Press release

GSMA has released its 2022 Mobile Economy Report for Europe.

Mobile technologies and services contributed Eur757 billion to European GDP in 2021, but Europe’s ambitious Digital Decade goals remain threatened by slower 5G rollout compared to competitor markets, a new report by the GSMA revealed today.

The 2022 Mobile Economy Report Europe shows that at the end of June 2022, 108 operators in 34 markets across Europe had launched commercial 5G services, with consumer take-up continuing to grow steadily, now reaching 6% of the mobile customer base. Norway leads in adoption of the technology, with 16% now using 5G, but positive momentum is also evident in Switzerland (14%), Finland (13%), the UK (11%) and Germany (10%).

However, tough market conditions are leaving Europe trailing its global peers. The report predicts that by 2025, the average adoption of 5G across Europe will hit 44%, with the UK and Germany expected to have the highest 5G adoption rates in Europe at 61% and 59% respectively. However, that rapid growth is outpaced by other world economies, with South Korea expected to hit 73% in the same time period, whilst Japan and the US are likely to achieve 68% adoption.

The pace of 5G coverage expansion across Europe will be a key factor in the transition from 4G to 5G, an important step towards the achievement of Europe’s Digital Decade goals. Although 5G network coverage in Europe will rise to 70% in 2025 (from 47% in 2021), nearly a third of the population will remain without 5G coverage. This compares to 2% or less in South Korea and the US.

Meeting Digital Decade Goals

In 2021, the European Commission (EC) set out its vision for Europe’s digital transformation by 2030 in the Digital Decade framework. The strategy promised to deliver tangible benefits for EU economies through the development of digital skills, digital transformation of business, sustainable digital infrastructures and the digitalisation of public services.

As economies digitalise, the lynchpin to ensuring success is the acceleration of 5G in Europe for traditional industry and manufacturing to remain competitive. To meet the EC’s 2030 goals, it is vital for policymakers to create the right conditions for private infrastructure investment, network modernisation and digital innovation.

Daniel Pataki, GSMA Vice President for Policy & Regulation, and Head of Europe, said: “Europe is adopting 5G faster than ever before, but greater focus on creating the right market conditions for infrastructure investment is needed to keep pace with other world markets. This should include the implementation of the principle of fair contribution to network costs”.

Industry Impact

The report also examines how European operators are progressing with the rollout of stand-alone (SA) 5G networks, noting that 5G SA services in Europe are now available in Finland, Germany and Italy. Further deployments are expected in the next few years. The added functionality enabled by 5G SA is key to delivering on the 5G promise of fully supporting advanced 5G use cases.

European operators are also at the forefront of cutting-edge, energy-efficient technologies and the use of renewables, with many already reaching 100% renewable electricity use across their footprints, powering their network infrastructure, data centres and other sites.

The post GSMA report demonstrates policy action is needed for EU to achieve digital decade goals first appeared on Total Telecom.

Network operator Upp has announced that they’ve chosen Finnish telecoms firm Nokia to be the delivery partner for a huge chunk (c. 400,000 premises) of their project, which is working to rollout a new gigabit-capable full fibre broadband ISP network across the East of England. Upp – supported by investment from LetterOne – is investing […]

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Iliad has signed a deal with Fastweb which will give the former access to its FTTH network on a wholesale basis.

Iliad, owned by French entrepreneur Xavier Niel, first entered the Italian fixed-broadband market in January this year. The group has already signed similar wholesale-access deals with FiberCop and Open Fiber. With the combination of these agreements iliad is targeting full coverage of 10 million houses in Italy by the start of 2023.

Fastweb celebrated the addition of another customer to its wholesale access portfolio, which it deems to be one of its fastest growing markets. By 2025, Fastweb estimates that its wholesale fibre network will cover over 14.5 million Italian homes.

Commenting on the announcement, Alberto Calcagno, CEO of Fastweb said: “With this agreement Fastweb strengthens its strategy of presence in the wholesale market of ultra-broadband connectivity. In addition to providing ultra-broadband services to families and businesses, we make our infrastructure of excellence available to other operators to accelerate the spread of ultra-broadband services in all areas of the country. We are proud that iliad, which recently launched its services in the fixed line segment, has decided to rely on our network and our technological know-how.”

Benedetto Levi, CEO of iliad added: “Our goal is to offer our users the best fiber connectivity service in ever larger areas of the country. The agreement with Fastweb is an important step in this direction, and we can only be very satisfied.”

 

The post Iliad and Fastweb sign wholesale FTTH agreement first appeared on Total Telecom.

Alternative network builder Netomnia – supported by broadband ISP YouFibre – has today announced that their gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / XGS-PON) network has now covered a total of 265,000 premises (up from 210k in August) and become the “first alt-net with presence in all four countries in the United Kingdom.” The announcement largely reflects […]

Ofcom’s autumn 2022 report into fixed broadband and mobile coverage has found that “full fibre” (FTTP) now reaches 37% of the UK, while 20.2 million homes (68%) are within reach of a gigabit-capable network and 48-64% of premises can now get outdoor 5G coverage by at least one operator. The regulator’s latest report is based […]

NEWS

Investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has found the proposed merger between California-based satellite operator Viasat and UK based Inmarsat would remove key competitor from the aviation market and may result in higher priced and lower quality on-board wi-fi for consumers.

The CMA started their investigation into the deal back in August, as reported by Total Telecom, after the companies suggesting their complementary assets that would be used to create a “high-capacity hybrid space and terrestrial network”.

The two companies agreed to merge in a $7.3 billion deal announced in November 2021, at a time when both companies were competing aggressively for new business opportunities, against each other and against emerging players like Starlink, OneWeb, and Telesat. One of the most competitive areas for Viasat and Inmarsat is the supply of onboard wi-fi for airline passengers – an area expected to see considerable growth in the near future. A recent study published by Global Industry Analysts Inc., (GIA) predicted the in-flight wi-fi market could be worth US$5.9 Billion by the 2026, up from an estimated US$3.8 Billion in 2022.

The CMA’s investigation found it is difficult for airlines to switch providers once they have installed a connectivity solution, and therefore the merged entity could effectively lock-out other potential competitors. The resulting loss of competition could ultimately affect cost, quality and availability of services for airline passengers.

Colin Raftery, CMA Senior Director, said “Ultimately, airlines could be faced with a worse deal because of this merger, which could have knock-on effects for UK consumers as in-flight connectivity becomes more widespread.”

Rajeev Suri, chief executive of Inmarsat argued that there is no lack of competition in the sector, and certainly it is a target market for the likes of Starlink, OneWeb and Telesat, commenting “Strong players are already offering in-flight connectivity and the new low-earth orbit players . . . are aggressively and successfully targeting aviation.”

The firms now have 5 working days to submit proposals to address the CMA’s competition concerns.

The post Sky high – CMA damning verdict on Viasat – Inmarsat merger first appeared on Total Telecom.

Fibre broadband builder and UK ISP Swish Fibre, which is busy deploying their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to cover 250,000 premises across the Home Counties of England, has recently added another 36 new locations to their rollout plan for Yorkshire (conducted via their Swish Fibre Yorkshire subsidiary). The operator, which is being supported by £225m […]

Rural broadband ISP Wildanet, which is investing £50m to rollout a new gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and fixed wireless (FWA) network across parts of Cornwall and Devon in South West England (here), has this week opened its new Westbourne House headquarters in Liskeard (Cornwall). The operator, which is backed by the Gresham House British Strategic […]

News

Verizon Business and Extreme Networks, Inc. have announced a partnership to deploy wireless connectivity solutions at Liverpool FC’s Anfield Stadium.

Extreme Networks, a global leader is cloud networking, had previously announced that it had secured a deal with Liverpool FC earlier this year.

The deployment is scheduled to begin later this year and will include innovations including Extreme Wi-Fi 6 access points delivering low latency Wi-Fi connectivity. Enhanced connectivity across the stadium will enable new fan experiences such as mobile ticketing, cash free concessions, video streaming and new immersive experiences.

Liverpool FC will also benefit from real-time data insights looking into foot traffic, app usage and popular concessions in the stadium.

Extreme Networks and Verizon Business have already committed to numerous partnerships this year to deliver connectivity solutions to large venues and stadiums in Europe and APAC.

Massimo Peselli, CRO, Global Enterprise & Public Sector at Verizon Business commented: ““We’re excited to be joining forces with Extreme to transform Anfield into a place where the digital experience in-stadium is best in class. As we continue to bring our expertise to major venues around the globe, we’re making innovative fan experiences a reality, shortening queue times, streamlining matchday operations and more.”

Norman Rice, COO at Extreme Networks added: “We’ve set the bar for what great looks like when it comes to the connectivity needed to drive fan engagement and operational excellence at world class venues. Partnering with Verizon on yet another deployment means that Liverpool FC will be able to offer immersive, next-generation experiences off the back of reliable, high performing connectivity. Additionally, automation and intelligence will empower Liverpool FC to create innovative, personalised experiences for fans, while ensuring stadium operations flow smoothly.”

The post Verizon Business & Extreme Networks to deliver wireless solutions at Liverpool FC first appeared on Total Telecom.

The boss of broadband ISP 4th Utility, which is deploying a new 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to some homes (SDU) and large residential blocks (MDU), has warned that the UK may be “sleepwalking into a crisis“, after it was revealed (here) that half of councils do not have a digital strategy. Admittedly, Digital Strategies […]