The parents of broadband, mobile and TV provider Virgin Media (VMO2) are allegedly exploring the possibility of a £100m bid to takeover Kent-based ISP Trooli, which is aims to deploy a gigabit-speed full fibre (FTTP) network to 1 million UK premises by the end of 2024 (in August 2022 they reported 275,000 completed). The operator […]

Infracapital-backed network builder and broadband ISP Ogi, which is investing £200m to build a full fibre (FTTP) network across 150,000 premises in rural parts of Wales by 2025, has moved to “enhance its customer experience” by adopting Localz technology to improve how it handles end-user installations. The provider, which has so far covered 42,000 premises […]

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Sources suggest that Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) is lining up a potential bid for the alternative fibre operator

According to a report from Sky News, VMO2 is among a number of players interested in purchasing UK altnet Trooli, with analysts suggesting the deal could carry a price tag of over £100 million.

Rumours about a potential sale have been swirling since at least two weeks ago, when it was reported that the company had appointed business sale and restructuring specialist David Duggins to their Board.

Founded back in 2003, Trooli has grown to become a significant player in the UK’s fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) ecosystem.

In August last year, the company announced they had achieved coverage of roughly 275,000 UK premises with FTTP, primarily focussed on rural and semi-rural locations in Berkshire, Dorset, and Kent.

Trooli said at the time that they aimed to reach 400,000 by the end of the 2022, with their ultimate goal being to pass one million premises by the end of 2024.

Around this time last year, it seemed that Trooli’s upward trajectory was set to continue, with reports suggesting that the company was planning to raise £200 million via an equity sale to further accelerate its rollout.

More recently, however, it seems that Trooli’s ambitions may have been reined in by the pressures of the global economy, with rising inflation, soaring energy costs, and a stuttering supply chain all contributing to a slower and more costly rollout programme.

Against this backdrop, it should come as little surprise that investor appetite for backing fibre infrastructure companies like Trooli has waned in recent months.

As a result, a sale of Trooli could be the most interesting option for the company’s shareholders, with the move offering VMO2 a cost-effective way to expand its nationwide footprint.

How is the altnet landscape changing in 2023? Join the fibre ecosystem in discussion at this year’s Connected North even live in Manchester

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VMO2 and Vodafone give rural Scotland a 4G boost

Press Release

Nokia and Tele2 have announced that they have entered a collaboration in Sweden. Enterprises will be able to leverage robust, reliable, 5G private wireless to connect assets and unlock valuable operational data, to realize cost, efficiency, and sustainability goals.

Tele2 can offer its customers private wireless 5G, using a solution based on the high-performance Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) end-to-end private wireless networking and edge computing platform. Enterprises will be able to benefit from secure, robust, low latency asset connectivity and real-time on-site data processing. Using this data in conjunction with analytics, Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), they can implement Industry 4.0 business critical use cases such as remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, autonomous vehicles and robots and zero fault manufacturing.

Stefan Trampus, EVP B2B at Tele2, said: “There is a growing demand for tailored private wireless solutions among our enterprise customers. Offering the solution will allow customers to speed deployment and implement new capabilities as their needs evolve. Together with Nokia, we can address enterprise digitalization needs, and expand into new business segments.

Raghav Sahgal, President of Cloud and Network Services at Nokia, said: “We have extensive expertise with 560 large private wireless customers across an array of sectors worldwide. We believe there is significant business potential for private wireless in Sweden. While to date, most of the enterprises who have already deployed private wireless in the country are in the manufacturing segment, there are compelling opportunities for other industries including mining, power plants, construction, agriculture, healthcare and public services, to transform operations using the technology. We are pleased to work with Tele2 as part of their network offer and demonstrate the use cases that will allow enterprises in Sweden to transform their operations for the Industry 4.0 era.”

Keep up to date with all of the latest telecoms news with Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

Also in the news:
AT&T signs up to use Frontier’s fibre to connect mobile towers
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VMO2 and Vodafone give rural Scotland a 4G boost

UK ISP Voneus, which is busy deploying both gigabit-capable Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband networks across rural parts of England and Wales, has decided to replace their current CEO and co-founder – Steve Leighton – with a new boss in the shape of Christopher Traggio. The provider currently has a “near term” […]

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The Taima No. 2 and Taima No. 3 cables have been taken out of service, leaving the people of Taiwan’s Matsu Islands with very poor internet and phone services

Late last week, Taiwan’s National Communications Commission announced that the two active submarine cables connecting the Taiwanese mainland to the Matsu Islands (officially Lienchiang County) had been damaged, leaving the Island’s population with limited connectivity.

The damage allegedly occurred in two separate incidents, both involving Chinese vessels.

On February 2, the Taima No. 2 was damaged by a Chinese fishing vessel, with the traffic carried over the cable quickly switched to the Taima No. 3 cable. However, the latter was also damaged less than a week later, on February 8, by a passing Chinese cargo vessel.

With both cables damaged, the Matsu Island’s inhabitants have been forced to rely on Chunghwa Telecom’s backup infrastructure, which is struggling to deliver even simple connectivity services.

“It would take more than 10 minutes to send a text message, and sending a picture would take even longer,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Lienchiang County chapter director Li Wen told the Taipei Times. “The booking system in hostels and logistics services cannot function normally either, let alone viewing content and films on social media.”

According to the Commission, an international cable ship has been contacted to repair the cables. The ship is expected to arrive at the damaged cables on April 20, with the work expected to be completed by the end of that month.

Chunghwa Telecom says it is seeking faster solutions and is already in discussions with other international cable ships regarding the repairs.

The operator is already in the process of deploying an additional submarine cable to the Islands in an attempt to bolster the region’s resilience. The new system is expected to be ready for service in 2025.

Damage to the Taima cables is nothing new for Taiwanese authorities. In the past five years, submarine cables connecting Taiwan to the Matsu Islands have been cut 25 times, including four times last year and five times in 2021.

Many of these incidents are related to fishing and sand-dredging by Chinese vessels, which are collecting sand for construction projects in China.

The actions of these ships are contentious by nature; Taiwan considers the waters surrounding the Matsu Island’s to be its sovereign territory, a position that China does not recognise. As a result, Taiwan’s civilian coast guard routinely patrol these waters to expel what they view as trespassing Chinese vessels.

Over the last year, as tensions between China and Taiwan have escalated, so too have the activities of Chinese ships in the region. In 2022, the coast guard expelled around 4,000 vessels from its territorial waters, up from just over 600 in 2021.

Some analysts suggest that this increase represents the latest step in China’s ‘grey-zone’ campaign against Taiwan, aiming to disrupt and exhaust the country’s resources via indirect harassment.

However, in the case of damage to the two submarine cables, the Commission stressed that there was no evidence of deliberate sabotage.

Nonetheless, for both cables to be damaged simultaneously remains highly unusual. At a time when geopolitical tensions are at a high, even indirect disruptions to critical infrastructure will are sure to be looked at with utmost suspicious.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest news from the submarine cable sector? Join the experts in discussion at this year’s live Submarine Networks EMEA conference

Also in the news:
AT&T signs up to use Frontier’s fibre to connect mobile towers
UScellular urges customers to put down their phones in latest initiative
VMO2 and Vodafone give rural Scotland a 4G boost

Customers of UK mobile provider Tesco Mobile, which is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) on O2’s (VMO2) platform, has confirmed that it will scrap last year’s fixed price promise for some customers and significantly increase their prices from April 2023. But those with Clubcards may still be able to take fixed price tariffs. The […]

British mobile giant Vodafone has done something special. The operator has combined a credit-card sized Raspberry Pi 4 personal computer with a new mobile (mobile broadband) chip to create a portable prototype device, which could enable small businesses and households to setup their own private 5G networks (MPNs). The development is mainly about trying to […]

Mobile operator EE (BT) has introduced a “6 Months Half Price” discount on their 4G and 5G SIM Only plans with unlimited calls, texts and data (mobile broadband), when taken with a 24-month minimum contract term. The offer reduces the price down to just £14 per month (£28 after 6 months). The promotion actually applies […]

A collaboration between UK ISP Virgin Media (VMO2) and the Amersham Town Council in Buckinghamshire (England) has allowed young artists to paint a number of the operator’s broadband street cabinets around the town with pretty murals, which should make a nice change from the usually bland dark green and cream colours. The act of disguising […]