News

The latest updates on the drive to deliver a more Connected America

Total Telecom are keeping track of the latest news from North America as billions of dollars pour into developing internet access for all. If you are interested in a more in-depth look at how progress is being made, check out our new Connected America event.

30 September 2022

MGM partnership is the latest in-building cellular enhancement project in the US – Total Telecom

29 September 2022

State to fund start of regional broadband project – Morning Journal

27 September 2022

Federated Wireless launches private wireless-as-a-service offering – Enterprise IoT Insights

24 September 2022

USDA Making $502 Million Available for Rural Broadband Access – KMAland

23 September 2022

NYC to give free high-speed internet to public housing residents – SmartCitiesDive

20 September 2022

20 Providers Offering $30-a-Month High-Speed Internet Access – AARP

15 September 2022

Colorado Springs, Colo., Stands to Gain ISP Choices Soon – Government Technology

14 September 2022

Conterra Networks Continues to Lead Efforts in Fiber Infrastructure Initiatives Across Smith County – PR Newswire

13 September 2022

Ziply Fiber Raises $450M to Support its Ongoing Fiber Network Expansion – The Fast Mode

12 September 2022

Getting internet to every Mississippian. Why Sally Doty believes she will get it done. – Clarion Ledger

Igneo Infrastructure Partners to Acquire US Signal – PR Newswire

Stealth Communications Selects Nokia to Upgrade its Metro Core Network – The Fast Mode

11 September 2022

US second largest internet service provider to launch 2 gigabyte speed – The Tech Outlook

6 September 2022

These are the top 5 states with the best – and worst – fixed internet coverage – Fierce Telecom

29 August 2022

New round of grants could help expand broadband access in southeastern North Carolina – Border Belt Independent

25 August 2022

Comcast and the City of Spring Hill Announce $9 Million Project to Deliver High-Speed Internet to Homes and Businesses Citywide – PR Newswire

30 July 2022

Biden-Harris Administration Awards More Than $105 Million in Grants to Expand High-Speed Internet Access on Tribal Land in Arizona – Press Release

Brightspeed Announces Initial Fiber Build Markets for Indiana – PR Newswire

Governor Lamont Announces Federal Approval of Connecticut’s Plan… – CT.gov

29 July 2022

New round of grants could help expand broadband access in southeastern North Carolina – Border Belt Independent

22 July 2022
Rural US wireless carriers ask for more 5G subsidies – LightReading

19 July 2022
State of Indiana and AT&T Collaborate on Plan to Deliver Fiber-Powered Broadband to Portions of Nine Indiana Counties – Press Release / Cision

18 July 2022
Home Telecom supplies 1,400 homes with better internet with $2M grant – Live 5 NewsWire

United Communications secures $130M credit facility to support broadband grants – Williamson HomePage

16 July 2022
How Washington state could use federal infrastructure money to close the digital divide – Geek Wire

Peninsula Fiber Network Plans To Improve Internet Service – Radio results Network

FCC Chair Rosenworcel Proposes 4X Increase in Minimum Broadband Speeds – tvtech

14 July 2022
Despite External Challenges – RAN Still Expected to Surpass $40b by 2026 – PR Newswire

13 July 2022
AT&T claims first with 20 Gbps symmetric speeds in production network – Telecompaper

13 July 2022
Shentel Awarded Grant to Bring its Glo Fiber High Speed Network to Frederick County, Maryland – PR Newswire

13 July 2022
Arelion expands its long-haul network in Atlanta – Fierce Telecom

13 July 2022
All 50 States on Board for BEAD, Digital Equality Broadband Funding Programs – Telecompetitor

13 July 2022
Mesa, Arizona selects 4 fiber providers inlcuding SiFi Networks and Google Fiber – Fierce Telecom

13 July 2022
FCC Awards More Than $266M in ECF Program – Telecompetitor

13 July 2022
Starry adds record subs in Q2 as total nears 81,000 – LightReading

1 July 2022
FCC Awards Almost $159m in ECF Funding – Telecompetitor

30 June 2022
Construction Begins at Quantum Loophole’s Frederick Data Center Campus – Inside Towers

29 June 2022
Sen. Marklein: The battle for better broadband continues – WisPolitics

28 June 2022
Verizon delivers faster connections to 64 Native American reservations in 13 states – LightReading

27 June 2022
Clearwave Fiber Begins Buildout of Fiber Internet in Lansing, KS – PR Newswire

24 June 2022
Broadband internet provider Conterra expanding, investing nearly $10M now, $12M later in Union County – WRAL TechWire

Connectbase welcomes NYC’s Skywire Networks to Connected World platform – telecompaper

22 June 2022
Highline Commences Next Phase of Fiber Internet Expansion in Lumberton, Texas – Telecompetitor

20 June 2022
FPB wins $8 million in grants to fund broadband for unserved – The State Journal (Kentucky)

State of New York unveils broadband map – Inside Towers

18 June 2022
Hargray Fiber expands fiber Internet to Hinesville, GA – TelecomLead.com

17 June 2022
Biden aims to train more broadband workers to fend off labor crunch – Fierce Telecom

Washington County, Pa., Approves $3.2M for Internet Expansion – Government Technology

16 June 2022
Shentel Expanding its Glo Fiber High-Speed Network to Delaware – KLTV

Texas Broadband Plan Could Connect 2.8M Unserved Households – Government Technology

13 June 2022
Ohio State hosts first meeting for statewide broadband and 5G partnership – Ohio State News

11 June 2022
West Virginia Working To Avoid Past Broadband Mistakes – The Intelligencer

Connected America brings together the people and companies redefining the future of US connectivity and unites the leading stakeholders from the entire value chain. Join us in Dallas, 28-29 March 2023

NEWS

The prospect of power shortages across Europe this winter is leading to fears that mobile networks could go dark. In France electricity distributor Enedis is openly talking about blackouts of up to two hours a day in certain parts of the country, and whilst the plan is for essential services (hospitals, police, government etc) not be impacted the French Federation of Telecoms (FFT), lobbying on behalf of Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Altice’s SFR, have been unable to win any exemption for antennas.

Similarly in Germany, Deutsche Telekom is planning to use mobile emergency power systems, typically diesel generators, if there are prolonged power failures. But with 33,000 towers across the country, a spokesperson says they cannot support them all.

Against this background it is no surprise that telcos are starting to take their energy consumption more seriously.

In France, Bouygues Telecom has signed up to Ecowatt, a government-backed initiative that monitors power consumption in real time across France. The aim is to avoid the blackouts by making customers, staff, and partner organisations more aware of energy saving measures, but in the longer term Ecowatt focuses on the climate change problem and states an aim to drive the expansion of the green energy asset portfolio to 10 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2025.

Across the border in Switzerland, Swisscom are looking to further its position as one of the countries most sustainable companies and is joining DETEC’s Energy Saving Alliance. The alliance seeking to secure energy supply this winter through voluntarily taking measures to use energy in a more efficient and sparing manner. For Swisscom this includes reducing indoor and outdoor lighting in shops and offices during the evenings and night and lowering the room temperature in all buildings to a maximum of 20C, as well as seeking to drive greater awareness amongst staff and review usage of buildings and equipment.

However, energy consumption is not just a concern in Europe and not all operators are looking for a short-term fix. In Asia, NTT Docomo and NEC have reported an average 72 percent reduction in power consumption by using AWS Graviton processors in its 5G core network as opposed to incumbent x86 processors. The results are prompting NTT DoCoMo to push ahead with plans for networks in a hybrid cloud environment using AWS Graviton processors designed for energy efficiency to help reduce the carbon footprint of IT networks.

Discover the sustainable leaders of the telecom industry at this years World Communication Awards. Finalists for The Sustainability Award include AsiaInfo, China Unicom Global, Colt Technology Services, KT, Orange Polska, Turkcell, and Vertical Bridge. Join us on the 1 November to see who wins.

RELATED CONTENT: NTT UNVEILS SUSTAINABILITY-AS-A-SERVICE

CONTRIBUTED NEWS

A network of remotely monitored Internet of Things (IoT) sensors is being trialled by FarrPoint to help monitor the health of peatland in Scotland’s Western Isles, in what is believed to be the first project of its kind in Europe.

Peatland covers around 20% of Scotland and is vitally important to the environment as it stores 1.7bn tons of carbon, the equivalent of around 140 years of Scotland’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is estimated that 80% of this peatland is damaged, which allows it to dry out. If this continues it will release a large amount of CO2 into the atmosphere, making climate change worse.

The deteriorating nature of peatlands is not just a local problem. Across Europe, these ecosystems store five times more CO2 than forests.  This is a particular concern in Finland (home to almost a third of Europe’s peatlands) and Sweden (where one quarter are located), with the remainder in the UK, Poland, Norway, Germany, Ireland, Estonia, Latvia, The Netherlands and France. Ensuring these peatlands are preserved is of paramount importance across the continent.

IoT Trials in Western Isles, Scotland

The year-long trial, which covers a peatland area surrounding Loch Orasaigh in the Western Isles, is being carried out by UK digital connectivity specialist, FarrPoint in collaboration with NatureScot Peatland ACTION, the Carloway Estate Trust and Scottish Water with funding from the Scottish Government.

This work aligns with the Scottish Government’s £250m, 10-year peatland restoration initiative, to significantly reduce carbon emissions and support biodiversity as part of its climate change plan. Peatland ACTION-funded restoration work around Loch Orasaigh has been phased over several years and the FarrPoint IoT sensors are currently gathering a baseline dataset prior to restoration of this area. Post restoration monitoring is also planned using the same technology.

Real-time data to inform peatland restoration work

Monitoring peatland to measure its water content has traditionally been a manual task, with regular travel to monitoring stations in often remote locations, often on foot. FarrPoint’s IoT solution to monitor peatlands could become a game changer in helping to save peatlands in the UK and beyond, by providing real-time information to inform how restoration work impacts the health of the peatland.

 Dr Andrew Muir, FarrPoint’s CEO, said:

“Scotland’s peatlands are one of our key natural resources in the fight against rising carbon emissions and we must make efforts to protect them.

“When in good condition, our peatlands offer multiple benefits to the environment and our communities. With 80% of Scotland’s peatlands damaged, projects such as this can help us fight climate change and support biodiversity.

 “Digital technologies will become central to our ability to limit the damage of climate change and hit our net-zero targets. This summer’s drought has shown how vulnerable the UK is to extreme heat and this trial will provide valuable and timely data which will help inform future peatland restoration activities.

“Connecting remote and rural areas with digital technologies can be extremely challenging, and whilst benefits have been shown for larger cities, this trial will create key learnings that can be applied to other remote regions of Scotland and Europe.”

Mairi McAllan, Environment Minister said:

“Peatland restoration represents a cornerstone of our action to tackle the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Restoring Scotland’s iconic peatlands can help us sequester and store carbon from the atmosphere, support biodiversity and provide good, green jobs – often in rural communities.

“Since the launch of the Peatland ACTION programme in 2012, around 39,000 hectares of degraded peatlands have undergone restoration in Scotland. We are committed to significantly increasing the rate of restoration and have invested £250 million to fulfil our commitment to restore 250,000 hectares of peatland by 2030.

“This innovative project, which has been awarded £60k from Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate, highlights how new and digital technologies will be crucial in helping us deliver our net zero ambitions.”

Lucy Elliff, Peatland ACTION Monitoring Officer at NatureScot said:

“Using these sensors in a remote area has enabled us to gather real-time live data, which is important to monitoring the response of water table dynamics to peatland restoration. Projects like this help us explore how emerging technologies can be used to meet the challenges of monitoring peatland restoration work which is often in remote locations.”

Wider smart community project benefits

As part of the same project, FarrPoint is also exploring the broader use of IoT solutions to benefit the local community in the Western Isles. Working with the Scottish Government, it has already consulted with local residents to identify other key social and economic issues that could be solved by using IoT technology, such as deploying remote sensors in the local community (The Pairc Trust) to monitor humidity and temperature levels for its archive of paper-based records and local artefacts. Many of these items need to be conserved in a stable environment, in particular humidity variations proving a key challenge due to the local climate.

This approach to “stackable” use cases, where multiple uses can be delivered over the same infrastructure is seen as essential, particularly in more remote areas, to improve the investment case.

Join us at the Total Telecom Congress for sessions including Data is the new gold: creating revenue from a telco’s most valuable asset. Find out more at www.totaltele.com/congress 

Press release

IFC Equity Investment in WIOCC Group to Support Africa’s Digital Infrastructure Expansion.

To improve access to quality broadband internet and data hosting services for homes and businesses in Africa, IFC today announced it is expanding its relationship with West Indian Ocean Cable Company Holding Ltd (WIOCC Group), a leading digital connectivity and infrastructure provider in Africa, with a $30 million equity investment. The new investment will support WIOCC Group’s continued rollout of terrestrial fiber-optic networks, investment in new subsea cables, and the launch of world-class, open-access core and edge data center infrastructure across the continent.

Digital infrastructure is the backbone of Africa’s internet economy. Ongoing investment in fiber optic networks and data centers will allow increased access to more affordable and higher-speed internet across the African continent, according to eConomy Africa 2020, a report by IFC and Google. This expanded access could yield significant economic gains: a 10 percent increase in mobile broadband penetration in Africa would yield a 2.5 percent increase in GDP per capita, notes a study by the International Telecommunication Union.

IFC’s digital infrastructure strategy in Africa is aimed at enabling reliable, and affordable connectivity. This includes investing in the growth of independent tower operators, data centers and broadband, as well as supporting mobile operators, with an emphasis on supporting expanded connectivity in fragile and conflict situations (FCS) and low-Income International Development Association countries (LIC-IDA).

In the past fiscal year (July 1, 2021–June 2022), 34 percent of IFC’s digital infrastructure investments were in FCS and IDA countries.

Over the last decade, IFC committed and mobilized more than $7 billion in digital infrastructure and services, with more than $2.5 billion between July 2020 and June 2022. In addition to providing financing, IFC supports investees to improve corporate governance and align environmental and social practices with IFC’s performance standards.

“At IFC, we recognize that there is a critical need for reliable digital infrastructure, which is fundamental to improving the quality of people’s lives and driving business growth,” said Mohamed Gouled, IFC Vice President of Industries, during a signing ceremony with WIOCC Group today in London. “In the past fiscal year, ending in June 2022, IFC invested $1.3 billion in digital infrastructure, with over half of those investments taking place in Africa’s telecommunications, media, and technology sector. Our partnership with WIOCC Group underscores IFC’s commitment to closing the digital divide in Africa.”

IFC’s equity investment builds on its previous financing to WIOCC Group, in the form of a $20 million loan issued in 2020 via IFC’s fast-track COVID-19 financing facility, a facility set up to help sustain economies and preserve jobs during the pandemic crisis.

“IFC is a true strategic partner that has been there for us since the start. IFC’s role as one of the founding lenders in 2007 was critical in enabling WIOCC Group to grow and thrive. This new investment supports our goal of establishing an integrated, open-access, core-to-edge cloud ecosystem throughout the African continent, underpinned by truly scalable, carrier-neutral, open access, shared infrastructure that delivers high-quality and affordable digital connectivity,” said Chris Wood, WIOCC Group Chief Executive Officer. “By decentralizing the cloud and enabling content delivery to the point of use, we are establishing the infrastructure required to expedite successful deployment and adoption of 5G, the Internet of Things and other key developments that will deliver economic growth throughout the 2020s.”

Featured image is WIOCC Group CEO Chris Wood (left) shaking hands with IFC Vice President of Industries Mohamed Gouled (right).

NEWS

There’s not much positive press for Liz Truss at the moment, but one change from the UK Prime Minister which is likely to be better received is a review of Britain’s visa system which could benefit the telecom sector.

The government is set to review the “shortage occupation list” which will enable certain industries  more freedom to employ staff from overseas – including, as widely reported, broadband engineers.

The changes would mean a relaxation of requirements around speaking English and simplified entry for migrants from outside the EU with lower visa fees and no employer requirement to prove that there is no suitable local worker for the role.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) welcomed the review saying “Guarding against skills and labour shortages can simultaneously help keep inflation in check while ensuring firms have the people they need to grow, benefiting everyone.”

The Times newspaper reported Truss specifically mentioning the need to recruit broadband engineers from abroad so they can help fulfil a Government promise to ensure 85% of homes have access to full-fibre broadband.

The telecom sector has long recognised it’s skills shortage with various initiatives undertaken to try to address the situation, including Telcom Group and their Telecoms Engineer Bootcamp, whilst the subject was discussed by a panel featuring altnets including CityFibre, Full Fibre and Zzoomm at last weeks Connected Britain.

James Fredrickson, Policy Director at Hyperoptic, is quoted by ISPReview as having said “It’s great to see progress being made on this issue – this will be a big help in securing the skilled labour needed to accelerate full fibre rollout. We will continue to work with the Home Office to maximise the impact of this.”

PRESS RELEASE

Almost half of customer service calls are abandoned due to contact centre background noise, with 42% hanging up immediately when they detect the noise.

That’s according to the team behind IRIS Clarity, the AI-powered voice isolation app, which surveyed 1,000 consumers across the UK and US around their interactions with contact centres. The results are compounded by the fact that while all respondents indicated they use voice channels in some way for their customer service inquiries, more than half (54%) said they only use it for critical issues — making voice a premium that is demonstrably failing to deliver.

The research identified repetition as a key frustration for consumers, with ‘how to spell my name’ (45%), address and postcode (43%), and banking information (36%) as the most frustrating information to repeat on the phone.

Noise around the agent isn’t the only problem — the caller’s location also has an impact on the call’s success. The majority (59%) of consumers have hung up a call because they felt they were in an inconvenient location due to background noise. The most inconvenient places that respondents have made an important call include public transport (39%), the street (36%), when out socialising (34%), and at a place of work (31%).

“In an ideal world, consumers would phone a call centre agent and there wouldn’t be any background noise on either side,” said Jacobi Anstruther, Founder and CEO of IRIS Audio Technologies. “But this simply isn’t the case. We know the power of voice and the survey results clearly show that ignoring its potential has significant ramifications on the customer and contact centre experience. The immediate abandonment of half of contact centre calls due to noise should raise red flags with contact centres everywhere, if only because it’s a huge operating expense. With its real-time and bi-directional capabilities, voice isolation software like IRIS Clarity can ensure both customers and agents can hear each other clearly, in order to get the outcomes they each need.”

These findings come fresh off the heels of IRIS Clarity’s newest whitepaper, The Role of Audio in an Increasingly Digital World, which investigates the impact of poor audio across call centres globally, as well as enterprises, healthcare, and education.

STARTUP STORIES

Historically video surveillance has been built on a complicated and expensive network of cables and low autonomy. TelWAI believes the future of surveillance is built on wireless mobile networks that can be rapidly deployed at low cost.

Tell us about your start up
TelWAI enables the autonomous detection of security and safety threats by utilising its wireless, Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven surveillance camera. TelWAI’s surveillance camera consists of edge-based video analytics, combined with mobile network data transmission. TelWAI’s proprietary surveillance camera offers the reliable detection of pre-defined security and safety risks, such as trespassing on rail networks and the illegal dumping of waste. Offering cost savings and the ability to redeploy surveillance assets across the users’ network, TelWAI cuts out the requirement for costly network cabling.

TelWAI’s customers include private land and critical infrastructure owners, security and policing agencies, city councils and transportation providers such as Network Rail. Operating in a global market, TelWAI has an initial focus on the UK and USA markets. TelWAI enables its customers to enhance safety and security and obtain critical video data of illegal activity for prosecution.

What is your USP, how do you stand out from your competition?
One of TelWAI’s primary USP’s is its ability to transfer video data across wireless networks (3G, 4G and 5G networks). This capability allows our customers to cut costs relating to laying expensive network cables and installation costs. In addition to this, it allows our customers to relocate cameras across their network, as installation and removal costs are significantly decreased.

Another USP is TelWAI’s utilisation of AI driven video analytics on the edge. This capability enables our customers to automatically detect potential safety or security risk. Fully configured based on the end-user’s requirements, alarm deluge is mitigated against, and false positive rates are reduced.

What is your relationship with the telecom sector?
TelWAI utilises wireless networks (3G, 4G and 5G networks) provided by telecom companies to transmit video data to central control rooms and hand-held devices.

How have you got to your current stage of development?
TelWAI is a spin out of its parent company Aralia Systems. In 2020 Aralia received funding from Innovate UK funded by Network Rail to develop a standalone surveillance camera. Having successfully developed and deployed this camera, Aralia proceeded to enrol in Wayra’s 5G smart cities program. Having founded TelWAI in 2022, additional VC funding is sought to accelerate the commercialisation of the wireless AI camera.

Why did you establish the business?
The business was established because of the market demand for standalone surveillance systems, combined with the requirement for additional commercialisation funding. Managed and driven by Eleanor Wright and Dr.Laurence Broadbent, TelWAI’s core team members obtain skills across business and engineering. Achieving a BA in Marketing and a MSc in Business Management, Eleanor has over eleven years of experience working in the surveillance sector across multiple business roles. Having achieved a BEng in Robotics and Automated Systems, and a PhD in 4D Facial Expression Recognition, Dr.Laurence Broadbent leads all technical aspects of TelWAI’s wireless AI camera.

Who inspired you?
We are inspired by technology and innovation and all business leaders that have managed to successfully commercialise innovation into profitable sustainable businesses. Inspirational individuals for us include Jack Welch whose innovation in business practices transformed GE. Steve Jobs, who’s understanding of marketing and product positioning saw Apple differentiate itself in a highly competitive market. Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger for identifying value in companies, how to maximise this value and generating educated predictions on the future value of these companies.

What does the future hold for your business?
We believe that TelWAI will become a market leader in the wireless surveillance sector. Initially focussed on the UK and USA markets, we will achieve the position of market leader, within our key addressable markets, within the next five years.

COMPANY CV
HEADQUARTERS – Bristol, England
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES – 2
LAST FUNDING TYPE – No previous funding round
WEBSITE URL – www.telwai.com
FOUNDERS
Eleanor Wright
Laurence Broadbent

You can meet TelWAI in the Startup Village at Total Telecom Congress in London on the 1-2 November 2022. Find out more about attending or bringing along your own startup at www.totaltele.com/congress

PRESS RELEASE

Ryse Energy, the global leader in Telecoms renewable energy systems with over 4,000 installations across all seven continents, has appointed small wind energy executive, Richard Caldow, as CEO for Europe & Americas.

Richard has more than 30 years’ experience in the distributed renewable energy space, joins Ryse Energy from competitor and small wind turbine manufacturer, SD Wind, where he was responsible for building a global installed base of small wind turbines in various industry sectors.

The strategic hire is part of Ryse Energy’s expansion plans, which have seen the business grow exponentially in Europe and in both North and South America, winning major projects in the telecoms, critical infrastructure, and industrial and commercial sectors.

Ryse Energy incorporated in the US earlier this year and has already secured initial contracts from one of the largest owner and operators of communication infrastructure in the country. In addition, Ryse Energy has secured major contracts with US distributed renewable energy companies and mini-grid installers using small wind turbine technology to build more resilient mini-grids.

Speaking on the new role, Richard Caldow, CEO for Europe & Americas said;
“I’m delighted to be joining Ryse Energy at this time of growth within the renewables industry. Being a manufacturer of a range of turbines from 3kW to 60kW, coupled with solar and battery storage, allows Ryse Energy to meet the diverse requirements for distributed generation.”

Commenting on Richard’s appointment, Alistair Munro, Group CEO of Ryse Energy said;
“The hire of Richard Caldow from SD Wind shows the strength of the brand we’ve built and the technology Ryse Energy possesses. Richard built SD Wind from the ground up, creating a major player in the small wind sector.

As the global leader in small wind and distributed renewable energy, Ryse Energy is very excited to see what Richard will create with a company already engrained in the space and with huge ambitions.”

Ryse Energy is a primary manufacturer of small wind technology with manufacturing capabilities in the UK, Spain, and India. Ryse Energy offers wind and solar as standalone technologies, either grid-connected or off-grid with energy storage, and hybridize their innovative and unique wind technologies with solar PV and energy storage to create bespoke and reliable hybrid renewable solutions across a variety of sectors, from decarbonizing infrastructure in the telecoms and oil & gas industries, to community power for rural electrification.

Press Release

Joining the initiative offers the TIM Group the opportunity to play a decisive role within a coalition supported by the EU Commission and Parliament that aims to harness the potential of digital solutions in green transformation

The TIM Group has become part of the European Green Digital Coalition, a project launched by leading European companies in the ICT sector and supported by the European Commission and Parliament, with the aim of harnessing the potential of digital solutions to enable the green transformation.

TIM has signed the Declaration to support ‘The Green and Digital Transformation of the EU’ which establishes the commitment to bring forward achievement of the ‘net zero’ objective to 2040, set as 2050 by the ‘European Law on Climate’, to underline the commitment to reduce the emissions of its production chain and the selection of ever more sustainable suppliers.

Entry into the European Green Digital Coalition is further confirmation of the centrality of ESG objectives in the TIM Group’s Industrial Plan, strengthening the commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2040. Climate strategy, circular economy, digital growth and the valorisation of human capital are the main pillars on which the Group focuses to offer people and businesses the opportunities of a sustainability-based digital transformation.

The Coalition, established in 2021, aims to demonstrate the telecommunications industry’s enabling role in the achievement of climate targets, contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions both directly and indirectly, through the development and distribution of green and efficient digital solutions also in other sectors such as energy, transport, agriculture and construction. The Coalition will also collaborate with some European organisations to define standards that can scientifically demonstrate emission reduction by implementing digital solutions. The Coalition, whose Secretariat is managed by GESI, ETNO, GSMA and the SME Alliance, will work in close collaboration with the European Commission.

The recent validation of the decarbonisation objectives by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) also moves in the same direction: with respect to 2019, by 2030 TIM will reduce by 75% emissions from the company’s production (Scope 1) and the purchase of electricity (Scope 2), also thanks to the commitment to purchase 100% renewable energy by 2025, and by 47% emissions from its value chain (Scope 3) relating to the purchase of goods and services, the acquisition of capital goods and the use of products sold to customers.