News 

This fine is the largest ever issued by Committee on Foreign Investment, and one of only six issued in the last 18 months 

T-Mobile has been fined $60 million by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a regulatory committee that scrutinises foreign investment for national security risks. 

The CFIUS fined T-Mobile for failing to prevent unauthorised access to sensitive data, and not reporting the incidents prompt, which violated its nationl security agreement. 

The incidents occurred between 2020 and 2021 during T-Mobile’s integration with Sprint. Technical issues led to the mishandling of information from a small number of law enforcement information requests. 

Although the data was mistakenly sent to the wrong law enforcement agency, it remained within the law enforcement community and was quickly addressed. T-Mobile emphasised that there was no data breach or malicious activity. 

“The $60 million penalty announcement highlights the committee’s commitment to ramping up CFIUS enforcement by holding companies accountable when they fail to comply with their obligations,” said an unnamed US official speaking to the Wall Street Journal. 

The T-Mobile and Sprint merger, valued at $26 billion, was finalised in April 2020.  The merger combined the third and fourth largest US wireless carriers. Despite facing legal challenges, the merger was approved, and the Sprint brand was discontinued. 

The delay in reporting these incidents to CFIUS was a significant factor in the fine.  

T-Mobile says it has since taken steps to improve its data handling and reporting processes. 

“We reported this in a timely manner, and the issue was quickly addressed. We are glad to have reached a resolution and look forward to continuing to work cooperatively with the law enforcement community to help keep the country and our customers safe,” a spokesperson for T-Mobile said. 

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This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Faisal Ishaq, Client Partner, EPAM Systems, Inc.

Telcos face several unique challenges that can jeopardize their ability to stay competitive in today’s fierce markets. For starters, connectivity has become essential to the average person living in the developed world, and telcos must deliver seamless services and new experiences to these modern customers. … [visit site to read more]

Bangladesh telcos Grameenphone and Robi Axiata have reportedly secured another 20 MHz of spectrum each in the 2.6 GHz band, after two years of haggling over the price per MHz.

According to the Daily Star, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission granted Grameenphone and Robi 15-year contracts for the spectrum at a price of BDT11.6 billion (US$98.6 million). Grameenphone and Robi said the extra spectrum will help them boost quality of service for their subscribers.

« Sufficient spectrum is key for serving customers with quality services, but it involves massive investment from operators, » said Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer of Robi Axiata.

The 40 MHz of spectrum in question was left over from the BTRC’s spectrum auction in April 2022. In that auction, 160 MHz of spectrum from the 2.6 GHz band was up for grabs. Grameenphone and Robi each got 60 MHz, while broadband wireless access provider Internet Exchange Limited (IEL) won the remaining 40 GHz.

However, in July 2022, the BTRC cancelled IEL’s allocation and decided the spectrum would go to mobile operators, the report said.

The sticking point has been the price, which was originally set at US$6.5 million per MHz, or BDT560 million according to the exchange rate in play at the time. However, as the taka weakened against the US dollar, the price per MHz shot up to BDT715 million, which Grameenphone and Robi argued was too expensive.

After some back and forth exchanges, the BTRC agreed to accept the operators’ proposed price of BDT580 million per MHz after the Ministry for Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology gave its approval, the report said.

In May, the BTRC decided to let mobile operators pay spectrum fees in taka rather than US dollars because of the foreign currency exchange rate issue.

Four out of Malaysia’s five mobile operators are officially in the running for the country’s second 5G network after submitting their bids to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

According to the official Bernama news agency, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil confirmed that CelcomDigi, Maxis, Telekom Malaysia and U Mobile have all submitted tenders for to participate in the second 5G network. Only YTL Communications has yet to submit a bid, although it still has time to do so.

The Malaysian government has been planning to launch a second 5G wholesale network to compete with existing 5G operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) since May 2023. CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile and YTL ) completed a deal to buy stakes in DNB via share subscription agreements (SSAs) in June, while Telekom Malaysia’s SSA is expected to finalised next week.

The SSAs come with an option that allows each telco to sell their DNB stake in order to take a stake in the second 5G network. They are not allowed to own stakes in both.

CelcomDigi went public with its official bid at the start of this month, while U Mobile has been signing a flurry of agreements to bolster its qualifications to lead buildout of the second 5G network, including a financing deal with AmBank Group, a fibre backhaul deal with Time dotCom, tower-related deals with EdgePoint Towers and Edotco, and partnerships with eight state-backed network facility provider companies from the PPIT Consortium to streamline the 5G rollout process.

Speaking at the Huawei Malaysia Supplier Ecosystem Convention 2024 on Thursday, Fahmi said it’s up to the MCMC who wins the tender.

« We expect a decision soon. I have not yet received any updates from the MCMC,” he said. “Let the process proceed, and we hope to finalise and announce it within the year.”

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News 

This is the second round of layoffs that the company has announced this year, having cut 5% of its global workforce in February 

Cisco has announced that it will cut 7% of its global workforce –approximately 6,000 employees– as it shifts its focus towards higher growth areas, such as AI and cybersecurity. 

Cisco acquired software platform company Splunk in 2023 for $157 per share, valuing the deal at approximately $28 billion. Including Splunk employees, Cisco has around 90,000 staff, making the total job cuts around 6,300. 

The job cuts were announced in the quarterly earnings call this week, in which Cisco announced revenues of $13.6 billion, a decrease of 10% year on year, with total revenue for the whole 2024 financial year reaching $53.8 billion, a decrease of 6% year on year. 

The company has been facing declining revenues and shrinking profits in its core networking business. By reallocating resources, Cisco hopes to bolster its presence in AI and cybersecurity, which are seen as key growth areas for the future. 

Large enterprises are increasingly moving their critical computing workloads and applications to the cloud, which reduces the demand for traditional networking hardware, as cloud service providers often use their own infrastructure. 

“As we look to build on our performance, we remain laser focused on growth and consistent execution as we invest to win in AI, cloud and cybersecurity, while maintaining capital returns,” said CFO Scott Herren in the call. 

The Q4 press release does not go into detail on the job cuts, but an SEC filing confirmed that the company was “restructuring…to allow it to invest in key growth opportunities and drive more efficiencies in its business”. 

Cisco currently estimates that the layoffs will cost $1 billion (severance and other one-time termination benefits). It expects to recognize (i.e. account for in financial reports) approximately $700 million to $800 million of these charges in Q1 2025, and the rest later next year. 

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

Also in the news:
LG and KT partner for 6G research
EE’s first 5G small cells go live, masts now deployed at 1,000+ locations across the UK
Optus clashes with AustralianSuper over slow tower build 

A data center business, some FTTH interconnection, and some datacenter/fiber collaboration: … [visit site to read more]

The first phase of OADC Texaf Digital, a joint venture between African data centre company Open Access Data Centres (OADC) and TEXAF, a major long-term investor in the economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is now live in Kinshasa in the DRC.

The 2MW-capable facility is described as the DRC’s first live open-access, carrier-neutral and Uptime Institute Tier III-certified data centre, with ISO27001 post live certification on track for Q3 2024.

Clients are reportedly already establishing and installing in the facility and all major fibre network providers are present to provide vibrant interconnect to tenants.

The facility offers integrated core digital infrastructure solutions comprising tailored colocation services together with a wide range of reliable connectivity and peering options. Power to the data centre is fed from utility sourced from hydro generation, ensuring environmentally sustainable power generation in tandem with low Power Utilisation Effectiveness (PUE).

OADC Texaf Digital, located within TEXAF’s Silikin Village digital hub, is operated by the WIOCC Group company OADC. Configured with 1,500 square metres of IT white space to accommodate more than 550 racks, it delivers colocation, interconnect and peering services to support the colocation needs of enterprise clients, content distribution networks, and local and international cloud providers.

Underlining a message highlighted by the project partners, Mohammed Bouhelal, Managing Director of OADC Texaf DRC, says: « OADC Texaf Digital is central to boosting many sectors of the DRC’s economy, creating rich and vibrant digital ecosystems, and providing content distribution networks and cloud content providers with access to a quality peering location in the country. »

Over 12 leading national and international carriers connected with the banking sector are said to be among the leading adopters of OADC Texaf solutions.

The new facility does appear to have been launched a little later than originally hoped. We reported in February last year that the initial phase of OADC Kinshasa was expected to go live in Q2 2023.

News

Openreach’s newly appointed CEO, Clive Selley, has called on the UK government to reduce the regulatory barriers hindering broadband rollout

In a recent blog post, Selley highlighted that despite the Project Gigabit funding, which aims to extend gigabit-capable broadband to thousands more premises, nearly a million homes could miss out due to outdated planning rules. These rules require property owners to give explicit permission for broadband upgrades, even when an existing line is already in place. This particularly affects residents of apartment blocks or “multi-dwelling units” (MDUs), where locating landlords and securing their agreement remains challenging.

Selley’s comments follow an announcement this week that Openreach will receive up to £800 million in funding to bring gigabit-capable broadband to 312,000 premises across the UK. This initiative is part of ongoing efforts to enhance digital infrastructure, especially in rural areas. Openreach has pledged to deliver Ultrafast Full Fibre Broadband to 25 million homes and businesses by 2026, and to 30 million by the end of the decade.

“Every year, we apply for around 300,000 permits to carry out work on a street-by-street basis. But it’s no secret that the pandemic, global events, and the current economic climate have left local authorities stretched. As a result, delays in obtaining permissions are common, causing knock-on effects on broadband upgrades,” Selley explained.

To meet government delivery targets, the number of applications is likely to double over the next few years, which Selley warned would place an “unnecessary bureaucratic burden on everyone involved.”

“A simple fix, at no cost to the taxpayer, would be to introduce flexible permitting, allowing builders to upgrade multiple streets at once,” he added.

Selley’s sentiments align with those of BT CEO Allison Kirkby, who, speaking at the Deloitte and Enders Media and Telecoms Conference in London in June, noted that Scandinavian countries are “way ahead” of the UK in terms of telecoms infrastructure. Kirkby attributed this to the regulatory and planning environment, as well as the widespread adoption of digital skills and services, and urged the UK government to enhance “regulatory and fiscal policy certainty.”

Join Openreach at this year’s Connected Britain, 11-12 September in London. Get discounted tickets here!

Also in the news:
LG and KT partner for 6G research
EE’s first 5G small cells go live, masts now deployed at 1,000+ locations across the UK
Optus clashes with AustralianSuper over slow tower build