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News 

The merger was agreed last year, with Vodafone taking a 52% in the new business and Three UK taking the remaining minority stake

This week, the UK competition and markets authority (CMA) have completed the first phase of its investigation into the merger which was put in place to identify whether the deal may lead to a ‘substantial lessening of competition’. 

The review, which began in January, concluded in short that the “CMA is concerned that combining these two businesses will reduce rivalry between mobile operators to win new customers.” 

The CMA have concluded that it has identified concerns significant enough to warrant further scrutiny in a Phase 2 investigation, in which an independent body will review the concerns raised in phase one in more depth. 

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%. Additionally, and perhaps rather obviously, the CMA found that “Vodafone UK and Three UK provide important alternatives for mobile customers”. 

Of particular concern to the CMA is the potential impact on smaller mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), such as Sky Mobile, Lebara, and Lyca Mobile. These operators rely on access to larger network infrastructures to provide services to their customers. The merger could potentially limit their ability to negotiate favourable deals with fewer network operators available to host their services. 

Both Three and Vodafone have made significant investments in their networks in recent years, including rolling out 5G. Unsurprisingly, both companies are emphasising that the merger will allow them jointly invest £11 billion in services and next generation wireless infrastructure.  

According to the CMA, Vodafone UK and Three UK have five working days to respond with meaningful solutions to the CMA, otherwise the deal will be referred to a more in-depth Phase 2 investigation. 

Keep up to date with the latest telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
BT wins £26m contract to connect UK schools
Apple fined €1.8bn by European Commission over Spotify row
Japan to reduce regulatory pressure on incumbent NTT 

UPDATED: Telkom South Africa confirmed the sale of its tower unit Swiftnet for ZAR 6.75 billion (US$355 million) to infrastructure-focused private equity firm Actis, a move to pay down debts and balance its books. 

In a stock exchange announcement, Telkom South Africa said: “​​The reduction of Telkom debt through application of the disposal proceeds will strengthen Telkom’s balance sheet and enable Telkom to release free-cash-flow for investment in Telkom’s core businesses and deployment in pursuit of growth opportunities.”

It added it has growth plans for other units including wholesale infrastructure provider Openserve and Telkom Consumer, its fibre broadband provider. 

Actis said in a separate statement, the deal was made to acquire 100% shares in Swiftnet and its footprint of 4,000 sites across South Africa. It made the acuistion with backing from Royal Bafokeng Holdings,a soverign wealth fund. 

The company said: “The deal allows Actis to invest in a growing sector, with strong secular tailwinds and an increasing need for tower densification driven by increasing internet penetration and the transitions from 3G and 4G to 5G.”

The acquisition of Swiftnet aligns with Actis’ strategy, as the unit has a “unique tower footprint” and is well positioned to meet demand from MNOs looking to connect rural locations. 

This acquisition will mark Actis’ second buy into telecom towers this year following its acquisition of sites in the Western Balkans. The deal was for 1,800 macro towers in Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro.

The company also bought South African fibre provider Octotel in 2020. 

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Stephen M. Kowal, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Nextivity

Any successful collaboration at work relies on readily available connectivity. The surge of remote and hybrid work necessitates virtual collaboration, meaning teams cannot function properly without internet connectivity. Nowadays, connectivity dictates how we work, how quickly we are able to get things done, and impacts the quality of our interactions. … [visit site to read more]

Telecom Egypt says it has added European fibre backbone and transatlantic subsea cable infrastructure provider EXA Infrastructure to its WeConnect ecosystem in its latest move to establish Egypt as a major regional interconnection hub.

Through a partnership signed by both companies earlier this week, EXA Infrastructure will combine multi-route solutions to become a one-stop-shop for traffic from the Middle East and Asia into Europe.

The deal also enables EXA to provide protected capacity solutions from Egypt via Telecom Egypt’s infrastructure and WeConnect model to hundreds of endpoints in Europe and North America. This means that EXA Infrastructure will serve as the European and North American-based service provider to access WeConnect.

Mohamed Nasr, MD and CEO at Telecom Egypt said the partnership with EXA enables its customers to pick their traffic from Egypt to any point of presence (PoP) in Europe via Telecom Egypt’s Mediterranean cable landing stations.

“Using [the] WeConnect ecosystem, 19 subsea systems can easily and seamlessly scale-up and extend their reach to major PoPs in Europe hopping on EXA Infrastructure’s well-established network,” he said.

As we previously reported, the WeConnect model – which Telecom Egypt launched in September 2023 – enables users to mix and match connectivity between subsea cable systems in the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea using an open and neutral model.

Telecom Egypt said the EXA partnership is another step in its strategy to position Egypt as the main gateway to Asia, Africa, and Europe, and as an emerging intercontinental interconnection hub as demand grows for international connectivity coming from the Far East and Africa.

The telco says it enables more than 90% of international Eurasian traffic, and accounts for more than 200 Tbps of international traffic across Egypt.

As part of that strategy, Telecom Egypt said it is actively expanding its international infrastructure by establishing new landing stations on the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, which are connected via diverse terrestrial and subsea routes.

Press release 

Manchester, UK – Connected North, the North’s Dedicated Digital Economy Event is returning to Manchester Central for its third year 

Hosted by telecoms media and events specialist Total Telecom, the event builds on the success of the Connected North’s debut in 2022, which saw over a thousand stakeholders meet to discuss the industry’s hottest topics in the region.  

This year, the event will see an incredible speaker lineup of over 200 industry experts and network with 2,500 attendees. 

Post pandemic, the North of the UK is at a turning point, with the attention both locally and nationally to build back better by affording equal opportunity for previously underserved areas. 

The push for better connectivity in the North of the UK continues, as part of the government’s pledge to make gigabit capable networks available for 85% of the UK by the end of 2025. 

However, upgrading digital infrastructure across the region is about more than just hitting government targets. It’s about improving lives for local communities, creating opportunities for local businesses, and increasing the region’s global competitiveness. The entire ecosystem across public and private sectors need to collaborate to make this happen. 

Across two action-packed days, the event will delve into six key themes covering topics such as Fibre & 5G delivery, rural connectivity, regulation and investment context and The Levelling Up Fund. 

Key speakers at this year’s event include:

• Martyn Taylor, Chief Commercial Officer, BDUK  
• Daren Baythorpe, Chief Executive Officer, ITS 
• Georgia Grimes, Director of Fibre Build, Openreach   
• Conal Henry, Chair of Fibrus 
• Brian Potterill, Director of Mobile Network Strategy, Ofcom   
• Eamonn Boylan Chief Executive Officer of Greater Manchester Combined Authority 
• Dr Aileen Jones, Executive Director – Investment and Delivery, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority   
• Sean Royce, Chief Executive Officer of Quickline 

“We’re delighted to be returning to Manchester for the third year of Connected North,” said Dominic Beresford-Webb, the event’s Senior Conference Producer. “The event really is an essential dedicated forum to spotlight the way connectivity can drive social and economic growth in the region,” he continued. 

For more information or to register to attend Connected North 2024, visit: https://www.terrapinn.com/conference/connected-north/index.stm  

_________________________________________________________________________________

About Total Telecom
Since 1997, Total Telecom has provided the connection between the buyers and sellers in the global telecom market. We do this through high quality editorial content and events to facilitate discussion on industry issues, and recognise innovation and excellence by companies and individuals.  

Our community of 120,000+ telecom professionals rely on Total Telecom for daily news and regular in-depth insight, delivered through a number of channels including online, video, social media, and at our series of events. 

Our award-winning event portfolio includes, Broadband Communities Summit, the World Communication Awards, Connected North, Connected Germany, and the UK’s largest connectivity event Connected Britain.  

News

A cybersecurity advisory issued last month warns that “state sponsored actors” from the People’s Republic of China are compromising and maintaining persistent access to critical infrastructure in the United States, and several other nations

This article was originally released by our sister publication Broadband Communities

A February warning from three American agencies assesses that the Chinese government is sponsoring attempts to “pre-position themselves on IT networks” to have assets in place in case there is a conflict with the United States.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released the Feb. 7 cybersecurity warning, which the advisory said was prompted by observations from U.S. agencies tasked with responding to incidents that compromised critical-infrastructure organizations.

The advisory claimed that a state-sponsored cyber group, known as Volt Typhoon, is preparing for “destructive cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure in the event of a major crisis or conflict with the United States.”

According to the advisory, agencies that have “confirmed that Volt Typhoon has compromised the IT environments of multiple critical infrastructure organizations,” including the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, along with other government cybersecurity agencies from Australia, Canada, the U.K., and New Zealand.

“The U.S. authoring agencies have confirmed that Volt Typhoon has compromised the IT environments of multiple critical infrastructure organizations—primarily in communications, energy, transportation systems, and water and wastewater systems sectors—in the continental and non-continental United States and its territories, including Guam,” the advisory read.

The advisory stated that American agencies “are concerned about the potential for these actors to use their network access for disruptive effects in the event of potential geopolitical tensions and/or military conflicts.”

While the risk to Canada’s critical infrastructure may be lower, according to the advisory, the nation would likely still be affected due to cross-border integration should the critical infrastructure of the U.S. become disrupted. The assessment said risks are also present for critical infrastructure in Australia and New Zealand, which “could be vulnerable.”

According to the warning, Volt Typhoon relies on valid online accounts and leverages strong operational security, which can allow for the group to develop a long-term undiscovered persistence.

Volt Typhoon actors have maintained access within some victimized IT environments for lengthy periods of time that can sometimes last years, the advisory stated.

“Volt Typhoon actors conduct extensive pre-exploitation reconnaissance to learn about the target organization and its environment; tailor their tactics, techniques, and procedures to the victim’s environment; and dedicate ongoing resources to maintaining persistence and understanding the target environment over time, even after initial compromise.”

The advisory urged critical-infrastructure organizations to apply mitigations and hunt for malicious activity, which, if discovered, should be reported to a relevant agency.

Click here to read the full advisory about Volt Typhoon’s alleged activities.

Reach Broadband Communities Editor Brad Randall at brad.randall@totaltele.com

Also in the news:
BT wins £26m contract to connect UK schools
Apple fined €1.8bn by European Commission over Spotify row
Japan to reduce regulatory pressure on incumbent NTT 

News

Intelsat have claimed that the announcement will put the company “at the forefront of the next wave in global connectivity”

France-based Eutelsat Group and America’s Intelsat have partnered to invest $500 million to advance the OneWeb Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Constellation.  

The collaboration, which was announced this week, will in begin mid-2024 with a $250 million commitment, has an option of a further $250 million, the company said. 

Starting mid-2024, Intelsat will integrate OneWeb’s LEO Network with its existing GEO and terrestrial networks. This move is expected to deliver unmatched services to customers in networks, government, and mobility industries.  

Intelsat will cooperate with Eutelsat to develop its Next Generation OneWeb constellation, providing direct design and functionality input to help ensure that the new constellation will meet increasing customer needs. 

“Today’s announcement elevates that partnership to unprecedented heights, bolstering our capacity to offer cutting-edge multi-orbit services and solutions across our diverse portfolio of customers and business segments,” Dave Wajsgras, CEO of Intelsat in a press release. 

Eva Berneke, CEO of Eutelsat Group, highlighted the importance of the collaboration in a press release, saying, “This expanded collaboration with Intelsat underscores a resounding vote of confidence in the prowess of the OneWeb satellite constellation, both today and in the foreseeable future.” 

The Eutelsat Group was formed through the merger of Eutelsat and OneWeb in 2023, becoming the first fully integrated GEO-LEO satellite operator with a fleet of 35 GEO satellites and a LEO constellation of more than 600 satellites to cater to mobile connectivity needs across Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific. 

As the partnership evolves, it promises to redefine satellite communication possibilities, offering unprecedented connectivity solutions worldwide. 

Keep up to date with the latest telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter  

Also in the news:
BT wins £26m contract to connect UK schools
Apple fined €1.8bn by European Commission over Spotify row
Japan to reduce regulatory pressure on incumbent NTT