News

The deal is Boldyn Networks’ second London connectivity agreement signed in the last three years 

Boldyn Networks has announced its first ‘small cell’ is live near King’s Cross in London, deployed as part of a partnership with UK mobile operator EE to boost operator’s coverage and capacity. 

The partnership will see a large quantity of ‘small cells’ –small, low-powered cellular radio units – deployed throughout London’s King’s Cross and Euston areas.  

King’s Cross is one of London’s busiest train stations, with 70 million people passing through the station each year. 

These small cell units can provide up to ten-times faster download speeds in high demand areas and achieve download speeds of up to 300Mbps. 

Over the next two years, the project will be expanded to cover some of the highest footfall areas in London, such as Westminster and Southwark, to ensure that the network stays reliable for EE customers. 

“Small cells are essential in delivering high-capacity, superfast mobile connectivity to areas where it’s impractical to build larger sites, and by making use of TfL’s existing street infrastructure, we’re able to deploy with minimal disruption even in such a dense, urban environment,” said James Hope, EE’s Director of Mobile Radio Access Networks in a statement. 

This new project comes off the back of Boldyn Networks’ 25-year strategic partnership with Transport For London (TFL) to deploy 4G and 5G on the London Underground. The deal, which was signed in June 2021, is worth £2.2 billion.  Currently, 18 out of 121 underground stations have 4G or 5G coverage, and under this partnership, this is set to grow.  

We caught up with Boldyn Networks’ Director of Solutions and Innovation Andrew Conway to discuss the company’s strategic partnership at this year’s Connected Britain – watch the full interview here! 

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It’s time for action: COP28 and keeping 1.5°C alive
Mitratel snaps up 803 telecoms towers for $113m
Sateliot partners with t42 to sign 5G IoT Maritime deal 

Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), India’s leading private sector player for aerospace and defence solutions, and Satellogic, a major name in sub-meter resolution earth observation (EO) data collection, have announced a collaboration for establishing and developing local space technology capabilities in India.

This collaboration is described as a first step in TASL’s satellite strategy and a significant milestone for Satellogic as it enters the fast-growing Indian market.

The project will commence with comprehensive training, knowledge transfer, and local assembly of optical sub-meter resolution EO satellites, the first of which is planned to be launched as TSAT-1A. The focus will be on manufacturing satellites and developing imagery in India for national defence and commercial applications, towards which TASL is commissioning a satellite AIT plant at its Vemagal facility in Karnataka, a state in southwest India.

Sukaran Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, TASL, says: “Space is important to TASL not just as a business but also due to its culture of precision that will help other activities in TASL. We are pleased to announce our collaboration with Satellogic, a company with best-in-class technology and an entrepreneurial mindset. Additionally, TASL will also work with local SMEs for payloads and other technologies to bolster India content.”

TASL and Satellogic will collaborate on the development of a new satellite design and work together to integrate multiple payloads on a single satellite that will generate a diverse range of data over India.

“This collaboration will accelerate space capacity building for one of the largest nations in the world with the goal of enabling the advancement of commercial space capabilities and greater access to critical information for a range of applications such as security, sustainability, and energy,” says Emiliano Kargieman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder at Satellogic.

EXA Infrastructure has been putting some significant effort into its footprint in southeastern Europe this year. Today that effort is taking them across the Aegean Sea to directly connect Crete to their fiber network and bring bandwidth to the mythical home of the minotaur. … [visit site to read more]

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The deal is one of the first major changes in the maritime industry since the 1950s. 

Spanish satellite operator Sateliot announced that it has signed an agreement with global maritime container tracking specialist T42, to deploy thousands 5G-IoT (internet of things) sensors in shipping containers, which enable shipping container companies to save €47 billion annually, the company say. 

Under the partnership, t42 will deploy thousands of 5G-IoT sensors in containers for its 50 logistics partners across over fifty countries, which will connect to Sateliot’s LEO satellite constellation. This will mean that merchandise travelling across the sea will be under control at all times – meaning location can be tracked, and conditions such as temperature, humidity, impacts and container damage. 

At present, 99% of shipping containers are not tracked or inspected due to a lack of cellular and satellite connectivity, which can lead to cargo theft or tempering and damages. As a result, shipping companies, who handle around 80% of international trade goods, are making significant investments in smart containers, with the aim of making 25% of containers smart by 2025.  

The partnership is the first major change in a sector that has remained mostly unchanged since 1956. Jaume Sanpera, Sateliot’s CEO, concurred, saying: “Our collaboration marks a pivotal moment in the industry’s history, transforming traditional shipping containers into intelligent, connected assets. Tracking in open seas, until now, a very luxurious satellite service will be democratized to all.” 

“It is unbelievable what a small hardware investment can represent for the industry’s performance overall. This change has come to stay; there’s no doubt about it,” confirmed Avi Hartmann, t42’s CEO. 

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Also in the news:
Broadcom finalises VMware acquisition deal
From Gigabit goals to Sustainability: Navigating the Optical Fibre frontier in Europe and beyond
Cayman Islands moves to modernise submarine cable infrastructure 

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Suzy Menneret, Wholesale Advisor and Program Lead at the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF)

One thing that has been a constant in the existence of a Mobile Network Operator over time is the ownership of two core elements: the network and the customer relationship.

This has been historically true in the consumer segment as a large proportion … [visit site to read more]

News 

The new rule will come into force on 15 December 

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is set to begin actioning new, stricter guidance on mid-contract price rises for telcos, following a six-month grace period that began in June.  

The new rules apply more stringent standards on how operators must advertise information about future price rises.  

The main premise of the new rules is for operators “not give the impression that prices are fixed if they are not”. 

Operators must ensure that such information is prominently displayed and clear for the consumer. Currently, operators typically advertise contracts simply as ‘£30 per month for 18 months’, with little mention as to whether this price can be increased before this minimum term.  

Statements clarifying this situation are often included in the small print, with the ASA noting that some of these statements are likely to “contradict rather than clarify” the matter at hand. 

Additionally, the ASA notes that broadband and mobile contracts offered to consumers that have implied price rises must be made clear, with indications of the specific change in price. Broadband and mobile providers typically raise their prices each year by up to 4%, plus an inflation-based metric such as CPI (Consumer Price Index) or RPI (Retail Price Index). CPI and RPI are often misunderstood by customers, with the clarification statements again misleadingly placed in the small print of contracts. 

As consumers are often unaware of the price rises, they are then hit with a second financial penalty if they attempt to leave the contract early. 

In February, Ofcom launched an investigation into the clarity of mid-contract price rises, finding over a third of customers were unclear on the stance of their provider. Ofcom is the co-regulatory partner for broadcast advertisements and regulates communications in the UK. Ofcom acts as the legal partner for such advertisements – if there is a failing of a company to stick to ASA guidance, they are referred to Ofcom  to take legal action. 

The new guidance can be downloaded in full here. 

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Also in the news:
Broadcom finalises VMware acquisition deal
From Gigabit goals to Sustainability: Navigating the Optical Fibre frontier in Europe and beyond
Cayman Islands moves to modernise submarine cable infrastructure  

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Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

More news from around the world to catch up with: … [visit site to read more]