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The project aims to upgrade Vodafone’s nationwide backbone network and increase its capacity to meet increased demands for a growing customer base 

In the past, Vodafone has managed three separate networks to carry mobile, home broadband, and enterprise customer traffic, respectively. Now, the company’s new Redstream Evolution network will bring together all three services onto a singular Software Defined Networking (SND)-enabled, core Internet Protocol (IP) transport network for UK customers. 

Redstream Evolution consists of 200 core sites throughout country connected by over 11,000km of optical fibre. By adding all customers onto the same network, Vodafone can benefit from economies of scale, resulting in improvements in customer experience as well as cost savings. 

This multi-year backbone network upgrade is now entering its “final phase”, with mobile and broadband customers being moved off the old network in a phased manner. Enterprise customers will be moved “in the near future”, according to the operator. 

The convergence of these three networks will ensure that customers do not experience congestion on the network and ensuring the infrastructure can cope with a future increase in demand. 

According to Vodafone, data consumption across the country is increasing 50% year-on-year. 

“The massive growth in data-hungry consumer apps and business services, alongside ever-increasing internet usage, simply cannot be supported by traditional approaches to network management and capacity expansion” said Andrea Dona, Chief Network Officer of Vodafone UK. 

“Redstream Evolution is a significant investment to modernise this critical link in our Vodafone network, creating a new express superhighway bringing more than enough capacity to deliver an amazing network experience for customers today, while also staying well ahead of future data traffic demands. This will be crucial as our home broadband customer base continues to grow, more of our business customers go through digital transformation programmes, and 5G and IoT usage rapidly increases the amount of data we use each day.” 

Vodafone says that UK customers’ mobile data usage has increased 300% since 2019. Simultaneously, businesses have increased consumption of digital and cloud-based services, thus requiring a reliable network. 

How will network improvements affect the the UK’s telecoms industry?  Join the ecosystem in discussion at this year’s live Connected Britain conference 

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Why the industry must accelerate the adoption of 5.5G 

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The citystate will follow in the footsteps of many countries that are saying goodbye to 3G this year, including Sweden, Greece, and Denmark  

Singaporean mobile network operators (MNOs) M1, Singtel, and Starhub have announced today that they will retire all 3G services by July 31st 2024. 

Since the introduction of 5G in 2021, nearly 99% of Singapore’s mobile subscribers are currently using either 4G or 5G. This leaves just 1% of customers using 3G, primarily those that have yet to upgrade to a 4G or 5G-capable mobile device. 

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) – the statutory board under the Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information – noted that the firms must ensure the smooth transition of these remaining 3G users to the 4G and 5G networks before closing their 3G services.  

The three operators will provide assistance to those customers migrating to the newer technologies.  

Once the 3G services are shut down, the operators will be able to use the newly freed-up spectrum to improve their 5G services, offering customers faster speeds and improved security. 

This 3G shutdown plan follows similar patterns seen in others markets worldwide.  In the US, for example, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon have almost completed their 3G phase outs, while in Europe, Vodafone UK is shutting off their 3G network in early 2024.  

How is the global telecommunications market evolving in 2023? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s Total Telecom Congress live from Amsterdam. 

Also in the news:
Vodafone UK to begin 3G switch off in June
Bouygues Telecom lays out 2G and 3G sunsetting plans
Why the industry must accelerate the adoption of 5.5G 

The website domain for full fibre network builder and UK ISP Swish Fibre appears to have been offline since yesterday because, according to the notice on its holding page, swishfibre.com has “expired and is parked free, courtesy of GoDaddy.com” (i.e. somebody probably forgot to renew it). Just to recap, the operator – backed by an […]

Broadband ISP and mobile operator Vodafone UK has revealed that they’re now entering the “final phase” of their multi-year Redstream Evolution project, which reflects the work being conducted to upgrade the backbone of their nationwide network and boost their capacity for future growth. Redstream Evolution is the backbone network that transports all of Vodafone’s telephony, […]

Broadband ISP and network builder Lit Fibre has today announced that their new 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network has gone live in several new towns, growing its overall coverage of the UK to 140,000 premises (Ready for Service) – up from 100,000 in April 2023. The provider, which started their deployment in 2021 and aims […]

In June, we reported on how Openreach were “exploring whether it’s practical” to deploy public EV chargers next to some of their 90,000 broadband cabinets (here). The good news is that BT, via their start-up and Digital incubation team, Etc. (that’s the actual name), plan to conduct a pilot that will “convert or upgrade” its […]

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According to the firm, the stake was bought from an unnamed private investor 

Mexican telco América Móvil has increased its share in A1 Telekom Austria Group by 5.55%, taking its total shareholding to 56.55% 

América Móvil, owned by billionaire businessman Carlos Slim, purchased the majority share (51%) of A1 Telekom Austria in 2014. At the time, the remaining shareholders in the Austrian telco were ÖBAG (28.4%), institutional investors (14.7%), retail (3.3%), and others (2.6%). 

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.  

“Telekom Austria is a core investment for América Móvil. We are very satisfied with the overall development of the company, a top performer amongst its European peers over the last several years,” said América Móvil CFO Carlos García Moreno. 

The share price of A1 Telekom Austria rose 1.04% on the announcement. 

For América Móvil, this stake increase comes at a time of increasing commitment to the Austrian market, including plans to accelerate A1’s Telkom’s rollout of both 5G and fibre.  

In parallel with these network expansions, América Móvil is also moving to monetise the Austrian’s business’s passive assets. In February this year, América Móvil reached a deal with ÖBAG to separate A1 Telekom Austria Group’s tower infrastructure unit into an independent company, named EuroTeleSites AG.  

America Movil closed a €500 million loan and launched a €500 million bond to fully fund the new tower company at the time of the spin off, with the intention of listing the company on the Vienna Stock Exchange later this year. 

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest telecoms news from around the world? Click here to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
Telefónica sells majority share of Peruvian fibre network to KKR
Mexico’s high 5G spectrum price could see Telcel the only bidder in latest auction
Ooredoo, Zain and TASC set to create MENA tower giant 

New data from mobile benchmarking firm Opensignal has revealed that the gradual, and not always particularly smooth, adoption of Embedded Subscriber Identity Modules (eSIM) by UK mobile network operators and related Smartphones is starting to deliver a clear and significant improvement in consumer switching. The eSIM standard is an alternative to physical SIM cards, which […]

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a website advert for a Sky Business broadband package – displayed in January 2023 – after BT complained that it had made a “misleading” price comparison, which involved a claim that customers could “SAVE OVER £750” by switching to Sky’s package. The claim itself involved a comparison between […]

Wireless ISP Wifinity, which typically specialises in deploying WiFi style networks, has moved to accelerate their UK expansion by gobbling offshore Wi-Fi systems provider Vital WiFi for an undisclosed sum. The move will enable them to reach into a new and particularly challenging area of remote internet connectivity. Wifinity delivers connectivity to people where ordinary […]