This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Tom Loberto, Senior Vice President of Technology, Media and Telecom at HGS.

Telecommunications (telecom) companies are often challenged with high customer churn, due to factors such as a highly competitive market landscape and an overwhelming amount of call center inquiries, which can lead to poor customer service and departing customers. As a result, elevated customer churn rates can cause lost revenue and increased customer acquisition costs, as acquiring new customers typically costs more than … [visit site to read more]

Telecom Egypt, the country’s main telecom services operator, has signed a commercial agreement with China Mobile International (CMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of China Mobile, to expand digital services.

While specific plans have not yet been unveiled, it’s clear that there could be a lot of opportunities enabled by this alliance. Not too surprisingly, the partners suggest that this agreement promises to unlock additional value and represents a cost-effective strategy for developing a robust global network infrastructure.

Indeed, CMI’s parent company China Mobile operates the world’s largest network. As well as being a service provider in Egypt, Telecom Egypt is also one of the largest subsea cable operators in the region.

As the two companies point out, their partnership aims to leverage the investments of both companies in subsea cable infrastructure and share resources to address the rapidly growing data needs of businesses and consumers worldwide.

The companies also appear to be examining the potential for a set of innovative, enterprise-grade digital and business services tailored to meet the dynamic needs of enterprises in Egypt and across the region.

Thus it is hoped that this agreement will expand the global reach of both companies. Through combining CMI’s advanced digital solutions with Telecom Egypt’s robust nationwide infrastructure, extensive market expertise, and widespread regional reach, both organisations say they will explore customised DICT (digital, information, communication, and technology) solutions to advance smart services for enterprises.

There is also the opportunity to add new routes across their respective cable systems in order to diversify and enhance the resilience of their networks, ensuring more reliable connectivity.

CMI, founded in December 2010 and headquartered in Hong Kong, provides comprehensive international information services and solutions in 39 countries and regions. It serves enterprises, carriers and mobile users.

Telecom Egypt offers a wide range of services, including fixed and mobile voice, high-speed internet, smart solutions, data centres, and cloud computing.

Operator Movistar Colombia has announced the launch of its shared network with former rival operator Tigo. This comes after a fairly lengthy wait since we reported the companies’ signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to pursue a network sharing arrangement via a jointly owned infrastructure company in mid-2023.

The move was approved by the Colombian business regulator later on that year. In February the board of Colombian telco Une EPM authorised a binding agreement between its mobile subsidiary Tigo and Movistar, which is controlled by Spanish giant Telefónica and has the Colombian state as a key minority shareholder.

The agreement involves the two companies’ 2G, 3G and 4G networks. However, as readers will be aware, the two companies have also jointly bid for 5G spectrum aiming for a shared 5G rollout of this technology. Reports suggest that the two companies have jointly developed just under 100 5G sites.

The launch of the shared network will allow Movistar to significantly increase its 3G and 4G mobile coverage. Tigo has reportedly said that the shared network will boost its nationwide mobile coverage by around 22%.

As the BNamericas website points out, Movistar Colombia has been one of the operators with the lowest mobile coverage nationwide. In the last three years, it was also the operator with the lowest number of sites deployed. Claro is the operator with the largest number of sites deployed nationwide in all technologies with 10,157, followed by Tigo’s 7,575, Movistar with 7,023, and WOM’s 5,045.

As a united force, Movistar and Tigo serve nearly 35 million customers. The country’s population is estimated at just under 53 million.

Further complicating matters, we reported in July that Tigo owner Millicom International Cellular had entered into a non-binding MoU to acquire a 67.50% stake in Movistar from owner Telefonica Hispanoamerica, for approximately US$400 million.

Technology giant Ericsson and Bahrain-headquartered technology group Beyon have renewed their collaboration to expand their joint sustainability initiatives and circular economy practices for building energy-efficient networks in Bahrain.

The two companies have also announced the successful outcomes of their initial sustainability collaboration, signed in early 2024, for accelerating the journey to a net zero future for both companies and managing waste from electronic and electrical equipment (aka WEEE or e-waste).

The memorandum of understanding (MoU), which we reported at the time, and which was signed by Bahrain operator Batelco, part of the Beyon Group, aimed to reduce Beyon’s environmental footprint by addressing energy consumption and carbon emissions on live networks operated by Batelco, using Ericsson’s sustainable solutions.

Implementation of this MoU, say the partner companies, has so far resulted in a 30% energy reduction on Batelco’s network by the deployment of the Ericsson 5G radio access network product, Radio 6646, a triple-band, tri-sector radio that, Ericsson says, can do the job of nine radios.

Additionally, energy-saving software features such as cell sleep mode and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered MIMO sleep mode, were implemented on pilot sites, leading to a 22% average reduction in energy consumption where the features were activated.

A further 18% energy reduction was realised through the deployment of the single-antenna footprint interleaved antenna integrated radio (AIR) 3218 compared to AIR 3227 to provide 5G massive MIMO while addressing space constraints on rooftops and towers.

Circular economy practices have also been addressed; in particular an e-waste recycling initiative has been launched under the Ericsson Product Take-Back Programme. These efforts enable Beyon to recycle end-of-life electronic and electrical equipment in a responsible and sustainable way, supporting the group’s e-waste management efforts.

Furthermore, the collaboration also focused on knowledge sharing, with monthly sessions involving global experts discussing climate action, circularity, and the collective efforts required to achieve net zero goals.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and a consortium of six international financial institutions have committed over US$900 million in financing to global data centre operator Yondr Group’s hyperscale data centre campus in Johor Bahru, a city on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.

IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets and a member of the World Bank Group. Yondr Group is a global developer, owner and operator of hyperscale data centres.

DBS, Deutsche Bank, Global Infrastructure Partners (a part of Blackrock), HSBC, ING and Natixis CIB joined IFC in the latest round of financing for the 98-megawatt project in Johor Bahru, which is the first phase of a 72.5-acre data centre campus that is set to deliver 300 megawatts of critical IT capacity when fully complete.

The project, says the IFC, is set to become one of the largest and most technologically advanced data centres in Asia Pacific, supporting rapidly growing demand for data processing capacity in the region.

IFC announced a financing package of up to US$150 million for Yondr’s Malaysia project in May 2024, comprising an initial US$50 million bridge loan that, it says, played a crucial role in advancing the project and attracting the six international financial institutions into this most recent financing round. IFC has now committed its second tranche of financing of US$100 million alongside financing from the other lenders.

The campus will be certified by the Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies green building programme, IFC’s green building certification system focused on making buildings more resource efficient.

In this regard, it may be no coincidence that, as we reported at the time, January saw the launch of what Yondr Group called “an ambitious sustainability plan”, which includes a target to achieve net zero by 2030 for scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions.

This project is IFC’s third investment in Malaysia since 2023, when it said it was establishing a presence in Malaysia to support the country’s efforts to foster greater sustainable, resilient, and inclusive economic growth.

Telin, a provider of premium international carrier voice, data services, and business solutions, and subsidiary of Telkom Indonesia, and Citra Connect, an Indonesian provider of connectivity services and digital solutions, have officially held a ceremony for a new cable landing station (CLS) at Nongsa Digital Park, Batam, the largest city in the Indonesian province of Riau Islands.

This CLS, says Telin, serves as an integral part of the strategic infrastructure project connecting Indonesia with the rest of world, marking a significant milestone in strengthening Indonesia’s international connectivity, notably via the Indonesia Cable Express (ICE) submarine cable, which consists of seven cable systems.

The ICE system is an initiative that establishes vital links, including unlocking Batam and Indonesia not only to major cities in Indonesia and neighbouring countries like Singapore and Malaysia, but also to the Middle East, East Asia, Australia and the US.

Telin says the construction of the Batam CLS solidifies Batam’s role as Indonesia’s primary gateway for international connectivity, fostering digital and economic development in western Indonesia and supporting regional integration. It will also help to support data centre development in Indonesia and South East Asia.

Budi Satria Dharma Purba, CEO of Telin explained after the ceremony that the CLS will offer landing points for four cable systems – predominantly ICE Cable Systems – and added: “Looking into the future, we are equipping ourselves with the infrastructure and vision necessary to anticipate new technological advancements and connectivity needs across Indonesia and beyond. »

The ceremony marked the installation of the first foundation pillar of the CLS and was attended by a number of senior figures from the companies involved.

Four items of regional interest to catch up with on the eve of Christmas. … [visit site to read more]

Viewpoint

[Beijing, China, December 16, 2024] Huawei announced today that Forrester, an international authoritative organization, recently released The Zero Trust Edge Solutions Landscape, Q4 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”), which provides an overview of zero trust edge solutions (secure access service edge or SASE technologies like SD-WAN, ZTNA, SWG) of 25 vendors. This report provides an authoritative definition and overview of the zero trust edge market. Huawei has been named among notable vendors for two consecutive years.

The report analyzes the business value of SASE and covers the market maturity, technologies, and application scenarios of SASE solutions provided by different vendors. The report allows readers to identify potential partners who are the right fit for their organizations to implement a zero trust edge security model.

Huawei Xinghe Intelligent SASE Solution Building an Intelligent Security Protection System for Enterprises

In an increasingly complex network security environment, zero trust architecture has become the key for enterprises to ensure business continuity and cope with uncertainty. Huawei is one of the world’s first mainstream vendors to develop SASE solutions and has won multiple international security awards.

As more services are moved to clouds and more people are opting for hybrid working, enterprise branch networks face tremendous security challenges, and network security incidents occur one after another around the world. To address these challenges, Huawei’s Xinghe Intelligent SASE Solution provides a network security system featuring intelligent detection, collaboration, and integration by leveraging the cloud-network-edge-endpoint integrated architecture.

Intelligent detection: Huawei has made a breakthrough in the lightweight file emulator technology, which can unpack files in milliseconds. The lightweight Site AI model on the local gateway and 18 small AI models on the cloud are used to detect unknown threats, improving the detection rate to 95%.

Intelligent collaboration: Huawei’s HiSec Endpoint uses the innovative threat source tracing graph engine to accurately identify ransomware, achieving a 100% ransomware detection rate. With endpoint-network-storage collaboration, once ransomware is detected on one node, the information is synchronized to all network and storage devices for them to take protective measures.

Intelligent integration: Huawei’s unified security analysis platform has over 8000 inference rules and automatically delivers matching rules to automatically handle 99% of security events on the entire network in seconds. Branches do not need to assign dedicated maintenance personnel, improving operation efficiency by 100 times.

Huawei’s Xinghe Intelligent SASE Solution has been recognized by governments and enterprises in the finance, energy, transportation, education, healthcare, and other sectors around the world, helping them deploy zero trust architecture and build a next-generation security system for future business development.

Looking ahead, Huawei will continue to invest in the research and development of new technologies based on customer needs and help customers build a secure zero-trust network environment in the intelligent era.

News 

The acquisition was first announced back in March

Swisscom has officially received the green light for its acquisition of Vodafone Italia, following approval from both the Italian Competition Authority and the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT). With regulatory hurdles cleared, Swisscom is now set to complete the deal by the first quarter of 2025. 

Last week, the Italian Competition Authority approved the transaction, accepting a series of behavioural commitments proposed by Swisscom. These include continuing to provide wholesale services to interested operators in line with Fastweb’s current practices, as well as sharing relevant information in any public tenders where Fastweb or Vodafone Italia is the supplier. An independent trustee will oversee the implementation of these commitments for the next three years. 

MIMIT granted unconditional approval for the deal on 19 December 2024, confirming the change of control over Vodafone Italia’s spectrum licenses. This followed positive assessments from the Italian Authority for Communications and the Italian Competition Authority. 

The merger of Fastweb and Vodafone Italia is expected to deliver substantial benefits to Italian consumers and businesses by combining their strong fixed and mobile infrastructures and expanding their range of services. The merger will create Italy’s second-largest fixed-line broadband operator behind Telecom Italia (TIM). This, they said, will create around €600 million in savings through increased scale and a more efficient cost structure. As part of the transaction, Vodafone will provide some service to Swisscom for the next five years. 

With regulatory approvals now in place, Swisscom anticipates that the acquisition will be finalised in early 2025, marking a new phase for the company in the Italian telecom market. 

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

Also in the news:
Equinix to buy BT’s Irish data centre business for €59m
World’s first 5G-A region in Mobile AI Era launched
Part 1: Some US broadband industry predictions as we approach 2025

Viewpoints

With the recent election behind us, there’s a noticeable shift in broadband industry sentiment.

By: Jason Malmquist, EVP, Head of Software and IT Services Business at CHR Solutions

To read the first part of this viewpoint series, click here.

Following the election, industry stakeholders are cautiously optimistic now about potential improvements in financing conditions, strategic network expansion, and the evolving competitive landscape. As we look to 2025, several key trends and challenges are emerging in the broadband industry; here are my top predictions.

1. Interest rates and cost of capital could stabilize

With political uncertainty temporarily out of the way, there’s hope for a more stable economic environment. We could see a reduction in interest rates and cost of capital. This would encourage providers to think more strategically about network investments. With financing a significant constraint over the past few years, any decrease in these costs could empower broadband companies to invest more confidently in their infrastructure.

2. Renewed focus on operational efficiency

During 2024, there were slower network buildouts and a shift toward operationalizing existing networks. Providers turned their attention to converting network passings to paying customers, a trend that’s likely to continue in 2025. While some new builds may resume, the frenetic pace of 2023 will not return. Instead, ISPs are looking at ways to optimize customer acquisition and improve ROI on existing networks. Expect to see targeted buildouts where demand is highest and a continued emphasis on streamlining operations.

3. Consolidation in the broadband space

A significant buzzword for 2025 is consolidation. Industry players and analysts are predicting that we’ll see more mergers and acquisitions this year because the convergence of high infrastructure costs and increased competition is driving many smaller providers to consider alliances or acquisitions as a way to stay competitive. Interestingly, even some co-ops—historically resistant to merging—are discussing consolidation. While co-op mergers may still be unlikely, this growing dialogue indicates that the landscape could shift as companies look for ways to scale efficiently and meet demand.

4. Starlink’s growing influence

In a surprising turn, Starlink’s influence on the broadband sector is growing. Providers are voicing more concern about the competitive threat posed by Starlink’s satellite internet service, especially with recent reports indicating that Starlink wasn’t significantly included in many broadband plans but may soon become a viable part of the ecosystem. While it’s not poised to replace traditional ISPs, Starlink’s coverage and appeal in underserved areas has made it a real competitor. In light of this, ISPs may need to reconsider their strategies, especially in rural regions where Starlink can offer a viable alternative.

5. Increased automation in service delivery

Indications are that during 2025, we will likely see a push toward greater automation in service delivery. From order processing to scheduling, the demand for seamless customer experiences is fueling automation across the board. Providers want to streamline the entire sales and onboarding process—from self-order systems to door-to-door sales tracking, shortening timelines and improving service reliability. The belief is that enhanced automation will enable ISPs to handle higher customer volumes more efficiently, driving both cost savings and customer satisfaction.

6. Rising cybersecurity threats for ISPs

Cybersecurity is no longer just a concern—it’s a critical risk that ISPs must address. Today’s cyber threats are sophisticated and coordinated, often executed by criminal organizations with ample resources and expertise. Smaller ISPs, especially in rural or underserved areas, are particularly vulnerable, as they may lack the IT infrastructure and security staff to defend against targeted attacks. These risks are significant: a security breach can lead to prolonged service outages, loss of customer data, and lasting damage to a company’s reputation. Therefore, ISPs need to prioritize cybersecurity, incorporating more advanced defenses and, ideally, dedicated teams or partnerships to mitigate these threats.

In summary …

The broadband industry will be defined by strategic expansions, a focus on efficiency, competitive pressure from satellite providers, and the urgent need for cybersecurity in 2025. It’s a complex environment, but with the right mix of innovation, automation, and strategic planning, providers can capitalize on opportunities and address the emerging challenges. By staying adaptable and vigilant, ISPs can navigate the evolving landscape and continue to deliver essential connectivity to their customers.

Click here to read Part 1: Some broadband industry predictions as we approach 2025 by Bob Bartz, VP of engineering at CHR Solutions.

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