Interview

As Türkiye prepares for its anticipated 5G spectrum auction, Türk Telekom is taking the lead, aiming to transform user experiences and drive industry innovation. In the WinWin studio, we spoke to Zeynep Özden, Marketing and Customer Experience Assistant General Manager at Türk Telekom, who shared her insights on the company’s vision and strategy in the approaching 5G and AI era.

“We are eagerly looking forward to offering new services and experiences to our users,” said Ms. Zeynep, highlighting that Türk Telekom has connected 54% of its LTE mobile base stations to fibre, surpassing the global average.

The company has conducted extensive 5G trials over the past two years, spanning sectors including transportation, healthcare, education, and sports. Notably, Türk Telekom recently showcased its 5G capabilities by installing mobile networks in stadiums for the top four Turkish Football League clubs, allowing many simultaneous experiences, a huge milestone following their initial launch at Istanbul Airport.

“We are determined to build all the advantages of 5G to every layer of society, and to build the digital future in the most efficient way possible,” leveraging innovative solutions from partners like Huawei, emphasising energy efficiency and spectrum optimisation.

Additionally, Ms. Zeynep highlighted the crucial role of AI in shaping Türk Telekom’s future, stating that AI will make network management and operational processes smarter, and help in precisely improving customer experiences, “ensuring expectations are reflected accurately in product and service development processes.”

“We hope that AI, which is one of the most crucial outcomes of digitalization, will become a powerful force in promoting network and business innovation at Türk Telekom,” she continued.

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Spanish telecom company Telefonica has finally confirmed  that it has agreed to sell its Peruvian unit, Telefonica del Peru, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection. It will be sold to Argentina’s Integra Tec International for about EUR900,000 euros (about US$1.02 million).

Though there appears to be little specific information about the new shareholder, Telefonica says Integra Tec International has extensive experience in Latin America, in the telecommunications, public services, media, energy, chemistry and natural resources industries, as well as in the recovery of companies in financial difficulties and special situations.

Telefonica adds that the objectives of the new shareholder are the maintenance and expansion of the service, the restructuring of the company’s debt within the framework of the bankruptcy process and the establishment of a sustainable business plan with a solid capital structure.

It adds that Integra Tec intends to work amicably with creditors, suppliers, workers, the Government of Peru and all parties related to Telefonica del Peru. The deal, says Telefonica, will ensure the continuity of telecommunications services for more than 13 million customers in urban and rural areas of Peru.

Telefonica del Peru, which was 99.3% owned by the Spanish company, said it ran into trouble following tax disputes and administrative decisions that put it « in competitive disadvantage », despite being the largest telecom company in the South American country.

As part of the deal, Integra Tec will assume the EUR1.24 billion (about US$1.4 billion) debt that Telefonica’s Peruvian unit owes the local tax agency and bond holders. Integra Tec has also committed to buying the 0.7% of Telefonica del Peru shares held by minority shareholders.

Reuters reports that Telefonica had bought the former state-owned Peruvian telecom monopoly in 1994 for about US$2 billion.

The transaction apparently also involves the indirect transfer of control over the shares that Telefonica del Peru holds in the rural operator Internet para Todos.

News

Newspaper reports suggest that the newly merged telco giant is preparing to bundle Pay-TV services with fixed broadband, phone, and mobile plans

According to reports, Vodafone and Three may be preparing to launch a Pay-TV, seeking to capitalise on their newfound scale and help grow their subscriber base.

The Telegraphnotes that discussions between the two operators on this topic have already begun, but highlights that no formal decision has been made.

As such, the specifics of the potential offering are yet to be decided but are likely to include broadcast TV as well as streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Vodafone–Three’s  largest rivals, Virgin Media O2 and BT (EE) both already offer Pay-TV services, hence the operator’s interest in this space is hardly surprising. However, success in the Pay-TV market is far from guaranteed. These offerings must compete in a highly competitive streaming market, with viewing habits shifting away from conventional TV services.

BT itself has notably reduced its focus on the Pay-TV segment in recent years, with the traditional customers increasingly preferring to subscribe to streaming services independently.

That said, it is worth noting that Vodafone Group already has experience with the converged Pay-TV formula, with the company already offering similar bundled services in Germany and the Netherlands with some success. In the UK, the company’s TV offering has so far been limited to providing subscribers with an Apple TV box as part of certain packages.

The £15 billion merger of Vodafone and Three was finally approved by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in December last year. The move will make Voda–Three the largest mobile network operator in the UK, with around 27 million subscribers.

How will the Vodafone–Three merger impact the UK telecoms industry? Join the discussion next week at Connected North, live in Manchester

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With AI driving data center demand in virtually every imaginable market, we are seeing major new projects almost daily. The scale of the work, whether envisioned or already underway, is far beyond anything we have seen before, and making it all happen will be challenging. New technologies are emerging     to help the process, and AI itself may be able to help. With us today is Dr. Atif Ansar, co-founder and executive chairman at Foresight. Foresight’s SaaS platform leverages AI and machine learning to keep data center construction projects on schedule. … [visit site to read more]

News

The German antitrust regulator, the Bundeskartellamt (BKartA), says Vodafone and Vantage have deliberately obstructed the development of 1&1’s mobile network

In a statement released today, BKartA said it suspects Vodafone and its privately owned tower spin-off Vantage Towers of engaging in anticompetitive practises designed to delay its would-be mobile rival 1&1.

The preliminary legal assessment accuses Vodafone and Vantage Towers of failing to provide 1&1 access to thousands of its mobile sites, as per a previous agreement.

“According to the information available to us at this stage, the delay and its negative effects on competition in the relevant markets could, and in view of the prohibition of abusive practices under competition law, should indeed have been avoided,” said Andreas Mundt, president of the BKartA. “At the current stage, we are considering using our powers as a competition authority to enforce the provision of the sites which have not yet been made available.”

1&1 Drillisch won 5G mobile spectrum at auction back in 2019 with the intention of building out its own network and becoming Germany’s fourth national operator. By 2021, 1&1 had signed a deal with Vantage Towers to access up to 5,000 of the towerco’s existing mobile sites, allowing them to more rapidly deploy their burgeoning 5G network.

The contract specified that 3,800 sites were to be made available by 2025.

By the end of 2022, however, it was becoming clear that access to this may sites by 2025 would be unlikely, with 1&1 saying it had been granted access to just five sites. In 2023, 1&1 formally complained to BKartA, who subsequently launched an investigation into the source of Vantage’s delays in providing the agreed upon infrastructure.

1&1 says the delays caused by Vantage have severely harmed their ability to compete in the market,

The BKartA said that Vodafone and Vantage could have taken steps to resolve this issue but instead appear to have focussed on supporting Vodafone’s rollout.

“Based on current knowledge, the companies would have had numerous options to respond to any difficulties in fulfilling the contract without causing such massive delays. For example, the companies could have temporarily shifted Vodafone’s own expansion to locations other than those planned for 1&1 and/or focused more of their own resources on contract fulfilment,” said the statement.

The regulator says it is “provisionally considering, in addition to establishing the antitrust violations, ordering the provision of the remaining sites within three years and accompanying this order with further measures”.

Vodafone and Vantage Towers now both have an opportunity to explain themselves to the regulator, with a final ruling expected “mid-year”.

How is the German telecoms market evolving? Join the discussion at Germany’s leading digital economy event, Connected Germany live in Munich

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Press Release

KDDI and Okinawa Cellular will start providing au Starlink Direct, a direct to cell service between satellites and au smartphones, on April 10, 2025. This is the first Direct to Cell satellite service in Japan [1] .
The service is compatible with 50 smartphone models and is available free of charge to au users from today for the time being without the need to apply.

The au Starlink Direct service allows au smartphones to directly connect to the Starlink satellite that supports direct telecommunications, enabling connectivity wherever there is a sight of sky, even outside the coverage area. In addition to text messaging with friends, users can receive emergency earthquake alerts and share current location with families, providing peace of mind in emergencies. Furthermore, Android users can simply send text questions to get support for searches and other tasks from Google’s AI assistant, Gemini.

Although au’s population coverage is more than 99.9%, its area coverage rate is approximately 60% due to Japan’s unique topography [2]. au Starlink Direct, which covers all of Japan, enables connectivity in the remaining 40%. The service can be used to communicate with family members and friends, in emergencies, etc., even in mountainous areas, island areas, and campgrounds and at sea where it is difficult to provide a telecommunications environment.

KDDI is expanding the au coverage area to all of Japan to bring the experience of “Connecting the Unconnected. wherever you see the sky.”

Commenting on the launch of au Starlink Direct, Gwynne Shotwell, President & COO of SpaceX, said: “I’m very excited to bring direct-to-cell phone connectivity to Japan through KDDI, the first in Asia and one of the first in the world. Both Starlink and direct-to-cell are game-changing technologies, making connecting the unconnected simple and bringing potentially life-saving capability to the people of Japan for disaster and other emergency responses.”

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1. Among direct telecommunications services between satellites and smartphones that enable individuals to send and receive SMS messages.
2. “Results of Survey of Radio Usage Pertaining to Mobile Phones and Nationwide BWA in fiscal 2024 (in Japanese only) (4.1MB)” by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Philippines-based operator Globe Telecom expanded its partnership with telecom IT solutions provider Netcracker Technology, in a bid to expand operational efficiency.

Netcracker said in a statement it will provide various services covering support for mission-critical processes such as order fulfilment, fallout management, service quality, proactive monitoring and performance management to accelerate Globe’s business objectives, including its broadband business. Netcracker added Globe will continue to see faster issue resolution and improved order processing time.

Globe Telecom VP and Head of Network Digitalisation, Dennis Abella said: “Through this collaboration, we have significantly improved our fulfilment process KPIs, reinforcing our commitment to broadband growth and delivering superior service to our customers.”

“We are extremely excited to continue our journey with Globe as they undertake this critical step to boost business efficiency and deliver more value to customers,” said Yaniv Zilberman, VP Strategic Accounts at Netcracker.

“This is also an important milestone for us with the Singtel Group as we continue expanding our solutions with its affiliate companies.”

Zimbabwe’s telecoms regulator is urging the government to introduce mandatory handset registration in a bid to tackle rising cybercrime and improve the safety of mobile money transactions.

Hasha Myambo, an engineer at the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), called for handset registration to complement the country’s existing SIM card database. He argued that this would enhance transaction security and help rebuild trust in Zimbabwe’s digital infrastructure.

While SIM card registration has been in place since 2013, Myambo is advocating for the creation of a national database of mobile phone IMEI numbers. He noted that this could play a crucial role in combating fraud, especially as more unconnected users come online and become vulnerable to digital threats.

One of the key benefits of the proposed system, according to Myambo, would be the ability to block lost or stolen handsets from accessing mobile networks – helping to curb device theft and unauthorised use.

Myambo also highlighted that POTRAZ is working with ICT stakeholders and other regulators to develop a national strategy aimed at integrating ICT into economic and social development. He added that the regulator is shifting away from a “command and control” model in favour of a more collaborative approach to drive Zimbabwe’s digital economy forward.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Avishay Shraga, Sr. Director (CTO), Head of Security Technologies at Sony Semiconductor Israel

The key to modern asymmetric cryptography is to create an equation that is easy to solve in one direction but difficult to reverse by an adversary in the other direction. Traditionally, this was done through modular arithmetic, where a large prime modulus and a generator were used to generate a key, although … [visit site to read more]