Openreach’s (BT) long road toward completely switching off their old copper-based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) in December 2025 is set to hit a major milestone on 5th September 2023, when it places a UK wide “stop sell” on sales of new Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) and related broadband ISP products. The move, which will […]

Alternative network provider County Broadband, which is working to deploy a new gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to 500,000 rural premises across the East of England by the end of 2027, has today launched the ‘Hypercharged Foundation‘ – offering grants to support community-centric causes in their build areas. The full fibre provider, which is supported […]

Some 14,000 homes and businesses in the Kent (England) town of Sevenoaks will soon benefit after Netomnia, supported by UK ISP YouFibre, started a £4.2m project to deploy their 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / XGS-PON) broadband network in the area. The operator has contracted civil engineering firm GNS Communications to roll out its broadband infrastructure […]

Infracapital-backed broadband ISP and AltNet WightFibre, which is deploying a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across the Isle of Wight – just off the South Coast of Hampshire in England, has today issued their first coverage update in a long time and confirmed that they now cover 57,000 premises (up from 40,000 in July 2022). The […]

American credit rating agency Fitch has downgraded TalkTalk’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating to B- from B and put the UK broadband ISP on Rating Watch Negative (RWN). The move follows recent confirmation that the internet provider, under pressure from its debts, is to be broken up and sold off in pieces (here). The latest Fitch […]

News 

The merger will see the two firms reunify for the first time since EchoStar was spun off from Dish 15 years ago 

Reports from the Wall Street Journal earlier today suggesting that US firms Dish Network and EchoStar are close to finalising a merger deal have since been confirmed.  

Earlier last month, Total Telecom reported that the two firms had hired advisors to iron out the details of the merger, which is now set to be completed by the end of the year. 

Chairman and founder of both companies, Charlie Ergen, said the move will provide Dish Network with the financial freedom it needs to build a nationwide wireless network that is able to compete with the likes of AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.  

“This is a strategically and financially compelling combination that is all about growth and building a long-term sustainable business,” said Ergen. 

In recent years, Dish has been rapidly evolving from a pure satellite television operator to a major player in the wireless market. Dish agreed to purchase Sprint’s pre-paid mobile brand Boost as part of the mega-merger between T-Mobile and Sprint back in 2020, in a bid to become the country’s fourth national mobile network operator. Since then, the company has won 5G spectrum at auction and has been busy rolling out infrastructure across the US.  

Dish has said that it will invest up to $10 billion to deploy its 5G wireless network. 

Now, this new merger will combine EchoStar’s satellite communications structure with Dish’s pay-TV business and 5G network. 

Dish network is valued at around $4 billion, and Echostar at $2 billion. Dish is notably laden with debt, while EchoStar is not, hence the merger appears primarily motivated by the financial support it will lend the mobile operator in continuing to finance its rollout of 5G infrastructure. 

Ergen currently owns 60% of EchoStar shares and over half of Dish’s. Under the terms of the new deal, EchoStar shareholders will receive 2.85 Class A shares from Dish per share of Echostar with the exchange ratio representing a 12.9% premium on EchoStar’s shares closing valuein early July, when reports of the merger first surfaced. 

“Ergen has been trying to win back investor confidence in his wireless strategy. Dish shares have hit lows not seen in more than two decades this year as analysts question whether his project will pay off before billions of dollars of debt come due in the coming years,” the Wall Street Journal article states. 

Dish shares have been trading at their lowest level since 1999 and are down 41%, while EchoStar shares are up 41%. 

After the signing of the deal, Erik Carlson (CEO of Dish) is set to depart, leaving current EchoStar CEO Hamid Akhavan to take over as current CEO and president of the combined company. 

You can hear more about US mergers at next year’s Connected America – secure your place here 

Also in the news:
Rakuten Mobile CEO Tareq Amin makes unexpected exit
Pair of subsea cables severed off the west coast of Africa
Could triboelectric nanogenerators be key to powering the IoT? 

News

UScellular’s owner Telephone and Data Systems (TDS) says it may consider putting the underperforming mobile operator up for auction

This week, reports suggest that UScellular’s parent company TDS are considering “strategic alternatives” for the mobile company, which could include a full sale or the onboarding or new investors.

TDS said that it has begun a strategic review of UScellular, hiring investment firm Citi act as financial advisors in exploring their options for the business.

“The TDS board believes that now is the right time for a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives for U.C. Cellular. We will pursue the pathway that is in the best interest of shareholders,” said Walter C.D. Carlson, Chairman of the TDS Board.

“There is no deadline or definitive timetable set for completion of the strategic review, and there can be no assurance regarding the results or outcome of this review. TDS and UScellular do not intend to comment further on the strategic review process, and we’ll make further announcements as appropriate,” added TDS CFO Vicki Villacrez on a subsequent earnings call.

UScellular is the fifth largest mobile service provider in the US, with roughly 4.2 million subscribers across the 21 states. It currently employs around 4,600 people and has a market capitalisation of roughly $2.65 billion.

Who exactly would seek to purchase UScellular remains unclear, but the most likely candidates are surely the US telco giants T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T. These companies not only have pockets deep enough to make such a purchase but could also put the UScellular’s assets to good use – particularly its spectrum holdings.

UScellular spent over a billion dollars on 5G spectrum in the latest spectrum auction, much of which could be used to bolster the larger operators’ existing 5G services.

In addition to its valuable spectrum holdings, UScellular also owns 4,341 mobile towers across the US, assets that have been highly prized by both telcos and private equity investors alike in recent years.

On the other hand, the company’s somewhat disjointed footprint – as seen below – could make it less appealing to an individual buyer.

As such, it is feasible that UScellular would be of most value to TDS if it were to be sold piecemeal, with its consumer business being offloaded to one of the major telcos and its tower infrastructure to a towerco or a private equity investor.

One final possibility worth mentioning here is that of UScellular being acquired by Dish Network. While this move would certainly go a long way towards helping Dish meet its 5G coverage obligations from the Federal Communications Commission, Dish’s poor financial health likely precludes such a deal, with the operator saying earlier this year that it was “desperate” to raise funds for its 5G rollout.

Besides, as of today, the company is likely to have its hands full, having announced plans to merge with sister company EchoStar.

How is the US mobile market evolving in 2023? Join the telecoms ecosystem in discussion at Connected America 2024?

Also in the news:
Nokia looks for a slice of BEAD funding with new Sanmina Corporation partnership
Terrapinn/Total Telecom acquires Broadband Communities
Rakuten Mobile CEO Tareq Amin makes unexpected exit

 

Source: TDS

News 

Amin cited personal reasons for his departure in a LinkedIn post 

The new management structure – effective from yesterday – sees Mickey Mikitani (group chairman and founder) appointed CEO and chairman of Rakuten Symphony. 

The firm explain in a statement issued yesterday that Mikitani “will draw on his position as Chairman and CEO of the Rakuten Group to drive Rakuten Symphony forward as it moves into its next phase of continued growth by maximising group synergies”. 

Sharad Sriwastawa (currently CTO of Rakuten Mobile) was appointed acting president of Rakuten Symphony, while also taking on the role of co-CEO at Rakuten Mobile and retaining the position of CTO. Kazuhiro Suzuki will continue as co-CEO. 

According to the company, Sriwastawa will be responsible for advancing “the progress of Rakuten Symphony’s innovative telco solutions that make it possible to launch and operate advanced mobile services in a fraction of the time and cost of conventional approaches, with no compromise to network quality or security”. 

Amin first joined Rakuten in 2018, starting out as CTO of Rakuten Mobile. He served as CEO of Rakuten Symphony from mid-2021, and co-CEO of Rakuten Mobile from April last year. 

Amin has long been a strong advocate for the Open RAN, describing the technology as the foundation for the introduction of cloud native, automated network operations. As an executive at Rakuten Mobile, he oversaw the rollout of the world’s first nationwide Open RAN-based mobile network, becoming something of a poster boy for the emerging technology. 

Rakuten’s commitment to Open RAN was further demonstrated with the company’s purchase of virtualised RAN provider Altiostar and its cloud management software provider Robin.io, which then combined to form Rakuten Symphony. Despite this legacy, Daryl Schoolar, director and analyst at Recon Analytics, noted that “it is very unusual for a company that starts out as a service provider to pivot to being a technology vendor. It is in this area Tareq appears to have limited success. It will be interesting to watch what happens to Symphony with Tareq gone.” 

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest international telecoms news? Click here to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter direct to your inbox! 

Also in the news:
Rakuten Mobile partners with Oracle for policy and charging software
Pair of subsea cables severed off the west coast of Africa
Airtel launches first 5G fixed wireless access service in India 

News

The West African Cable System (WACS) and South Atlantic 3 (SAT-3) submarine cables were reportedly damaged by a submarine landslide in the Congo Canyon

According to a report from MyBroadband, both the WACS and SAT-3 cables have experienced breaks off the coast of West Africa.

Reports suggest that the breaks took place on the cable sections situated between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon, likely due to a submarine mudslide around the Congo Canyon.

Congo Canyon is a steep submarine valley carved into the seabed around the mouth of the Congo River. The area is well known for cable disruption, with huge aquatic mudslides occurring when the Congo River floods heavily. This was the case in early 2020, when the Congo River saw its worst flooding for half a century, resulting in an underwater avalanche that heavily disrupted both WACS and SAT-3.

Now, it appears that similar activity has once again impacted these cables, with Telkom SA’s wholesale fixed-line division Openserve confirming that both cables have been severed.

The company also noted that service disruption from the event should be low due to the availability of alternative data transport routes.

“The impact on our network is limited to customers on the international private leased circuits (IPLC) services,” explained Openserve in a statement. “The Openserve network remains robust due to our investment in other international cable capacity, hence all Openserve IP Transit services (WebReach) traffic have been automatically re-routed, ensuring our customers stay seamlessly connected.”

The two cables in question are follow a similar route, travelling roughly 14,500km up the west coast of Africa and connecting South Africa to Portugal, with numerous international branches along the way.

SAT-3 is by far the older cable, coming into service in 2002, while WACS was activated in 2012.

The task of repairing the cables has already been allocated to the cable ship Leon Thevenin, but the process is likely to take some time; according to reports, the ship has only recently arrived in Mombasa, Kenya, and hence will travel south, around the Cape of Good Hope, and back up the west coast of Africa to reach its destination.

Want to keep up to date with all the latest submarine cable news? Join the industry in discussion at Submarine Networks EMEA, the world’s largest submarine cable industry event

Also in the news:
CEF Digital programme highlights Global Gateways projects at Submarine Networks EMEA 2023
What’s hot in the submarine networks industry today?
Ciena talks trends, technology, and transformation at Submarine Networks EMEA 2023

Mobile operator Sky Mobile, which harnesses O2’s Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) platform, appears to have become one of the first UK mobile providers to add Apple MacBook laptops to its range of devices with a bundled SIM, starting from just £22 a month for an Apple MacBook Air 13-Inch M1 (2020). The launch covers […]