Ofcom UK Removes FAX Service Obligation from BT and KCOM

As expected, Ofcom has today confirmed that the requirement for certain UK telecoms operators to provide “outdated” FAX (facsimile) services under their legally-binding Universal Service Obligation (USO), which only applies to BT and KCOM, has officially been removed. The related obligation was last set in 2003, when fax machines were much more prevalent and email […]

New Ofcom UK Broadband ISP Switching System Faces BIG Delay

Last year we revealed (here) that Ofcom’s April 2023 deadline for the launch of One Touch Switch (OTS), which will make it easier for consumers to migrate between broadband ISPs on different networks, was at high risk of delay. The latest information suggests that some key aspects won’t even be ready to test until late […]

Thai telco mega-merger settles on the name True Corp

News

The controversial merger of True Corporation and Total Access Communication (DTAC) is set to take place in Q1 this year

This week, the boards of True Corp and DTAC have announced that they have chosen the name for their soon-to-be-combined business, retaining the True Corporation brand name.

The news comes ahead of a joint shareholders’ meeting on February 23, where the two companies will iron out the merged entity’s combined corporate structure and other details.

The first public announcement that that the two operators were seeking to merger came back in November 2021. Since then, the controversial $7 billion deal has been plagued with delays, with various industry players, regulators, and academics saying that reducing the Thai mobile market to two players would damage competition and see customers face higher prices.

DTAC and True, on the other hand, maintained that the deal would help drive Thailand’s digitalisation journey, arguing that the dominance of existing market leader AIS meant that merger would in fact increase competition within the sector.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) finally gave the merger the green light with various conditions on 20 October last year. These conditions focussed on maintaining reasonable average prices for consumers, protecting customer choice by requiring DTAC and True brands to remain separate for the next three years, and encouraging mobile virtual network operators to use the company’s network.

Nonetheless, despite these seemingly strict conditions, various onlookers were still unsatisfied, with the Thailand Consumers Council launching an appeal with the Central Administrative Court to revoke the NBTC’s decision.

Ultimately, this appeal was rejected in December, leaving DTAC and True free to complete their merger later this quarter.

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Verizon touts green credentials as it signs yet more renewable energy deals

Press Release

Verizon signed four new long-term renewable energy purchase agreements (REPAs) for an aggregate of up to 410 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity. With these new agreements, Verizon has surpassed 3.0 gigawatts (GW) of total projected renewable energy capacity, as it continues to be a leading buyer of U.S. renewable energy. These agreements also position the company to meet its goal to source or generate renewable energy equivalent to 50 percent of its total annual electricity consumption by 2025.

Since 2019, Verizon has signed 24 REPAs for more than 3.0 GW of projected renewable energy capacity, which is roughly equivalent to 8.4 million megawatt hours (MWh) of annual electricity production, enough to power more than 707,000 homes for a year1.

These agreements also support Citizen Verizon, the company’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement.

“We are proud to be among the leading corporations in the U.S. in buying renewable energy,” said Matt Ellis, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Verizon. “We are also a leader in green financing, issuing four green bonds totaling $4 billion in as many years, allowing us to further support and invest in renewable energy to deliver on our goal to be net zero in our operational emissions (scope 1 and 2) by 2035.”

Overview of Verizon’s new REPAs

Two REPAs with Invenergy for an aggregate of up to 240 MW of renewable energy capacity. The projects include a facility in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) regional market that became operational in 2022; and a facility in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) regional market.
A 12-year REPA with Enel North America for an aggregate of up to 100 MW of anticipated renewable energy capacity. The wind facility, located in the SPP regional market, became operational in December 2022.
A REPA for an aggregate of up to 70 MW of anticipated renewable energy capacity. The facility is located in the Pennsylvania Jersey Maryland (PJM) Interconnection regional market.

To date, seven renewable energy facilities relating to Verizon’s REPAs for an aggregate of more than 800 MW of capacity are operational. This includes the wind facility relating to Verizon’s previously announced REPA with Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, which recently became fully operational.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology and communications services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $133.6 billion in 2021. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.

Are US operators doing enough to promote sustainability and reach their carbon neutrality goals? Join the operators in discussion at the upcoming Connected America conference

FCC update: ational Huawei ‘rip and replace’ programme facing challenges

News

In its latest update to Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) showed more than half of respondents were having difficulties in affording to replace untrusted network equipment

The latest report from the FCC shows that US operators continue to struggle to implement the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (STCNA), with lack of funding the primary obstacle.

The STCNA was signed into law under President Donald Trump back in 2020, essentially ordering US telcos to replace of all networking equipment currently provided by vendors deemed a threat to national security, most notably Huawei and ZTE.

Naturally, this ‘rip and replace’ process is a timely and costly endeavour, with many US operators and associations warning that implementing the STCNA would be financially unfeasible for smaller operators. As a result, the FCC created a Reimbursement Fund of $1.9 billion, allowing smaller operators to apply for subsidies to facilitate the replacement process.

However, by summer last year, it had become apparent that this fund was far too small, with the FCC recording reimbursement applications from 181 companies, collectively totalling around $5 billion.

The FCC had hoped that these additional funds would be granted in the government’s December spending bill last year but were left disappointed.

Now, the regulator’s latest update shows the scale of the challenge facing the nation’s operators, with almost half of respondents saying that the lack of funding was inhibiting their ability to replace the proscribed equipment.

“Roughly half of respondents indicated in their status updates that a lack of funding is a challenge they face to complete the permanent removal, replacement, and disposal of the covered communications equipment and services in their networks in their entirety,” explained the report. “Approximately 2% of respondents indicated in their status updates that they will not start work on their removal, replacement, and disposal projects unless they receive additional funding.”

Beyond funding, other major challenges included supply chain issues, labour shortages, and weather-related delays.

The FCC’s next update on the progress of the national rip and replace effort will be announced on July 10, 2023.

How is the replacement of Huawei equipment in telco networks reshaping the US telecoms market? Join the experts in discussion at this year’s live Connected America conference

CityFibre Begins Maidstone’s £50m Gigabit Broadband Rollout

Cityfibre has today confirmed that they’ve begun the construction phase of their £50m project – supported by civil engineering firm Lanes-i – to deploy a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network to “almost every home and business” in the Kent (England) town of Maidstone. So far as we can tell, most of the operator’s […]

T-Mobile reportedly in talks to buy Mint Mobile

News

According to media reports, discussions are ongoing that could see the pre-paid mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) swap its mint green for magenta

This week, reports from Bloomberg suggests that T-Mobile is currently in talks to purchase Mint Mobile, the MVNO backed by film star Ryan Reynolds.

The intricacies of the discussions have yet to be revealed, with both Mint and T-Mobile refusing to comment on the matter.

Mint has experienced a relatively meteoric rise to prominence since beginning life as Mint SIM back in 2015. A subsidiary of US MVNO Ultra Mobile, Mint has promoted itself as a cheaper alternative to the major mobile operators, marketing itself as the ‘first online-only phone service provider’.

Since then, the company has seen rapid growth, aided in no small part by the deluge of adverts featuring Ryan Reynolds, who purchased a stake between 20% and 25% in the business in 2019.

By 2021, the company was reportedly the fastest growing business in the US, as well as winning praise for its positive workplace culture.

But despite this success, or perhaps because of it, Ultra Mobile has been trying to sell Mint Mobile for some years now. In 2021, the business was up for sale for between $600 million and $800 million, drawing attention from companies including Altice USA.

However, no deal materialised and by the summer of 2022 reports suggested that Ultra Mobile was reaching out directly to major US network operators in the search for a buyer.

Out of the major US wireless operators, acquisition by T-Mobile would probably make the most sense. Mint, like Ultra Mobile itself, already operates using T-Mobile’s 4G and 5G networks, hence the brand’s incorporation into the larger operator would be a relatively simple process.

The appetite of T-Mobile’s rivals to potentially acquire Mint is unclear, though Verizon spent $6 billion on acquiring the budget MVNO Tracfone last year, making them an unlikely suitor.

If such a sale does go ahead to T-Mobile, it’s unclear if Mint would retain its own brand name or be melded into T-Mobile’s own budget pre-paid brands, such as Metro by T-Mobile.

How is the battle for the pre-paid mobile segment playing out in the US market? Join the experts in discussion at this year’s live Connected America conference

EE and BT UK Report Surge in Boxing Day Fixed Broadband Traffic

Information supplied by BT has revealed that customers on their core fixed broadband ISP network (including Consumer, Enterprise and EE) consumed a total of 141PB (PetaBytes) of internet data on Boxing Day 2022, which is up by 17.5% from 120PB on the same day in 2021. The Boxing Day increase of 17.5% almost mirrors the […]

South African telecoms merger takes a rain check

News

Telkom and Rain have ceased acquisition negotiations, saying that a workable deal could not be reached

Today, South African telecoms operator Telkom has announced that it has ceased negotiations with Rain over a potentially acquiring the smaller mobile provider.

Telkom had first been approached by Rain back in September last year, with Rain pitching its acquisition in exchange for fresh shares issued by Telkom. Discussions continued until a predetermined deadline at the end of December, at which point the duo were set to re-evaluate whether it was worth continuing discussions.

The deadline now passed, it seems that the two companies have decided to pull the plug on negotiations.

“After initial discussions, but prior to any due diligence, the parties have decided that a suitable transaction is not possible at this time,” said Telkom.

No specific details have been revealed as to why a deal was unreachable.

While this is presumably disappointing news for Rain, Telkom shareholders seem far more optimistic, with the news sending Telkom’s share’s surging almost 12% on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange; investors are presumably hopeful that the collapse of talks with Rain will open the door once again for South Africa’s second-largest telecoms operator, MTN, who has been interested in purchasing Telkom for many years.

MTN had attempted to acquire Telkom back in 2014, but the South African competition regulator ultimately blocked this initial tie-up attempt. Since then, rumours of talks between the two companies have never been far away, with the duo entering into official talks once again in summer last year.

However, when Telkom indicated that it could be interested in purchasing Rain, who had approached the larger telco seeking a buyer in September, the discussions with MTN were quickly brought to a close.

Now, with Rain out of the picture, Telkom’s acquisition by MTN could once again become a very real possibility. If such a merger were to materialise, it would immediately create a new market leader in the mobile sector, overtaking current hegemon Vodacom.

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BT unveils new tools to track enterprise power consumption

News

The Carbon Network Dashboard and Digital Carbon Calculator will leverage AI to help enterprise customers optimise their power usage and reduce their carbon footprint

BT has kicked off 2023 by reiterating its commitment to a more sustainable future, announcing the launch of a suite of new digital tools to help multinational enterprise customers better understand their carbon footprint.

The Carbon Network Dashboard will give enterprises a real-time view of their networks power consumption, including which devices are the most energy hungry. The Dashboard can also provide AI-driven insights based on previous usage data, predicting anomalies in power consumption as well as forecasting future usage.

In conjunction with this information about the enterprise networks, the Dashboard will also display data from the regional power grid, including when renewable energy is available.

Meanwhile, the Digital Carbon Calculator can analyse enterprise networks’ carbon footprint over time, identifying inefficient devices that are due to be replaced.

“With customers hosting more of their applications across multiple clouds, networks are now increasingly vital for all elements of business performance, including carbon impact. Our new tools empower customers to reduce their Scope 3 emissions by optimising their network or scheduling digital workloads when renewable energy is available, helping them to achieve their net zero goals,” explained Sarwar Khan, head of digital sustainability, Global, BT.

The telecoms industry itself is becoming increasingly green, with most major telcos having carbon neutrality goals set for 2030 or even sooner. However, lowering Scope 3 carbon emissions – those being generated by organisation’s wider value chain, such as suppliers and customers – remain a major challenge.

Indeed, even measuring these emissions accurately is a difficult task, which is a large motivation for BT’s launch of these latest tools.

In a report last year, BT said that its own Scope 3 emissions account for 95% of its total carbon footprint; the use of sold products by enterprises and consumers accounted for roughly 24%.

Are telcos doing enough to build a more sustainable Britain? Join the experts in discussion at this year’s Connected North conference, live in Manchester