News

The Saudi Public Investment Find (PIF) will own a majority stake in the business, with Zain using the resulting funds to pay down its debt

This week, Zain KSA has announced that it has completed the sale of a majority stake in its tower unit to a PIF-led consortium for roughly $805 million.

The deal was first reached in February last year, with Zai agreeing to hand over a 60% share of the business to the PIF, as well as a further 10% each to Sultan Holding Company and prince Saudi bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz.

Zain will retain the final 20% stake.

According to local media, Zain has already transferred ownership of roughly 3,000 towers to the consortium, with the remaining 5,089 to be handed over in batches over the next 18 months.

It should be noted that the deal only accounts for the company’s passive infrastructure (i.e., the towers themselves), while Zain will retain ownership of the site’s active element, such as antennae, software, and related technology.

Zain says the move will help it to reduce its debt, as well as providing capital to focus on “higher-yielding digital investments” in line with their overall strategy.

“This transaction creates enormous shareholder value and gives Zain KSA greater financial muscle to invest in cutting-edge technologies and innovation that enhance the customer mobile and data experience,” explained Bader Al Kharafi, Zain Group vice-chairman and CEO, and Zain KSA vice-chairman.

“The unlocking of capital to focus on higher-yielding digital investments and optimization of infrastructure that creates internal efficiencies is a core element of Zain’s transformational ‘4Sight’ strategy, empowering Zain to enhance the meaningful connectivity we provide the communities, businesses, and governments we serve,” he added.

The move is the latest of a long string of digital investments by the PIF, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman continues to further his Vision 2030 plan for Saudi Arabia, first announced last year. As such, the PIF has said it is committed to investing $40 billion a year to develop the nation’s economy by 2025, as well as investing roughly $24 billion into the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest telecoms news from around the world? Click here to have the Total Telecom daily newsletter sent straight to your inbox!

Also in the news:
Orange opens European solar farm to boost access to renewable energy
Bullitt: Two-way satellite messaging will be available this quarter
Cox launches mobile services to bolster fixed line offerings

News

The deal comes at a time when the UK-based operator group is under pressure from investors to improve its performance

This week, Vodafone has announced that it has agreed to sell its Hungarian unit, Vodafone Hungary, for roughly €1.7 billion.

The operator group will sell 100% of its Hungarian unit to Hungarian newcomer 4iG and Corvinus, a holding company owned by the Hungarian state. 4iG will hold a 51% stake in the business, with Corvinus holding the remaining 49%.

The deal was first revealed in August last year and is expected to be formally completed later this month.

“This combination establishes a scaled converged operator across mobile and fixed communications and supports the Hungarian government’s goal of creating a national Information and Communications Technology champion,” explained Vodafone’s interim CEO Margherita Della Valle. “The combined entity will increase competition and accelerate investment in the ongoing digitalisation of Hungary.”

According to Vodafone, the proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down debt.

In fact, this windfall could not come at a better time. The company having been under significant pressure from investors for years to turn its fortunes around and bolster share prices but has found little success.

The issue came to a head in January 2022, when ‘activist investor’ and major shareholder Cevian Capital called for Vodafone to restructure and be more aggressive in seeking consolidation in highly competitive markets.

A year later, however, and Vodafone’s outlook appears much the same. Despite the successful spin off and partial sale of the company’s European tower infrastructure in the form of Vantage Towers, as well as a burgeoning merger with Three in the UK, the Group’s share price has continued to stagnate.

As a result, at the start of December, Vodafone announced that CEO Nick Read would step down from his position at the end of the year, having failed to achieve the scale of consolidation he had championed for so long.

Under his four-year tenure, Vodafone shares had fallen in value by almost 50%.

Della Valle, the company’s finance director, is serving as interim CEO until a replacement can be found.

4iG, on the other hand, has been making something of a splash in the Hungarian market over the same period. Backed by billionaire Lőrinc Mészáros, a close associate of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, 4iG has been on an acquisition spree throughout the Balkans, aiming to become a major telecoms powerhouse and the second largest operator in Hungary.

With the acquisition of Vodafone Hungary, the company moves one step closer to this goal, creating a converged operator able to deliver fixed broadband, pay-TV, and mobile services on a national scale.

“The acquisition of Vodafone Hungary opens a new chapter in the Hungarian telecommunications market. It is the first info-communications group in almost thirty years that can operate as a Hungarian majority-owned convergent operator,” said Gellért Jászai, chairman of 4iG.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest telecoms news from around the world? Click here to have the Total Telecom daily newsletter sent straight to your inbox!

Also in the news:
Orange opens European solar farm to boost access to renewable energy
Bullitt: Two-way satellite messaging will be available this quarter
Cox launches mobile services to bolster fixed line offerings

NEWS

Fastwyre Broadband who brought together the American Broadband, TelAlaska and Cameron Communications brands has further expands with the acquisition of Moundville Communications in Alabama.

Fastwyre Broadband is owned Madison Dearborn Partners and Catania Capital Partners and has ambitions to deliver high-speed internet services across America and now reaches Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas.

Chris Eldredge, CEO of Fastwyre commented “This acquisition accelerates our growth by providing immediate access to vibrant communities in Alabama. We look forward to furthering the expansion of our high-quality, reliable broadband services into new Alabama communities, including those in Hale and Tuscaloosa Counties.”

Beyond Alabama, Fastwyre has also announced plans to extend fibre broadband services into Louisiana, Missouri and Nebraska in the first quarter of 2023.

Scott Taylor, former President and CEO of Moundville Communications said that “With the support and resources of Fastwyre, we are poised to be the preferred regional fiber-based broadband provider in the area.”

The Fastwyre Broadband name was announced in August 2022 as a rebrand of American Broadband Holding Company and looks to address the increasing need for access and upgrades across the United States. At the time the announcement Eldredge was quoted as saying “We believe all Americans should have access to reliable internet service. Our new identity reflects our pursuit of that mission, unifying our markets under a single national brand that will help keep communities connected.”

For more on the expansion of fibre broadband across the USA, join Total Telecom for Connected America on 28-29 March 2023 at the Irving Convention Center, Dallas.

News

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed new update that would require telcos to accelerate their reporting of data breaches for both customers and law enforcement

On Friday, the FCC began proceedings to bolster the existing rules regarding telco obligations to notify their customers when sensitive data has been compromised.

Currently, network operators are required to notify the relevant authorities – the FCC, but also potentially the US Secret Services and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – of a data breach within a maximum of seven days after discovery. Only then, assuming no objections from law enforcement agencies, can customers be notified.

Now, the newly proposed update suggests eliminating this seven-business-day window, meaning that customers can be notified more quickly, “without unreasonable delay”, when their data has been leaked.

The update would also broaden the existing scope of what is considered a ‘breach’, now including cases of “inadvertent access, use, or disclosures of customer information”, rather solely breaches as a result of cyber-attacks. In short, telcos will be required to report incidents where customer data is compromised due to their own negligence as well as those caused by malicious actors attacking the network.

“The law requires carriers to protect sensitive consumer information but, given the increase in frequency, sophistication, and scale of data leaks, we must update our rules to protect consumers and strengthen reporting requirements,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.  “This new proceeding will take a much-needed, fresh look at our data breach reporting rules to better protect consumers, increase security, and reduce the impact of future breaches.”

If passed, this update will bring the FCC regulations more closely in line with those of data protection standards found elsewhere in the world, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires customers to be notified of any breach within 72 hours.

This would be the first time the law has been updated in 15 years.

How are the latest regulatory changes impacting the telecoms landscape in the US? Learn more from the operators themselves at the upcoming Connected America conference live in Dallas, Texas

Also in the news:
Orange opens European solar farm to boost access to renewable energy
Bullitt: Two-way satellite messaging will be available this quarter
Cox launches mobile services to bolster fixed line offerings

Leicester-based UK broadband ISP Gigabit Networks, which until now had seemed to focus on connecting premises across the Midlands of England via CityFibre‘s full fibre (FTTP) network, has now confirmed that their services will also be available via FullFibre Limited‘s gigabit-capable network. FullFibre Ltd typically deploys its network as a wholesale platform via Fibre Heroes […]

Broadband ISPs BT and EE have sent out a new invite to registered trialists that asks them to help trial “our latest Smart Hub [router] and Wi-Fi [mesh] extenders” for free (including the broadband service itself). But unusually, they’re also asking the trialists to invite people who they know that aren’t yet customers. At the […]

British registered satellite operator OneWeb, which is partly owned by the UK Government, has closed one of its first – and most heavily promoted – test sites in Alaska after the Alaska Telecom Association (ATA) and local providers complained that the service was “too costly to adopt” and was “discontinued due to ongoing technical difficulties.” […]

A new survey of 5,139 UK consumers who had their contract end on either their mobile, broadband and /or TV plans has examined the impact of switching to a different ISP vs haggling for a lower price with your existing provider. On average, TV and broadband users saved £162 a year by switching, while haggling […]

Customers of the Sky Mobile service, which is an O2 (VMO2) powered Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) with upwards of 3 million subscribers, has begun notifying their out-of-contract users (equating to around 1.3 million customers) that they will see their first price increase in 5 years on 14th February 2023. According to our sources, the […]

News

Nepal’s Ministry of Communication, Internet and Technology (MoCIT) has requested that the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) stops removing internet cables from its utility poles

This week, the ongoing conflict between Nepal’s internet service providers and the NEA has escalated yet further, with the MoCIT formally asking the NEA to stop removing internet service cables from its utility poles.

For many years, Nepal’s ISPs have been using the NEA’s utility poles to host internet and TV cables, a highly efficient strategy for rapidly deploying networks across the country at minimal cost.

However, around a year ago, the NEA announced it would be increasing the rent on the use of its utility poles to host internet cables – in some cases by up to 700%.

Naturally, this price hike posed a considerable concern to the ISPs, who took to legal channels to complain.

Shortly after the increase was announced, the ISPs told the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) that they would need to pass on these costs to customers, raising monthly subscription prices by around 150 Rs (~$1.13) in rural areas and 300 Rs (~$2.27) in urban areas to handle this increased rental price.

According to The Internet Connectivity Index-2021, the average monthly charge for broadband services in Nepal in 2021 was 1,600 Rs (~$12.10).

By October 2022, the ISPs were still disputing the new pricing and refusing the pay the increased fees, hence the NEA began removing internet cabling from their utility poles in various regions in, causing significant disruption to internet services.

The move was met with condemnation by both the ISPs and the NTA, with the latter suggesting that the NEA could potentially be punished by law for obstructing services.

This week, with the cables’ removal still ongoing, the Internet Service Providers’ Association of Nepal (ISPAN) has called for government intervention to stop the NEA, arguing that the ISPs were being unfairly pressured to pay the unilaterally increased fees.

The NEA, on the other hand, says it is simply following legal procedure, removing the cables from its infrastructure due to lack of payment.

Now, the MoCIT itself has been forced to weigh in on the conflict, requesting that the NEA cease removing the cables due to the internet’s integral role in public life. It urged the NEA and the ISPs to come to a speedy compromise, noting that internet access is key to the Digital Nepal Framework, the government’s 2019 plan to increase digital literacy and ICT access throughout the country.

The MoCIT has officially requested that the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, which oversees the NEA, order the energy provider to cease its disruptive activity.

Want to learn more of the latest news from the world of telecoms? Register now to recieve the Total Telecom daily newsletter

Also in the news:
Resilience in the face of war: Kyivstar talks challenges and collaboration
BT seeks £100m in savings by merging global and enterprise units
Connected Britain Keynotes: CXO Spotlight