Watchdog hits Eir with €2.45m fine for overcharging customers


News

The regulator says tens of thousands of customers are owed compensation

This week, the Irish Commission For Communications Regulation (ComReg) has ordered mobile Eir’s owner Eircom to pay a fine of almost €2.5 million for overcharging its customers.

The news follows a series of investigations by the regulator, spanning the period between 2015 and 2021, which found that an estimated 76,000 customers had been overcharged.

The ruling called for Eir to issue refunds to all affected customers, with the regulator estimating that Eir had made around €6.7 million in revenue through overcharging during the six-year period. If all of these refunds are issued, each affected customer would be entitled to roughly €88.

Eircom said that the overcharging was a result of a “broken bundle” on customers’ accounts and said they would implement “backward-looking measures” to identify the affected customers. However, they emphasised that issuing the refunds could be a lengthy process.

“[We have] already commenced a review process of an agreed cohort to identify any unresolved instances of incorrect charging and will ensure any such customers are reimbursed as soon as possible,” said the company in a statement. “Eir apologises unreservedly to any customer who we identify as part of the review, as having been inadvertently charged incorrectly and has committed to actively processing any refunds that may be identified.”

As well as looking backwards, Eir said they would also implement a number of system updates over the rest of the year, including a new billing system, to ensure that these mistakes did not happen again.

These measures will include the company “proactively reviewing credits and disputes that could identify potential billing issues not already addressed”.

An independent auditor has been appointed to ensure that all agreed measures are completed by the end of the year.

This is not the first time that Eir has faced ComReg’s wrath in recent years. In 2018, the company was stung by a €3 million fine after a settling a case that alleged the company had given illegal preferential treatment to its own retail division when it came to granting access and repairing lines.

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Also in the news:
Wind Tre carves out network assets, sells majority stake to EQT
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CMA gives Viasat the thumbs up to acquire Inmarsat

A more sustainable future: How telcos can improve energy use


Contributed Article

By David Wilson, global offering director for solar and telecom energy solutions at Vertiv

It’s no surprise that telecoms operators around the world are prioritising sustainability initiatives. The GSMA estimates that they account for up to 3% of the total global energy demand, and estimates that this number will increase further despite the savings in energy consumption that the new 5G radio standard brings. Multiple new mobile stations will be needed to meet the expected exponential growth in data traffic from 5G connected devices, as well as the growing demands of edge capacity for high-performing services.

Telcos are also under pressure to comply with stringent laws and regulations. For example, the EU requires listed companies with more than 500 employees to comply with the new Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) based on a unified Green Classification System called “EU Taxonomy”.

However, whilst there’s plenty of pressure on telco operators, there is also positive news, as these organisations have already made significant strides in tackling their energy consumption; the industry was an early adopter of solar energy and today telcos are looking to expand their adoption of renewables (wind energy, solar PV, and lithium battery storage) to deliver a resilient, reliable, and more sustainable energy supply.

The industry should certainly be commended for these efforts, but there is still plenty of work to be done. So, with a growing impetus to ‘get sustainability right’ and to do it quickly, what near and longer-term strategies can telcos deploy to help boost energy efficiency and make more strides in achieving sustainability?

Be honest and open about your intentions and capabilities

Whilst much of this article will tackle the technological innovations which operators can implement to drive their sustainability credentials, it is important to first look at the promises telcos make and the green messages they send into the market. Specifically, it is vital to avoid the temptation to indulge in ‘greenwashing’.

The greener or more sustainable a brand is, the more likely it will be able to attract customers and maintain a higher price in comparison to competitors. Simply put, companies want to buy from responsible vendors.

But while it’s tempting to hype your green credentials, operators must be careful with overpromises or worse, claims that are not true. Disingenuous messages are likely to be spotted by consumers and watchdog organisations and can cause a negative impact on a brand’s reputation.

This same honesty is vital in attracting and retaining staff. Integrating sustainability initiatives into the day-to-day business strategies and honest communication around challenges and achievements will help operators to secure the talent they need for future success.

Transition to high efficiency rectifiers

Away from the marketing messages, there are a number of immediate practical steps operators can take to reduce the power they use, shrink their electric bills and support the transition to a more sustainable future.

One of the most obvious routes to a greener future is to simply transition to high efficiency rectifiers in the DC power systems present at every access site. Replacing legacy DC power systems with newer, high efficiency models can improve energy efficiency by up to 6%.

What’s more, modern equipment frequently includes energy saving modes and features that are all too often ignored. Today’s DC power systems, for example, are more intelligent and capable of more advanced energy management than legacy systems, but in many instances, operators don’t harness those functions, favouring static operation. We urge operators to make the most of these systems’ capabilities and reap immediate energy saving benefits.

Align energy strategies to your access site

When you consider geographies, climate, grid reliability, water availability, governmental regulations and countless other factors around the globe, it becomes clear that no single strategy is appropriate for every access site.

Energy and carbon management strategies must be linked to planning and real estate, and operators must tailor their approach to the conditions across their networks. For example, hybrid energy systems leveraging solar power to supplement unreliable or overtaxed grids are more commonplace in much of Africa, South America, the Middle East, and parts of Asia than in the US where grid service is usually reliable and affordable.

Use intelligent controls to manage the load

Today, thanks to the latest innovations in technology development, comprehensive real-time monitoring of AC and DC power network infrastructure is possible.

Intelligent controllers are available with advanced load management functionalities that enable telcos to visualise potential hotspots, power performance, and distribution inefficiencies in order to optimise the DC power supply, maximise use of cooling, and avoid overload.

By proactively managing the load, operators can identify the location and power profile of every rack at a given site. This ability to map the site’s power distribution and thermal output enables operators to move the load from one rack to another to improve airflow and optimise thermal management. With effective load management tools, high availability can be achieved whilst improving energy efficiencies and saving costs.

Embrace long term strategies

So, it is positive news that there’s already good work being done by telcos around the world in the field of energy management. Other internal sustainability initiatives, such as reuse and recycling equipment and reducing water consumption in factories and offices, are also underway – and are succeeding not only on having a positive impact on the environment but also bring cost savings too.

Progress is happening all the time. Innovations to look at closely include new and emerging battery technologies like sodium-ion that may present additional opportunities for off-grid operation and energy management. And, as on- and off-grid power management becomes more sophisticated, we could see networks evolving into microgrids that generate and share their own power across the network and with the utility.

Although many of these technologies are not viable alternatives in the access network today, we are confident this innovative industry will continue to drive progress – powering a more efficient future for the sector.

Want to hear more from David and the Vertiv team on the topic of sustainability? Join them as they discuss energy efficient cable landing stations at this year’s Submarine Networks EMEA event

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ETSI report hints at the potential of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces


News

From improved coverage to beam forming and energy savings, the emergent technology is one that could come to define the future of wireless network deployment

As we look towards the future and the 6G era, one of the most anticipated emerging technologies is surely Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS).

A RIS is a surface comprising arrangement of scattering elements called unit-cells, which can be controlled to change its electromagnetic behaviour. This allows the RIS to dynamically alter the way in which it reacts to wireless signals, through increased or decreased reflection, refraction, focusing, collimation, modulation, and absorption.

When strategically deployed, the adaptability of RIS will not only allow operators to increase their coverage, but also provide additional spectral efficiency, security, energy savings, and more.

RIS could also allow for a cost-effective network deployment in areas that were previously unfeasible using traditional solutions, such particularly indoors.

Now, European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has released a new report on the topic – ETSI GR RIS-001 – seeking to identify and define RIS use cases and produce related Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

The report includes 11 defined use cases for the new technology, including deployment scenarios and potential requirements for the new technology.

“In the future 5G-Advanced and 6G wireless networks, many new applications, such as in eHealth, strongly impose requirements on both the communication and sensing performance,” explained Arman Shojaeifard, Chair of the ETSI RIS group. “As an example, a RIS can reconfigure the radio environment to sense human posture and detect someone falling, a useful application for elderly care.”

Numerous operators are already exploring the potential of this latent technology. In fact, last year Orange became the first operator in Europe to demonstrate RIS in action at their Orange Research and Innovation Exhibition in Paris, France.

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CMA gives Viasat the thumbs up to acquire Inmarsat

Sparkle lands BlueMed cable system in Palermo, Sicily


News

The landing further cements Sicily as a cornerstone of Mediterranean connectivity, as well being a milestone for Google’s larger Blue–Raman cable project

Italian wholesale connectivity specialist Sparkle has announced that it has landed its BlueMed cable at its data centre in Palermo, Sicily.

This landing completes the BlueMed’s primary Genoa-Golfo Aranci-Pomezia-Palermo Tyrrhenian route, with the system expected to be operational by the end of May.

Further expansion to Bastia in Corsica is expected in autumn this year.

The BlueMed cable comprises four fibre pairs and an initial design capacity of more than 25 Terabits per second (Tbps) per pair, helping to further transform Sicily into a digital hub in the centre of the Mediterranean.

Sparkle’s open access Sicily Hub open data centre in Palermo already serves eighteen international cables.

“With the landing of BlueMed in Palermo, we complete the laying of the Tyrrhenian section of one of the most advanced digital infrastructures in the world while reinforcing Sicily’s centrality in the global Internet system,” said Sparkle CEO Enrico Bagnasco. “Thanks to BlueMed, the Sicily Hub in Palermo is set for further expansion and growth, confirming itself as a strategic asset for the country’s digitization and a key hub for data traffic in the Mediterranean region.”

The plan to create BlueMed was first announced back in 2019, with Sparkle aiming to connect their Sicily Hub to a new landing site in Genoa. From there, the system would connect overland to Milan, one of Europe’s busiest data nodes.

Shortly after announcing the creation of this new open landing station in Genoa, however, Google announced they were seeking to create their own submarine cable route across the Med, presenting a plan to incorporate Sparkle’s nascent MedBlue cable into their larger Blue–Raman project.

The Google’s Blue–Raman cable system plans to expand the BlueMed system all the way to Tel Aviv, Israel. From there, the system will travel overland to Aqaba, Jordan, before linking to Raman cable system and continuing its journey through the Red Sea and on to Mumbai, India.

In this way, Google and its partners aim to create a new route for Asian data traffic to travel into Europe.

Blue–Raman will have a total of 16 fibre pairs, four of which will be shared with Sparkle.

The Blue–Raman cable is expected to be ready for service next year.

Sparkle will be participating in this year’s Submarine Networks EMEA event at the end of this month!

On May 31, Sparkle’s VP Product Management Backbone & Infrastructure Solutions Giuseppe Valentino will discuss the development of the latest connectivity hubs in the EMEA region and, on June 1, Sparkle’s EVP Europe, Zvika Caspy, will provide an update on Sparkle’s latest projects.

Also in the news:
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Rakuten Mobile and KDDI strike roaming agreement
CMA gives Viasat the thumbs up to acquire Inmarsat

Wind Tre carves out network assets, sells majority stake to EQT


News

Swedish infrastructure fund EQT will own 60% of the newly formed company, with the remaining 40% held by Wind Tre’s owner, CK Hutchison

Today, private equity firm EQT have announced a new deal that will see them acquire a 60% stake in a newly formed company, set to own and operate Italian operator Wind Tre’s fixed and mobile network assets.

The new company will take ownership of all Wind Tre’s radio antennas, base stations, transport network, and associated contracts, offering the network to customers on an independent wholesale basis. Wind Tre will retain access to the infrastucture as an anchor tenant of the new business.

Estimates suggest the deal’s enterprise value is around €3.4 billion.

According to Wind Tre, this deal will allow them to focus on serving their retail customers, as well as generating new revenue streams beyond their core fixed and mobile offerngs.

“This is part of our Group’s ‘asset light strategy’ for us to recoup the cost of our network investment. At the same time, Wind Tre will benefit from having a partner to own and maintain a state-of-the-art network which will benefit our customers while having certainty on its cost base for OPEX and CAPEX,” explained Canning Fok, Group Co-Managing Director of CK Hutchison. “Our partner EQT is a renowned investor in this infrastructure investment space, and we look forward to working with them for a very long time.”

As always, this deal will be subject to regulatory approvals, with the company’s hoping to close around the end of the year.

Italy has been a highly competitive telecoms market for many years now, with the introduction of Iliad Italia to the market in 2018 causing an aggressive price war in the mobile sector that still rumbled on to this day. Since then, the operators have been struggling to produce sustainable growth, particularly given their expensive network rollouts and the punishing global economic landscape.

Indeed, Italy’s largest operator TIM has been attempting to similarly monetise its network assets for many months now, with new CEO Pietro Labriola penning a plan to spin off the company’s infrastructure unit into a separate business.

Currently, TIM has received offers from both KKR and a partnership of the CDP Equity and Macquarie for a stake in this spun-off NetCo, with TIM announcing a formal competitive bidding process back in March.

The bidders have until June 9 to submit improved offers.

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Rakuten Mobile and KDDI strike roaming agreement


Press Release

KDDI Corporation, Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company and Rakuten Mobile, Inc. today announced that the three companies have concluded a new roaming agreement as of April 2023

In order to contribute to the promotion of fair competition among mobile network operators in Japan, KDDI committed to providing roaming services through its au network to Rakuten Mobile from the launch of fourth generation (4G) mobile communication service until the end of March 2026. As Rakuten Mobile has expanded its own 4G network area to achieve 98% population coverage since its full-scale commercial launch in April 2020, KDDI and Rakuten Mobile came together to review their roaming agreement.

Under the new agreement, KDDI will provide roaming services to Rakuten Mobile in areas not covered by the previous roaming agreement including select high-traffic shopping districts in Tokyo’s 23 wards and the cities of Osaka and Nagoya, as well as continue to provide roaming services for select indoor locations (subways, underground shopping centers, tunnels and other indoor facilities) and rural areas. The new roaming agreement comes into effect in June 2023 and extends to September 2026.

Utilizing these roaming services allows Rakuten Mobile to provide subscribers with a more convenient service by improving network connectivity rapidly and efficiently, while at the same time limiting its financial burden. Additionally, by promoting the shared use of its infrastructure, KDDI will drive both the effective use of its 4G infrastructure and the rollout of its 5G network.

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CMA gives Viasat the thumbs up to acquire Inmarsat


News

The UK competition regulator said that the $7.3 billion acquisition will not substantially reduce competition in the satellite communications sector

This week, Viasat has moved one step closer to completing its acquisition of fellow satellite communications specialist Inmarsat, with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) granting unconditional approval for the deal on Tuesday.

The deal, first announced back in November 2021, would see the companies combine their satellite assets, which currently include around 20 geostationary devices providing services in the Ka-, L- and S-bands. An additional ten geostationary spacecraft are planned for launch until by 2024, with Inmarsat also seeking to deploy 150–175 low Earth orbit satellites as part of its ORCHESTRA project.

The scale of the merger immediately set alarm bells ringing for regulators around the world, many of whom quickly launched probes into the deal’s impact on market competition. The CMA was particularly concerned that the deal would lead to pricier in-flight Wi-Fi services, launching an in-depth investigation in October last year.

By March 2023, the CMA had provisionally cleared the takeover, pending the results of its Phase 2 investigation.

Now, this Phase 2 probe is complete, with the CAM finding that the merger should not have a negative impact on market competition, due largely to the expanding nature of the satellite communications sector and the emergence of new players.

““The satellite communications sector is evolving at rapid pace – new companies are entering the market, more satellites are being launched into space, and firms are exploring and entering into new commercial deals. All the evidence has shown that the sector will continue to grow as the demand for satellite connectivity increases,” said the CMA’s Richard Feasey, who chaired the investigation into the merger. “After carefully scrutinising the deal, we are now satisfied that, following the merger, these developments will ensure that both airlines and their UK customers will continue to benefit from strong competition.”

This marks the latest in a number of hurdles for the deal to clear, including permissions to proceed from both the Foreign Investment Review Board of Australia and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US.

However, even larger hurdles are still to come, most notably from the European Commission and the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which are both currently conducting their own independent investigations into the merger.

The European Commission is expected to announced its decision on June 29, but the FCC’s investigation could take longer still, following complaints by rival satellite players, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest international telecoms news? Click here to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter direct to your inbox!

Also in the news:
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e& CEO joins Vodafone board


News

The two firms continue to deepen ties, saying they will work together on technology, procurement, and creating joint solutions for customers

This week, Vodafone has announced that the CEO of its largest stakeholder, e&, will be joining its board as a non-executive director.

e& CEO Hatem Dowidar’s new seat at the table is reportedly ensured provided the Emirati operator group retains at least its 14.6% stake in Vodafone, with the option of nominating a second non-executive director if the stake is increased to 20%.

This possibility could become reality in the relative short term, with e& telling investors in recent weeks that it was interested in increasing its stake in Vodafone to between 20% and 25%.

The seats on the board have been made available due to the announcement that three of Vodafone’s non-executive directors – Valerie Gooding, Sir Crispin Davis, and Dame Clara Furse – will not seek re-election at the company’s annual meeting.

Alongside e&’s influential board position, the announcement also revealed the extent to which Vodafone and e& will begin working more closely together. The duo will reportedly focus on a number of key areas, including offering cross-border digital services and solutions to multi-national customers, joint procurement, and wholesale and roaming.

The duo will also work more closely together from a technological perspective, particularly when it comes to further developing OpenRAN.

“Our investment in Vodafone is anchored by Vodafone Group’s established position and worldwide reputation as a prominent industry player that provides cutting-edge connectivity and digital services. This aligns with e&’s vision of becoming a global telecom and technology player,” said Dowidar

e& first took an interest in Vodafone in May last year, paying $4.4 billion for a 9.8% stake in the business. At the time, the Emirati telecoms group said it had no interest in taking over Vodafone, suggesting the deal was an excellent opportunity to “enhance and develop” their international portfolio and expand the company’s reach.

The purchase appeared relatively opportunistic, with Vodafone’s management at the time embroiled in a tussle with disgruntled shareholders over the company’s poor financial performance and depressed share price.

Indeed, e& was not the only company to swoop in and take a stake in the faltering operator group over the past year, with both French billionaire Xavier Niel and Liberty Global taking stakes in Vodafone Group.

e& itself has gradually increased its stake to its current 14.6% holdings over the last six months.

Ultimately, Vodafone’s CEO, Nick Read, resigned at the end of 2022 after failing to make meaningful progress in reversing the company’s fortunes. Since then, the company has been headed up by the group’s previous head of finance, Margherita Della Valle, who was permanently awarded the role of CEO last month.

“We extend a warm welcome to Margherita Della Valle as Vodafone’s newly appointed Group Chief Executive Officer, and we have full confidence in her leadership abilities to steer the company toward growth. We are convinced that our strategic relationship will unlock opportunities for both companies to explore the swiftly expanding global telecom market and next-generation technologies,” said Dowidar.

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Ericsson bolsters Tallin supply site with private 5G network


News

Working alongside Swedish operator Telia, Ericsson’s says its private 5G network tech will enable numerous advanced use cases, from real-time video analytics to digital twins

This week, Ericsson has announced a new partnership with Telia to deploy the Baltics’ first enterprise 5G network at Ericsson’s own Estonian supply factory, located in the capital city, Tallinn.

According to Ericsson, this deployment will not only drive “productivity, agility, and sustainability” for the factory’s operations, but will also provide the foundations for numerous connected use cases, including asset condition monitoring and management, computer vision, digital twins, collaborative robotics, and 5G precise indoor positioning.

The site itself plays a key role in Ericsson’s overall supply chain, accounting for nearly half of the new product introductions; i.e., the process of turning R&D projects into viable, scalable commercial products.

According to Ericsson, since its activation on May 2, the private network is already having a significant impact on the factory’s operations, bringing improvements in terms of automation, safety, and agility.

“The implementation of Ericsson Private 5G at our Supply Site in Tallinn is a testament to our commitment to connected manufacturing and emerging data-driven technologies – after all, in today’s highly competitive manufacturing environment, keeping up with the latest technological capabilities is essential to stay ahead of the curve,” said Sirli Männiksaar, Country Manager of Ericsson Estonia. “Our 5G private network enables advanced use cases such as real time video analytics, immersive technologies, digital twins, collaborative robotics and multiple mobile equipment tracking and control capabilities that empower our daily operations. As a leading adopter of advanced cellular technologies supporting Industry 4.0 implementations, Ericsson’s Supply Site in Tallinn is proud to play a key role in the industry’s continued growth and success, delivering new products and smart solutions to customers worldwide.”

Ericsson will be hopeful that this is the first of many collaborations with Telia in the industrial space. Earlier this year, the two companies announced a joint 5G programme called NorthStar, aiming to help various industrial businesses embrace the benefits of 5G connectivity, particularly via private network deployments.

The programme will reportedly target customer innovation and R&D units in numerous verticals, with the automotive industry the initial focus.

In fact, Ericsson’s private 5G momentum already appears to be building, with today’s announcement the latest in a string of enterprise private 5G network deals the company has signed over the past few months. These include a deal with systems integrator Comsol to provide connectivity for a South African mining operation and with Mugler to develop private campus networks in Germany.

Just two weeks ago, Ericsson announced the latest hardware and software enhancements to its private 5G offering, offering improved visibility and management, as well as increased coverage of over 1,000,000m2.

Keep up with all of the latest telecoms news with Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

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Vodafone and Three UK closing in on merger
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TIM leans on ERG for additional renewable energy


News

A new deal will see the Italian operator expand their existing Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with ERG to encompass a further 200GWh/year of renewable energy over the coming decade

This week, TIM has announced a new PPA agreement with independent renewable energy firm ERG via the latter’s subsidiary Telenergia.

The new nine-year agreement will see ERG provide the operator with an additional “baseload” 200 GWh/year of renewable energy.

TIM first signed a deal with ERG for renewable energy back in May 2021, securing 340GWh/year for ten years over the 2022–2031 period.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed

As a result of this deal, around 34% of TIM’s energy purchases will come from renewable sources via PPAs.

“We are the second biggest Italian energy consumer and therefore it is crucial to make choices with the goal of resolving environmental issues,” explained TIM CEO Pietro Labriola. “The new agreement signed with ERG will help us to reach the ESG targets we have set ourselves, while at the same time stabilising costs in a context of continued macroeconomic uncertainty. The agreement confirms, once again, the importance of forging robust partnerships which share an industrial vision as well as consideration of the environment.”

TIM aims to use only renewable energy by 2025 and to generate Net Zero carbon emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3) by 2040.

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