We had the pleasure of interviewing Norbert Westfal, CEO of EWE Tel GmbH ahed of next week’s Connected Germany which is taking place in Mainz on December 6-7 2022.

Can you introduce yourself and your role?

My name is Norbert Westfal, and I am CEO of EWE TEL GmbH, a regional telecommunication provider in Germany. Additionally, I am also President of BREKO, the leading German Broadband Association.

How does Germany need to progress in order to hit government FTTH targets?

Germany is on an excellent path to improve its FTTH expansion. Fibre deployment and take-up have developed impressively in recent years, as the BREKO market analysis shows. This is primarily due to investing companies. If we want to achieve the ambitious FTTH targets set by German policymakers, it is of ultimate importance that we do not jeopardise the current boom on the fibre market. As such, it is important that public funds for broadband deployment are used in a structured way. This means, we should not start all funding procedures at the same time, but rather prioritize where there is the greatest need for state aid. A first step would be to determine the potential of private investment before funding projects. Without this, we risk an uncontrolled run for public funds and exploding civil engineering prices, which will lead to a standstill of deployment without public funds. This danger is underestimated by many.

What does open access mean for fibre network expansion?

Open Access is an important matter for the alternative network operators I represent, many of which are regional companies deploying fibre networks in rural areas. These companies offer access to their networks for other telecommunications companies on fair terms: to supply private customers or to connect a company or a mobile network antenna. Today, there is no lack of supply, but a lack of demand.

What do you expect from the European Union’s Connectivity Infrastructure Act?

I expect regulation which supports and strengthens the expansion of fibre networks. The Broadband Cost Reduction Directive in its current state has had an adverse effect on fibre deployment and investment therein. It is thus crucial that any future regulatory framework rectifies these shortcomings and designates Open Access solutions as sufficient remedy before imposing mandatory duct access or co-deployment measures. In short, wherever Open Access is granted on fair and reasonable terms, there is no need for the shared-use and co-deployment obligations.

What are you most looking forward to at Connected Germany?

I look forward to a stimulating exchange of ideas and solutions with colleagues and the fibre community.

You can hear from Norbert and the rest of our amazing speaker line-up by securing your ticket for next week’s Connected Germany – follow the link to get yours!

The post “Germany is on an excellent path to improve its FTTH expansion” first appeared on Total Telecom.

The UK-based communication solutions provider World Mobile appears to have successfully piloted one of the first Starlink (SpaceX) powered distributed WiFi networks in the UK, which is being used to share low latency broadband speeds of up to 400Mbps across a remote caravan site in Wales. The Starlink network currently has around 3,270 LEO satellites […]

Broadband ISP Zen Internet has informed us that last night’s FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 match between England and Wales, which saw England walk away with a 3-0 win, resulted in a mild internet traffic peak between 7pm and 9pm that was 9% more than the average traffic for that day and time. Broadly, we […]

A number of our readers have noticed that UK ISP Sky Broadband has, in the past week, removed their top 900Mbps (90Mbps upload) “Gigafast” package from sale to new customers, which was being sold over Openreach’s national Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network. Capacity issues could be the cause. The top tier package, which only launched back in […]

Broadband ISP TalkTalk has launched the ‘Future Fibre Fund’ for small businesses in Greater Manchester, which offers “donations” of up to £6,000 to help them become more sustainable, such as by supporting the adoption of energy monitoring technology, recycling facilities and working towards environmental certifications. According to the provider, small businesses account for 44% of […]

Press Release

Nokia and Orange France haved complete world’s first 20 Gbps microwave carrier aggregation link trial using E-Band and traditional frequencies

Nokia today announced that it has extended its collaboration with Orange France to upgrade its microwave backhaul network with the latest product generation. Combining the capabilities of Nokia’s latest high-power E-Band microwave and traditional microwave frequency products, the trial enabled a high-capacity link over a distance of almost 4 kilometers.

The trial successfully demonstrated the use of microwave carrier aggregation techniques, achieving a throughput of 20 Gbps over a distance of 3.6 km. This was enabled by combining the carriers from two microwave radios operating in the 18 GHz band with two E-Band microwave radios operating at 80 GHz, using a single dual-band (18+80 GHz) antenna.

In addition to new products from its Wavence microwave portfolio, Nokia will provide Orange France with a range of products and services from its comprehensive AirScale 5G radio access portfolio, as well as a state-of-the-art network management solution and associated professional services.

The Nokia Wavence portfolio includes innovative, high-capacity ultra-broadband microwave transceivers, designed to support operators as they build out their 5G networks. Wavence products support the evolution of both backhaul and fronthaul with multi-gigabit capacity, low-latency characteristics, and industry-leading RF power output for deployment flexibility.

Christian Gacon, CTO Fixed/IP/Optical/Microwave Networks at Orange France, said: “Nokia’s innovative Wavence portfolio and microwave technology will ensure that we can deliver high-capacity services and experiences to our customers over long distances, which is critical as the usage of 5G increases. This technology will support Orange’s ambition to remain the indisputable best network in France. I look forward to continuing our partnership with Nokia moving forward.”

Giuseppe Targia, VP Transport Business Unit, Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: “High-performance microwave backhaul is essential for extending the reach of 5G networks. I am extremely proud to continue our work with Orange France into the 5G era, with our Wavence portfolio providing a solid foundation for the operator’s 5G services all across the country. We continue to drive important innovations for microwave and millimeter wave wireless transport solutions that support our customers with coverage and capacity where it is needed.”

The post Nokia and Orange France team up for microwave carrier aggregation milestone first appeared on Total Telecom.

News

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has called for so-called over-the-top (OTT) players to pay a “usage charge” due to the pressure they place on telecoms networks

This week, the debate around whether Big Tech should be forced to subsidise the telco networks that they so rely on has spread to India, with the COAI arguing in a letter to the government telecoms secretary that a mutually agreed “usage charge” is warranted for OTT players.

“Any entity which creates a property or infrastructure by investing funds, is entitled to take usage charges (rent /lease charges, etc.) from the user of that property or infrastructure who uses the same for commercial purposes,” argued the COAI in the letter.

The COAI suggests that these usage charges should be mutually agreed between the OTT service providers and the telecoms operators. However, it also suggested that a regulatory framework should be introduced to calculate and impose charges when these fees cannot be agreed independently.

“If a mutual agreement is not reached, then an appropriate Licencing and Regulatory framework should be in place which governs the contribution of OTT players towards creation of network infrastructure,” said the COAI.

Part of the letter’s argument stressed how similar discussions around the ‘fair share’ debate are playing out in other markets across the globe.

Indeed, throughout this year, European regulators have been mulling the idea of forcing the companies that generate the majority of internet traffic on telco networks to contribute to the infrastructure costs. Led primarily by ETNO (the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association), operators have argued that these players are reaping the rewards for the telcos’ expensive infrastructure deployments.

Detractors, on the other hand, argue that telcos are already being paid to carry the traffic by consumers, hence any specific tax would, in effect, pay them twice for providing a single service. Others have noted that any such tax could also have implications for European net neutrality rules.

Similar debates are currently being held in the US, France, Italy, and Spain.

In parallel to this letter, the COAI is also pushing the government to designate major tech players like Meta and Google as providing ‘telecommunication services’, thereby allowing them to fall under the regulatory umbrella of the newly drafted Telecoms Act.

If this were to come to pass, these companies could even be obligated to obtain operating licences of their own – a move that many feel would be a considerable regulatory overreach.

Also in the news:
SKT takes its Ifland metaverse platform global
CMA probes Apple and Google over browser “duopoly”
Vodacom launches National Relay Service to boost digital inclusion

The post Indian operators weigh in on ‘fair share’ debate first appeared on Total Telecom.

The Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme has today issued a short progress update on their contract with UK ISP Wessex Internet, which has been tasked with deploying a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across some rural parts of the region. The Phase 2 CDS contract, which was originally awarded at the end of […]

After meeting with ISPs, the Government has today launched a UK-wide public awareness campaign as part of its Help for Households programme, which aims to help people through the cost-of-living crisis and will also work to improve the uptake of cheaper social tariffs from broadband and mobile providers (available to those on benefits). As we’ve […]

Mobile operator O2 (VMO2) has announced that it is supplying all Big Issue (magazine) vendors with free mobile SIMs and “data vouchers“, which represents an improvement from last year when they gave over 200 Big Issue vendors free data plans, enabling them to take contactless payments (52% of magazine sales are via contactless). The Big […]