News

The company says the new funding from the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) will help them to “accelerate” their ongoing full fibre rollout

Today, altnet Hyperoptic has announced a new £150 million investment from the UKIB to continue rolling out fibre-to-the-home across the country.

This additional funding increases the company’s total raised this year to £255 million, and total overall to £1.1 billion. The funding follows a report in February in which Hyperoptic said they were seeking to raise an additional £500 million to further fund their rollout.

At a time when investment in fibre has largely dried up, Hyperoptic says this latest investment represents continued support for the company’s business plan.

“Since 2011, we’ve been on a mission to bring ultra-reliable, hyperfast full fibre broadband to businesses and consumers across urban areas and new developments in the UK. We’re acutely aware of the government’s target to achieve 99% gigabit-capable broadband coverage by 2030 and, as an industry, we still have some way to go to achieve it,” said Dana Tobak CBE, CEO and Co-Founder of Hyperoptic. “We welcome the support of the UK Infrastructure Bank, together with other investors, enabling us to continue delivering award-winning gigabit-capable broadband to more people across the UK every day.”

“Reliable internet connectivity is increasingly important to participate in the modern economy and drive forward the UK’s net zero and regional growth ambitions. Our investment in Hyperoptic will ensure that the scale and pace of the full fibre rollout is sustained, specifically in those areas where it’s needed the most, opening up opportunity for numerous communities across the UK,” added Ian Brown, Head of Banking & Investments at UKIB. “We hope that our commitment will help mobilise further private debt financing for Hyperoptic’s continued network expansion.”

Since its foundation in 2011, Hyperoptic has grown to be one of the largest altnets in the UK, with a full fibre network that passes 1.73 million homes and serves roughly 340,000 customers. The company is aiming to increase these figures to 2 million and 500,000, respectively, by the end of this year.

The new investment represents something of a reinvigoration for Hyperoptic, with the company having last year cutting 110 jobs and extended their build timeline due to the challenging operating environment.

Join Hyperoptic CEO Dana Tobak in discussion at this year’s Connected Britain conference, the UK’s largest digital economy event

Also in the news:
Australian Government and AWS Collaborate to Strengthen country’s Cybersecurity
Solving congestion challenges in FTTP deployment
Vodafone Invests £120m in AI Chatbot ‘SuperTOBi’

News 

The Australian Government has announced a strategic partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to bolster Australia’s cybersecurity capabilities with an investment of at least $2 billion over the next decade

The partnership will involves establishing a Top Secret (TS) AWS cloud in Australia, which the country will move its secret intelligence data to, in collaboration with the Australian Signals Directorate (an Australian government intelligence agency). 

The platform aims to enhance the resilience of ICT services for the government and could create up to 2,000 local jobs. 

The TS Cloud will support secure storage and analysis of Australia’s most sensitive data, leveraging advanced technologies like AI and machine learning. This initiative is expected to strengthen the defence department’s communication networks and facilitate closer collaboration with allied nations such as the UK and the US, who already use AWS cloud computing in their governments.   

The Defence minister Richard Marles said in a press release that the deal would increase “interoperability” with the US and “ensure we have a far more resilient, capable, lethal, modern and potent defence force in the future”. 

“My government is bolstering our defence and national intelligence community to ensure they can deliver world leading protection for our nation,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.  

“We face a range of complex and serious security challenges and I am incredibly proud of the work our national security agencies undertake on a daily basis to keep Australians safe. We must never underestimate their value and importance. That is what this investment today is about,” he continued. 

AWS plans to engage local businesses in designing and building the TS Cloud, offering opportunities for innovation in cybersecurity, data analytics, and cloud computing.   

The company has also committed to other infrastructure investments in Australia, including a planned $13.2 billion by 2027 and a previous $9.1 billion since its launch in 2011, supporting local job creation. 

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
Dutch operators finally get their hands on midband 5G spectrum
Virgin Media O2 completes first stage of Shared Rural Network
Xavier Niel’s $4.1 billion bid for Millicom is too low, company says

News

The chatbot is an upgrade to the pre-existing ‘TOBi’ 

Vodafone has announced the rollout of SuperTOBi, its new virtual assistant powered by Generative AI (GenAI), across Europe. Built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI, SuperTOBi is designed to handle complex customer inquiries more effectively than traditional chatbots.

After successful launches in Italy and Portugal, SuperTOBi will be available to customers in Germany and Turkey this month, with more countries to follow later in the year. This new service builds on Vodafone’s existing chatbot, TOBi, which already supports customers in 13 countries across Europe and Africa and understands 11 languages.

SuperTOBi is a key part of Vodafone’s broader effort to improve customer experience, supported by a €140 million (£120 million) investment this financial year. Unlike conventional chatbots that rely on keyword recognition, Vodafone says SuperTOBi can understand full sentences and phrases, allowing for more natural and personalised conversations. It can also transfer complex questions to human agents when needed.

In the announcement’s press release, Vodafone provided us with some results. The first-time resolution rate has increased from 15% to 60%, and the online net promoter score (NPS) has risen by 14 points to 64. Additional functions, such as billing inquiries, are also being added to SuperTOBi’s capabilities.

Vodafone has also introduced SuperAgent, a bot assistant for customer care employees, and SuperSearch, an improved search tool on its customer-facing websites. SuperAgent, based on Microsoft Azure OpenAI’s Agent Copilot solution, helps human agents find answers to complex queries more quickly. In Ireland, it summarises online customer conversations for agents, reducing the need for customers to repeat themselves. This tool uses information from Vodafone’s internal knowledge database, ensuring reliability and accuracy.

Join the UK telcos in conversation at this year’s Connected Britain event, 11-12 September in London. Get tickets here!

Also in the news:
Dutch operators finally get their hands on midband 5G spectrum
Virgin Media O2 completes first stage of Shared Rural Network
Xavier Niel’s $4.1 billion bid for Millicom is too low, company says

Press Release

Nokia, BT Group and Qualcomm achieve enhanced 5G SA downlink speeds in European first 5G Carrier Aggregation with Five Component Carriers

• BT Group becomes first European operator to achieve 5G 5CC carrier aggregation, boosting 5G standalone (SA) performance ahead of network launch later this year.
• Combines three FDD and two TDD carriers with 150 MHz total bandwidth, delivering greater capacity and downlink speeds in areas of high demand.
• Follows 5G SA downlink 4CC carrier aggregation breakthrough in 2022, and concurrent two carrier uplink aggregation in 2023.

5 July 2024. Espoo, Finland – Nokia and BT Group today announced that they have successfully aggregated 5G Standalone (SA) spectrum using 5CC Carrier Aggregation (5CC CA), making BT Group the first European operator to achieve this milestone. The achievement uses a device powered by a Snapdragon® 5G Modem-RF system from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a pioneer and global leader in 5G technology.

5CC CA will significantly boost the data rates available to customers in areas of high demand by combining all mid-band radio spectrum when the 5G SA device requires a high-speed connection. Set to launch later this year, EE’s 5G SA network will also have the capability to leverage a low frequency sixth carrier to provide a superior experience in more places, including indoors.

In 2023, BT Group and Nokia successfully demonstrated 4CC CA in 5G SA downlink with concurrent 2CC CA in 5G SA uplink. With today’s announcement, the companies reached the next milestone, achieving further performance uplift in connections from the device to the network by increasing throughput and capacity.

The tests were conducted in the field on live network spectrum at Adastral Park, BT Group’s headquarters for R&D, using Nokia’s 5G AirScale portfolio and a device powered by a Snapdragon® 5G Modem-RF system from Qualcomm Technologies. Downlink speeds of 1.85 Gbps were reached, using three FDD carriers NR2600 (30MHz), NR2100 (20MHz), NR1800 (20MHz) aggregated with two TDD carriers NR3600 (40+40MHz).

Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer at BT Group, said: “This latest milestone achieved with Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies enhances 5G SA performance as we work towards the launch of our network, building further on the benefits of carrier aggregation in delivering greater throughput and speeds to customers. This is particularly important as more and more devices come to market with 5CC CA capabilities. We are focused on maximising our spectrum assets to deliver the very best experience to our customers with that in mind.”

Mark Atkinson, SVP and Head of RAN at Nokia, said: “This successful trial with our long-standing partner, BT is another great example of Nokia’s clear leadership in 5G carrier aggregation technology. Multi-component carrier aggregation helps mobile operators to maximize their radio network assets and provide the highest 5G data rates at more locations to subscribers.”

Dino Flore, Vice President, Technology, Qualcomm Europe, Inc. said: “Qualcomm Technologies is committed to pushing the boundaries of 5G connectivity, and our Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF Systems are designed to unlock the full potential of 5G, delivering unparalleled speed, efficiency and capacity for networks and their users. We are proud to work with Nokia and BT Group to play a key role in bringing this enhanced 5G experience to European consumers.”

News 

The partnership comes as a response to the growing complexities of cyber-attacks, skill shortages, stringent regulatory requirements, and the rise of hybrid workforces 

Australian telco Optus has announced a multi-year partnership with Cisco aimed at increasing network protection for enterprise and business customers. 

The announcement notes that because 37% of Australians now regularly work remotely, there has been an increase in the reliance of Software-as-a-Service public and on-demand network services. Although these are convenient, they can increase the risk of security breaches in both devices and their software. 

In an effort to combat this, the new partnership will see Optus launch a portfolio of network security services, powered by Cisco.  

“This includes the significant upgrade of Optus’ Secure Network Operation Centre, complemented by a suite of new products from Cisco,” the companies confirmed.  

There will also be a boost in the investment of Optus’ Integrated Network Operation Centre and Security Operation Centre. 

The platform also includes Cisco-Powered Secure Firewall and Managed Secure Service Edge (SSE) services. Additional features, like vulnerability management, advanced email security, and integration with Cisco Meraki and ThousandEyes, will further enhance security for Optus customers. 

“Our enterprise and business customers rely on Optus to deliver a network that can support high traffic, secure and reliable bandwidth. We are committed to creating solutions that address complex security issues while optimising performance and reliability, particularly in environments that are increasingly hard to defend,” said Danny Price, VP Client Services and Delivery, Enterprise and Business at Optus. 

Optus itself has faced multiple cyber security issues in recent years. In September 2022, Optus suffered a data breach that affected up to 10 million current and former customers, comprising a third of Australia’s population. The breach resulted in the illegal acquisition of sensitive information, including names, dates of birth, addresses, and contact details.  

Australia’s Communications and Media Authority subsequently launched legal action against Optus in May over the breach, saying it “failed to protect the confidentiality of its customers’ personal information from unauthorised interference or unauthorised access.” 

Former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin also resigned from her position in November last year, following a 14-hour network outage that left millions without mobile or internet coverage for over 12 hours. 

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom newsletter  

Also in the news:
Dutch operators finally get their hands on midband 5G spectrum
Virgin Media O2 completes first stage of Shared Rural Network
Xavier Niel’s $4.1 billion bid for Millicom is too low, company says 

News

The new non-cash impairment charge is in addition to the $2.9 billion impairment logged last year

Ericsson acquired application programming interface (API) specialist Vonage back in 2022 for $6.2 billion, saying at the time that it would play a central role its in ongoing growth strategy.

The idea, in short, was that Ericsson would work together with Vonage to develop network APIs, allowing app developers to gain deeper access to telcos’ 4G and 5G networks, including features such as user authentication, bandwidth, responsiveness, energy efficiency, and security. This, the companies said, would allow developers to better leverage the network to create unique and interesting applications.

In particular, the partners said they would work to build a Global Network Platform for APIs, essentially allowing app developers to rollout their apps across any telco network running on Ericsson equipment – a task that would previously have required unique coding for each telco partner.

At the time, Ericsson claimed that the communications API market would swell to $22 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 30%.

In reality, however, things have moved far more slowly than predicted. App developers’ appetite to get deep into telco networks has been slim, while competition from rival platforms, including Amazon, has been fierce.

By last year, the Swedish operator had announced a non-cash impairment of $2.9 billion – almost half of the acquisition’s value – citing ‘the significant drop in the market capitalization of Vonage’s publicly traded peers, increased interest rates and overall slowdown in Vonage’s core markets.’

Today, the company’s fortunes continue to slide, with Ericsson writing off a further $1.1 billion for Q2 this year.

In total, this leaves Vonage worth only around a third of what Ericsson paid for it just two short years ago.

Ericsson attributed this reassessment of Vonage’s value as being related to “deterioration in the market environment and elective decisions we have made to refocus our investments in strategically prioritized areas”, according to Niklas Heuveldop, Head of Business Area Global Communications Platform and CEO of Vonage.

Despite this, Vonage appears committed to further developing its Global Network Platform.

“We continue to advance our strategy to build a Global Network Platform for network APIs, which was the strategic impetus for the Vonage acquisition. We recently announced additional partnerships with leading mobile network operators and we see continued positive momentum across the industry,” said Heuveldop.

“Through this strategy, we are making advanced 5G network capabilities available to the world’s developer community to accelerate the innovation of value-added applications for industry and society. This will open up new revenue streams for our operator customers and spur growth in the telecom industry.”

At this point, there is no doubt that Ericsson paid far too much in its acquisition of Vonage. Just how much it overvalued the company, however, remains to be seen.

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
Dutch operators finally get their hands on midband 5G spectrum
Virgin Media O2 completes first stage of Shared Rural Network
Xavier Niel’s $4.1 billion bid for Millicom is too low, company says

News  

The partnership is set to improve the notoriously difficult indoor connectivity problem

This week, Freshwave has announced the fruits of a partnership with infrastructure vendor CommScope, reportedly achieving a “world-first” by combining 4G connectivity from all four of the UK mobile network operators (MNOs) in a  single small cell solution. 

Freshwave’s Omni Network approach uses CommScope’s ONECELL technology, a small cell solution built to provide strong and reliable LTE and 5G services from multiple MNOs indoors. 

Indoor connectivity remains a major challenge for mobile operators, with 4G and particularly 5G signals delivered from macrosites outside the building being severely attenuated when passing through walls and even windows. Deploying small cells within in-building, in a fashion similar to typical Wi-Fi deployments, can alleviate much of this issue.   

In this case, neutral host operator Freshwave will deploy, maintain, and operate the small cells, charging customers a monthly managed service fee. 

This approach, Freshwave says, requires less equipment, cabling, and installation than previous alternatives, and can reduce costs by up to 65% compared to a normal distributed antenna system (DAS). It also reportedly consumes 60% less energy than traditional DAS. 

Crucially, Omni Network will allow all four UK MNOs – EE (BT), Vodafone, Three UK, and Virgin Media O2 – to provide services from the same small cell, reducing the need for overlapping deployments among the operators. This, says EE’s Director of Mobile Radio Access Networks James Hope, says “provides a clear benefit for sharing costs” in a competitive mobile market. 

 Though currently providing 4G connectivity, the announcement’s press release states that 5G connectivity will be brought to the solution in the next few months. 

“Omni Network extends in-building mobile connectivity to a wider range of organisations than ever before thanks to our team’s technical innovation,” said Freshwave CEO Simon Frumkin. 

“As the only company in the UK able to offer omni network, we’re looking forward to the benefits it will bring to our customers across the public and private sector. We’re grateful to all the UK mobile operators for their collaboration which made omni network possible,” he continued. 

Join the conversation around the neutral host connectivity solution at this year’s Connected Britain, 11-12 September in London. Get tickets here!  

Also in the news:
Dutch operators finally get their hands on midband 5G spectrum
Virgin Media O2 completes first stage of Shared Rural Network
Xavier Niel’s $4.1 billion bid for Millicom is too low, company says

News 

Nokia and Telefonica have announced an agreement to drive the development of the 5G private network market in Spain 

The agreement will last three years and will allow Telefonica to offer customers up to 100 solutions, including the company’s Digital Automation Cloud (DAC), Modular Private Wireless (MPW), MX Industrial Edge (MXIE) solutions, and Industrial devices. These, the company’s say, can be deployed in a wide variety of industries, including ports, manufacturing, and logistics, to improve productivity and safety in the workplace. 

Nokia has so far deployed mission-critical networks to over 2,600 enterprise customers in various industries, as well as 730 private wireless customers. 

“This collaboration with Nokia aligns with our vision of empowering the industry with cutting-edge technology in a new era where Artificial Intelligence and the use of data lead the way forward,” said Adrián García Nevado, Business Director at Telefónica Spain in a press release. 

“This strategy is preceded by more than 90 use cases with real customers for exploring the capabilities of 5G,” he continued. 

“This collaboration with Nokia aligns with our vision of empowering the industry with cutting-edge technology in a new era where Artificial Intelligence and the use of data lead the way forward. This strategy is preceded by more than 90 use cases with real customers for exploring the capabilities of 5G,” echoed Rolf Albrecht, Head of Enterprise Campus Edge Business Europe at Nokia. 

The use of private 5G networks is growing, as telcos seek to better monetise their investment in 5G. It is hoped that private 5G network use cases will help deliver a faster ROI. 

Currently, private 5G networks are mainly used in logistical areas, such as shipping, airports etc. “Over the next 10-15 years, 5G will trickle down to private businesses and become the wireless standard for any environment that demands flexibility and reliability,” says Nokia. These wireless networks are not vulnerable to issues such as cut cables. 

The companies have also recently partnered to explore new 5G Standalone (SA) opportunities to support developers in creating new use cases for consumer, enterprise, and industrial customers. 

Here, Telefonica will be able to access Nokia’s Network Exposure Function (NEF) solution to offer developers access to its 5G network capabilities. This access will enable functions such as precise device location services, enhanced connectivity-based notifications or edge discovery. 

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
Dutch operators finally get their hands on midband 5G spectrum
Virgin Media O2 completes first stage of Shared Rural Network
Xavier Niel’s $4.1 billion bid for Millicom is too low, company says

Press Release

• Virgin Media O2 has completed the first phase of its Shared Rural Network (SRN) rollout, bringing reliable 4G coverage to 227 rural communities across the UK
• The final partial not-spot site built by Virgin Media O2 is at Glencoe Mountain Resort, which became the highest mobile mast in the UK, standing 1,108 metres above sea level
• The operator will now turn to the second phase of the programme, bringing 4G connectivity to areas with no existing mobile service

Virgin Media O2 has completed its share of the first phase of the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme and built more shared sites than any other operator to improve mobile coverage in 227 partial not-spot areas across the UK.

Glencoe Mountain Resort became the 227^th site to benefit from improved 4G coverage as the operator delivers its company-specific build target in time for the June 30^th deadline. The mountainous site is over a kilometre above sea level, making it the highest mobile mast standing in the United Kingdom today.

While these 227 sites are controlled by Virgin Media O2, customers of Three and Vodafone are also benefitting from the operator’s extensive rollout of shared sites. Considering upgrades delivered by all operators, Virgin Media O2’s customers can now benefit from reliable 4G services in more than 300 former coverage black spots.

Glencoe became the latest site to benefit from improved mobile connectivity after Virgin Media O2 used helicopters to deliver a new 4G mast to the top of the mountain, standing 1,108 metres above sea level. The new mast will deliver reliable mobile coverage to Glencoe Mountain Resort, Scotland’s oldest ski centre, greatly improving safety and convenience for its many visitors.

The operator faced significant challenges building the remote site, with extreme weather conditions making delivery exceptionally difficult. On top of this, Glencoe is a National Nature Reserve and home to endangered species, including golden eagles and ptarmigans. Virgin Media O2 worked closely with build partner, WHP Telecoms, to overcome these challenges and deliver the site in just five weeks.

The SRN is a £1billion joint initiative between mobile network operators and the UK Government to extend 4G connectivity to 95% of the UK’s landmass by the end of 2025. The first phase of the programme required each operator to build a set number of new and upgraded sites by the end of June to tackle Partial Not Spots. The upgrades provide customers with faster and more reliable mobile data and higher quality voice calls, transforming coverage in areas that previously suffered from patchy or slow services.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “We are absolutely committed to bringing reliable mobile connectivity to more rural communities and have now completed the first phase of our SRN rollout. Our 227^th site at Glencoe is now the highest mast in the UK and one of the most impressive to date, standing over a kilometre above sea level and providing connectivity to the nearby ski resort. This work is vital in tackling the urban-rural digital divide that exists in the UK.”

Insight 

On day two of this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai, we heard from Li Peng, Corporate Senior Vice President and President of ICT Sales & Service at Huawei, as he shared his insights on how AI can be used to help monetise the 5G experience

Providing differentiated and personalised offerings is essential to be able to monetise 5G properly, but this is the same with monetising any industry. Li highlights how we can draw useful insights from the aviation industry… 

Back in 1970, after the introduction of the Boeing 747, the aircrafts were now able to seat 350 passengers instead of the previous 150. However, this only led to a 22% increase in airline revenues, despite passenger capacity more than doubling. Li highlights how we can draw useful insights from the aviation industry, introducing business-class and first-class service for better growth. 

These notions can be applied to the 5G industry – “high-quality supply is a key driver and creator of new demand,” says Li. 

Since the 2G era, the mobile industry has made huge developments though innovation and continuous technological evolution in the 3G, 4G and 5G eras. 5G advanced can help meet consumer demand for improvement, but, says Li, “to realise the healthy and rapid growth of the mobile communications industry, we urgently need innovative supply to stimulate new and untapped demand of users.” 

“Therefore, business model innovation is particularly urgent,” he confirmed. 

Driving the innovation of 5G advanced technology and the network-cloud-AI synergy is essential here. Li presented the audience with some potential scenarios for this:

1. Creating different packages for different consumer preferences

Users have many different types of requirements for their individual network experience. For example, business travellers who prioritise download speed, live streamers focusing on upload speeds, and gamers who focus on latency. As 5G advanced improves bandwidth capability tenfold, these different customer experiences can be supported by the network. More personalised services to the individual will allow higher prices to be charged, and mean the customer is more likely to be retained. 

2. Monetisation through B2B scenarios

The faster upload and download speeds and low latency of 5G advanced mean that it can upgrade the 30,000 private networks that already exist. Using this example in the train industry, this results in additions such as AI vehicle detection applications being added. Therefore, more intelligent operation and maintenance of the entire train line can take place, improving overall efficiency by 30%.  These value-added scenarios for businesses can be packaged up and monetised. 

The session concludes by emphasising how carriers are able to provide differentiated experience services for users to be able to be fully monetise 5G advanced, and lead the industry in the development of mobile AI. The movement is taking off – over 60 carriers and partners have announced 5G advanced commercial plans, and over 30 have competed technical verification. 

“Huawei is willing to work with global carriers and partners to embrace 5G-A, accelerate capability convergence and model innovation, and stride to a new era of experience monetization,” concluded Li.