Un important opérateur d’échange Internet entre sur le marché africain

DE-CIX (German Commercial Internet Exchange), l’un des principaux opérateurs d’échanges Internet, a annoncé son intention d’établir des plates-formes d’interconnexion à travers l’Afrique grâce au modèle de partenariat DE-CIX as a Service (DaaS) et, dans un premier temps, a annoncé des partenariats stratégiques sur trois marchés africains.

DE-CIX a établi des partenariats pour héberger ce qu’on appelle l’Africa Cloud Interconnection Exchange (AF-CIX) au centre de données Rack Center à Lagos, au Nigéria, ainsi qu’avec le fournisseur d’accès et d’hébergement UNITED S.A. à Kinshasa, en République démocratique du Congo, afin d’établir l’Africa Congo Internet Exchange (ACIX). Il s’est également associé à la Société Libyenne de Télécommunications Internationales (LITC) à Tripoli.

L’objectif est que les trois nouvelles plates-formes africaines soient prêtes à être mises en service d’ici la fin de 2022, offrant des capacités internationales et des services d’interconnexion de nouvelle génération, y compris la connectivité cloud, à leurs marchés respectifs.

Les partenaires étendront également la couverture de leurs plates-formes à d’autres territoires utilisant leur propre infrastructure, permettant une portée initiale des plates-formes à un total de neuf pays africains. En plus des trois marchés nationaux, la couverture couvrira également le Cameroun, le Congo, la République centrafricaine, le Tchad, le Niger et le Soudan.

Le programme DE-CIX-as-a-Service décrit est une solution clé en main à part entière pour la construction de nouveaux écosystèmes. Il comprend un ensemble de services – tels que l’installation, la maintenance, l’approvisionnement, le marketing et le support commercial – conçus pour que les opérateurs de centres de données ou d’autres tiers créent leur propre plate-forme d’interconnexion entièrement exploitée par DE-CIX.

DE-CIX prévoit d’ouvrir plus d’emplacements dans diverses régions et marchés métropolitains sur le continent africain en 2022 et au-delà.

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Neptune reçoit le feu vert de la Jamaïque

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Le câble Arabie-Égypte fait partie du nouveau protocole d’accord

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Etisalat and Telecom Egypt team up for new submarine cable

The MoU was signed in Riyadh by Eng. Salman Al-Badran, CEO of Mobily, and Adel Hamed, Managing Director, and CEO of Telecom Egypt.
The agreement explores various new ways to connect international capacity to Europe in the west, through Telecom Egypt’s network, and to the GCC in the east, through Mobily’s network, which is made possible by expanding the two companies’ networks and connecting them to neighboring countries…

The MoU was signed in Riyadh by Eng. Salman Al-Badran, CEO of Mobily, and Adel Hamed, Managing Director, and CEO of Telecom Egypt.

The agreement explores various new ways to connect international capacity to Europe in the west, through Telecom Egypt’s network, and to the GCC in the east, through Mobily’s network, which is made possible by expanding the two companies’ networks and connecting them to neighboring countries. 

The establishment of the new cable system aims to meet the rising communication traffic and the large demand for such services between KSA and Egypt.

« By adopting cutting-edge technologies, we continue to expand our infrastructure and scale our capabilities across the KSA and the wider region, » said Eng. Salman Al-Badran, CEO of Mobily. « We are confident that our strategic partnership with Telecom Egypt will help achieve our goals. »

Thamer A. AlFadda, Senior Vice, President Wholesale & Carrier Services, said: « The MoU is part of Mobliy’s efforts to enhance its global infrastructure, aiming to establish the KSA as a leading international hub for communication services and data traffic, which contributes to the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. »

Adel Hamed, The Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, added: « We are pleased to build this strategic collaboration with Mobily, which helps increase the scale and reach of our networks, and adds more connections with the KSA. »

Seif Allah Mounib, Vice President, Chief International & Wholesale Officer at Telecom Egypt: « The MoU lays the foundation of a fruitful and growing collaboration with Mobily, as well as adding to our cutting-edge international infrastructure. »

Mobily follows a leading approach aiming to empower the digital economy and offer advanced digital solutions in-line with Saudi Vision 2030. This further cements Mobliy’s reliability, agility, and competitiveness, it also contributes to the company’s efforts to bolster the growth of the communication sector and digital economy in the Kingdom. Telecom Egypt is the preferred partner for subsea cable owners worldwide, offering advanced infrastructure both locally and globally, with +140 landing stations across +60 countries.

Mobliy also continuously focuses on scaling subsea cables using cutting-edge technologies, which is reflected clearly by investing in subsea cables, in addition to recently joining two new consortiums to increase global capacity and presence, and cement the leading position of the Saudi communication sector globally.

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Allianz and CDPQ inch closer to stake in Telefonica’s rural fibre network

In recent years, numerous European telcos have been making moves to reduce their debt and generate a positive cash flow in the wake of intense competition, typically through the monetisation of high value infrastructure. 
 
Indeed, in October last year, Telefonica said it was considering the sale of a minority stake in its Spanish fibre network…

In recent years, numerous European telcos have been making moves to reduce their debt and generate a positive cash flow in the wake of intense competition, typically through the monetisation of high value infrastructure. 

At the time, Telefonica’s entire fibre network, which covers roughly 26.1 million people, was valued at around €15 billion.

While this broader sale has yet to come to pass, by February 2021, Telefonica was preparing to set up a separate unit for its rural fibre network, seeking investors to purchase a stake of up to 45% in the business. 

This network, valued at around €2 billion, already connects roughly 2.5 million homes in rural, semi-rural and towns with less than 20,000 inhabitants, with Telefonica seeking to increase this number of homes passed by a further two million.

Now, reports citing anonymous sources suggest that the Telefonica has created a shortlist for the upcoming auction to sell a minority stake in the network unit, with private equity firm Allianz and Canadian pension fund CDPQ reportedly selected for the final stages of the process.

Both of these investors would seem natural partners for Telefonica, who is already working with Allianz via a fibre wholesale joint venture in Germany, and CDPQ via a similar arrangement in Brazil. In both of these markets, Telefonica aims to reach a market penetration of 97% by 2024.

According to the sources, French venture capital company Vauban and Dutch pension fund PGGM are also reportedly interested in partnering for a bid. 

Spain remains one of the most competitive markets in Europe. With some of the best fibre coverage in Europe and a wealth of mobile players, telcos’ profits have been slim for years, with numerous parties calling on regulators to help promote market consolidation. 

Now, however, this consolidation is finally beginning to take place, with Orange announcing a merger with MasMovil earlier this year. 

Court orders IBM to pay $1.6bn to BMC Software over AT&T account

IBM has lost a major court battle against rival BMC Software this week, with a US court ordering the technology specialist to pay $1.6 billion to BMC in reparations. 
The case relates to the two companies’ relationship with US telecoms giant AT&T, with BMC accusing IBM of stealing the operator as a client, breaking various agreements in the process.
Back in 2007, BMC struck a deal with AT&&…

IBM has lost a major court battle against rival BMC Software this week, with a US court ordering the technology specialist to pay $1.6 billion to BMC in reparations. 

The case relates to the two companies’ relationship with US telecoms giant AT&T, with BMC accusing IBM of stealing the operator as a client, breaking various agreements in the process.

Back in 2007, BMC struck a deal with AT&T to provide software services for the operator’s mainframe computers. At the same time, AT&T was already partnered with BMC’s rival, IBM, for mainframe servicing.  

As a result, in 2008, IBM and BMC signed an agreement to govern their business relationship, which was amended in 2015 to include a clause disallowing IBM from moving mutual clients to its own software.

Despite this agreement, however, later that year AT&T began what was called Project Swallowtail, migrating from BMC’s software to IBM’s.

BMC accused IBM of deliberately stealing the AT&T account in direct violation of their agreement and took legal action in 2017.

Now, five year’s later, US District Judge Gray Miller has ruled heavily in favour of BMC, saying that IBM had induced BMC to sign the 2015 amendments in order to gain an advantage in luring AT&T to migrating to their services.

« The court finds by clear and convincing evidence that IBM fraudulently induced BMC into entering the 2015 OA so that it could exercise rights without paying for them, secure other contractual benefits, and ultimately acquire one of BMC’s core customers, » wrote Judge Miller. « IBM did this intentionally. »

The judge noted that IBM’s close access to BMC software being used by AT&T, giving them insights into how to win over the client.

« IBM’s scheme to defeat BMC’s contractual rights cheated BMC – a software company wholly dependent on the licensing of its intellectual property – out of hundreds of millions of dollars it was entitled to receive under the contract in exchange for the rights IBM exercised. Based on all the foregoing facts, the court finds that IBM’s conduct in this case was both fraudulent and malicious, » Miller said.

BMC had initially sought $791 million for IBM’s breach of contract and an additional $104 million in lost business from the AT&T account.

In his ruling, however, Judge Miller awarded BMC $717.7 million in contractual damages, $168.2 million in prejudgement interest, and a further $717.7 million in punitive damages. 

“IBM’s business practices — including the routine eschewal of rules — merit a proportional punitive damages award,” he said. 

IBM says that the verdict is “entirely unsupported by fact and law” and will appeal the decision.

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Also in the news:
BT and Ericsson target UK industry with private 5G partnership
SKT consortium bids to become South Korea’s first flying car operator
Take a byte: VMO2 and Greggs offer families free mobile data