Infracapital-backed network builder and ISP Ogi, which is investing £200m on the deployment of a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across 150,000 premises in Wales by 2025 (47,500 premises covered by March 2023), has revealed that they’ve awarded £36,750 to community groups within their patch. The news follows last year’s development, which saw the provider […]

Interview

We spoke to Ciena’s VP Global Submarine Solutions, Thomas Soerensen, at this year’s Submarine Networks EMEA event to discuss how the company is navigating the challenging global market, from geopolitics to supply chain issues

At this year’s Submarine Networks EMEA conference, there was undoubtedly an elephant in the room: geopolitics. With political tensions rising in numerous theatres around the world, governments are becoming increasingly interventionist in the submarine cable space, posing a major challenge to new subsea cable projects.

“We can’t help but talk about geopolitics,” explained Soerensen, noting the issue’s prevalence in Asia and the Indian Ocean, as well as in Europe. “We’re seeing more and more focus from local authorities and governments on the security of subsea cables as critical infrastructure.”

Against this volatile geopolitical backdrop, demand for connectivity services continues to boom, requiring the submarine cable industry to innovate. Indeed, numerous exciting technologies are coming to the fore to help meet the ever-increasing demand, from new types of fibre to new dry plant and submarine line terminal equipment.

“Right now, multicore fibre (MCF) is exciting and we’re seeing the first cable being deployed with that technology,” said Soerensen. “However, MCF itself is probably not the next technical revolution that we really need to take the industry forward – that might be hollow core fibre, it’s too early to tell!”

To hear more from Ciena’s Thomas Soerensen on the challenges and opportunities facing the submarine cable industry, check out the full interiew below.

Want to keep up with all of the latest developments in the submarine cable sector? Join the ecosystem in discussion at Submarine Networks EMEA 2024

Also in the news:
More than two-thirds of U.S. commercial sites have no optical fibre access
Viasat completes Inmarsat merger deal
EXATEL talks expansion into subsea connectivity sector

Press Release

The Un-carrier has earned its wings! Valmont Industries Inc. and T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) today announced the completion of an industry-first long-distance BVLOS drone inspection flight enabled by 5G.

Traditional methods for infrastructure monitoring typically require extensive manpower, manned aircraft operations or ground-based inspections, which involve significant safety risks, more time and more money.

But not anymore ― especially now that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is granting more waivers for BVLOS drone operations. And as one of the first companies in the U.S. to receive said waiver, Valmont is ahead of the game.

In under three hours, Valmont accomplished a non-stop 77-mile drone mission from Childress to Aspermont, Texas inspecting vital infrastructure like power lines, railroads, bridges and more. The drone used a Harris Aerial H6E drone equipped with a T-Mobile 5G connected Sony A7RM5 camera. Significantly faster and more fuel efficient, this task was three times faster than conventional methods, while using less than two gallons of fuel.

Mission highlights:

Valmont drone inspection teams used less than one-fourth gallon of fuel per hour.
Flight pushes average distance of UAS inspections from less than 20 miles per day to more than 60.
Even though the route was very rural, T-Mobile 5G provided live data transfer throughout the three-hour flight.
The Sony A7RM5 combined with the ability to fly closely to utility lines, provided high-resolution details for critical infrastructure inspection.
The flight proves that drones are a viable, safe, and efficient alternative to helicopters for infrastructure.
Harris Aerial’s drone and Valmont’s proprietary payload are fully National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) compliant.

“Range has been a hurdle in the drone inspection space, until now,” said Jake Lahmann, UAS Manager at Valmont Industries Inc. “To be able to get this kind of range in a single drone flight is really going to revolutionize the way the industry approaches infrastructure inspections.”

“5G was built to make life easier,” added Ulf Ewaldsson, President of Technology at T-Mobile. “Whether it’s connecting a person on their smartphone or improving long-range drone infrastructure inspections, there is no doubt that the reach and speed of T-Mobile 5G is making it possible for entire industries to revolutionize the way they work.”

With 5G, Valmont’s drone inspection service is another example of 5G-enabled technologies that can be used to quickly respond to or prevent an emergency. By preemptively monitoring infrastructure sites with greater accuracy, Valmont can help prevent malfunctions and breakdowns before they have a chance to have a widespread impact.

Working closely with the FAA on BVLOS drone operation policies, Valmont plans to offer drone-in-a-box (DiaB) services nationwide in 2024. This enables anyone needing aerial inspection services the ability to order a drone, unbox it and watch it run its inspection while a Valmont pilot flies it remotely from virtually anywhere in the U.S.

T-Mobile is the leader in 5G, delivering the country’s largest, fastest and most awarded 5G network. The Un-carrier’s 5G network covers 326 million people across two million square miles — more than AT&T and Verizon combined. 275 million people nationwide are covered by T-Mobile’s super-fast Ultra Capacity 5G, and the Un-carrier plans to reach 300 million people with Ultra Capacity this year — nearly everyone in the country. T-Mobile 5G is available on all T-Mobile phone plans.

What does the future hold for T-Mobile and connected drones? Join the US telecoms sector in discussion at Connected America 2024

Also in the news:
More than two-thirds of U.S. commercial sites have no optical fibre access
Viasat completes Inmarsat merger deal
EXATEL talks expansion into subsea connectivity sector

News

Germany’s competition regulator, the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office), will explore whether Vodafone has directly or indirectly hindered 1&1’s rollout of 5G radio equipment

The Bundeskartellamt has announced that it will launch an investigation into Vodafone and its infrastructure subsidiary Vantage Towers, seeking to ascertain whether they have illegally impeded rival 1&1’s rollout of mobile services.

1&1 signed an agreement to piggyback on Vantage Towers’ mobile site infrastructure back in 2021, using the pre-existing infrastructure to significantly expand the reach of its burgeoning 5G network.

However, Vantage Towers’ rollout of additional tower infrastructure in Germany has been significantly delayed over the past year, potentially leaving 1&1 unable to fulfil its own rollout obligations.

“Powerful and dominant companies must not unfairly impede other companies. We will therefore scrutinise whether there are sound reasons for a delay in the provision of antenna locations for 1&1,” Andreas Mundt, president of the Federal Cartel Office, said in a statement.

1&1 is Germany’s newest national mobile operator, won 5G spectrum at auction in 2019. Since then, the operator has been gradually rolling out its own infrastructure across the country in anticipation of its commercial 5G launch later this year.

However, in order to reach the rollout targets as prescribed by the terms of its 5G licence, 1&1 needed the scale up its rollout quickly. As a result, the newcomer partnered with Vodafone’s tower spin-off Vantage Towers at the end of 2021, with the partners saying they expected 1&1 to be able to use the initial 3,800 rooftop and ground-based sites by the end of 2025, as well as over a thousand additional sites set to be built in 2022.

In reality, Vantage Tower’s rollout of additional sites has progressed far slower than expected, with 1&1 able to announce just five operational 5G sites earlier this year, compared to its target of 1,000.

As such, the new operator launched a formal complaint to the Bundeskartellamt, suggesting that Vantage and parent company Vodafone had failed to live up to their side of the agreement, presenting 1&1 with “ongoing obstacles” to their 5G rollout.

“The provision of the agreed locations was massively delayed and continues to be delayed,” noted the Bundeskartellamt in a statement.

The regulator noted that these sites would be imperative for the effective launch of 1&1’s commercial 5G services, scheduled to take place later this year.

The findings of this investigation will be crucial for 1&1, with the company facing its own investigation from the Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency) for having failed to reach its obligated rollout goals. If the Bundeskartellamt ultimately agrees that Vantage Towers has significantly hindered 1&1’s rollout capabilities, it seems unlikely that the Bundesnetzagentur would financially penalise 1&1 for its missed targets.

On the other hand, if the regulator does move forward with fining 1&1, the cost could be up to €50,000 per missing base station, suggesting 1&1 could be looking at a bill for just under €50 million.

Want to keep up with all of the latest news from the German telecoms market? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s Connected Germany event

Also in the news:
More than two-thirds of U.S. commercial sites have no optical fibre access
Viasat completes Inmarsat merger deal
EXATEL talks expansion into subsea connectivity sector

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