It’s happened to a few people. You move into a new house and are told by your ISP that Openreach’s Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network is available to the property, but soon after placing your order it becomes clear that some part of the network hasn’t been completed. Cue several months of waiting. The situation described […]

Interview

We were privileged to speak to Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov about the enormous upheaval caused to the telecoms industry in Ukraine following the Russian invasion and the incredible work he and his team are doing to keep people connected

It will soon be a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, plunging the nation into chaos and beginning a humanitarian crisis that continues to this day.

In the face of a myriad of new challenges, the Ukrainian telecoms operators have done an amazing job at keeping their infrastructure operational, working together with each other, the government, and international organisations to provide support for citizens at home and abroad.

In the interview below, Oleksandr Komarov, CEO of Kyivstar, shares the company’s journey over the past year, from the challenge of keeping nearly 8 million Ukrainian refugees connected to their loved ones, to maintaining an operational network as Russia continues to shell critical infrastructure this winter.

You can view the full interview from the link below.

Earlier this year, Kyivstar won the coveted Crisis Response Award at the World Communication Awards for the brilliant work they are doing to keep people connected during, both at home in Ukraine and for refugees abroad. Learn more about the World Communication Awards here.

Fern Trading-backed broadband provider Giganet (Cuckoo) has revealed that they intend to open up their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network, which is being rolled out across the South of England, to wholesale during 2023, so that other UK ISPs can sell services over it. The operator’s current £250m investment plan is to cover a […]

Contract-free UK mobile operator VOXI, a sub-brand of Vodafone, has today launched a new “Winter Sale“, which doubles the 4G and 5G data (mobile broadband) allowances across all of their mobile plans and reduces the monthly price of their top unlimited data package. In short, this means that their entry-level £10 per month plan now […]

As expected, the Communications Workers Union (CWU) – representing up to 38,000 of BT and Openreach’s employees – has voted to accept last month’s pay offer (here) from the UK telecoms giant, which will avert any further risk of strike action over Christmas. But the fireworks may begin again next September 2023. Just to recap. […]

Broadband ISP Gigaclear has announced that their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network is being extended to serve around 2,200 homes and businesses in the rural Warwickshire (England) village of Harbury. In total, the provider is putting up to £7 million worth of commercial investment into the county. The ISP’s network, which is being backed by […]

News

The UK incumbent operator said that the merger to create a single B2B unit called BT Business would deliver various synergies and scaling opportunities

This week, BT has announced that it will consolidate its Enterprise and Global business units into a single unit, BT Business.

The move comes as the latest step in a wider rebrand for BT, first announced back in April, which centres around EE becoming the primary company brand for consumers, and BT for business customers.

BT says the consolidation of the two units will not only simplify their operations, but will generate at least £100 million in savings through 2025 through economies of scale and various synergies.

Combined, BT Global and BT Enterprise currently generate revenues of around £8.5 billion a year, with an EBITDA of £2 billion.

“By combining the two units, BT Business will bring the Group’s combined assets, products, capabilities and brand to the service of all of our 1.2m business customers who will benefit from faster innovation and delivery. Bas is an excellent leader and I’m confident he will build on the plans already underway and drive the combined business back to growth,” explained BT CEO Philip Jansen.

The new unit will be led by Bas Burger, current CEO of BT’s Global unit.

Meanwhile, Rob Shuter, the existing CEO of BT Enterprise, will be leaving the company in the coming months after helping oversee the integration process.

BT Business will officially begin reporting as a single unit from April next year.

Want to learn all of the latest news and strategy from the UK telecoms industry? Join the ecosystem in discussion around some of the sector’s largest challenges at the upcoming Connected North conference

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Broadband ISP TalkTalk Business (TTB) has announced that they’ve formed a “strategic partnership” with alternative network provider Freedom Fibre, which is currently rolling out a new wholesale Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and Ethernet network across parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Shropshire and North Wales. At present Freedom Fibre is already being supported by TalkTalk, which holds a […]

As expected, telecoms giant BT has today confirmed the next phase of their huge re-branding exercise, which in this case will see them combining their Global and Enterprise units into a single business-to-business unit, called BT Business – led by Bas Burger, the current CEO of BT’s Global unit. Just to recap. Back in April […]

News

Sources suggest Italy’s new government wants control of TIM’s wholesale submarine cable network business, considering it a strategic national asset

Back in October, Giorgia Meloni took over as Italian Prime Minister, a move that had major implications for beleaguered incumbent operator TIM.

For over two years now, the Italian government has been pressuring the operator to merge its fixed network assets with those of its rival Open Fiber, aiming to create a single national network.

All of this was taking place against a backdrop of TIM’s relatively poor performance in a competitive market, resulting in a change of leadership at the start of the year.

The Meloni administration, however, has been far more forthright in their support of a single network plan, so long as the government, via investor state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), could secure control

Today, according to a report from Reuters, the government is in fact considering going one step further, with sources suggesting that the government is now seeking control of TIM’s submarine cable unit, Sparkle.

Sparkle owns and operates various submarine cable systems in the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic, its networks spanning over half a million kilometres.

According to the report, the government is seeking control of Sparkle due to the sensitivity of data it carries over these networks, with the networks being considered a major strategic asset for the nation.

In total, Sparkle could be worth around €1 billion.

It is worth noting that the submarine cable unit is not the only one of TIM’s assets that could be on the chopping block.

Earlier this week, TIM CEO Pietro Labriola said at an industry conference that the company “cannot solve Telecom Italia’s debt issue organically”, saying that they needed to “sell assets”. At the same time, the government announced that it had initiated talks with TIM’s largest investors, CDP and Vivendi, to explore “market-friendly options” for the operator.

How would the sale of Sparkle to the Italian government reshape submarine cable network dynamics in the Mediterranean? Join the experts in discussion at the upcoming Submarine Networks EMEA conference early next year

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