Spain has definitively approved updates to its General Law on Telecommunications, finally bringing it in line with the requirements of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), over a year and a half after the 2021 deadline.
To recap, the EECC, agreed back in 2018, called on all EU nations to codify into law various measures that would create a singular regulatory framework and provide better protection for internet users throughout Europe…

Spain has definitively approved updates to its General Law on Telecommunications, finally bringing it in line with the requirements of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), over a year and a half after the 2021 deadline.

To recap, the EECC, agreed back in 2018, called on all EU nations to codify into law various measures that would create a singular regulatory framework and provide better protection for internet users throughout Europe. In line with the EU’s connectivity targets for 2030, these measures included ensuring that 5G spectrum was made available to operators by the end of 2020; simplifying regulations surrounding fibre network rollout to thereby increase investment; and better protecting customers, including ensuring universal access to the internet, better security, and more transparent tariffs. 

The 2020 deadline came and went, with numerous countries throughout the union, including Spain, were still dragging their feet when it came to updating their legislation. In fact, such changes had still not taken place by April 2022, when the EU Commission referred ten member states (Spain, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Sweden) to the European Court of Justice for failing to transpose the EECC requirements into law.

Now, Spain is finally making the requisite changes to its legal framework, last week approving an update to the General Law on Telecommunications. This is the first update of the legislature since it was first introduced back in 2014. It now includes 114 articles and 30 additional provisions, covering everything from the right of access of operators to networks and associated resources to how telcos are taxed.

Perhaps the most significant pledge contained within the new law, however, relates to the availability of internet speed across the nation. The law now mandates that every Spanish citizen has access to internet speeds of over 100Mbps within a year of the law being ratified. 

This goal appears to come directly from the ‘Spain Digital 2025’ programme, set out by the government back in 2020, with the process having been accelerated by the EU-funded Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

Spain is currently one of the most fiberised nations in Europe, but fibre-to-the-home networks capable of achieving 100Mbps speeds still only extend to around 87% of the country’s population. 

Expanding this figure to 100% in just a year – even when capitalising on alternative technologies like fixed wireless access – appears to be a very tall order and will require the operators to redouble their areas to deliver high-quality connectivity to rural Spain.

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Also in the news: 
ITU’s Partner2Connect project sees $18.5 billion in pledges to connect the unconnected
Telefonica strikes deal with German fibre association to connect 5G sites
Enterprise data opportunities in the 5G era

Tell us about your start up?
Streetwave offers clients the ability to understand the coverage and quality of the mobile networks they depend on both professionally and personally. The Company’s software enables our customers to see coverage insights along nearly every road on a highly granular metre by metre basis. It also identifies how the networks change on a weekly basis in the areas they are interested in. This coverage data is visualised on a GIS to easily see how the networks perform along different buildings, streets and communities. Streetwave has purposefully made the data easy to understand and take action with, for those with no telecoms experience. The Company’s web application allows users to answer simple questions including ‘can I make a phone call?’ or ‘can I stream a HD video?’. Alternatively, customers can dive into further detail with metrics including download speeds or RSRP if they feel comfortable…

Tell us about your start up?
Streetwave offers clients the ability to understand the coverage and quality of the mobile networks they depend on both professionally and personally.

The Company’s software enables our customers to see coverage insights along nearly every road on a highly granular metre by metre basis. It also identifies how the networks change on a weekly basis in the areas they are interested in.

This coverage data is visualised on a GIS to easily see how the networks perform along different buildings, streets and communities. Streetwave has purposefully made the data easy to understand and take action with, for those with no telecoms experience. The Company’s web application allows users to answer simple questions including ‘can I make a phone call?’ or ‘can I stream a HD video?’. Alternatively, customers can dive into further detail with metrics including download speeds or RSRP if they feel comfortable.

Streetwave is currently mapping mobile coverage for tower companies, private business owners and municipal governments. The data is then used to identify the best networks to use and areas where coverage improvements need to be made. We are working with organisations across both the UK and Canada.

Why did you establish the business?
Streetwave was established to tackle the significant issues that arise when government, businesses and individuals don’t understand the coverage quality of the mobile networks that they depend upon.

Everyone knows the importance of the mobile networks. Smart phones allow us to do our banking, shopping, socialising, working, navigation, payments and socialising in the palm of our hands. All of these use cases require digital connectivity to function properly though. Resultantly, as mobile coverage in a country increases by 10%, its GDP will also increase by 1%.

While pricing for mobile data in the UK is competitive compared to the US or Canada, users of the mobile networks are still unable to understand the coverage they will receive on their deals. The coverage checkers on operator’s websites are models that estimate coverage without measuring it on the ground. This can lead to disparities between predicted coverage and actual network performance. While this data can also be crowd sourced, crowdsourcing will often leave large holes in coverage data sets as phones can only intermittently measure network performance in the locations they are in.

This causes issues for consumers. The average cost of a 12-month mobile contract was £566.40 in 2021. This is only going up with inflationary pressures. Many consumers commit to long-term contracts, only to bring their phones back to their homes/offices to find they can’t get coverage. Around 10% of mobile customers in the UK remain unhappy with their mobile contracts.

This is also a problem for every business that depends on the mobile networks for some aspect of their service delivery. For example, electric car charging stations are essential infrastructure for the government’s plans to replace petrol/diesel cars by 2030. However, many require users to connect to an app to pay digitally before charging. When these sites are built in areas with no signal, people are unable to make payment to charge their vehicles. Understanding mobile coverage at charging sites is therefore a vital prerequisite before building begins.

Furthermore, this issue affects government. Ambiguous coverage data will make it difficult for the UK Home Office to assess whether the new Emergency Services Network has the necessary coverage to consistently keep first responders connected before its switch on. It can also cause difficulties for regulators like Ofcom when they are seeking to assess coverage claims.

What is your USP?
The detail of Streetwave’s data is unparalleled. We are able to offer coverage insights along every road and building in areas of interest for our customers. In these locations, customers can see which mobile networks are available, which operators offer the best or worst connectivity and which network generations are available to them.

This data is also regularly refreshed to stay up to date and our visualisation platform makes the data easily accessible to anyone. Furthermore, the Company still have the flexibility as a start-up to tailor our offering to the needs of our customers.

What is your relationship with the telecom sector?
We work directly with tower companies, collecting data to improve their site selection. We also work with MVNOs to help them better understand which operator to lease infrastructure from. Our data can also be used by MNOs for their marketing and by regulators to check coverage claims.

How have you got to your current stage of development?
As a team we were fortunate to have been hosted by an incubator called the Alacrity Foundation for the first 15 months of building up Streetwave. The Alacrity Foundation is a Newport based charity that is actively building the next generation of UK communications and cyber start-ups. The Foundation brings together business and computer science graduates and presents them with real industry problems that need solving.

Our team were presented with the challenge of building a solution that democratises access to high fidelity mobile coverage intelligence for people and businesses. Each co-founder received a stipend during the programme that allowed us to focus fully on developing Streetwave. Alacrity also supported us in meeting investors as the 15-month programme ended.

Recognising the significance of the challenge Streetwave is solving, we were able to attract a seed investment round led by the Wesley Clover investment group. Wesley Clover also support Streetwave through more than just capital investment. They have given us free office space, access to an experienced designer and used their international presence to help us enter the North American market. The team is further complemented by two successful industry veterans who have joined our board as Non-Exec Directors.

Who inspired you?
Something that has surprised us as a team is just how generous people in the industry have been in lending us time and advice. If we were to list all of the people who have gone out of their way to support us, we would probably have a list that is 100 names long! These people continue to inspire us through both the intelligence they have earned through past successes and the modesty they retain in their willingness to give back to others.

What does the future hold for your business?
We will continue to expand the areas where we map mobile network performance. Our aim is to map the coverage along every address in the UK in the coming years so that everyone can understand the best networks to use in the places they live, work and leisure in. We will also look to continue our expansion into the North American and European markets.

HEADQUARTERS: Newport – Wales
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 5
LAST FUNDING TYPE: Seed Funding
WEBSITE URL: https://streetwave.co/
FOUNDERS
Angus Hay – CEO and Co-Founder
George Gibson – Operations Director and Co-Founder
Dylan Hampton – Product Director and Co-Founder
Nick Broom – Technical Director and Co-Founder

You can meet Streetwave in the Startup Village at Connected Britain: London 20-21 September 2022. Register at www.totaltele.com/connectedbritain

Tell us about your startup Jangala is a not-for-profit startup that produces self-developed, accessible and portable Wi-Fi systems for use by communities in need of humanitarian assistance or broader development support. To date, we have provided internet access to over 50,000 people in refugee camps, schools and clinics across Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe. Our mission is to enable societies everywhere to meet the challenges of today and prepare for the uncertainties of tomorrow. The internet is a fundamental part of modern life. However, 50% of the world’s population lack access to the internet, whilst also facing other challenges related to living in poverty, or as part of marginalised groups, or as a result of being forced to leave their homes. Our technology presents an innovative, feasible, and scalable solution to this digital divide. By enabling internet access for these groups, we aim to support the most marginalised members of the global community to build better futures for themselves. The need for this is only becoming more pressing as the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance has grown significantly in recent years …

Tell us about your startup
Jangala is a not-for-profit startup that produces self-developed, accessible and portable Wi-Fi systems for use by communities in need of humanitarian assistance or broader development support. To date, we have provided internet access to over 50,000 people in refugee camps, schools and clinics across Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe. Our mission is to enable societies everywhere to meet the challenges of today and prepare for the uncertainties of tomorrow.

The internet is a fundamental part of modern life. However, 50% of the world’s population lack access to the internet, whilst also facing other challenges related to living in poverty, or as part of marginalised groups, or as a result of being forced to leave their homes. Our technology presents an innovative, feasible, and scalable solution to this digital divide. By enabling internet access for these groups, we aim to support the most marginalised members of the global community to build better futures for themselves. The need for this is only becoming more pressing as the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance has grown significantly in recent years – today, 275m people need urgent protection or assistance, up from 235m people in 2021.

Jangala’s flagship technology is Big Box – a rugged and powerful device that can turn any internet connection into Wi-Fi that’s easy to manage and scale, and is capable of connecting thousands of users. We also have the smaller Get Box, which was developed in early 2020 in response to people’s urgent connectivity needs during the pandemic, and has since connected over 260 low-income households, emergency accommodations and refuge shelters in the UK and Europe.

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What is your USP?
Jangala’s Wi-Fi systems have been conceived and designed specifically for use in challenging circumstances and by people without technical expertise, thereby lowering the barriers to deploying internet access across a range of challenging aid and development scenarios.

Existing Wi-Fi technologies are limited and not suitable for use in most humanitarian situations, and even in many development settings where a lack of communications infrastructure precludes easy internet access. Battery-powered ‘MiFi’ devices can only serve a few users, have a limited range and cannot be controlled remotely. Conventional approaches are more capable but expensive, and often require engineering staff for set-up and maintenance.

While there are newer, alternative devices that also integrate 3G/4G with Wi-Fi, Jangala’s products stand out due to their ability to shape traffic, their inherent scalability, and ease of use which removes the need for technical expertise. Jangala also works with our funders to provide systems pro bono to organisations and projects that would otherwise be unable to pay for connectivity, thereby removing both the cost and expertise barriers that so often need to be overcome in order to establish a network.

What is your relationship with the telecom sector?
Our Big Box and Get Box systems require the local services available to the general public in order to operate. Big Box is a versatile and powerful device that can be deployed in a variety of challenging contexts thanks to its twin 4G/5G modems and ability to combine up to 32 sources of internet access – including SIMs, satellite and point-to-point wireless – into a single stable connection that can accommodate thousands of end-users. The most commonly used backhaul for our systems are SIM cards, which are widely and easily available in many of the countries in which we operate.

One of Jangala’s first corporate donors was BT, whose support was critical in helping us get our systems out to the field in the early stages of our development. Since 2021 we have partnered with Cuckoo, a new innovative player in the sector, who generously donate 1% of their turnover to Jangala every quarter.

The next stage of Jangala’s development requires significant strategic thinking and expertise. As we expand our operations worldwide, strong relationships with partners in the telecoms sector are crucial to ensuring efficient rollout of systems and hitting our ambitious growth targets. We are always on the lookout for new strategic partners, so if you think your organisation might be able to help, please get in touch!

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How have you got to your current stage of development?
When Jangala started in 2016, we were crowdfunded primarily through The Worldwide Tribe – a nonprofit organisation that uses creative storytelling to bring a human perspective to humanitarian issues while also working with grassroots projects focused on supporting those in need. This funding enabled us to set up the first Jangala network covering the Calais Jungle refugee camp and begin research and development on Big Box.

Since then, as Jangala became formalised as a charitable organisation, we have secured formal funding from competitions, corporate giving, and trusts and foundations, as well as running individual giving campaigns. Today, our major funders include Lenovo, Cuckoo Broadband, Arm, CHK Charities, and Tedworth Charitable Trust.

Why did you establish the business?

In 2015, at the height of the Refugee crisis in Europe, our founders Rich Thanki, Nil’s O’Hara and Samson Rinaldi met while volunteering in the Calais Jungle refugee camp. Nils and Samson have extensive experience in humanitarian aid and disaster response, while Rich worked for several years on humanitarian tech solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, in addition to stints at Microsoft and Ofcom.

During their time in the Jungle it became clear that while charities and grassroots groups were providing essential support, what was missing was an internet connection. The internet was a lifeline for the refugees they met – the possibility of communicating with loved ones, as well as sending and receiving money, to find valuable information, and for education and entertainment. Meanwhile, the organisations on the ground providing humanitarian assistance sorely needed connectivity to coordinate their response and ensure their operations were as effective and efficient in a difficult and rapidly changing situation.

So, Rich and Nils set about creating a Wi-Fi network for the Calais Jungle, and when it was switched on just after Christmas 2015, it was used by over 5,000 people in a single week. In 2016, Samson joined the team and together they developed Big Box.

Who inspired you?
Each of our founders have their own personal connection with refugees and asylum seekers, which has inspired their work and Jangala’s mission. Rich himself is the son of refugees who fled to the UK from Uganda in the 1970s. Nils’ family adopted a child refugee from Eritrea in 2015, which prompted Nils to visit the Calais Jungle to see for himself the challenges faced by his soon-to-be brother. Since then, Nils’ family has welcomed three further refugees from Sudan, Afghanistan and Libya.

Meanwhile, Samson is the foster brother of two teenage boys from Kurdistan, who he is helping through the UK’s asylum process. While we may have grown out of the humanitarian response to the refugee crisis, Jangala is ultimately inspired by those working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) around the world.

What does the future hold for your business?
Our goal is to connect 150,000 people by the end of 2022, and 5 million people by 2025. In order to achieve this, Jangala is preparing to adopt a hybrid charitable-commercial model by establishing a wholly-owned trading subsidiary and selling our products and services to larger aid and sustainable development organisations. Every penny of profit will go to Jangala’s pro bono deployments which will serve communities, organisations and grassroots projects without the resources to pay for internet.

We are aware that different communities have different needs and requirements when it comes to digital applications. We are therefore exploring new product opportunities to further support the digital development of underserved communities, such as edge servers and renewable, networked batteries.

If you or your organisation are able to assist Jangala with our goals in any way, please contact us on info@janga.la. We’d love to hear from you!

Headquarters: London, UK
Number of Employees: 8
Last Funding Type: Corporate donations / Trusts and Foundations
Website URL: www.janga.la
Founder’s:
Richard Thanki [INTERVIEW]
Samson Rinaldi 
Nils O’Hara 

Jangala participated in the Total Telecom Congress in 2021. If you would like to join the Startup Village this year and perhaps pickup the Startup trophy at the World Communication Awards, click HERE to find out more

This week, the ITU has announced the major success of its Partner2Connect programme, finding major support from both the public and private sectors, which pledged over $18.5 billion to improve internet access for the global population. 
According to the ITU, around 2.9 billion people worldwide remain unconnected to the internet…

This week, the ITU has announced the major success of its Partner2Connect programme, finding major support from both the public and private sectors, which pledged over $18.5 billion to improve internet access for the global population. 

According to the ITU, around 2.9 billion people worldwide remain unconnected to the internet, often leaving them unable to access vital services and participate in the international economy. The digital divide has only been further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, with restrictions on movement exposing countries having disproportionately negative effects on nations with poor connectivity.

As a result, the ITU devised its Partner2Connect programme to help align the global community with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, seeking to encourage organisations to provide funding, services, and technical support to build digital ecosystems and improve internet accessibility. 

Now, following the WTDC in Kigali, Rwanda, over 360 pledges have been made to improve connectivity for the unconnected, with an estimated combined financial valued of $18.55 billion according to an ITU press release.

In fact, according to the Partner2Connect website, the figure today stands at 266 pledges from 198 entities in 90 countries, with the combined estimated financial value increasing even higher, to $24.15 billion.

“The pledges and commitments made in Kigali and in the months leading to this roundtable send a powerful message that together we can ramp up investments in ICT development to leave no one offline, » said ITU secretary general, Houlin Zhao, describing the Partner2Connect Digital Development Roundtable as ‘a tipping point’.

“After months of collective work developing the Partner2Connect Action Framework and the pledging platform, together with ITU Member States, civil society groups, philanthropic organizations, private and youth-led organizations, we are now setting a major milestone by gathering under one umbrella an unprecedented number of commitments to advance universal and meaningful connectivity, » said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau.

A breakdown of the individual pledges can be found here.
 

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Also in the news: 
Malaysian telcos continue to clash with govt over 5G
Amdocs buys Mycom OSI in $188m deal
Lithuania begins long-awaited 5G spectrum auction

Previously CNO for Germany at Vodafone, Madalina Suceveanu joined Liberty Global in April and has now been announced as Managing Director…

Previously CNO for Germany at Vodafone, Madalina Suceveanu joined Liberty Global in April and has now been announced as Managing Director, Mobile & Cloud Technology.

This important new role reports into Global Chief Technology Officer Enrique Rodriguez and is responsible for developing Liberty Global’s fixed mobile convergence strategy which has contributed to a number of important recent transactions including the merger of Virgin Media and O2 in the UK and acquisition of Sunrise in Switzerland.

Enrique Rodriguez, Chief Technology Officer, Liberty Global, said: ‘Madalina is a senior technology executive of the highest standing and we’re thrilled that she is joining us in this newly-created role. We look forward to benefiting from her vast experience as we continue to develop our strategy to deliver even more innovation for customers and partners.’

In addition to senior roles at Vodafone, Madalina was formerly a board member at Siro (Ireland) and held senior positions at Orange, rising to CTO for Orange Romania.

It goes without saying that in the UK – and indeed most developed countries – that mobile connectivity is largely taken for granted. The UK’s 4G networks cover more than 99% of the country, with mobile internet used daily by over 90% of the population. 
 
Nonetheless, thousands, perhaps millions, of UK citizens remain reliant on older technologies like landlines and payphones for their connectivity needs, making retiring these legacy services very difficult for operators.
 
BT, for example, announced in November last year that they planned to switch off their existing landline services (PSTN and ISDN) in 2025…

Nonetheless, thousands, perhaps millions, of UK citizens remain reliant on older technologies like landlines and payphones for their connectivity needs, making retiring these legacy services very difficult for operators.

In fact, with BT having already begun to remove landline services in some areas, Storms Arwen and Eunice in February this year highlighted an additional challenge for BT: power blackouts. With the storms knocking out power lines, many customers with broadband-only connections found themselves unable to contact the outside world, in some cases even unable to reach emergency services. 

These challenges surrounding retiring older technologies extend far beyond landlines. Payphone usage, for example, has been decreasing for many years, with the most recent figures suggesting that there are just 20,000 payphone boxes left in the UK. 

But despite their small number, many of these phones still provide vital services, particularly in rural areas where mobile access is poor and for vulnerable customers seeking help. Payphones handled around four million minutes of calls in 2021/22 period, with statistics from the year following May 2020 suggesting that around 5% of calls on these devices were to emergency services and helplines.

The new rules stipulate that payphones are protected from being removed in areas without coverage from all four mobile providers; are located in an area that has a high frequency of accidents or suicides; have been used to make 52 or more calls in the past year; or where there is other evidence of the phone box’s necessity, such as being used to access helplines.

By previous estimates, these measures should stop roughly 5,000 pay phones from being removed. 

The rules will also now allow BT and KCOM increased flexibility in the range of services they offer from payphones, such as free calls, phone charging, and Wi-Fi. They also obligate the operators to ensure that phone boxes will still be operational during a power cut following any upgrades to IP services, typically by installing battery equipment to the site. 

“You may think of a phone box as a local landmark, or as a landmark symbol of British nostalgia. But they can still serve as a vital lifeline – perhaps to call a helpline or the emergency services – when no other options are available,” said Ofcom’s Director of Connectivity, Selina Chadha. “Our new rules will ensure that many thousands of phone boxes will be protected for as long as they are needed, as well as supporting the rollout of new street hubs, with free Wi-Fi and charging for people on the go.”

As mobile usage continues to increase, landlines and payphones will continue to grow more obsolete, but it seems likely that the iconic red phone box will remain on UK streets for a few years yet.

Earlier this year, United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based operator Etisalat underwent a major rebrand, renaming itself ‘e&’ and restructuring numerous divisions in an attempt to transform itself from a traditional telco to a world-leading tech company. 
One such new division was ‘e& enterprise’, aiming to focus on providing digital technologies and expertise to businesses around the world and assisting them with their digital transformation…

Earlier this year, United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based operator Etisalat underwent a major rebrand, renaming itself ‘e&’ and restructuring numerous divisions in an attempt to transform itself from a traditional telco to a world-leading tech company. 

One such new division was ‘e& enterprise’, aiming to focus on providing digital technologies and expertise to businesses around the world and assisting them with their digital transformation. 

Now, expanding e& enterprise’s technological capabilities, the unit has struck a three-year contract with AI platform specialist DataRobot, seeking to use the latter’s platform to offer support to government and business partners in the UAE, Morocco, and Egypt. 

The strategic alliance between the two companies will see e& enterprise launch an AI-as-a-Service (AlaaS) offering, giving enterprises access to an end-to-end cloud-based platform for building, training, deploying, and managing AI and machine learning solutions. 

The AIaaS model will allow these organisations to benefit from a broad range of AI-related technology and expertise, focussing on specific use cases and generating value, without the expense of developing these capabilities in-house.

As part of the agreement, the two companies will also open a new AI Center of Excellence, with experts therein overseeing the implementation of organisation-wide AI projects. 

“We stand ever ready to seek new strategic partnerships that will add value to government and enterprises so that they can become more data-driven and technology-enabled, efficient and cost-effective in the digital space,” said Salvador Anglada, CEO, e& enterprise. “The ‘AI as a Service’ delivery model enables these companies to implement and run advanced AI solutions at a fraction of the cost of building and maintaining their own system. Our strategic partnership with DataRobot will influence and accelerate regional markets for AI adoption; our managed services will unlock tremendous value for all industry sectors.” 

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

In related news, Etisalat Group has been very busy of late, striking numerous major deals, particularly in Egypt. Earlier this week, the company’s Egyptian mobile unit Etisalat Misr signed six deals with Telecom Egypt for around $912.5 million, the largest of which related to offering their services to customers over Telecom Egypt’s network. 

Separate to these agreements, the company has also signed a recent Memorandum of Understanding with Telecom Egypt for the creation of a new submarine cable linking Egypt directly to Saudi Arabia for the first time. 

Want to keep up to date with the latest developments in the world of telecoms? Subscribe to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter here

Also in the news: 
Malaysian telcos continue to clash with govt over 5G
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Lithuania begins long-awaited 5G spectrum auction

CityFibre celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in their own special way at the end of last week, announcing that they had raised an additional £4.9 billion to fund their FTTP rollout across the nation. 
The move is one of the largest single financings for full fibre deployment in Europe, with CityFibre suggesting that the funds will fully enable their deployment target of 8 million homes by 2025, as well as their increasing their contribution towards the UK government&’…

CityFibre celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in their own special way at the end of last week, announcing that they had raised an additional £4.9 billion to fund their FTTP rollout across the nation. 

The move is one of the largest single financings for full fibre deployment in Europe, with CityFibre suggesting that the funds will fully enable their deployment target of 8 million homes by 2025, as well as their increasing their contribution towards the UK government’s ‘Project Gigabit’ fibre targets.

Once completed, CityFibre say their network will cover roughly 800,000 businesses, 400,000 public sector sites, and 250,000 5G access points in over 285 locations in the UK.

The banking facilities for this new funding were underwritten by NatWest, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, BBVA, Intesa Sanpaolo, ING and SEB, with ABN Amro, Lloyds Bank and asset manager M&G joining as core lenders.

“Over the last decade we’ve built a business that has transformed the UK’s digital connectivity landscape for the better. With our rollout now fully financed, backed by so many esteemed financial institutions, we have emerged as a strong national challenger,” said CItyFibre CEO Greg Mesch. “But CityFibre’s aim is not simply to challenge. It’s to be better. It’s to establish ourselves as the preferred network wherever we build, bringing higher-quality, more affordable infrastructure within reach of millions and unleashing the transformative economic potential of Full Fibre to help level up the UK. We have never been more confident that we will succeed.”

In the past year, CityFibre has already secured £1.13 billion in funding via equity sales to existing investors Antin Infrastructure Partners and Goldman Sachs and new partners in the form of Mubadala Interogo Holding and Interogo Holding.

Since then, they have been putting this money to good use, with their full fibre network now reportedly reaching 1.7 million homes. Numerous ISPs have also signed up to offer their services over the company’s network, with Zen Internet and Giganet recently joining the likes of Vodafone and TalkTalk in recent months.

But while Cityfibre’s FTTP rollout continues at an impressive pace they are still far behind market leader Openreach, which announced that it had passed 7.2 million premises last month. 

The UK incumbent has been rolling out FTTP at an impressive pace in the past year, with favourable regulatory changes from Ofcom last year allowing the company to build fibre ‘like fury’. BT has committed to investing £15 billion into FTTP deployment, aiming to reach 25 million premises by 2025. 

VMO2, meanwhile, recently completed upgrading their entire network to DOCSIS 3.1 technology, thereby making gigabit-capable broadband accessible across its entire network footprint. 

How will this funding change the dynamic between the UK’s largest fibre players? Find out from the experts at this year’s Connected Britain conference. 

Also in the news: 
Court orders IBM to pay $1.6bn to BMC Software over AT&T account
Allianz and CDPQ inch closer to stake in Telefonica’s rural fibre network
Etisalat and Telecom Egypt team up for new submarine cable

The MoU was signed in Riyadh by Eng. Salman Al-Badran, CEO of Mobily, and Adel Hamed, Managing Director, and CEO of Telecom Egypt.
The agreement explores various new ways to connect international capacity to Europe in the west, through Telecom Egypt’s network, and to the GCC in the east, through Mobily’s network, which is made possible by expanding the two companies’ networks and connecting them to neighboring countries…

The MoU was signed in Riyadh by Eng. Salman Al-Badran, CEO of Mobily, and Adel Hamed, Managing Director, and CEO of Telecom Egypt.

The agreement explores various new ways to connect international capacity to Europe in the west, through Telecom Egypt’s network, and to the GCC in the east, through Mobily’s network, which is made possible by expanding the two companies’ networks and connecting them to neighboring countries. 

The establishment of the new cable system aims to meet the rising communication traffic and the large demand for such services between KSA and Egypt.

« By adopting cutting-edge technologies, we continue to expand our infrastructure and scale our capabilities across the KSA and the wider region, » said Eng. Salman Al-Badran, CEO of Mobily. « We are confident that our strategic partnership with Telecom Egypt will help achieve our goals. »

Thamer A. AlFadda, Senior Vice, President Wholesale & Carrier Services, said: « The MoU is part of Mobliy’s efforts to enhance its global infrastructure, aiming to establish the KSA as a leading international hub for communication services and data traffic, which contributes to the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. »

Adel Hamed, The Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, added: « We are pleased to build this strategic collaboration with Mobily, which helps increase the scale and reach of our networks, and adds more connections with the KSA. »

Seif Allah Mounib, Vice President, Chief International & Wholesale Officer at Telecom Egypt: « The MoU lays the foundation of a fruitful and growing collaboration with Mobily, as well as adding to our cutting-edge international infrastructure. »

Mobily follows a leading approach aiming to empower the digital economy and offer advanced digital solutions in-line with Saudi Vision 2030. This further cements Mobliy’s reliability, agility, and competitiveness, it also contributes to the company’s efforts to bolster the growth of the communication sector and digital economy in the Kingdom. Telecom Egypt is the preferred partner for subsea cable owners worldwide, offering advanced infrastructure both locally and globally, with +140 landing stations across +60 countries.

Mobliy also continuously focuses on scaling subsea cables using cutting-edge technologies, which is reflected clearly by investing in subsea cables, in addition to recently joining two new consortiums to increase global capacity and presence, and cement the leading position of the Saudi communication sector globally.

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In recent years, numerous European telcos have been making moves to reduce their debt and generate a positive cash flow in the wake of intense competition, typically through the monetisation of high value infrastructure. 
 
Indeed, in October last year, Telefonica said it was considering the sale of a minority stake in its Spanish fibre network…

In recent years, numerous European telcos have been making moves to reduce their debt and generate a positive cash flow in the wake of intense competition, typically through the monetisation of high value infrastructure. 

At the time, Telefonica’s entire fibre network, which covers roughly 26.1 million people, was valued at around €15 billion.

While this broader sale has yet to come to pass, by February 2021, Telefonica was preparing to set up a separate unit for its rural fibre network, seeking investors to purchase a stake of up to 45% in the business. 

This network, valued at around €2 billion, already connects roughly 2.5 million homes in rural, semi-rural and towns with less than 20,000 inhabitants, with Telefonica seeking to increase this number of homes passed by a further two million.

Both of these investors would seem natural partners for Telefonica, who is already working with Allianz via a fibre wholesale joint venture in Germany, and CDPQ via a similar arrangement in Brazil. In both of these markets, Telefonica aims to reach a market penetration of 97% by 2024.

According to the sources, French venture capital company Vauban and Dutch pension fund PGGM are also reportedly interested in partnering for a bid. 

Spain remains one of the most competitive markets in Europe. With some of the best fibre coverage in Europe and a wealth of mobile players, telcos’ profits have been slim for years, with numerous parties calling on regulators to help promote market consolidation. 

Now, however, this consolidation is finally beginning to take place, with Orange announcing a merger with MasMovil earlier this year.