Press Release

IBM announced today at the IBM Quantum Summit 2022 that Vodafone Group is collaborating with IBM on quantum-safe cybersecurity, and also joining the IBM Quantum Network, which will give the company cloud access to IBM’s advanced quantum computing systems, as well as IBM’s industry-leading quantum expertise. The multinational telecommunications company will work with IBM to help validate and progress potential quantum use cases in telecommunications.

As part of this collaboration, Vodafone will explore quantum computing for a variety of telco use cases. The company will also advance their employees’ skills in quantum technology through iterative prototyping led by IBM, as well as actively recruit quantum computing experts, to build a dedicated capability within its ranks.

Throughout this engagement, Vodafone will explore how to apply IBM Quantum Safe cryptography technology across its entire and diverse network infrastructure and systems.  Future quantum computers will pose a threat to today’s standard security, such as public key encryption. Quantum-safe cryptography protocols not only exist today, and offer the capability to help protect classical data and systems from these future quantum computers’ potential decryption capabilities, but the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently announced that four algorithms — three of which IBM helped develop have been chosen to be part of a protocol for standardization by 2024. Vodafone’s exploration of these protocols marks an IBM Quantum Safe first in understanding and preparing for this risk in telecommunications.

“Partnering with IBM provides us with access to quantum technology which has the potential to provide incredible network optimization. It’s the sort of innovation that existing computers will never achieve alone, allowing us to save energy, reduce costs and give customer great connectivity in more places,” said Luke Ibbetson, head of group R&D at Vodafone Group. “Investing in quantum-safe cryptography, now, also gives us the peace of mind that our infrastructure and customer data will also always be secure as we explore the benefits of quantum computing.”

“Vodafone, as a leading mover in telco, is setting the example for their industry by exploring quantum computing applications for their business operations, as well as applying quantum-safe cryptography protocols to protect their long-term data and systems,” said Scott Crowder, Vice President, IBM Quantum Adoption and Business Development. “We’re excited to partner with Vodafone to help them simultaneously adopt quantum technology, and move to quantum-safe technology as they serve an entire ecosystem of operators, vendors, regulators, and open-source community.”

IBM and Vodafone are also among initial members of the recently announced GSMA Post-Quantum Telco Network Taskforce, whose mission is to help define policy, regulation and operator business processes for the enhanced protection of telecommunications in a future of advanced quantum computing.

Vodafone joins more than 200 members of the IBM Quantum Network, a global community of Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, academic institutions, and research labs working to advance quantum computing and explore practical applications. Their engagement is designed to set them on a path to tap into this future of quantum advantage capabilities: when a computational task of business or scientific relevance can be performed more efficiently, cost-effectively, or accurately using a quantum computer than with classical computations alone.

For more information, visit: https://www.ibm.com/quantum/quantum-safe.

Statements regarding IBM’s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice and represent goals and objectives only.

NEWS

The Distribution Partnership Agreement will see OneWeb provide connectivity services to government and enterprise customers across parts of Africa

Today, OneWeb has announced a new distribution deal with Airtel Africa, giving the telco access to their growing low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellation to provide connectivity to customers.

The strategic agreement focusses on using the LEO satellites to deliver connectivity to government and enterprise customers, especially those in hard-to-reach areas. Agricultural sites, schools, hotels, hospitals, and the energy and mining sectors are also noted as targets for the satellite service.

OneWeb is set to begin trialling its low latency communications services in South Africa in September 2023, with the long-term goal to rollout the service across Airtel Africa’s entire continental footprint, comprising 14 countries in East, Central, and West Africa.

“At OneWeb, we believe that connection everywhere changes everything, so we are excited to be working with Airtel Africa to enhance OneWeb’s connectivity solutions across the African continent,” said Ben Griffin, VP Mobility and AMEA at OneWeb. “This is a strategic fit, given our shared commitment to resiliency and excellence in communications services and the partnership represents another exciting milestone on our path to delivering global connectivity. We look forward to delivering high-performance service across Africa, even in the hardest to reach places.”

For the time being, however, OneWeb’s potential African customers will need to wait before they can receive connectivity services; the company currently has 462 satellites in orbit, allowing it to only offer commercial services above the 50th Parallel North – essentially, Northern Europe and Canada.

OneWeb says they will need 648 satellites to offer global coverage, including across Africa, with the company suggesting that this will take four more launches. The full constellation is expected to be operational in 2023.

Alongside this deal with Airtel Africa, OneWeb has today also announced a similar partnership with Middle Eastern satellite player Azyan Telecom, allowing them to satellite connectivity throughout Oman.

These are the latest in a long string of telco partnerships that OneWeb has struck over the past year, including with giants such as AT&T in the US and BT in the UK.

Also in the news:
Remaining competitive in an evolving telco landscape
Wi-Fly: Could AFC improve rural connectivity?
BT warns of further job losses as soaring bills force bigger cost-cutting drive

NEWS

The Lebanese telecoms group has been unveiled as the buyer of MTN’s Afghan unit, three months after the deal was struck

MTN Group has announced that the buyer of their Afghanistan unit is M1 New Ventures, with deal being valued at $35 million.

MTN announced it would be exiting the Middle East back in 2020, saying that the company would focus instead on its core markets in Africa. Since then, the operator group has gradually withdrawn from its holdings in the region, including Syria and Yemen last year.

Selling its Afghanistan business proved more difficult, with potential buyers wary of becoming involved in a country currently undergoing major upheaval, including a new government led by the Taliban.

However, a deal was finally announced back in August, with the buyer left unnamed.

That the buyer should now be revealed to be M1 Group should not come as much of a surprise. Historically, M1 has shown little reticence for working in country’s dominated by authoritarian regimes; indeed, M1 recently agreed to buy Telenor’s beleaguered Myanmar unit, which was under major pressure to impose service blackouts by the military junta.

For MTN, the sale of its Afghanistan unit will be the penultimate step its Middle Eastern exodus, with the Group still holding a 49% stake in the Iranian operator, Irancell.

After some speculation as to the unit’s future, earlier this year MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita described Irancell as the company’s most stable investment in the Middle East, saying the company would not be looking to divest of its stake.

Whether this will remain Mupita’s stance on the matter for long, however, remains to be seen. Ongoing protests in Iran, trigged by the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini for wearing an ‘improper’ hijab back in September, have greatly destabilised the country and its economy.

With the government already responding to these protests by demanding internet blackout and widespread restrictions on social media, MTN’s future with Irancell could soon be up for debate once more.

Also in the news:
Remaining competitive in an evolving telco landscape
Wi-Fly: Could AFC improve rural connectivity?
BT warns of further job losses as soaring bills force bigger cost-cutting drive

NEWS

In 2020 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) agreed to open up the 1.2GHz of spectrum covering the 6GHz band (5.925–7.125GHz) for unlicensed use. This promised the potential to help improve rural connectivity, by enabling Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 standards to deliver better (gigabit-plus) speeds, more simultaneous connections, and better security.

However, this same spectrum is already used by other applications in the US, supporting utilities, public safety, and wireless backhaul services.

The FCC’s work around was to treat standard power and low power Wi-Fi differently. Standard home or office low power could use the entire 6GHz band as it was unlikely to cause interference, whilst standard power – used for example in outdoor applications – needed a way to ensure it didn’t interfere with existing microwave systems.

Now the FCC has conditionally approved thirteen automated frequency coordination (AFC) systems to manage spectrum access for unlicensed devices in the 6GHz band.

Essentially standard-power applications use an AFC system to consult a database of existing 6GHz users, their location, frequencies used, and signal coverage to ensure there is no clash with existing systems before transmitting.

The proposed suppliers are: Broadcom; Google; Comsearch; Sony Group; Kyrio; Key Bridge Wireless; Nokia Innovations; Federated Wireless; Wireless Broadband Alliance; Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA); Qualcomm; Plume Design; and RED Technologies. Each will be required to conduct lab and public testing to assess the AFC system’s functionality.

FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel commented: ‘American businesses and households rely on Wi-Fi for work, school, access to healthcare, and connecting with friends and family. We are moving forward on our plan to open doors for next generation, faster, better Wi-Fi – including Wi-Fi 6E and laying the groundwork for Wi-Fi 7. This is good news and real progress.’

The use of blended technologies for rural connectivity will be discussed at Connected America. Join us in Dallas on the 28-29 March 2023

NEWS

BT blames 18% fall in profits on need for additional savings after large increase in energy bills and soaring inflation

BT has warned of further job cuts after it was forced to find an additional £500m in additional savings due to rapidly rising inflation and energy bills. The telecoms giant, which has reported an 18% slump on pre-tax profits from £1bn to £831m year-on-year in the six months to the end of September, has stated that its energy bill will be £200m higher this year. The company’s last official plan for job cuts under previous CEO Gavin Patterson, saw 13,000 jobs cut over three years from 2018.

As a result, BT has said that it has been forced to raise its cost-savings target from £2.5bn to £3bn by the end of its financial year in 2025, in response to inflation hitting a 40-year high and the surge in energy costs.

As reported in The Guardian, “We are leaving no stone unturned to make sure BT can be the most-efficient organisation it can be,” said Philip Jansen, the chief executive at BT.

“Inevitably it means some jobs will not exist in the future but that has been true of the last few years too. We will use natural attrition as much as we can. In these difficult conditions we know we have to double down on our costs. There are no specific numbers in mind. This [cost-cutting programme] is up until the end of 2025. Everyone has to share the pain – all 100,000 people at BT – to get to this £3bn on cost savings.”

Jansen also reiterated plans to push-through higher than inflation price rises, which could see bills rise by 14% for customers, a move which has seen BT and other operators criticised, as Ofcom has indicated that nearly 8 million households have experienced difficulty paying their bills, having told operators to “think hard” about making further price hikes in the current climate.

BT indicated that the slump was due to higher costs across its business as well as costs incurred in the £15bn rollout of next-gen full-fibre broadband across the UK. BT, which has been hit by ongoing strike action by tens of thousands of its near 60,000 frontline workforce, said that the industrial action had affected the rollout of broadband to new customers, with 40,000 homes missing out on new connections due to the strike action.

Openreach, BT’s broadband network subsidiary, has also stated that its customer base fell by 89,000 in the company’s second quarter compared with a 29,000 increase in the same period last year.

With strike action set to continue, and energy prices likely to remain high, BT’s difficult year looks set to continue into the next.

Related content:
The sky’s the limit for BT
TIM looking to cut 2,200 more jobs by 2024

NEWS

BT blames 18% fall in profits on need for additional savings after large increase in energy bills and soaring inflation

BT has warned of further job cuts after it was forced to find an additional £500m in additional savings due to rapidly rising inflation and energy bills. The telecoms giant, which has reported an 18% slump on pre-tax profits from £1bn to £831m year-on-year in the six months to the end of September, has stated that its energy bill will be £200m higher this year. The company’s last official plan for job cuts under previous CEO Gavin Patterson, saw 13,000 jobs cut over three years from 2018.

As a result, BT has said that it has been forced to raise its cost-savings target from £2.5bn to £3bn by the end of its financial year in 2025, in response to inflation hitting a 40-year high and the surge in energy costs.

As reported in The Guardian, “We are leaving no stone unturned to make sure BT can be the most-efficient organisation it can be,” said Philip Jansen, the chief executive at BT.

“Inevitably it means some jobs will not exist in the future but that has been true of the last few years too. We will use natural attrition as much as we can. In these difficult conditions we know we have to double down on our costs. There are no specific numbers in mind. This [cost-cutting programme] is up until the end of 2025. Everyone has to share the pain – all 100,000 people at BT – to get to this £3bn on cost savings.”

Jansen also reiterated plans to push-through higher than inflation price rises, which could see bills rise by 14% for customers, a move which has seen BT and other operators criticised, as Ofcom has indicated that nearly 8 million households have experienced difficulty paying their bills, having told operators to “think hard” about making further price hikes in the current climate.

BT indicated that the slump was due to higher costs across its business as well as costs incurred in the £15bn rollout of next-gen full-fibre broadband across the UK. BT, which has been hit by ongoing strike action by tens of thousands of its near 60,000 frontline workforce, said that the industrial action had affected the rollout of broadband to new customers, with 40,000 homes missing out on new connections due to the strike action.

Openreach, BT’s broadband network subsidiary, has also stated that its customer base fell by 89,000 in the company’s second quarter compared with a 29,000 increase in the same period last year.

With strike action set to continue, and energy prices likely to remain high, BT’s difficult year looks set to continue into the next.

Related content:
The sky’s the limit for BT
TIM looking to cut 2,200 more jobs by 2024

NEWS

A new wholesale operator is being formed with the objective of deploying local fibre-optic networks in underserved areas across Germany, with ISP’s novanetz and YplaY responsible for marketing the fibre-optic network to customers.

The initial aim is to give access to full fibre to at least 150,000 homes in Hessen and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Open German Fiber is a join venture between MEAG – the asset manager of insurers Munich Re and ERGO – pension fund Arzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe (AVWL) and investment firm Primevest Capital Partners.

This is the first investment for MEAG’s new infrastructure equity fund MEAG European Infrastructure One. The head of infrastructure equity at MEAG, Dominik Damaschke, said “We see a huge market potential for the FTTH market in Germany. Despite its position as Europe’s largest economy, Germany significantly lags behind in FTTH coverage.

Markus Altenhoff, CIO at ÄVWL said they were “proud to be able to support the nationwide expansion of the fibre-optics network in Germany.”

The most recent data from the FTTH Council Europe, their Fiber to the Home / Building (FTTH/B) Global Ranking published in May 2022, shows that seven European countries have passed the 50% penetration rate mark (Iceland, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Norway, Romania, Latvia). Germany lags far behind with 6.3% penetration – marginally above the UK on 5.9% (although the UK has more FTTH subscribers).

To keep up with the latest on Germany’s broadband progress join Total Telecom in Mainz on the 6 – 7 December 2022 for Connected Germany

INTERVIEW

At #ConnectedBritain 2022, Vitruvi Software, an industry leader for end-to-end Build Management Software announced their newest game changing Roll-Out Feature for UK Altnets: A55 Management.

Vitruvi’s award winning build management solution is empowering Altnets to rollout fibre at record speeds – enabling them to build smarter & faster. With GIS at the core, altnets can manage a variety of OpenReach PIA and design data, while maintaining full project controls for production costs and schedules. This enables streamlined Openreach reporting from A55s, NOIs, to SPO Evidence, and Whereabouts. Reducing overhead, expediting survey, and getting fibre in the ground faster. Teams are able to make real-time, data-driven decisions, cut inefficiencies – ensuring fast and efficient project rollout across all of the UK. 

Vitruvi was a finalist for Enterprise Solution of the Year Award at #ConnectedBritain 2022. We spoke to Bryan McIver, CEO of Vitruvi Software to find out how they are helping Altnets to deploy smarter.  

[embedded content]

About Vitruvi™ Software

Vitruvi is an innovative construction management software that allows you to efficiently manage every aspect of your telecommunications or utility infrastructure construction project. It’s a single, end-to-end, GIS-based platform that connects everyone, seamlessly, for unmatched project control and collaboration. Vitruvi’s best-in-class functionality spans the entire project build: from scoping & planning through to reporting & close-out. Build smarter & deploy faster with Vitruvi™. To learn more, visit www.vitruvisoftware.com.

Interview

Antonella Faniuolo, Head of Network Planning, Demand, Delivery and Transformation at Vodafone shares her insights into Vodafone’s transformation story from Telco to TechCo.

Can you tell us about your role at Vodafone?  

I lead Vodafone’s Network Planning, Demand, Delivery & Transformation team at a European level. We are responsible for translating Vodafone’s overall network strategy into actionable market plans to meet our commercial ambition across 12 European markets. In short, we look at the big picture and make sure that can be delivered at network level. 

What does it mean to be a modern telco according to Vodafone?  

At Vodafone we are currently undergoing a transformation to diversify from our traditional position as purely a telco and transform into a Tech Comms company. At the heart of that strategy, we are bringing teams and markets together to create One Technology team to better enable us to leverage our geographical scale. We are also investing in technologies beyond what would be considered the norm for the telecoms industry. 

For Vodafone, a modern telco is one that retains the connectivity proposition at the core of the business but offers a range of products and services above and beyond while operating with the agility and borderless mindset of a technology company. The objective is to offer value to our customers beyond what we traditionally offer. 

As the Head of Network Planning, Demand, Delivery & Transformation for Europe. What is the main challenge you face right now?  

We are transitioning to a new way of working that is build once and deploy many. Digital transformation programmes like this do not happen overnight; telecoms operators are complex organisations. This programme will have huge benefits for the business, leveraging our scale across multiple European markets and removing duplication of effort. As well as organisational, this is a cultural transformation, which is challenging, but hugely rewarding, allowing us to fully leverage our international pool of talent. 

You joined a panel at Total Telecom Congress on Open RAN and the future of 5G. From your perspective, what key challenges still need to be addressed for telcos to make the most Open RAN? 

At Vodafone, we view OpenRAN as a catalyst for change. We are asking our team to think differently as to how you build and manage networks, but also addressing common challenges. And by building a network with interoperability embedded at the foundation, we are creating the opportunity to work with new suppliers that may not be in the traditional telecoms ecosystem. These programmes are supported in parallel by two R&D labs opened over the last twelve months in Newbury and Malaga. 

The integration of these new companies, and adapting to new ways of working is incredibly challenging, but also perhaps the most exciting element of OpenRAN.  Bringing in new people, new ideas and more innovation can only be beneficial to the telecoms industry. 

Another significant challenge for OpenRAN is incentivising this nascent ecosystem. At Vodafone, we have made a commitment to transform 30% of mobile sites across Europe to OpenRAN technology by 2030. 

This is a significant commitment by Vodafone, and we look forward to seeing others in the industry make similar plans. The growth and maturity of the OpenRAN ecosystem will accelerate when there is incentive. A commitment of 30% of our European network provides a commercial target for OpenRAN companies to invest in themselves and to attract external investment in their operations.  

If others in the industry can provide the same incentive, the OpenRAN industry will go from strength to strength. 

Why do you attend events like Total Telecom Congress?  

After a few years of very limited in person events – I’m still really enjoying the opportunity to get out and meet old and new colleagues from across the industry. It really is the best way to get a sense of new developments in the sector.  

Total Telecom Congress took place in London this week. Next year’s edition will be moving to Amsterdam and will be held on 21st and 22nd November. Keep up to date with what’s happening via the event website.

VIEWPOINT

The 5.5G is all set to become a reality over the next two-to-three years and will last till 2030, when commercial 6G networks are likely to be launched. This was revealed during a panel discussion on 5.5G and Intelligent World 2030 at the recently held Huawei MBBF 2022.

The 3GPP Release 18, which will give out specifications for 5G Advanced or 5.5G deployment, is likely to be finalized in 2024Q1. This will pave the way for the first 5.5G commercial deployments in 2024, as predicted by Alex Sinclair, CTO at GSMA.

“While 5G will meet the basic coverage and bandwidth needs, 5.5G will be required to support new and innovative use cases and the specific needs of the consumers and enterprises. It will be a bridge technology between 5G and 6G and will provide a downlink speed of 10 Gbps and an uplink speed of 1 Gbps. It will also be able to support 100 billion Internet of Things (IoT) connections and become natively intelligent,” said Gao Quanzhong, 5.5G General Manager at Huawei Wireless Network, during the panel discussion.

Around 230 service providers worldwide have launched commercial 5G services. The telecom industry has already installed more than three million 5G base stations to cater to more than 700 million users. Even as the 5G ecosystem expands, it will soon not be enough to meet the growing demands of subscribers and enterprises.

5.5G is needed not just to support innovative use cases but also to enhance user experience and drive the services’ uptake. For instance, new-age use cases like metaverse, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) and 5G to business services demand high uplink speed and high-precision positioning, which is not possible with 5G. Further, the growing popularity of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) based use cases means that current 5G networks will not be able to meet the ever-increasing needs of consumers.

Further, the digital transformation of enterprises in all geographies will require networks that support use cases like digital twins and increased usage of robotics applications, which cannot be supported by 4G or 5G. 5.5G will be able to address this gap since 6G is likely to become a reality only by 2030.

A key use case of 5.5G is metaverse which promises to open up new and exciting revenue opportunities for the carriers. “While Metaverse means different things to different people, there is no denying that 5.5G is extremely important for the growth of the metaverse ecosystem,” says the Metaverse expert Moon Jerin, Aeindri CEO. 5.5G will also drive the digital transformation of enterprises from different business verticals

Another reason why 5.5G is crucial is that it will allow service providers to offer new and hitherto unknown use cases to their users and enterprise customers. “It [5.5G] will enable service providers to offer a better quality of network which will not only drive usage but also lead to the emergence of new applications,” says Walid Mathlouthi, Head of Future Networks & Spectrum Management, ITU.

The panellists also called upon strong collaboration and partnership between the industry stakeholders to develop the 5.5G ecosystem. Further, there is a need for the standards to be open to ensure compatibility and interoperability between the systems. This will go a long way in promoting collaboration.

Strategies to drive 5.5G ecosystem

A crucial component required for the growth of the 5.5G ecosystem is regulatory support. “The regulators need to consider assigning spectrum of ultra-wide bandwidth for 5.5G networks. In 5.5G, the spectrum bands, which were difficult to use in the past, will now become helpful. Further, the industry needs to start working on developing devices for 5.5G to unlock the full potential of this technology,” says Gao Quanzhong during the panel discussion.

Technology innovations are key to help service providers transition from 5G to 5.5G. For instance, an Extremely Large Antenna Array (ELAA) enables high-band networks to provide the same coverage as C-band so that service providers can deliver 10 Gbps to all users, irrespective of their location. Furthermore, ELAA Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) is also important as ultra-large bandwidth is essential to mobile networks, requiring all sub-100GHz resources, including FDD spectrum, C-band, 6GHz and millimetre Wave (mmWave) to be fully utilized. Higher performance terminals are also necessary to achieve 10Gbps downlink and 1Gbps uplink by providing more transmitters and receivers.

As the number of 5G networks and subscribers continues to grow worldwide, service providers will need more than 5G to address the growing requirements.