News

A new 4G mast has been installed to not only help facilitate smart sensors deployed around the Scar House Reservoir but also to provide mobile coverage to around 1,000 local residents

This week, water utility firm Yorkshire Water have announced a new partnership with BT aiming to remotely monitor water quality using smart sensors.

The partnership has seen the duo deploy numerous IoT sensors on water courses feeding Scar House Reservoir in Upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire.

These sensors will provide various measurements related to the water’s quality, including the temperature, weather, and condition of the surrounding moorland, all of which can impact the amount of peat in the water.

The data will be carried to Yorkshire Water via a purpose-built 4G mobile mast that BT has deployed for this purpose.

The mobile site will also provide mobile connectivity to around 1,000 residents, holiday homes, and local businesses.

The data collected will help direct Yorkshire Water to the best possible water sources to transfer to its water treatment plant. Higher quality water will require less processing, which Yorkshire Water notes is not only more efficient for the company but also produces less carbon emissions.

“Water coming out of customers taps will continue to be the high quality that it always has been – the key change here is that the water coming into the treatment works will be of higher quality, and therefore require less treatment,” explained Ted Rycroft, Yorkshire Water’s product and process manager. “That helps us to keep costs down for our customers and our operational emissions to a minimum, while maintaining our high standards of water quality.”

BT suggests that the sensors will also reduce the need for Yorkshire Water to deploy engineers to perform water testing, thereby freeing them up to perform other tasks.

How is the latest connectivity technologies transforming utility companies in the UK? Join the experts in discussion at this year’s Connected North conference in Manchester

Also in the news:
Bouygues Telecom lays out 2G and 3G sunsetting plans
Ofcom leans towards permitting Openreach’s Equinox 2 price cuts
Nokia: The new Metaverse and our 2030 Vision

BT (EE) has suspended doorstep selling on the Isle of Wight, which was being conducted on their behalf by a third-party firm ‘Money Expert‘, after rival broadband ISP WightFibre complained that the sellers had allegedly been making some very dishonest claims about the operator. Admittedly, most of us already know to avoid engaging with doorstep […]

Last month we reported that TalkTalk had become the latest UK ISP to adopt Strategic Imperatives’ new Fibre Café connectivity aggregation platform (here), and today BT Wholesale has also been added to the growing list of providers available via the platform. The platform is essentially designed to tackle the significant integration and automation challenges for […]

A new BT (EE) trial, which deployed new mobile network infrastructure in order to help Yorkshire Water connect with smart IoT sensors to remotely monitor the water courses that feed Scar House reservoir, has also helped up to 1,000 homes, businesses and visitors in Nidderdale to access a 4G based mobile broadband network. The project […]

Kent-based broadband ISP Trooli, which aims to deploy a full fibre (FTTP) network to 1 million UK premises by the end of 2024 (in August they reported 275,000 completed), has attracted fresh rumours of a possible sale after they reportedly appointed a business sale and restructuring specialist, David Duggins, to their Board. At present the […]

The CEO of network operator Upp, Drew Ritchie, which is deploying a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network in the East of England, has told ISPreview.co.uk that discussions over the forced sale of their business by the Government are “progressing well” and that in the meantime their “build is continuing at pace.” Just to recap. Upp […]

Popular business and residential broadband ISP iDNET appears to have suddenly stopped selling packages based off CityFibre’s new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network. The exact reason for this decision remains unclear, but we understand that some “admin issues” need to be “resolved” before they can return. Until recently iDNET only sold broadband packages via Openreach’s national […]

Sky (Sky Broadband, Sky TV etc.) has begun to rollout a new firmware update (aka – Entertainment OS 1.1) for the operating system software that underpins their broadband-based Sky Glass and Sky Stream TV services, which adds a number of new features (e.g. Personalised Playlists and enhanced Bluetooth features). The update was confirmed last week, […]

News

The telco has converted around $2 billion in interest into new shares owned by the Indian government

This week, the Indian government has agree to convert the interest owed to it by Vi into equity, offering the struggling telco some momentary relief as it continued to haemorrhage subscribers to its rivals, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio.

Vi has been a precarious position almost since its founded (as Vodafone Idea) back in 2018 by Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group, having immediately struggled to compete against Reliance Jio’s aggressive pricing strategy.

To make matters worse, back in 2019, after over a decade of regulatory conflict, the Indian government announced that it would be redefining the way in which it measures mobile network operators’ adjusted gross revenue (AGR). As a result of this recalculation, the nation’s mobile operators were deemed to owe roughly $13 billion to the government, with Vi liable for almost $7 billion of this total.

Naturally, such enormous repayments quickly caused chaos in a sector already struggling to remain competitive due to the price war initiated by the arrival of relative newcomer Reliance Jio. Arguments for reducing the AGR dues or extending the repayment periods largely fell on deaf ears, leading Vi to suggest that it could be forced into insolvency.

At that time, Vi’s parent companies, Vodafone and Aditya Birla Group, said repeatedly that they would not invest more funds in the business, which was viewed by many as a sinking ship.

However, in 2021, the Indian government finally offered the telecoms sector some much needed relief in the form of a bailout package, which modified AGR repayment terms and removed spectrum usage charges, amongst other modifications.

Crucially, these emergency measures also offered Vi the opportunity to convert the interest it owes the government into equity – a plan the operator was immediately receptive too.

Now, around a year later, the conversion has been formally agreed, with Vi converting around $2 billion in debt into new shares owned by the Indian government. This will give the government a roughly 33% stake in the business.

The deal was finally announced at the end of last week, with Telecommunications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw noting that the government decision had been largely dependent on Aditya Birla Group making a ‘firm commitment’ to inject fresh capital into the business.

The deal will give Vi the cash flow it requires to clear dues owed to companies like Indus Towers, as well as to expand its 4G and 5G mobile networks. It is also hoped that it will give Vi additional scope to refinance their existing debts.

The news of this equity conversion saw Vi’s share prices soar by almost 25%, but the question of Vi’s future is still far from certain.

According to Rohan Dhamija, Head of India & Middle East at Analysys Mason, Vi will require around $5 billion in fresh investment in order to boost its existing 4G network and begin the rollout of 5G at a scale large enough to remain competitive with rivals.

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are already racing ahead with their own 5G rollouts, with the former having already covered around 225 cities.

Vi, meanwhile, has yet to announce an official launch date for its own 5G network but is expected to do so later this year.

Thus, while this deal with the government will surely serve as something of a solution to the company’s short term cash flow problems, it is far from a panacea for the businesses larger challenges. With Vi’s market share continuing to diminish, far larger investments will need to be made to keep the telco viable in the longer term.

Want to keep up with all of the latest international telecoms news? Sign up now to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

Also in the news:
Bouygues Telecom lays out 2G and 3G sunsetting plans
Ofcom leans towards permitting Openreach’s Equinox 2 price cuts
Nokia: The new Metaverse and our 2030 Vision

Press Release

With the expanded footprint, Oracle will operate six cloud regions in the Middle East

To meet the rapidly growing demand for its cloud services, Oracle today announced plans to open a third public cloud region in Saudi Arabia. Located in Riyadh, the new cloud region will be part of a planned US $1.5 billion investment from Oracle to expand cloud infrastructure capabilities in the Kingdom. The Oracle Cloud Riyadh Region will join the existing Oracle Cloud Jeddah Region and the planned Oracle Cloud Region to be located in the futuristic city of NEOM.

This investment is included in an MoU that Oracle has signed with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) to help Saudi Arabian businesses take advantage of the latest innovations in the cloud. The MoU was signed during Oracle CEO, Safra Catz’s recent visit to Riyadh in the presence of His Excellency Eng. Haitham AlOhali, Vice Minister, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT).

To quickly meet the requirements of its growing cloud business in Saudi Arabia, Oracle will also expand the capacity of the Oracle Cloud Jeddah Region.

“In the last century, Saudi Arabia transformed its economy by developing the infrastructure needed to produce, refine, process and transport hydrocarbons. This century we are committed to creating the digital infrastructure that will underpin future economies,” said His Excellency Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment. “Oracle’s decision to expand its cloud computing capacity in the Kingdom will play a key role in unlocking the opportunities that rapid technological advancements are creating. MISA will continue in its quest to enable the building of a robust digital infrastructure, by creating an attractive environment for these investments – for example, by establishing special economic zones that are tailored to particular industries such as cloud computing and digital transformation.”

As part of the MoU, Oracle will also work with MCIT and the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) to establish a commercial and operational model for an additional cloud region in Saudi Arabia that is aligned with Saudi government requirements and local data residency regulations. Oracle will also work with MCIT to help foster the development of Saudi Arabia’s cloud industry.

Unique among hyperscale providers, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) offers customer choice to deploy OCI based on regulations, data residency, or latency requirements. OCI distributed cloud includes its public regions, Dedicated Region, Oracle Exadata Cloud@Customer, multicloud offerings, and recently-announced Oracle Alloy.

“Oracle’s investment will rapidly accelerate the cloud transformation across Saudi Arabia’s business and public sector,” said Richard Smith, Executive Vice President, Technology – EMEA, Oracle. “Oracle Cloud delivers pioneering innovation in technologies like AI, Machine Learning, and IoT, and it will help fuel the economic growth and digital transformation that is an integral part of the Saudi Vision 2030.”

Want to keep up with all of the latest international telecoms news? Sign up now to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

Also in the news:
Bouygues Telecom lays out 2G and 3G sunsetting plans
Ofcom leans towards permitting Openreach’s Equinox 2 price cuts
Nokia: The new Metaverse and our 2030 Vision