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The formal investigation will examine the impact that the deal will have on market competition and what this could mean for customers 

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has begun the first phase of its investigation into the proposed merger of mobile network operators Three UK and Vodafone UK. 

Prior to the investigation’s launch, the CMA collected pre-notification evidence and information from both companies, as well as early views from stakeholders. 

The investigation will last 40 days, aiming to identify whether the merger would cause ‘substantial lessening of competition’ and, if this is the case, where a more detailed investigation will be needed. After the 40 days, the CMA will publish its findings and next necessary steps. 

“This deal would bring together two of the major players in the UK telecommunications market, which is critical to millions of everyday customers, businesses and the wider economy,” said Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA in a government statement. 

“The CMA will assess how this tie-up between rival networks could impact competition,” she continued.  

The high level of CMA intervention is necessary because, if the deal is given the greenlight, it will reduce the number of MNOs in the UK from four to three, with the newly merged company having a market share of 32.1%. 

The merger was agreed last year, with Vodafone taking a 52% in the new business and Three UK taking the remaining minority stake. Vodafone UK’s CEO Ahmed Essam will lead the business, and Three UK’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Darren Purkis will assume his same role at the new enterprise. 

The two companies emphasise that the merger will be beneficial to the UK telecoms market, giving them the freedom to jointly invest £11 billion in services and next generation wireless infrastructure.  

“Thanks to this transaction, 95% of the population and every school and hospital will be covered by standalone 5G by the end of the decade,” said Robert Finnegan, CEO of Three UK. 

The CMA is now inviting views by 9 February 2024 on how the merger could affect competition. 

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Malaysia to launch second 5G network alongside DNB
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The plans are the first of its kind in the UAE, according to the company 

Etisalat by e& has announced the launch of two new fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) plans of 5Gbps and 10Gbps to enhance the connectivity experience that the company can bring to customers. 

The 5Gbps plan is priced at AED 1799 ($489.80) per month and the 10Gbps plan is priced at AED 2,699 ($734.83) per month. 

“With the launch of ground-breaking 5Gbps and 10Gbps speeds, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Khaled El Khouly Chief Consumer Officer, Etisalat by e& in a press release. 

“This latest innovation reflects our commitment to cutting-edge connectivity, using a brand new XGS fibre network, we believe it will set new benchmarks in the industry,” he continued.  

According to the company, they are the first to introduce speeds higher than 1Gbps in the UAE. 

The UAE is fast becoming a global hotbed for telco innovation. Just this week, Etisalat by e& partnered with Nokia to complete the first trial of cloud RAN in the region, with the aim of enhancing the 5G experience in the mid-band carrier spectrum. The company said that the success of the trial demonstrates how combining cloud computing with the flexibility of radio access networks can enhance the 5G network. 

“It’s the first in the region and paves the way for enhanced connectivity and service delivery, ultimately providing end-users with a more robust and responsive 5G experience,” said Marwan Bin Shakar, Senior Vice President of Access Network Development at etisalat by e& in the announcement’s press release. 

Keep up with all the latest telecoms news from around the world with Total Telecom’s daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
South Korean president backs semiconductor mega cluster investment
Malaysia to launch second 5G network alongside DNB
BT signs connectivity deal with Iraqi gas firm

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by J. Drew Mullin, Partner, ATLANTIC-ACM        

Despite a 2023 slow-down in the expectation of fiber route mile builds, fiber deployment remains extremely active driven by upgrades, opportunity, and infinite demand for capacity. National carriers continue the shift from legacy copper services to more scalable fiber infrastructure. Regional and emerging fiber-focused players strategically seize niche opportunities including new long-haul routes and densification of existing metro markets. Providers maintain a more disciplined approach to deployment, recognizing it as a strategic land-grab … [visit site to read more]

Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) said on Thursday it has formed a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Investment of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to to develop data centres in Malaysia.

Under an MoU signed yesterday, the two ministries will collaborate on digital infrastructure to boost Malaysia’s status as a regional data centre hub, with potential projects providing a total capacity of 500 megawatts, according to the Bernama news agency.

MITI said that Malaysia has already emerged as a preferred destination for data centres in Southeast Asia, and that growing demand from regional SMEs will boost its status as a major regional player in the digital economy, the report said.

Bernama quoted Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz as saying the collaboration with the UAE “will certainly help strengthen our position as a preferred destination for digital investments.”

Zafrul added that Malaysia is well positioned to capture a big chunk of the digital economy in ASEAN, which is forecast to reach US$1 trillion by 2030.

The MoU also comes with an AI angle – MITI says the MoU aligns with the Malaysian government’s New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030, revealed in September last year. Among other things, NIMP aims to boost AI development among industries, SMEs and start-ups, which will require plenty of extra data centre capacity.

As for the UAE, the main benefit of the MoU is enhancing bilateral ties between the two countries, particularly in terms of trade and investment. According to Bernama, the UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner in the Middle East, while Malaysia plays a key role in the UAE’s exports and re-exports in ASEAN.

Bangladesh Infrastructure service provider Summit Communications has signed a deal with Juniper Networks to upgrade its core optical network to 400G in anticipation of a surge in traffic demand once 5G is commercially launched in the country.

Under the deal announced by Juniper on Wednesday, Summit will deploy Juniper’s PTX10000 Series packet transport routers equipped with 400G coherent optics. Juniper said the routers enable Summit to make a seamless transition to a converged optical routing architecture that delivers high-speed data transmission over long distances to its PoPs in Bangladesh while maintaining high reliability.

Summit Communications chief network architect Md. Farrukh Imtiaz said the 400G solution will “establish a more robust foundation, delivering the performance, scalability and operational efficiencies essential to our network.”

Summit Communications MD and CEO Arif Al Islam said that the company has made “tremendous progress” in rolling out networking infrastructure services to mobile operators and ISPs in Bangladesh, but that it needs to adopt innovative new networking solutions to keep up with current and future demand for mobile, internet and digital services, especially with 5G coming down the pipeline.

“[Juniper’s] solutions will continue to play an integral role in our network, ensuring that we provide cutting-edge 5G connectivity and services for our customers guaranteeing fast, reliable, ultra-low latency services along with adaptation of network slicing and segment routing,” he said in a statement.

State-owned telco TeleTalk has been trialing 5G since 2021, while Grameenphone and Robi Axiata have launched their own trials since then. In 2022, Grameenphone, Robi Axiata, Banglalink and Teletalk paid a combined US$1.2 billion for 5G spectrum in an government auction. However, none have commercially launched 5G thus far, opting instead to focus on expanding their 4G networks first.

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Millicom, a leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications services in Latin America, has announced that its subsidiary, the operator Tigo Colombia, has agreed to sell approximately 1100 wireless communications towers to affiliates of investment funds managed by KKR, a leading global investment firm.

KKR plans to work in partnership with NEXO LatAm, a digital infrastructure platform that supports the implementation of KKR’s infrastructure strategy throughout Latin America.

As is increasingly the case in recent years, the sale has a lease component that allows the seller to go on using some of the towers without the expense of managing them.

Thus, as part of the transaction, Tigo Colombia and KKR have entered into a long-term agreement whereby KKR will lease wireless communications towers to Tigo Colombia to support its wireless networks, although how many has not yet been revealed.

The exact number of towers will be determined once the various closings have taken place, which are subject to customary closing conditions.

For Millicom this is clearly an important strategic decision. Mauricio Ramos, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Millicom, explains: “This transaction with KKR, a leading digital infrastructure franchise with deep sector expertise and commitment to the region, is another step towards crystallising the value of our tower sites across Latin America, simplifying our business, and allowing us to focus on servicing our customers.”

He continues: “This transaction enhances our operational and capital efficiency in Colombia, with long-term lease obligations denominated in Colombian pesos, consistent with our objective of increasing our proportion of financing in local currency.”

News

The sale-and-leaseback deal was agreed for an undisclosed sum

This week, Millicom’s subsidiary Tigo Colombia has agreed to sell around 1,100 of its mobile towers to US investment firm KKR.

The towers will be managed by KKR in partnership with NEXO LatAm, the digital infrastructure platform that manages KKR’s fibre investments throughout Latin America.

Tigo itself will continue to make use of the divested towers for its mobile network via a long-term leasing agreement with KKR.

The financial details of the deal were not revealed.

“This transaction enhances our operational and capital efficiency in Colombia, with long-term lease obligations denominated in Colombian pesos, consistent with our objective of increasing our proportion of financing in local currency,” said Millicom’s CEO Mauricio Ramos.

KKR already owns significant infrastructure assets in Latin America, primarily in partnership with Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica, with whom it jointly owns fibre networks in Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and Chile.

“KKR seeks to develop the telecommunications industry in Latin America through best-in-class mission-critical assets such as fiber, towers and small cells. This acquisition – along with KKR’s fiber investments in Chile, Colombia and Peru – underscores KKR’s commitment to its digital infrastructure platform in LatAm. This important agreement with Tigo is in line with our strategy of long-term partnerships with leading companies in the region,” said Waldemar Szlezak, a partner on KKR’s Infrastructure team.

In fact, KKR’s interest in telecoms infrastructure extends far beyond Latin America. The company is currently in the process of purchasing Italian incumbent operator TIM’s spun-off fixed network assets for roughly €22 billion. The deal, which had been in discussion for over a year, finally received approval from the Italian government earlier this month.

The deal is subject to typical regulatory approvals.

Keep up with all the latest telecoms news from around the world with Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

Also in the news

South Korean president backs semiconductor mega cluster investment
Malaysia to launch second 5G network alongside DNB
BT signs connectivity deal with Iraqi gas firm

The somewhat confusing saga of debts that may be owed by Nigeria’s second-biggest operator to its biggest has taken a new twist as Globacom has been granted an additional 21 days to pay the interconnect fees owed to rival operator MTN.

If it does not, it could face a network disconnection scheduled by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

As online news source Connecting Africa explains, this extension, starting from 17 January, is apparently because, according to an NCC announcement “the parties have now reached an agreement to resolve all outstanding issues between them ».

In fact the Commission expects MTN and Globacom to resolve all outstanding issues within the 21 days offered.

If correct, this may imply a change of heart from Globacom, given our report earlier this month that a company representative suggested it did not owe MTN interconnection fees estimated at the equivalent of US$1.8 million. 

The NCC clearly didn’t agree with this argument and issued a disconnection notice to Globacom.  This would have meant that Globacom customers could not call users on the MTN network, although they would still be able to receive MTN calls – and calls between Globacom’s own subscribers would not have been affected.

However, this isn’t the first interconnection charges issue involving Globacom. As Connecting Africa points out, in 2019 MTN partially disconnected Globacom subscribers over an estimated US$5 million worth of unpaid interconnection fees. Globacom partially repaid these and committed to pay the rest.

In the same year, according to Nigeria’s Premium Times news service, NCC granted number three operator Airtel an approval to partially disconnect Globacom from its network, again because of Globacom’s alleged failure to settle interconnect debts.