Graystone Strategy, specialist consultants in mobile and virtual mobile networks, announces today that it is acting as the principal advisor to The Channel Island Cooperative (Coop) and its proposed launch of Coop Mobile. As Sure progresses the purchase of Vodafone Airtel, the launch of a new MVNO is part of a remedial plan to ensure consumer choice is protected in the Channel Island’s mobile market.

Acting as the principal strategic and commercial advisor to the Coop, Graystone Strategy has helped Coop secure its wholesale contract with Sure and leverage the capabilities of its mobile network infrastructure, manage the regulatory process, develop the detailed business and investment case, and formulate the initial customer propositions.

The Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority will now initiate a public consultation about the merger and the proposed MVNO. Provided the consultation concludes favourably, and the Guernsey Competition Regulatory Authority provides approval, it’s intended that Coop Mobile will launch 12 months later. If awarded the licence, Coop Mobile will provide residents in the Channel Islands with a third choice for competitive mobile deals and give those who are also Coop members a multitude of perks when they shop in retail stores.

Graystone was selected as special advisor because the team has extensive knowledge of launching and running retail MVNOs, particularly those used to stabilise markets following a significant merger.

Mark Cox, CEO of Channel Islands Coop, said the advice from Graystone Strategy was invaluable as it negotiated its strategic deal with Sure: “Our strategic agreement with Sure represents a significant alliance, providing us with a low-risk, cost-effective way to enter the local mobile market. It was therefore imperative we had a compelling proposition and the right commercial terms in place to make it a success for our members and the wider market.”

“Graystone’s in-depth knowledge in launching MVNOs has underpinned our approach to bidding for a licence. Thanks to their involvement, we have developed an offer that enhances our commitment to giving loyal members great value for money and leverages our existing membership and retail footprint.”

Globally, retail MVNOs have seen remarkable success, with notable examples from the UK’s leading supermarkets. James Gray, managing director of Graystone Strategy, believes there is huge scope to replicate the success in the Channel Islands: “We’re very excited to be working with the team at the Coop on what will be an historic move for the industry. I believe this is a superb opportunity to bring innovative and competitive mobile deals to the Channel Islands.”

“As a team, we’ve worked with most of the UK’s major supermarkets on their MVNO offers and several of us have launched and run MVNOs. We have used our collective experience and expertise to guide the Coop to a credible business case that’s built around the customer. I wish them every success with their MVNO strategy,” he adds.

More information about the proposed MVNO can be found here https://www.sure.com/jersey/latest-news/2024/sure-and-channel-islands-coop-agreement-paves-way-for-mobile-revolution/

Smartphone shipments in Latin America surged 23.3% year-on-year in Q1 due to retailers moving to clear inventory, and Chinese vendors pushing aggressively.

Counterpoint Research did not disclose exact figures but claimed that this was a third consecutive quarter of YoY growth in the region, a “strong sign of market recovery”.

Senior Research Analyst, Tina Lu said: “Part of the growth was due to the sell-in declining in most markets in Q1 2023 to clear inventory, while in Q1 2024, operators and retailers were building inventory for Mother’s Day.

“Demand for smartphones was also fuelled by the Chinese OEMs increasingly getting aggressive with their promotions for 4G models and price discounts. All this defied the traditional seasonality and showed that the region’s sales channels were confident enough about the demand to build some inventory.

Growth in Mexico and Venezuela led the charge in LATAM but most markets saw double digit YoY growth. Argentina was noted to see a plunge in shipments by 62% due to its ongoing economic crisis. Counterpoint predicted that the Argentinian market will “continue to be soft” in Q2 and Q3.

“This will principally affect Samsung and Motorola. The grey market in the region continued to grow, fuelled by high import duties in many countries,” said Lu.

Rankings

Samsung saw an 8.5% decline YoY due to competition from Xiaomi and Honor, but remained LATAM market leader with 31% share particularly in the US$100-US$249 price bracket.

Motorola placed second with 21% share a slight increase YoY from 20%. Third was Xiaomi with 14% (up by 2%) and other vendors collectively made up 34% of the market (up from 26%).

Honor was noted to rank in the top five shipping vendors for three quarters consecutively despite entering LATAM only two years ago.

There was a time when I didn’t quite believe Google or other hyperscalers were serious about building the next generation of subsea infrastructure in any form. But if you asked me whether they’d build a cable from Africa to Australia across the southern Indian ocean, I’d have known you were messing with me. And yet, that’s exactly what Google announced a few days ago. … [visit site to read more]

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Contributed Article

Digital connectivity infrastructures, and in particular submarine cables, are one of the priorities of the European Commission. With the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital Programme, the EU aims to leverage public and private investments in digital connectivity infrastructures of common European interest.

The European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) will join this year’s Submarine Networks EMEA conference, with HaDEA’s Director Marina Zanchi (pictured) presenting the latest accomplishments and the role of the Agency in supporting the strategy of the Commission in this area on the first day of the conference.

According to Marina Zanchi: “CEF-Digital has invested €277 million in backbone projects, and we will soon announce a further investment of at least €90 million this year. This commitment is underpinning a vision, that we call the Digital Global Gateways. It is not just about funding backbone networks within the EU. It is also about being better connected globally.”

CEF Digital supports the deployment of strategic backbone networks as part of the Digital Global Gateways strategy of the EU, contributing to strengthen the quality and resilience of connectivity between EU countries, as well as third countries. The first three sets of calls for proposals were launched in 2022 and 2023 for projects on backbone connectivity. HaDEA accompanies all of the 30 funded projects, which cover a wide range of geographical areas and actions, from marine surveys in Greenland to the deployment of long-distance cables in the Mediterranean and Atlantic areas.

Most of these projects will be present at the at Submarine Networks EMEA 2024 conference. The European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) will also have a booth showcasing funded projects and providing information on how to apply for funding to potentials applicants.

Browse EU-funded projects on the Funding & Tenders portal where more information is available, and get inspired.

HaDEA was established by the European Commission to implement actions that strengthen Europe in the domains of health, food safety, digital technologies and networks, industrial capacities, and space.

Come and visit us at Stand 2 at Submarine Networks EMEA 2024! Get your tickets today 

News

The president confirmed this week that the industry is “the most important foundation for making our people’s lives richer” 

South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol has announced that the country will spend a record 26 trillion won ($19 billion) on a support package for its chip businesses, saying the semiconductor industry is a vital sector for the national economy. 

The investment will come through the state-run Korea Development Bank and will support for infrastructure deployment, R&D, and tax relief, which the government hopes will boost domestic companies in the global chip race. 

“As we all know, semiconductors are a field where all-out national warfare is underway. Win or lose, that depends on who can make cutting-edge semiconductors first,” Yoon said in a speech on Thursday. 

“The success of the chip industry depends on system semiconductors. Korea’s fabless firms’ global market share is insignificant. The gap between our foundry players and global leaders is too wide,” he continued. 

This new pledge dwarfs the 9.4 trillion won ($6.94 billion) the President announced last month to support AI and semiconductor development by 2027.  

Combined, all of these investments drive towards the country’s goal of becoming a top-three global player in AI technology and achieving a global market share of 10% for system semiconductors by 2030. 

In January, the country also announced plans to develop a new semiconductor production cluster near Seoul, further galvanising its chip production efforts. The new cluster will be completed through investments of 622 trillion won ($472 billion) from companies such as Samsung and SK Hynix, who combined already produce and sell 60% of the world’s memory chips.  The investment will take place gradually and is expected to be completed by 2047. The government says the funds will help to create 3 million jobs. 

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Also in the news:
UK government conditionally approves £15bn Vodafone–Three merger
Nokia and Vodafone trial Open RAN with Arm and HPE
T-Mobile and Verizon to buy US Cellular, reports say

News 

The partnership could help reduce costs and increase rural connectivity  

Major African network operators Orange and Vodacom are in discussions over an Africa infrastructure sharing deal, according to a report from Bloomberg. 

Anonymous sources hint that the two companies are seeking sharing agreements in their overlapping markets, including Egypt and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This would allow both operators to increase their coverage in affected countries and reduce the need to build additional infrastructure in some areas. 

In addition to this sharing agreement, the two companies are also reviewing other opportunities to work together, according to the sources.  

“Our aim is to potentially alleviate the costs of rollout and rural connectivity, helping to address cost to communicate and narrow the digital divide,” a Vodacom spokesperson said to Bloomberg. 

The deal is not yet finalised and could still fall through, said the sources.. Vodacom did, however, confirm that it will detail the specifics of the deal once they have been made. 

The report notably suggested that Vodacom is also in talks with other African operators over similar sharing deals, but again these are yet to be finalised. 

As Vodacom celebrated its 30th anniversary this month, it also passed the milestone of 200 million customers across eight countries, which was confirmed last week during its annual results publication for the year ended 31 March 2024. 

The group’s revenue increased 26.4% up to R151 billion ($8.2 billion) as a result of data revenue and new services (including financial services); however, the company faced challenges such as start-up losses in Ethiopia, higher interest rates, and foreign exchange losses.  

The company’s deeper dive into financial services has helped it reach 78.9 million financial services customers, transacting $1.1 billion a day. 

“This was a year characterised by strong commercial momentum, despite facing several precarious economic headwinds, including a 20% higher effective interest rate and foreign exchange rate pressures,” said CEO Shameel Joosub in the investor’s call. 

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

Also in the news:
UK government conditionally approves £15bn Vodafone–Three merger
Nokia and Vodafone trial Open RAN with Arm and HPE
T-Mobile and Verizon to buy US Cellular, reports say 

Accelerit, a telecommunications company dedicated to providing innovative connectivity solutions across South Africa, has announced what it calls a groundbreaking partnership with a local VSAT provider.

It is aimed at delivering uncapped internet connectivity to previously underserved and underdeveloped areas across South Africa through satellite technology.

This strategic alliance, says the company, is set to bridge the digital divide, providing affordable, reliable, and unlimited internet access to a significant portion of the population.

With over 300 sites already operational in the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga, the initiative aims to expand to 1,000 sites by June 2024.

Mandla Ngcobo, Founder of Accelerit, says: “By rolling out these 300 sites, we have already covered thousands of households, schools, and businesses with uncapped connectivity options. This is just the beginning. Our goal to reach 1,000 sites by mid-2024 is ambitious, but it’s necessary to create a robust digital infrastructure.”

He adds: “In addition to improving educational outcomes, healthcare services, and economic opportunities, we expect to see a 25% increase in overall internet penetration and usage rates in these areas within the next year.”

Accelerit and the, so far unnamed, VSAT provider suggest that this venture is poised to attract significant investment opportunities, but it’s certainly not the only one to target underserved communities.

A vast number of South African ISPs, MVNOs and fibre providers are fighting for market share among end users of a variety of income levels. There’s also the government SA Connect programme that aims to provide Wi-Fi access to communities and ensure universal access to the internet.

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After two massive releases like v7 and 7.1, we here at Bicom Systems have decided to dedicate this release cycle to enhancing what we have already introduced while still sneaking a few new toys to expand our products’ service offerings.

Thus, you are going to see a number of new features, some big, some small, but all aimed toward improving on the existing experience and building upon it to keep guiding you toward the future of telecommunications with simple, but sturdy steps.

Until then, we hope to have met your expectations and that both you and your clients remain satisfied.

Here’s what 7.2 has in store.

PBXware

Linking The World Together With SMS Connectors

One of the biggest changes coming in PBXware with 7.2 is the addition of the SMS Connector API, a stepping stone toward better communication interconnectivity.

It serves as a standardized interface that enables the development of custom SMS trunks that can enable compatibility between the PBXware instance and a currently unsupported SMS provider, opening up a whole new avenue of communication for the business.

And all of that is made available to you after performing a few simple setting adjustments.

Further Customizations Through ARI Applications

To make integration with existing systems even easier, 7.2 brings ARI application registration to PBXware, allowing you to create an even more intricate call network than vanilla PBXware currently allows.

The Addition Of An Event Manager

Another big addition to PBXware’s toolset is the Event Manager, allowing PBXware admins to further streamline workflows between PBXware and third party platforms/services through custom HTTP requests.

Contact Center

Expanding The ‘Omni’ Of Omnichannel

Another big change has occurred in Contact Center as the team keeps working on improving all omnichannel functionalities, the addition of Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp to the roster of covered communication channels, providing your customers with even more contact options for your business.

Further Expediting Customer Handling Times With Canned Responses

While not as major of a change as two new communication channels for Omnichannel, the addition of Canned Responses to the Contact Center’s tool arsenal allows agents to resolve some commonly asked customer queries faster by relying on these preset answers, enabling them to focus on more complicated tasks.

WhatsApp Templates

The introduction of WhatsApp into the Omnichannel circle has also led to the introduction of WhatsApp templates into the mix, allowing businesses to have access to preset responses with which to better communicate with its WhatsApp customer base, allowing for better information communication.

The Integration Of The Complete Customer Journey

Prior to 7.2, the customer journey was tracked per channel, but with this latest version, we have enhanced this functionality to now track every interaction the customer has with the business across all supported channels.

Improved Support With OpenStreetMap

During unplanned service outages or other unforeseen events, it can be difficult for the affected customer to communicate the problem, but with our OpenStreetMap integration into Contact Center, they don’t have to.

Easily locate the approximate area of the customer based on their IP address and offer them personalized assistance based on location.

Easier Contact Management With Contacts Directory

Managing every contact is made easy with the Contacts module, a way for businesses to get a handle on their contact list.

The module in question now possesses further functionalities that should make contact management even easier, namely allowing quick contact additions or edits either by users through forms or by agents or supervisors themselves.

Though, the biggest upgrade is the ability to add contacts in bulk through a simple .csv file upload, allowing you to quickly populate contact lists with ease. 

gloCOM & gloCOM GO

Changing From A Standard To A Shared Group

gloCOM’s 7.2 journey comes with some interesting additions. Let’s start with the simplest, yet equally as relevant one where gloCOM members can transform their existing, standard groups into shared groups.

These shared groups help provide new group arrivals access to the group’s full chat history, making onboarding processes or other conversations easier to follow without the need to repeat information as more people join.

gloCOM Meeting

Schedule A Meeting Directly From The Chat

On the gloCOM Meeting side, we have a great quality of life update with the added option of being able to schedule meetings directly from the chat toolbar, allowing for quicker meeting organization without the need to add specific participants or having to switch between countless tabs.

Updates To Screen Sharing Alerts

Another QoL update comes in the form of added clarity in regards to screen sharing during meetings. A notification that informs the user when the presenter has started sharing their screen on the participant’s side and whether or not the presenter’s screen is being shared on the presenter’s end, as well as informing the presenter of the screen’s visibility on the receiver’s end.

Keyboard Shortcuts For Easier Meeting Navigation

In order to make navigation and use even faster on Meeting Web for all participants, we have mapped a few key tools to keyboard shortcuts.

Further Enabling The Use Of gloCOM Meeting Web For Organizer And Co-Organizers

This release also provides organizers and co-organizers to utilize their full capabilities through gloCOM Meeting Web as well by allowing them to end the meeting if joining from the web client rather than having to use the desktop or mobile version to do so.

And More…

These are only some of the more notable changes that have been introduced with the release of 7.2.

Plenty of other bug fixes, quality of life changes and feature updates have also been introduced, like:

• Adding OneDrive to the list of supported archiving storage providers

• Adding the ability to Pause/Resume call recording on Multi-tenant systems (Deskphones)

• Adding the ability to set up a custom group chat icon on gloCOM

• Introducing TLS/SSL cert validation for gloCOM GO when logging into PBX as an additional security measure against unsecured connections.

• Adding a call quality indicator to gloCOM GO to more easily spot potential issues during calls

• Allowing external participants joining the meeting from gloCOM Meeting Web or GO to upload a custom avatar on the web or mobile client

• Adding a reaction summary for presenters on the Meeting Web app

• Adding a full participant history on the Meeting Web app

We hope that these changes will lead to a more intuitive and less cumbersome experience with the Bicom Product Suite and we look forward to your impressions on v7.2.

Until the next major release, we hope that we can continue delivering on the features that help benefit you and your business as a whole.

For any additional questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.