Press Release 

Following CMA clearance of the Vodafone UK Three UK merger in December 2024 (subject to legally binding commitments), and in anticipation of final deal completion in the coming months, Vodafone-Three has announced the company’s General Management Team

Max Taylor, CEO Vodafone UK, and CEO of the future merged entity, has appointed the following people to lead the new company:

• Darren Purkis, CFO
• Kelly Barlow, Strategy and Portfolio
• Clare Corkish, HR
• Andrea Dona, Networks
• Nick Gliddon, Business
• Stephen Lerner, Regulatory, Government Affairs & Company Secretary
• Nicki Lyons, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability
• Stephen Reidy, IT
• Jon Shaw, Consumer Operations
• Rob Winterschladen, Consumer
• Andy Yorston, Legal, Security, Compliance & Risk

The appointments followed a robust selection process and were approved by the MergeCo Governance Board, with representatives of both Vodafone Group and CK Hutchison as shareholders of the future merged company. The General Management Team appointees will transition into their new roles once the CMA process is fully complete and the new company, [MergeCo], is created, with the date of completion yet to be announced.  Until then, all appointees will continue in their current roles at either Vodafone UK or Three UK, with both companies and teams continuing to operate separately until the merger is finalised.

Max Taylor said: “I would like to congratulate everyone on their new appointments. The new leadership team are all looking forward, following completion of our merger, to integrating our two companies and deliver on our commitment to build the UK’s best network for our customers”.

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

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MTN South Africa reportedly plans to shut down its 3G mobile network by the end of this year – a full year earlier than initially planned – following a successful pilot project in Cape Town to migrate 3G users to 4G and 5G.

According to media reports this week, the pilot – which covered Durbanville, Greater Melkbosstrand and several Cape Town suburbs – was launched early last year to help MTN fine-tune the migration process.

The 3G shutdown has been in the cards since 2022, when the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) said it wanted 2G and 3G services to be shut off to modernise South Africa’s mobile networks and free up spectrum for 4G and 5G.

The DCDT originally ordered 2G to be shut down by June 2024 and 3G by March 2025. However, in February the ministry agreed to push the shutdown deadline for both networks to the end of 2027. Even then, however, concerns remained over how the switchoff would be handled and the scope of the potential impact on users.

MTN had previously announced that it would shut down its 3G network at the end of 2026. Following the success of the migration pilot in Cape Town, however, the telco said it will move up the cutoff date to December 31, 2025, reports News Ghana.

MTN told Cape Town customers in a letter that the transition would be implemented in stages to minimise disruption, the report said, although it added that some short-term disruption was inevitable.

Meanwhile, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is conducting an economic impact assessment to ensure that the 3G shutdown will not adversely impact subscribers, especially in areas where 4G coverage is limited or non-existent, the report said.

According to ICASA figures, 4G covers 98.5% of South Africa’s population. By contrast, 3G covers 99.9% of the population.

Four bits of news from the last mile of the fiber business around the US: … [visit site to read more]

The Southeast Asian smartphone market rebounded in 2024 as vendors shipped 96.7 million units, an annual growth rate of 11%, snapping two years of decline.

For the first time, Chinese smartphone vendor Oppo led the Southeast Asian market, shipping 16.9 million units – a 14% annual increase – and capturing 18% market share. Samsung ranked second, with shipments declining by 9% to 16.6 million units, securing a 17% market share. Transsion and Xiaomi shared third place, each accounting for 16% of the market with 15.5 million units shipped. Notably, Transsion saw a 41% surge in annual shipments, while Xiaomi grew by 21%. Vivo placed fifth with a 13% market share, shipping 12.3 million units – an annual growth rate of 14%.

Canalys Analyst Le Xuan Chiew highlighted that Southeast Asia’s rebound outpaced the global average of 7%. However, despite this growth, the average selling price (ASP) declined due to price-conscious consumers. Samsung’s shipments dropped 9% year-on-year, yet it bucked the trend of falling ASPs, recording a 14% increase in this metric.

“The high-end smartphone market in Southeast Asia has gained momentum, driven by vendors expanding their distribution through new channels. Brands that invested in their channels during the 2023 slowdown are now capitalising on those efforts, ramping up marketing to attract a growing base of upgraders,” added Chiew.

The analyst noted that a vendor’s ranking by volume is “no longer a reliable measure of a brand’s market position” due to short product lifecycles, shipment lead times, and the frequent launch of new models each quarter. Instead, he pointed to value share, operational efficiency, and profitability as better indicators of market standing.

News

Four sites have been identified by the utility company, with two more targeted by 2026

France’s state-owned utility company Electricite de France (EDF) says it has identified four locations on its land that could be ideal for data centre deployment.

The energy giant says each site could host a data centre campus with 2GW of capacity, with the benefit of already being connected to the electricity grid.

“For digital companies who wish to do so, EDF will also offer personalized support for the end-to-end completion of the necessary steps to develop their project,” said EDF in an announcement.

The company added that the broad availability of nuclear power in France makes it a highly competitive environment when it comes to reliable, clean energy.

France currently has 57 active nuclear power plants, by far the most on the continent, with only Russia and Ukraine also passing double digits among its European neighbours.

EDF has been quick to capitalise on the AI-fuelled data centre investment boom, with reports last year suggesting the company has already entered into discussions with three companies to provide power infrastructure to three corresponding 1 GW data centre projects in France.

The identification of yet more possible data centre sites came alongside a slew of French infrastructure investment news this week, capitalising on the AI summit being hosted by the French government in Paris. The meeting saw meetings between major political and business leaders from around the world, seeking to align themselves on the technology’s future direction.

Before the summit kicked off, French AI unicorn Mistral announced that it is preparing to invest ‘several billions of euros’ to build its own data centre in the country. At the same time, Swedish startup Evroc has also announced plans to build a French hyperscale data centre.

Both of these announcements follow a major deal last week that will see the UAE announced that it is investing ‘up to €50 billion’ to build a 1GW AI data centre in France.

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

Also in the news:
Why network infrastructure needs a rethink in the age of AI and Edge computing
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Might there be a day soon where the last major landmass on the Earth gets connected via subsea cable? Well, a project that would connect Chile with Antarctica is at least getting a feasibility study according to a release yesterday. … [visit site to read more]

Aramco, the giant Saudi Arabian integrated energy and chemical company, has been in the telecoms news recently after announcements of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with AMD and plans for handset innovation with Qualcomm.

High-performance and adaptive computing specialist AMD has signed an MoU with Aramco relating to the evaluation and use of AMD’s products and technology to, among other things, accelerate the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) for specific industrial workloads.

Key areas of focus include leveraging high-performance AMD graphics processing unit (GPU) and central processor unit (CPU) capabilities, exploring industrial edge AI deployment, cloud strategy, AI/machine learning, predictive analytics, and data centre modernisation. Additional areas for potential collaboration include training on AMD ROCm (a software stack for graphics processing unit programming) as well as evaluating AMD AI capabilities for operational optimisation and digital twin technologies in the energy sector.

Aramco embarked on a digital transformation program in 2017, aiming to drive greater efficiency, accelerate innovation, build a digital-savvy workforce, and create new employment opportunities. The potential collaboration with AMD reflects Aramco’s aim to continue exploring technologies such as AI, big data, and predictive analytics to help make its operations more productive, efficient, and sustainable.

Meanwhile at the ongoing tech show LEAP 2025 in Saudi Arabia, Qualcomm and Aramco Digital, the digital and technology subsidiary of Aramco, have announced a collaboration to develop the world’s first AI-enabled industrial 5G smartphones with native support for the 450MHz spectrum.

As the partners explain, support for 450MHz spectrum allows 5G IoT devices, edge computing and end users to connect to a new generation of AI-enabled industrial applications. The initial focus will be on advanced industrial solutions for Aramco Digital’s parent company Aramco.

The new industrial smartphones will be powered by the Qualcomm QCM8550 and QCM6490 processors, which provide native support for 5G in 450MHz. These processors are designed to provide ubiquitous connectivity to intelligent edge devices, enabling superior communication and data transfer in industrial settings.

New York – February 4, 2025 – Lightpath, an all-fiber, infrastructure-based connectivity provider revolutionizing how organizations connect to their digital destinations, announced the company has closed the transaction to acquire substantially all of the assets of United Fiber and Data (UFD). The company also introduced LightCube Edge Data Centers that will be first deployed along its NYC-Ashburn strategic network route. 

The asset additions elevate Lightpath’s position in the digital infrastructure industry and expand its reach in the New York Metro and Ashburn markets. Lightpath adds the geographically diverse, 323-mile NYC-Ashburn route, as the company continues to amass new and unique route options between these markets. Lightpath also adds 79-miles of metro fiber in New Jersey and New York City, and approximately 250 new commercial service locations in Manhattan. Lightpath now offers over 1,500 enterprise and data center service locations in Manhattan alone, a 5x increase over the last 3 years. 

Click here to View Maps of the Lightpath and UFD Networks

NYC-Ashburn Route: Geographically Diverse and Lowest Latency

Lightpath’s New York City to Ashburn network route is geographically diverse from typical network routes along the I-95 corridor and offers the industry’s lowest latency between the largest population center in the country and the largest data center and cloud ecosystem in the world. Service options on this route include dark fiber and wavelengths up to 800 Gbps. 

“This route represents a unique opportunity for customers to connect these critical markets with diversity, latency management, and soon the addition of edge compute facilities,” explained Tim Haverkate, EVP of Major Infrastructure Solutions, Lightpath. “Lightpath has seen surging demand on this route, with nearly 25% of the cable under contract, a 3.5x increase since the transaction was initially announced. Further, we are engaged in active conversations with 20 customers resulting in an opportunity pipeline that would oversubscribe the route as it exists today.”

Lightpath customers can connect to almost any data center in the Ashburn region and in total can connect to over 140 data centers across its footprint. Lightpath can route customers from any on-net data centers in New York Metro or Boston Metro to Ashburn utilizing this route. Lightpath can also deliver routing options along the I-95 corridor to support services on the NYC-Ashburn route. 

LightCube: Connected Edge Data Centers for AI Services and Edge Compute

Lightpath also introduced LightCube edge data centers – modular, secure, and customizable facilities that fully support the capacity for 864-count fiber cables and the corresponding space and power for edge compute workloads. Lightpath will be upgrading four existing ILAs on the NYC-Ashburn route with new LightCubes in response to customer demand.  

Learn More about LightCube Edge Data Centers here.

“This route represents a strategic addition to the Lightpath network extending our reach from the Northeast into the ever-expanding data center ecosystem in Ashburn,” stated Chris Morley, CEO, Lightpath. “We will continue to aggressively pursue organic and inorganic opportunities to meet both the metro and the long-haul requirements on behalf of our hyperscaler, carrier, and enterprise customers.” 

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About Lightpath

Lightpath is revolutionizing how customers connect to their digital destinations by combining our next-generation network with our next-generation customer service. Lightpath’s advanced fiber-optic network offers a comprehensive portfolio of custom-engineered connectivity solutions with unparalleled performance, reliability, and security. Our consultative customer service means we work with you to design, deliver, and support the solution for your unique needs, faster and more easily than ever before. For over 30 years, thousands of enterprises, governments, and educators have trusted Lightpath to power their organization’s innovation. Lightpath is jointly owned by Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners.

To learn how Lightpath can connect you to your digital destinations, visit lightpathfiber.com

For media inquiries:

JSA for Lightpath

1-866-695-3629 ext. 13

jsa_lightpath@jsa.net

Four bits of infrastructure and related news from three continents: … [visit site to read more]

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