Battery energy storage system (BESS) solutions are again in the news following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between a leading name on the field and Indus Towers, one of India’s leading telecom infrastructure companies.

Replus Engitech, an integrated energy storage and clean energy company (and a subsidiary of advanced battery materials business HEG Advanced Materials), and Indus Towers have signed an MoU outlining their intent to explore collaboration on BESS solutions for telecom infrastructure in India.

Under the MoU, Replus intends to make available dedicated BESS production capacity of 1.5 GWh over a two-year period to support the evolving energy requirements of telecom infrastructure.

Replus also plans to expand its portfolio of telecom energy storage solutions, including higher-capacity battery systems, while exploring emerging technologies such as sodium-ion batteries that can enhance reliability, energy efficiency and lifecycle performance across telecom applications.

There is also a local manufacturing angle to this deal. Riju Jhunjhunwala, Chairman, Managing Director and CEO, HEG Advanced Materials Limited, explains: “This initiative reflects the opportunity we see in building a strong, made-in-India energy storage ecosystem for critical infrastructure. Through Replus, we are building the manufacturing scale, technology capabilities and innovation platform required to address these evolving requirements and contribute meaningfully to India’s energy transition.”

Replus says it has deployed over 1 GWh of energy storage capacity across BESS, electric mobility, telecom power solutions, and hybrid energy applications, serving customers across diverse sectors in India.

A range of network rollout, upgrade, and trial activity from around the industry and the world to catch up with: … [visit site to read more]

Angola Cables is upgrading capacity across its MONET and South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) submarine networks with technology from Ciena, including support for 800Gbps services on the route linking the US, Brazil and Angola.

MONET connects the US and Brazil over 10,556km, while SACS links Brazil and Angola over 6,165km. Together, the systems provide a direct route between the US and Angola with a round-trip delay of around 130 milliseconds.

The upgrade is intended to meet growing demand for bandwidth from hyperscalers, cloud providers and AI applications, while giving Angola Cables greater flexibility to allocate capacity across its subsea network.

Angola Cables will deploy Ciena’s Waveserver platform with WaveLogic 6 Extreme coherent optics, alongside its 6500 Reconfigurable Line System and Navigator Network Control Suite. The technology will enable 800Gbps client interfaces on MONET and provide connectivity options ranging from 100Gbps services through to capacity across a full fibre pair.

The operator said the upgrade will allow it to offer more diverse and resilient routes to wholesale, content, enterprise and cloud customers, while making better use of its existing fibre assets.

The move also strengthens the role of Angola Cables’ subsea infrastructure as a connectivity link between Africa and the Americas. The company operates SACS as well as the MONET system, giving it a route into the US from Angola through Brazil without relying on connectivity through Europe.

The upgrade comes as cloud and AI workloads increase demand for high-capacity international connectivity. For Angola Cables, higher-capacity optical technology allows it to increase the amount of traffic carried over existing subsea infrastructure rather than relying solely on new cable deployments.

The company has previously deployed Ciena technology across its submarine network and said the latest upgrade will increase the scalability and flexibility of services offered across the systems.

Press Release

Helios Towers and UNICEF have announced a multi-year partnership to expand internet connectivity and digital learning access for children and young people across Africa, supporting two flagship UNICEF initiatives – Giga and Learning Passport.

The partnership will combine Helios Towers’ telecommunications infrastructure expertise with UNICEF’s global leadership in digital inclusion to help connect schools and expand access to quality education in underserved communities.

Through the collaboration, Helios Towers will support efforts to advance school connectivity mapping and infrastructure development through Giga – the joint UNICEF and International Telecommunication Union initiative that aims to support governments in connecting every school to the internet by 2030.

The company will also support expanded access to Learning Passport, a UNICEF programme that delivers high-quality, flexible and portable digital learning that enables children and young people to continue learning anywhere, at any time, both online and offline.

The partnership will initially focus on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Tanzania, with additional support planned for another country in West Africa, where Helios Towers’ established in-market presence and engineering capability will help extend connectivity to communities where access remains limited.

Africa is home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population, with an estimated eight out of ten people expected to be born on the continent this century. Expanding reliable internet connectivity for schools is critical to ensuring children and young people can access education, develop digital skills and participate fully in future economies.

Helios Towers’ investment strategy focuses on underserved and high-growth markets, supporting connectivity infrastructure where need and potential impact are greatest. By contributing technical expertise, local operational knowledge and long-term market presence, the company will help strengthen scalable models for digital transformation across Africa.

“Connectivity is a core enabler of education, social inclusion and long-term economic growth. As a mobile tower company operating across Africa and the Middle East, we see first-hand how access to reliable connectivity can transform communities. Our partnership with UNICEF reflects our commitment to expanding digital inclusion and helping connect the next generation to learning, skills and opportunity,” said Tom Greenwood, Chief Executive Officer of Helios Towers. 

“Digital connectivity is increasingly essential for learning, opportunity and helping children reach their full potential,” said Philip Goodwin, Chief Executive Officer of UNICEF UK. “Through partnerships like this, UNICEF is working with governments, communities and the private sector to remove barriers to education and build systems that enable children to learn, grow and thrive. We are grateful to Helios Towers for its commitment to expanding connectivity where the need is greatest, helping bring quality learning opportunities to children and young people in underserved communities and supporting our shared ambition to make childhood unstoppable.”

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Also in the news
Shared Rural Network rollout extends to UK national parks with over 150 4G masts live
Vodafone touts latest attempt to bridge the UK’s digital divide
Virgin Media O2 cuts 5,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions

Some subsea expansion, an IX project, a new AI security launch, and some new $ going into AI digital infrastructure. … [visit site to read more]

Press Release

Investments in MIST, I2SEA and ECHO in line with its Vision 2030 strategy to provide multiple paths for resilient connectivity

Suriname market leader Telesur has completed an overhaul of its BSS/OSS systems, upgrading to the latest version of Cerillion’s suite.

The transition gives Telesur access to a broad range of new capabilities powered by Cerillion’s Promotions Engine, enabling it to design, configure and launch new offers much more quickly. The 26.1 release also provides AI-powered agents to support greater automation and operational efficiency, along with an expanded range of TM Forum Open APIs which simplify integration.

Updates to CRM Plus provide Telesur’s teams with a real-time view of customer data, aggregating data from across systems to provide more informed interactions and simplify user training. The next phase of the programme will see Telesur roll out Cerillion’s new composable Self Service, enabling more flexible digital journeys and supporting eKYC for customer onboarding.

Doric Ramlakhan, CEO at Telesur, said: “We now have some exciting new capabilities at our fingertips, from launching promotions much more quickly to harnessing AI and making better use of customer data. We have made this significant step forward with minimal disruption to the business.”

News

The regulator fears the offer would squeeze the already struggling altnets out of the market, making Openreach an even more dominant player

Today, Ofcom has a released a statement banning Openreach from implementing a proposed wholesale deal that would cut prices for retail ISPs.

The deal would have given broadband ISPs and new customers a £35 connection rebate and a £9.50 monthly rental rebate (for 18, 24 or 30 months depending on performance).

In a statement, Ofcom said the offer was “not fair and reasonable”, suggesting it was primarily aimed at drawing away customers from alternative network operators that could not hope to match those rates.

“We consider that, because of its SMP (Significant Market Power), Openreach is uniquely able to make such a targeted low-price offer. The discounts are targeted at customers which are important to altnets’ ability to maintain and grow their customer base, while leaving prices for other customers unchanged,” explained Ofcom in a statement. “Matching these significant targeted discounts may not allow competing networks to recover their costs, particularly given the low prices they are already offering across their customers, as they seek to grow take-up and overcome Openreach’s incumbency advantages. As such, there is a risk that the level of the offer prices could harm the development of network competition, to the detriment of consumers in the long term. We are therefore directing Openreach to withdraw this offer.”

Openreach announced its intention to introduce a range of broadband price cuts aimed at new customers joining their network in June last year. The following month, Ofcom delivered its initial ruling on the proposed offers, giving most of Openreach’s deals the green light but proposing a ban on the rebate offer detailed above.

While it might seem counterintuitive for the regulator to take action to prevent prices being lowered for retailers – and therefore potentially passing on savings for consumers – Ofcom’s concern is around ensuring long term competition for the sector. The highly fragmented altnet ecosystem is already beginning to implode and consolidate, with Ofcom wary that Openreach’s ‘unfair’ offer will drive these smaller players from the market.

“Consumers rely on real market choice. Independent providers operating outside the Openreach footprint frequently lead the way on speed, pricing, and customer service compared to well-known providers,” noted Alex Tofts, strategist at Broadband Genie. “The key challenge now, is ensuring this intervention doesn’t inadvertently drive up bills during a cost-of-living squeeze. History shows that Ofcom’s interventions can easily backfire on the very customers they’re meant to protect.”

The decision is also good news for Openreach’s larger rivals, such as Virgin Media O2, CityFibre, and Nexfibre, all of whom expressed their approval.

“Ofcom’s decision today is a positive step towards protecting competition in the UK fibre market, although we would have liked to see the regulator go further,” said Nexfibre in a statement. “Openreach’s tactic of drip-feeding price changes via special offers needs to stop at a time when competition remains nascent. Ensuring alternative networks have the incentives to invest, grow and achieve scale will be critical to creating credible, sustainable competition.”

Nexfibre also took the opportunity to plug their proposed acquisition of Netomnia, currently under review by the CMA, saying it would help “drive competition, investment and greater choice for consumers.”

Keep up to date with all the latest telecoms news from around the world with the Total Telecom newsletter

Also in the news
Shared Rural Network rollout extends to UK national parks with over 150 4G masts live
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Humanitarian charity Save the Children and Vodafone Foundation, the philanthropic arm of multinational telecommunications company Vodafone, have formed a new global humanitarian partnership.

Announced recently at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), it brings together the partners’ humanitarian expertise, technology and global reach to better support children and communities before, during and after emergencies.

The partnership will strengthen emergency preparedness and humanitarian response and expand access to Vodafone Foundation’s technology and connectivity solutions in some of the world’s most challenging environments.

A key element of the partnership is Vodafone Foundation’s donation of six Instant Network kits — portable communications systems that can rapidly restore connectivity when conventional networks are disrupted by disasters or conflict.

Pre-positioned at humanitarian hubs around the world and deployed by Save the Children during emergencies, the kits will help response teams coordinate operations, assess needs and deliver life-saving assistance more quickly. Vodafone Foundation will provide the technology, training and technical support for the kits, while Save the Children will oversee secure routine testing and deployment.

Instant Network has already been used by Save the Children during emergency responses, including in Mozambique, where the technology helped improve operational coordination.

Vodafone Foundation will also support Save the Children’s Emergency Fund, enabling rapid response when crises occur and investment in action before disaster strikes, and will join Save the Children’s Humanitarian Network, a community of partners committed to faster, more effective humanitarian action for children.

In addition, the partnership will explore how Vodafone Foundation’s TerraGuard software (a disaster risk monitoring platform) and Vodacom’s M-Pesa cash-transfer payments could strengthen humanitarian response. Integrating these technologies into Save the Children’s systems, Vodafone says, could help teams anticipate risks and enable assistance to reach families faster and more efficiently.

As the two groups point out, their collaboration was announced as recent climate-linked emergencies around the world – including flash floods in Nepal, heatwaves and forest fires globally – as well as ongoing conflict and displacement, continue to put millions of children at risk.

The partnership builds on a longstanding relationship between Save the Children and Vodafone Foundation, including collaboration on Skills Upload Junior, part of Vodafone Foundation’s wider work supporting young people’s digital wellbeing, skills and resilience. The new global partnership extends this relationship into humanitarian preparedness and response.