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The partnership will expand connectivity options for businesses in the North-West and West Midlands 

Freedom Fibre has teamed up with Zen Internet to deliver full-fibre ethernet to thousands of businesses across the North-West and West Midlands. Using Freedom Fibre’s XGS-PON network, Zen will be able to provide businesses with high-speed ethernet and broadband options. 

The partnership supports Freedom Fibre’s recent launch of business products as it aims to expand its customer base across a network now reaching over 315,000 locations. The collaboration also aligns with efforts to close the digital divide by increasing access to reliable, high-speed connectivity. 

Businesses can choose between options like FibrePlus, a flexible service designed to grow with business needs, and FibreDirect, a premium offering ideal for larger companies, with speeds up to 10Gb/s and a five-hour repair time. 

“We are the UK’s oldest ISP that still exists in its original form and also the best, according to the IT professional readership of PC Pro, who have voted Zen the UK’s best broadband provider every year since 2004 – 20 years and counting. I’m looking forward to launching our services shortly through Freedom Fibre’s first-class fibre network,” said Zen internet CEO Richard Tang in a press release. 

The partnership also reflects a commitment to sustainability and customer care. Zen, which holds a B-Corp certification and is a Which? Recommended Provider, shares Freedom Fibre’s focus on quality service and environmental responsibility, making the alliance a strong move for both companies and their customers, the companies said.

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The partnership aims to meet the rising demand for 5G while supporting sustainable, digital growth across Spain 

Ericsson has partnered with newly merged MasOrange, Spain’s largest telco, in a five-year project to upgrade its network with Open RAN technology. 

Announced this week, the collaboration aims to make MasOrange’s network one of Europe’s most modern and powerful 5G networks, the companies said. 

Under the deal, Ericsson will help integrate the networks of Orange Spain and Masmovil, creating a stronger, more efficient system. The network will use sustainable technology and energy-saving equipment from Ericsson to reduce costs and improve performance.  

Part of the plan includes rolling out 5G Standalone (5G SA) in rural areas of Spain, which will expanding high-speed internet access to more communities. 

The upgraded network will feature Ericsson’s advanced antennas and computing systems, which will boost data speeds and allow MasOrange to offer new, improved services. This includes the use of Massive MIMO technology, which uses multiple antennas to send and receive data faster and improve user experience. 

“This collaboration with Ericsson represents a decisive moment not only for MasOrange, but also for European telecommunications industry as a whole and for the Spanish market, as we lead the development of Open RAN and we lay the foundation for an open and programmable mobile infrastructure that will drive technological advances and sustainable growth,” said MasOrange’s CEO Meinrad Spenger in a press release. 

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Lit Fibre customers will be unaffected by the change of ownership  

CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full-fibre network provider, has sold its ISP subsidiary Lit Fibre consumer internet service back to its co-founders, Tom Williams and Ben Bresler.  

CityFibre, which initially acquired Lit Fibre in May 2024, aims to complete integration of Lit Fibre’s 10Gbps network by year-end, bringing up to 300,000 more premises onto its network. 

As a wholesaler, however, CityFIbre is seemingly uninterested in retaining the company’s ISP unit, hence the sale for an undisclosed sum. 

“Our strategy has always been to be the wholesale provider of choice, building a nationwide, full fibre network that enables all of our partners to access market-leading products, pricing and service and gives consumers a greater choice of full fibre ISPs. We are really pleased to see Lit Fibre continue with its co-founders, who are passionate about the business, and we look forward to continuing to partner with Lit Fibre across our network,” said Greg Mesch, City Fibre CEO in a press release. 

“As the nation’s third digital infrastructure platform, we continue to evaluate potential acquisition opportunities alongside accelerating CityFibre’s build to reach at least 8 million premises across the UK,” he continued. 

Catch CityFibre at next year’s Connected North, 23-24 April in Manchester. Get tickets here! 

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The 19,000km cable system is set to connect Malaysia to the US

This week, Philippines operator Globe Telecom has announced that it has been selected to build and manage the local section of the MYUS cable system, including building a landing station at Davao City.

The $720 million MYUS cable system is set to span roughly 19,000km, heading from Sedili, Malaysia, to Florence, Oregon, USA, via the Philippines and Guam. Branching units will also link the cable to Indonesia at Batam, Jakarta, and Balikpapan.

The cable will have 16 fibre pairs, capable of delivering a minimum capacity of 15 Tbps.

According to Hexa, the company in charge of the cable project, Globe had been selected in part due to their experience with the Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network.

“Our cable landing facilities offer diverse route connectivity to global and regional carriers…Access to customers using our robust state-of-the-art network should give confidence to operators looking to interconnect with domestic and international constituents. Davao is a critical hub for subsea fiber optic cables, which are the backbone of today’s Internet,” said KD Dizon, head of Globe Business told the Manila Standard.

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Press Release

Juniper Networks, a leader in secure, AI-Native Networking, today announced that Thai Airways has modernized the network infrastructure of its headquarters in Thailand, by deploying Juniper’s AI-Native Networking Platform to deliver the right data, the right real-time response and the right infrastructure for reliable, measurable and secure wired and wireless services. With the upgrades, Thai Airways can now achieve better simplicity, productivity and consistent performance at scale to deliver exceptional end-to-end operator and end-user experiences.

With a vision to implement better processes for improved operations and workflow while also enhancing the customer experience when researching, booking and managing flights online, the airline embarked on a digital transformation. It selected Juniper to overhaul and upgrade its network solutions – becoming the first organization in Thailand to deploy Wi-Fi 6E through the use of Juniper AP45 access points, alongside Juniper EX Series Ethernet switches for its core, distribution and access networks. 

“Slow, unreliable Wi-Fi was previously hampering productivity and efficiency at our Bangkok head offices, but the upgrades have turned networking complaints into compliments. With the Juniper solution, we are now also able to unify management of our wired and wireless networks through an industry-leading, cloud-native solution purpose-built to leverage AIOps. Enabled by Juniper, we are excited to continually uplift the user experiences of our operators and customers alike, as Thai Airways continues to grow and soar into the skies internationally going forward,” said Tana Kantipan, Team Lead, Network and Cybersecurity, Thai Airways.

The deployment is driven by Mist AI™, which leverages purpose-built AIOps trained on nine years of insights and data science development, to deliver rich insights into user experiences and proactive fault resolutions that can reduce network-related trouble tickets by up to 90%. In unifying the end-to-end management of Thai Airways’ wired and wireless networks, Juniper Mist Wired and Wireless Assurance cloud services were implemented to enable efficient operations of its business-critical systems, requiring minimal human intervention while ensuring every connection is reliable, measurable and secure for every device, user, application and asset. 

In addition, the Marvis Virtual Network Assistant allows the airline’s IT team to detect and resolve networking issues through a seamless conversational interface, determining the root cause of issues, providing proactive insights and suggesting prescriptive actions. This has resulted in a significant decrease in issues and user complaints since the upgrades, ultimately reducing the overall time required for network operations by Thai Airways, enabling it to focus efforts on delivering stronger value, services and outcomes for its customers. 

Thai Airways’ Network: Strategic for Business Growth

As Thailand’s national carrier and a strategically located flight hub and gateway to Asia, Thai Airways is regularly ranked amongst the world’s top airlines, renowned for its hospitality and services across an extensive global network. To maintain its reputation while meeting surging demand for post-pandemic travel, the airline recognized its corporate network as a key strategic component of its planned business growth.

The new network from Juniper empowers Thai Airways’ IT team to continue delivering exceptional end-to-end operator and user experiences across all its stakeholders – especially as it explores further extending the roll-out of Juniper’s solutions to its hubs at Thailand’s two major international airports, deployments which could potentially surpass the scale of the current deployment at its head office.

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News

The state-owned telco has reportedly deployed over 50,000 4G sites nationwide,

Today, India’s Ministry of Communications has announced that state-run telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has successfully deployed over 50,000 4G sites across the country, around 41,000 of which are currently operational.

This represents half of the 100,000 sites that the company estimates will be required to achieve national coverage of its new network.

The deployments have been completed using equipment solely from Indian vendors, supporting the government’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative. Participating vendors include Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tejas Networks, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), and ITI Ltd.

The announcement marks a significant acceleration of BSNL’s 4G rollout in recent months, with around 25,000 of the total sites deployed in the last quarter alone.

But while BSNL’s 4G rollout now seems to be happening apace, it is worth noting how heavily delayed this process has been. The company had initially targeted nationwide coverage and a commercial launch for 4G by December 2023, but various operational challenges have seen the rollout delayed three times.

In fact, earlier this month BSNL moved the goalposts once again, suggesting that the company is now targeting nationwide 4G by June 2025.

The company’s ambitions with regard to 4G market share have also been revised; the company had initially been targeting a 20% 4G market share by the end of 2024, but the numerous delays mean the company is now aiming for a 25% market share by the end of 2025.

Interestingly, BSNL says that it will be able to upgrade all of its sites to 5G within a month of the June deadline, having already conducted trials of the new technology in New Delhi.

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Backed by £93 million from UKRI funding, the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) is envisaged as a centrepiece of the UK’s quantum strategy 

The UK’s NQCC officially opened last week by Science Minister Lord Vallance. Located at the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire, the 4,000-square-meter facility will house 12 quantum computers used for further research into quantum technology.  

Unlike similar facilities worldwide, the NQCC offers open access to researchers, industry, and students across the UK. With over 70 staff members, the centre aims to close skill gaps through the UK’s first dedicated quantum apprenticeship programme, as well as PhD placements.  

The initiative aligns with the UK’s goal of using quantum technology to drive advancements in sectors like healthcare, energy, and artificial intelligence. 

The NQCC is also set to play a major role in the UK’s ten-year quantum strategy, which will invest £2.5 billion on quantum research, innovation, and skills. Key projects within this strategy include optimising energy grids to reduce power loss, accelerating drug discovery, and improving climate predictions.  

Quantum computing is expected to be orders of magnitude more powerful than traditional supercomputers, allowing for calculations that would normally take years to be completed in minutes’  

The National Quantum Computing Centre marks a vital step forward in the UK’s efforts to advance quantum technologies,” said Science Minister Lord Vallance in a statement. 

“By making its facilities available to users from across industry and academia, and with its focus on making quantum computers practically useable at scale, this Centre will help them solve some of the biggest challenges we face, w 

hether it’s delivering advances in healthcare, enhancing energy efficiency, tackling climate change, or inventing new materials,” he continued. 

Join us at next year’s Connected North, 23-24 April in Manchester. Get your discounted tickets here! 

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The company first launched its 5G SA network in September 

EE has announced that 16 additional locations across the UK will receive an upgrade with the deployment of its 5G standalone (5G SA) network by the end of the year.  

This expansion will bring the total number of towns and cities covered by EE’s 5G SA network to 30, encompassing around 21 million people — or nearly a third of the UK population. 

In each area where 5G SA is launched, it is expected to cover at least 95% of the outdoor area. 

Unlike traditional 5G, which uses 4G networks as a foundation, 5G SA operates on a pure 5G core. This architecture enables devices to connect directly to a 5G network without relying on 4G infrastructure, offering faster speeds and lower latency. 

These improvements make 5G standalone particularly effective for high-data-demand applications, such as video calls, streaming or live gaming.  

The 16 new locations are: 

Ashton-under-Lyne 

Barrow-in-Furness 

Barry 

Birkenhead 

Bury 

Coventry 

Dudley 

Dundee 

Newport 

Nottingham 

St Helens 

Stockport 

Swansea 

Weston Super Mare 

Wigan 

Wolverhampton  

EE initially launched its standalone 5G network in September, reaching 15 cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Hull, Glasgow, and Sheffield.  

The operator currently charges a premium access to the 5G SA network, unlike competitors Vodafone and Virgin Media O2, for whose customers access to 5G SA is free for compatible devices. 

At Connected Britain this year, EE CEO Marc Allera explained the difficulties that 5G has faced since its introduction to the market in 2019.  In his Day One keynote speech, Allera said the expectations of 5G were “not met in the early days”, adding that SA would “start bringing the true promise of 5G to consumers and businesses”.  

Join us at next year’s Connected North event, 23-24 April in Manchester. Get discounted tickets here! 
 

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The “extremely complex” deal has been more than a year in the making, say the companies 

Czech telco group PPF has completed the sale of a 50% plus one share stake in its telecom assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia to Emirati-based telco e&. In doing so, the companies have formed a new joint venture called e& PPF Telecom Group.  

The deal is valued at €2.15 billion, with a potential earn-out of up to €350 million. 

The joint venture combines PPF’s telecom experience in Central and Eastern Europe with e&’s global tech resources to boost telecom services in the region.  

PPF will retain full ownership of its telecom assets in the Czech Republic, including O2 Czech Republic and CETIN Czech, which are outside the partnership’s scope. Additionally, PPF is set to acquire a 30% stake in CETIN Group from Roanoke Investment, making PPF the sole owner of CETIN Czech. 

“Together, we have created a platform to drive value creation in fast-developing telecommunications markets,” said PPF CEO Jiří Šmejc in a press release. 

“Our partnership with e& testifies to the quality of PPF’s industry expertise and local knowledge. In return, PPF’s telco teams will benefit from the global scale and technology know-how of e&, enabling us to meet our ambitions for further growth,” he continued. 

Earlier this year, the European Commission (EC) opened an investigation into the deal, over concerns that it has been “granted foreign subsidies that could distort the EU internal market”.  

Concerns stemmed from discussions that e& may have received financial support from UAE banks and the national government, which would have given PPF an unfair edge in the EU market according to newly introduced competition rules that came into effect in July last year.  

Earlier this month, the EC unanimously approved the deal. 

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The deal is another stepping stone in IOH’s “to become an AI TechCo” 

Mastercard and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) have launched a new prototype that uses Mastercard’s in-car payment system in combination with IOH’s AI-powered fleet management platform, NEXTFleet. The joint effort aims to reshape urban travel in Indonesia by bringing together payment and mobility technology, the companies said. 

The solution allows drivers to make payments for tolls, EV charging, fuel, and drive-throughs from the dashboard, using Mastercard’s biometric and token technology. 

The payment information is stored in the car’s system, letting drivers pay with a fingerprint. At the same time, NEXTFleet helps companies manage multiple vehicles in real-time, tracking and optimising their use through IoT and mobile apps. 

IOH announced its intention to turn from telco to TechCo at its Capital markets day last year. The company wants to move beyond traditional telecom services to focus on AI and digital solutions across various industries. 

“At Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, we are dedicated to leveraging AI and innovative technologies to revolutionize urban mobility in Indonesia. This collaboration with Mastercard highlights our ambition to become AI TechCo, reflecting our larger purpose of empowering Indonesia through smarter, more efficient solutions that enhance the quality of life for every Indonesian,” said Vikram Aileen Goh, Country Manager and President Director, PT Mastercard Indonesia Sinha, President Director and Chief Executive Officer at IOH. 

As urbanisation in Indonesia rises, the need for connected travel solutions is growing. Digital transactions in the country are set to increase by over 25% this year, with more than 157 million vehicles on the road, a press release stated. 

“Through this collaboration with Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, we are showcasing the possibilities that could unfold when innovation, mobility and commerce come together, and what the future holds with more connected, efficient, and sustainable urban mobility ecosystems in Indonesia,” echoed Aileen Goh, Country Manager and President Director at PT Mastercard Indonesia. 

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Also in the news:
Nokia and Lenovo forge partnership to drive AI and automation in data centers
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“We’re on track to close the loop”: Adtran talks data, AI, and network automation at Connected Britain