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Two service providers that have largely stayed out of the M&A game for the past couple of decades have done a deal out in the Midwest and West. US Signal has entered into a definitive agreement to buy OneNeck from Telephone and Data Systems. … [visit site to read more]
This week, a consortium including two Japanese banks, mobile operator NTT DOCOMO, and non-terrestrial network (NTN) specialist Space Compass Corporation, have announced an investment of $100 million into HAPS developer AALTO.
The investment, the companies say, will help support the industrial ad commercial roadmap for delivering AALTO’s services to customers, including a commercial launch in 2026.
AALTO, a division of aviation giant Airbus until being spun off at the start of last year, has been working on its HAPS technology, dubbed Zephyr, since 2001. The solution is essentially a large solar-powered stratospheric glider that can be equipped with mobile network technology, allowing connectivity, including 5G, to be rapidly delivered to remote locations.
In addition to telecommunications equipment, Zephyr can also carry other payloads, including imaging technology, such as Airbus’s Strat-Observer solution, allowing “a range of monitoring, tracking, sensing, and detection” capabilities.
Zephyr’s current record for continuous flight is 64 days, but the company hopes that this can be extended to over 200 days in future.
Combining all these features makes Zephyr ideal for rapid response scenarios, such as natural disasters.
“This is a landmark investment for AALTO. It is the natural next step in the roadmap of the Company’s targeted entry-into-service in 2026, as we industrialise and commercialise our technology. With world leaders in aviation and connectivity as shareholders, AALTO now has the combination of technological expertise and global reach to capitalise on the growth opportunities in substantial total addressable markets across connectivity and earth observation,” said AALTO CEO Samer Halawi.
“This investment comes as AALTO moves into its next phase of development. This includes launching several customer missions over the coming year, establishing launch and landing sites for Zephyr, and advancing our certification process. We are excited to forge a new frontier in sustainable connectivity and earth observation from the stratosphere, while generating significant value for all our stakeholders.”
The investment by the Japanese consortium will be made by their purpose-built investment vehicle, HAPS JAPAN Corporation.
The deal builds on a longstanding relationship between AALTO, NTT DOCOMO, and Space Compass, which first agreed to explore collaboration possibilities back in 2022.
Space Compass itself is a joint venture between NTT and SKY Perfect JSAT, focussing on developing a Space Integrated Computing Network. Part of this process includes the development of direct-to-device mobile services using HAPS, for which it is once again partnered with NTT DOCOMO, NTT, and SKY Perfect JSAT.
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Also in the news:
Microsoft pours $3.2 bn in Swedish cloud infrastructure
Zegona Communications completes Vodafone Spain acquisition
Verizon secures $2.7bn US navy contractv
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Fiber-to-the-home buildouts are being launched in more communities and neighborhoods around the country every day. Greenlight Networks is one of the relatively young upstarts taking on the status quo. Based out of Rochester, they have been adding markets throughout New York state, and has recently expanded its focus to take on more of the SMB market as well as multiple dwelling units, or MDUs. With us to talk about Greenlight’s approach is the company’s Commercial Development Director, Kevin Gorman. … [visit site to read more]
The US Department of the Navy has chosen Verizon’s government, education, and public safety arm, Verizon Public Sector, to provide wireless services, in a contract worth up to $2.67 billion over 10 years.
The new contract will offer improved and cost-effective wireless solutions to related military and federal agencies.
The agreement forms part of the fourth round of the wireless and telecoms services contract launched by the US Department of Defence (DOD), also known as the Spiral 4 contract.
“Verizon’s inclusion in Spiral 4 represents our understanding of the DON’s sophisticated demands for mission critical communications, developed through our history of digital modernization partnership with federal agencies including on Spiral 3,” said David Rouse, head of Verizon’s defence portfolio in a press release.
“We are proud to continue serving military agencies under this new contract and build on our relationship with the DOD,” he continued.
Verizon plays a critical role in providing communication services to the US Navy to support their operations. Back in December, the company secured another contract with the US Navy to modernise data services and provide it with new voice technologies.
The year before, it secured a deal worth almost $1 billion with the DOD to provide network modernisation services and technical support services to the Pentagon, the DOD National Capital Region (NCR), and US army base Fort Belvoir.
Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter
Also in the news:
Digi set to buy OTE’s Telekom Romania
Billionaire Xavier Neil ponders Millicom acquisition
EU-funded Global Gateways projects on show at Submarine Networks EMEA 2024
This week, Orange has announced that Orange Romania will merge with Orange Romania Communications (OROC), combining their mobile and fixed broadband businesses to become a fully converged telecoms operator.
Orange Romania first acquired a 54% stake in OROC (then Telekom Romania Communications) back in 2021 and moved quickly to unify contact channels and launch a joint commercial offering.
Since then, Orange has been looking to take full control of OROC and merge the two businesses, finally getting the green light for the merger from the Romanian government last year.
Following the merger, Orange Group will hold an 80% stake in the converged business, with the remaining 20% held by Romania’s Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization.
“The merger between Orange Romania S.A. and Orange Romania Communications S.A. is a major step for Orange and marks the fruition of the process with the Government of Romania,” said Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière, Executive Vice President, CEO of Orange Europe. “This merger enables Orange Romania to fully implement its strategy to deliver best-in class offers on mobile and fiber. I warmly thank the teams that have been working on this transaction and wish the new integrated teams all the best.”
The convergence of mobile and fixed broadband operations has been a key strategy for Orange for many years now. Back in 2021, when Orange announced its new strategic priorities for Europe, convergence was highlighted as a key target across the region, with Jégo-Laveissière calling it “the cornerstone of our strategy”.
Since then, the company has moved to expand its converged offerings in numerous markets; last year, for example, the company notably acquired fixed network operator Voo in Belgium last year, allowing Orange Belgium to begin offering combined fixed and mobile packages to customers.
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Also in the news:
UK government conditionally approves £15bn Vodafone–Three merger
Nokia and Vodafone trial Open RAN with Arm and HPE
T-Mobile and Verizon to buy US Cellular, reports say
The EU competition authority has given KKR the green light for its planned takeover of Telecom Italia (TIM)’s fixed network operations (known as NetCo) for €19 billion.
The European Commission was notified of the deal on April 19 and officially approved the merger in a statement yesterday, having completed a full investigation.
“The Commission investigated the impact of the transaction on the market for wholesale broadband access services in Italy and concluded that it would not significantly reduce the level of competition,” read the statement.
Specifically, the commission concluded that:
– The number of networks and providers will stay the same, preventing KKR from limiting access to infrastructure services. Existing agreements with rival companies such as Fastweb and Iliad will ensure competitive conditions remain in the market.
In addition, NetCo and Open Fibre, Italy’s second-largest fixed broadband provider, will keep competing for customers and expanding their networks, driven by competition from Fastweb.
Approval of the deal comes just weeks after TIM reportedly presented a raft of remedies to the European Commission to get it over the line. The specifics of these remedies were not revealed, but anonymous sources speaking to Bloomberg said the measures would likely solve EU concerns over possible price hikes in the wholesale market.
The acquisition may still face opposition from Vivendi, TIM’s largest shareholder. The company has been vocal in its disapproval of the deal and has said it will use “any legal means at its disposal” to challenge it. The company believes that TIM’s assets are worth around €30 billion and are therefore being undervalued.
Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter
Also in the news:
Digi set to buy OTE’s Telekom Romania
Billionaire Xavier Neil ponders Millicom acquisition
EU-funded Global Gateways projects on show at Submarine Networks EMEA 2024
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This Industry Viewpoint was authored by James Wolfley, Telecom Customer Success Manager at IQGeo
As governments globally take action in implementing strategies, such as the USA’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD), to ensure rural communities are served with strong, reliable network systems, it brings into discussion the importance of connectivity in a rapidly digitalized world. We only need to cast our minds back to the Coronavirus pandemic and the ‘work-from-home’ requirements to highlight how, … [visit site to read more]
