Consumer broadband ISP and mobile operator EE (BT) has today announced that their ultrafast 5G based (mobile broadband) network now covers 60% of the UK’s population (up from 50% in May 2022) and, on top of that, they’ve named 19 new “rural locations” where the network has just gone live. At present EE’s 5G network […]

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is responsible for examining the value for money of Government projects, has today criticised various flaws in the “rushed” UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) that has so far only been used to provide financing to deliver gigabit broadband and build solar farms. In case anybody has forgotten. The UK Infrastructure […]

Mobile testing firm RootMetrics (Ookla) has today published their latest biannual H2 2022 study of mobile network (4G and 5G) and broadband performance across the United Kingdom, which once again sees EE (BT) come top of every single ranking category. But Three UK is still delivering the goods in terms of 5G speed. As usual, […]

Customers of broadband ISP Virgin Media (VMO2), specifically those who take their pay TV service, may like to know that the operator will be giving them a High Definition (HD) video quality boost on a range of popular channels (e.g. Sky Comedy HD etc.), and all “at no extra cost.” This upgrade, which will be […]

A new Opinium surveyed of 2,000 UK adults, which was commissioned by Uswitch and conducted during December 2022, has claimed that 51% of mobile users are unaware that operators are planning to switch-off 3G based data (mobile broadband) services – starting next month – and 25% say they still use it regularly. The 3G service, […]

Rural-focused UK ISP Gigaclear has announced that they’re planning to extend their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across a further 7,000 premises (homes and businesses) in Surrey, England. The first location to benefit from this expansion will be the large village of Chilworth. The announcement itself suggests that the deployment into Chilworth, which is being […]

Cumbria-based broadband ISP and network builder Grain (Grain Connect), which is busy deploying a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) service across various parts of the UK, has today become the latest provider to launch a cheaper Social Tariff package – ‘Grain Social’ and ‘Grain Social Plus’ – for those on benefits. Customers of the regular service, […]

News

Projects will have the opportunity to bid for the funds, which will be allocated later this year

As part of the European Space Agency (ESA) Advanced Research in Telecommunications Services (ARTES) programme, the UK Space Agency has today announced £50 million in funding for new satellite communications projects in the UK.

According to the government, this funding may be used for everything from developing new satellite constellations to innovating with teleports and developing new customer services.

Companies interested in accessing these funds will have until March 1 to submit applications, with the UK Space Agency set to pick winners and allocate the funding later this summer.

“This funding will help UK companies that have the right expertise and ambition to become global players in this market and lead on ground-breaking technologies that will enhance the wider UK space sector, create jobs and generate further investment,” said UK Space Agency CEO Dr Paul Bate. “I look forward to seeing the results of the competition and following the successful projects in their next steps.”

The UK government has shown increasing interest in the satellite communications industry in recent years, notably rescuing floundering satellite communications company OneWeb from bankruptcy back in 2020.

Today, OneWeb has 542 low Earth orbit satellites in orbit, with only around 100 more required to achieve global coverage.

According to the government, the satellite communications industry in the UK is already worth £10.4 billion and comprising around 26,600 jobs.

“Developing UK space capabilities and maximising commercial opportunities are key to the National Space Strategy, as part of our plans to become a leading power in space and build on a sector already worth £16.5 billion to the UK economy,” said UK Science Minister George Freeman.

“This latest £50 million UK Space Agency funding will help more companies into our vibrant fast growth UK space telecoms sector, helping drive both growth and wider UK economic resilience,” he added.

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News

According to Spanish media, American Tower and Brookfield Asset Management are reportedly considering acquiring Cellnex, Europe’s largest mobile tower operator

Mobile towers have always been an attractive prospect for investors, with their low operational costs and steady long-term returns denoting them as relatively low risk. In recent years, however, investor appetite for infrastructure has reached unprecedented heights, prompting enormous consolidation worldwide, particularly in Europe and Africa.

In many ways, this activity has been driven by the broader state of the telecoms industry as a whole. Network operators are currently in the process of rolling out expensive 5G and fibre networks, while at the same time seeing . As a result, offloading their passive infrastructure becomes an appealing proposition, with major telecoms groups like Orange and Vodafone spinning off their tower units into independent companies.

Throughout this global consolidation, Spanish infrastructure giant Cellnex has emerged as one of the voracious of all towercos, buying up a huge amount of European assets, including a €10 billion deal to purchase all the European towers belonging to CK Hutchison. It is currently the largest independent tower company in Europe, with over 130,000 thousand sites in 12 markets.

In the last year, however, the global economy has taken a turn for the worse. With interest rates on soaring, the debt used to finance Cellnex’s enormous acquisitions will need to be refinanced at a higher rate, cutting painfully into the company’s bottom line.

In November last year, Cellnex announced that its insatiable M&A spree was officially over, with CEO Tobias Martínez saying that the company now needed to “face and beat inflation”.

The company has net debt of €17.1 billion and is seeking to reduce its leverage from roughly eight-times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to below seven-times.

The company’s share price has fallen almost 40% over the last year, presumably a major factor in the resignation of Martínez as CEO two weeks ago.

Now, rumours suggest that this lowered share price is attracting attention from potential rivals, with Spanish media suggesting that American Tower and Brookfield Asset Management are considering a joint takeover bid.

While no financial details were mentioned, analysts suggest that such a deal would be worth around €50 billion.

Cellnex, American Tower, and Brookfield have all refused to comment, while other media sources have cited other unnamed sources refuting the rumour.

It should go without saying that if such a takeover were to materialise, it would have enormous implications for the European mobile market, making the combined entity a dominant force in markets like the UK, France, and Spain.

As a result, various regulatory bodies would closely investigate such a tie up, with American Tower surely forced to offload a significant amount of its own towers that overlap with Cellnex’s portfolio, at the very least.

This would be nothing overly surprising ­– Cellnex itself has already shown a willingness to pursue this sort of compromise, offloading some of its overlapping towers in the UK in order to gain clearance for its acquisition of CK Hutchison’s towers in the market.

But perhaps the largest obstacle to such an acquisition is not some regulatory complexity, but simply cash. While American Tower and Brookfield could, at a stretch, likely afford such a giant investment, they would surely need a hugely favourable valuation of Cellnex to truly consider such a purchase.

With Cellnex already taking steps to consolidate their position, reduce debt, and encourage organic growth, the company will surely argue that the company is undervalued, making reaching an amiable takeover agreement unlikely.

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Press Release

‘Last mile’ services are now live in four key UK cities as part of the company’s ongoing Metro Access Network expansion programme

Neos Networks, one of the UK’s leading fibre connectivity suppliers, today announced that it has completed the delivery of its three regional Metro Access Networks in Liverpool, Birmingham, and Manchester along with phase one of its deployment in London. The business connectivity provider announced plans to enter the market for last-mile services at the end of 2021, as part of its major Metro Network Expansion programme, targeting key metropolitan UK cities. With services now live in all four regions, Neos Networks is bringing fibre connectivity direct to thousands of locally based businesses across the cities.

At the time of this announcement, Neos Networks is ahead of schedule on its fourth Access Network build in London. Four of a planned eight routes are now live across the capital with the remaining phase of deployment on track for delivery over the next year. The entire Metro Network Expansion project makes up over 60km of Neos Networks’ national fibre footprint.

The strategic move by Neos Networks into last-mile access means the company no longer has to rely on third-party connectivity across these business hubs. As a result, it will now offer its customers improved timescales and lower costs to deliver the higher quality of service associated with the company’s nationwide UK backbone business network. The move provides Neos Networks customers with the same level of commitment that they have come to expect, but with an easier path to upgrade, quicker response for break fixes, and the network characteristics that meet their needs and growth ambitions.

The multi-million-pound investment has helped Neos Networks build out its on-net presence in the four cities to deliver a full end-to-end fibre connection to the doors of many. Neos has invested further into adapting its products to work over its own Access Tails, addressing opportunities to meet the connectivity needs of customers in multi-business units (MBUs) by driving a better overall quality of experience.

The delivery of high capacity, high bandwidth, low latency fibre connectivity will provide a critical foundation of digital infrastructure to support the growth of businesses in metro areas. New developments in key business districts will benefit from business-grade fibre connectivity to support the adoption of new applications and technologies underpinned by business resiliency, growth and efficiency improvements. The breakdown of fibre deployed in each city is 3.6km in Liverpool, 7.1km in Birmingham, 13.7km in Manchester, and 37km in London once the whole build is complete.

Neos Networks has already begun identifying early adopter customers in each region, working with those partners to understand the depths and requirements of businesses in their respective cities. As the business case grows within each region, Neos will explore additional opportunities to extend the reach of these access networks. An opportunity to grow the network has already been captured in Liverpool with the network extension having gone live in December.

Sarah Mills, Chief Revenue Officer at Neos Networks, said: “I’m thrilled that we’re nearing completion of our Metro Access Network builds in these four key UK cities. This project will underpin the growth of UK PLC by creating new opportunities for enterprises and driving investment within several new business districts. The ambition for our network expansion project has always been to help UK businesses realise the growth potential associated with resilient, secure, high-capacity business connectivity services. We look forward to engaging businesses on how we can support their network resiliency and priorities with the right connectivity solutions.”

As Neos Networks continues to assess the connectivity requirements of businesses in each city, it also plans to explore using its Optical Wavelength technology to deliver the right commercial packages for customers, particularly those in MBUs. This will help to ensure a guaranteed level of service to businesses over either an Optical or Ethernet connection. The network expansion into each of the cities is giving choice to customers regardless of their sector. For network players, the new infrastructure supports the data backhaul requirements of their services and will be particularly influential in supporting mobile operators with their local cell sites and as they rollout 5G and beyond.

Is the North receiving its fair share of broadband investment? Join the discussion alongside operators and local government at this year’s Connected North conference in Manchester

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