technology budgets, with almost 8 in 10 (79%) businesses planning to increase their tech budgets over the next one to three years.

Security (40%) and the integration of AI and machine learning capabilities (31%) emerged as the top priorities for IT leaders. Notably, one in four businesses is leveraging digital infrastructure to explore new revenue streams, with Japan leading at 31% and the US at 30%.

However, environmental concerns are gaining traction, with 20% prioritising understanding the environmental impact of their IT infrastructure and a similar percentage aiming to reduce it. Spain stands out as the most committed in addressing these concerns, with 28% focusing on understanding and 26% on reducing environmental impact.

Buddy Bayer, Chief Operating Officer at Colt, emphasised the shifting perspective on digital infrastructure, now viewed as a central driver for growth and revenue opportunities. The research also uncovered key trends, such as a focus on emerging tech (25%), quantum computing impact awareness (15%), and the critical need for enhanced network flexibility (23%).

Industries exhibit unique priorities, with travel, transport, and logistics companies emphasising environmental impact, financial services leaders focusing on AI and machine learning (36%), and manufacturers (30%) utilising IT to explore new revenue streams.

Bayer expressed enthusiasm for the research results, saying “It’s a privilege for us to carry out this research across so many countries. The exciting results give us a deeper understanding into our markets and they’ll inform and inspire us, as we support our global customers and partners through the next digital revolution”.

The study was conducted by Intuit Research for Colt Technology Services, surveying IT decision-makers across 12 regions between November 30 and December 14, 2023.

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The Conservative MP for Beverley and Holderness, Graham Stuart, has followed up his previous calls for the UK government to clampdown on the use of “ugly and unnecessary” poles – used to deploy some gigabit broadband networks – by sending a letter to the Digital Infrastructure Minister, Julia Lopez, which makes five key “demands“. Poles […]