Rural broadband ISP Wildanet, which deploying a new gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across parts of Cornwall and Devon in South West England, has today announced that existing investor Gresham House will pump another £50 million into the provider to help support their UK expansion. Just to recap. Wildanet secured their first £50m from the […]

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The deal will see the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation provide fixed broadband and voice services to consumers and businesses across the country

This week, Australian telecoms giant Telstra has unveiled a new partnership with SpaceX’s LEO satellite constellation Starlink, aiming to deliver home phone and broadband services for remote customers.

Telstra says the satellite connectivity services will expand the connectivity options available for hard-to-reach businesses and consumers, in some cases providing them broadband access for the first time.

For the operator, many of these areas are considered economically unviable when it comes to rolling out traditional, terrestrial connectivity solutions.

“Telstra is always looking to invest in new and better connectivity options for our customers. We know that collaborating with the right partners is one of the best ways to help unlock a digital future, in this case for people in rural and remote Australia looking for an improved voice or broadband service,” said Telstra CEO Vicki Brady. “Our teams have been out across the country testing and trialling Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology to ensure we understand where it’s the best solution for our consumer and business customers.

Telstra says these satellite packages will provide faster speeds than existing Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line broadband technology and can delivered alongside “local tech support and the option of professional installation” to ease the transition to the new services.

According to a company blog post, these services using Starlink are expected to launch “towards the end of 2023”.

SpaceX has currently launched over 4,000 satellites into orbit, with the ultimate goal of deploying around 12,000 devices. The company has launched commercially in numerous markets over the last few years, recording major deals with operators such as T-Mobile, BT, and KDDI.

However, some markets remain problematic for the Elon Musk company, most notably India, where SpaceX is currently battling the government for an operating licence.

It should also be noted that while Starlink is by far the largest LEO satellite operator right now, the sector is rapidly growing more competitive. Rival satellite operators like OneWeb and Telesat are continuing to expand their constellations, while major upcoming satellite projects like the European Union’s IRIS2 and Amazon’s Project Kuiper will offer further challenge to SpaceX’s dominance.

Indeed, just last month, Telstra themselves struck a mobile backhaul deal with OneWeb, aiming to transfer the capacity from hundreds of remote base stations onto the growing constellation over the coming year.

How is the growth of the LEO satellite industry impacting the global telecoms sector? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s Total Telecom Congress live in Amsterdam

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Full fibre broadband ISP LilaConnect (VX FIBER), which recently paused its rollout of a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network in England and revealed their plan for job cuts (here), has today followed all that by announcing a price increase on some of their current packages. The announcement didn’t spell out precisely what prices have changed, although […]

Infracapital-backed UK broadband ISP Ogi, which is investing £200m to build a new full fibre (FTTP) network across 150,000 premises in Wales by 2025, has today marked their first two years of build by revealing that they’ve covered 60,000 premises (up from 47,500 in March 2023) and will be supporting several community events this summer. […]

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The deal will see Telenor’s Finnish subsidiary DNA supplied with 85 GWh/year of renewable energy from Statkraft’s new wind farm

This week, Telenor has struck a new 10-year onshore wind power purchase agreement (PPA) with Europe’s largest renewable energy generator Statkraft.

The deal will provide Telenor’s Finnish subsidiary DNA with 85 GWh/year of renewable energy, provisioning roughly 80% of the company’s annual energy consumption.

The power will be provided by Statkraft’s new wind farm, Palokangas, which is currently under development in Finland’s westernmost region, Ostrobothnia. The site will feature 12 wind turbines, which parent company Exilion Tuuli suggesting will be ready for service at the end of 2024.

“Telenor wants to support the construction of new renewable power plants in the markets we operate, and this agreement provides a solid contribution to the decarbonization of the electricity supply, as well as new capacity to hedge against volatile energy prices,” says Jannicke Hilland, Executive Vice President for Telenor Infrastructure at Telenor Group.

The financial details of the deal were not revealed.

Telenor says this deal marks another significant step in its goal towards reducing its Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 57% between 2019 and 2030.

The Group aims for its Nordic businesses to be entirely carbon neutral by 2030, while its Asian businesses have slightly less ambitious targets, aiming simply for a 50% reduction in emissions in 2030 from a 2019 baseline.

Is the telecoms industry moving fast enough when it comes to renewable energy and sustainability? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s Total Telecom Congress live in Amsterdam

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A new report from investment bank Numis, which was authored by analyst John Karidis, has today reiterated its sell recommendation on BT (inc. Openreach) and warned that the national broadband giant “keeps underplaying the risk” from rival alternative networks to its consumer and business units. The latest research is being published just a few days […]

Giganet (Cuckoo), which is deploying their own UK full fibre (FTTP) broadband network and selling via existing networks (e.g. CityFibre, Openreach), has today announced that they’ve become one of the first ISPs in the country to be certified for five ISO accreditations (international standards) under a UKAS-approved auditing body. Working with Alcumus ISOQAR, Giganet claims […]

Business telecommunications and broadband ISP Spitfire has today announced that they’ve signed a full UK Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement with BT Wholesale, which will enable them to launch mobile products based off EE’s national 4G and 5G network – all integrated with the ISP’s latest core network. According to Spitfire, the provider’s new […]

The Building Digital UK agency has published their latest quarterly update (June 2023) on the Government’s £5bn rural Project Gigabit broadband rollout progress, which has so far awarded rollout contracts worth a total of £589m (state aid) to help extend coverage to an extra 378,450 of the hardest to reach premises. The project aims to […]

State-owned ISP JT (Jersey Telecom) has announced that they are planning to invest £80 million in order to roll out a new 5G based ultrafast mobile broadband network across Jersey (English Channel Island), which is to be deployed using Ericsson’s technology (radio kit etc.). The deployment will also see JT’s existing 4G network, which is […]