Press Release

Amitié increases the reliability and diversity of subsea cable routes between North America and Europe

Aqua Comms, Meta, Microsoft, and Vodafone announced today the completion of the Amitié subsea cable system, the first to directly connect Boston to Europe and Bordeaux to North America. The 6,783 km (4,215 miles) trans-Atlantic system, which was built by Alcatel Submarine Networks, has landings in Lynn, Massachusetts; Widemouth Bay, England; and Le Porge, France. With 16 fiber pairs and 400 Tbps, Amitié is the highest capacity transoceanic communications cable ever deployed.

The design of the system brings all users additional connectivity options in the United States, the UK, and in France. Boston will have direct connection all the way to London and a new Carrier Neutral Data Center constructed in Bordeaux. This delivers improved reliability in terms of protected capacity on multiple diverse routes.

The system includes an innovative branching unit 860 km from France and 650 km from the UK. This device allows the owners to switch either individual optical wavelengths between different landings or the full fiber capacity via two different types of switching technologies.

Andy Hudson, Chief Network Officer, Aqua Comms, said: “Amitié, branded as AEC-3 on Aqua Comms’ network, adds a third high-capacity system to our transatlantic footprint offering enhanced diversity in both the US and Europe and delivering the latest technology to our customers.”

Gary Waterworth, Investment Manager, Meta said: “Amitié will increase telecommunications reliability, speed, and diversity of subsea cable routes between the continents helping to improve transmission capacity in North America and Europe. It’s a great example of tech and telecom companies collaborating to build digital infrastructure to benefit the countless people, businesses, and organizations who rely on global connectivity.”

Frank Rey, General Manager, Azure Networking at Microsoft said: “As public and private sectors deepen their reliance on cloud technologies for economic growth and service improvement, Amitié will advance both resiliency and capacity for customers using our cloud services.”

Fanan Henriques, Director, Vodafone Business International & EU-Cluster, said: “As a significant investor in submarine cables, Vodafone was able to bring its strong heritage and extensive expertise to the partnership. With transatlantic total bandwidth growth forecasted to increase six-fold over the next five years, it is essential that we keep our customers, partners and communities connected to vital services enabling the digital economy. The completion of the Amitié subsea cable will strengthen connectivity and add resilience between the U.S., France and the UK.”

Previous studies have shown that subsea cables can have a positive impact on national and regional economies. Subsea cables such as the Amitié cable can spur the development of terrestrial fiber and local economic growth. For example, according to RTI International, Meta’s and Microsoft’s investment in Marea, another high capacity transoceanic cable, has been contributing about $18 billion annually to Europe’s economy since 2019.

Amitié is now fully commissioned and tested and was handed over to Aqua Comms, Meta, Microsoft, and Vodafone on July 16, 2023. The system was constructed under a Joint Build Agreement between the four partners, who worked together in close cooperation with the supplier and the landing providers.

Keep up to date with all of the latest developments in the submarine cable industry at the world’s largest subsea cable event, Submarine Networks EMEA

Also in the news:
EU and Japan sign deals for subsea cables and semiconductors
Home Office lambasted over Emergency Services Network delays
Ofcom probes VMO2 as customers complain about contract cancellation

Rwanda and Cameroon have recently announced significant education-related technology agreements – Rwanda with investment group SoftBank and Cameroon with UN agency UNICEF.

SoftBank has this week announced the signing of a partnership agreement with the Government of Rwanda’s Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) to provide an educational technology (edtech) service in Rwanda using non-terrestrial network (NTN) solutions starting from the autumn of 2023. The actual agreement was signed at the end of June.

To provide this edtech service to schools lacking internet connectivity, SoftBank has partnered with Cyber University, Japan’s first full online university and a provider of digital content for academic programmes and professional learning through its platform Cloud Campus. It is also working with other partners providing high-quality satellite internet broadband connectivity and related local management.

This edtech service was designed and proposed by SoftBank in line with Rwanda’s efforts to promote and enhance digital education. Through the service, SoftBank, together with other partners, will aim to provide sustainable and affordable internet connectivity framework with high-quality educational content.

The NTN solutions referred to in the agreement presumably include high altitude platform stations (HAPS). In June this year, SoftBank and the Government of Rwanda successfully completed a stratospheric flight test in Rwanda with a new HAPS prototype aircraft. Further HAPS testing and development towards commercial implementation is ongoing.

SoftBank says provision of HAPS-based connectivity is one way in which it can contribute to the digitalization of schools and communities in rural areas that are not connected to the internet.

Also edtech-related but with a slightly different emphasis is a partnership between Cameroon and UNICEF to encourage the adoption of information and communication technologies in elementary and secondary schools.

Cameroon’s Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance (FEICOM) – a national fund for municipalities – signed the agreement with the United Nations agency earlier this week.

The US$4.8 million project will, we are told, benefit 100,000 students, 1,000 teachers and 15 schools, which will receive technology to enable access to digital learning platforms.

The project, called Education and Technology for Every Child, is being piloted in the municipalities of Bertoua I, Bertoua II, Garoua Boulai, Mandjou and Ngoura. The partners will contribute, among other things, to the construction and renovation of schools in the municipalities.

The move aligns with the government of Cameroon’s long-term plan to transform the country into a digital upper-middle-income economy by 2035.

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Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Ellen Velickovska, Co-Founder & Managing Director at telXira

An increasing number of enterprises are using Short Messaging Services (SMS) and Over-The-Top (OTT) messaging apps for customer communications. Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging is predicted to grow from $66.84 billion in 2022 to $96.73 billion by 2030 according to Research and Markets. … [visit site to read more]

News

A new report from think the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) suggests that lesser federal broadband subsidies should be cancelled, with funding used to support the Affordable Connectivity Programme (ACP)

This week, the ITIF is calling on the US government to consider cancelling several ‘redundant’ broadband programmes to instead use their funding to support the ACP.

The report suggests that the ACP should “become the premier federal broadband program” due to its flexibility and direct support of low-income households but warns that the current funding will soon fall short of the total demand.

The Affordable Connectivity Programme (ACP) is the US government’s “largest-ever broadband affordability effort”, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a long-term $17 billion plan to support eligible low- income households afford access to the internet.

The ACP offers these households discounts of up to $30 per month on their internet service bills, or up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. The project also provides one-time discounts of up to $100 to help disconnected families purchase a laptop, desktop, or tablet.

The funding comes as part of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by the Biden administration in November 2021.

At this year’s Connected America conference in March, the FCC’s Press Secretary, Paloma Perez, gave an update on the recently-awarded ACP funding, saying 17 million homes had been enrolled nationwide.

Since then, this number has increased to almost 20 million, but many millions of eligible households still have not signed up, with the FCC estimating that in total 50 million homes could qualify for discounts across the country.

To make matters worse, according to estimates based on data from apcdashboard.com, the roughly $17 billion appropriated for the programme in 2021 will likely run out during 2024.

The ITIF estimates that the ACP will require between $5 billion and $6 billion a year to remain effective.

But where can the government find this funding?

According to the ITIF, the solution lies in streamlining the highly convoluted broadband subsidy landscape, particularly scrapping programmes that are becoming obsolete as a result of more modern programmes, such as the ACP itself and the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding programme.

The report argues that the FCC’s Lifeline programme, which also provides discounts for low-income families, is outdated and should be scrapped in favour of the ACP. The report further suggests that the FCC’s Universal Service Fund High Cost programme and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect programme can also be cannibalised to fund the ACP, having been made redundant by the more effective (BEAD) programme.

Combined, reallocating the funding from these three programmes should provide roughly $6.43 billion, enough to sustain the ACP.

“Federal broadband programs are dangerously out of balance,” said Joe Kane, director of broadband and spectrum policy at ITIF and author of the report. “Congress has created effective subsidy programs that render older programs duplicative and wasteful. Yet the old programs persist, siphoning funding away from more effective ones and increasing phone bills.”

But while reallocating funding from these older projects could be a fine way to extend the lifetime and impact of the ACP, it is important to remember that funding is not everything. As the report points out, the digital divide in the US not only relates to lack of access to affordable connectivity, but also to digital literacy.

“If its funding is secured and made sustainable, the ACP is the best policy tool available to defray the cost of Internet subscriptions and connected devices,” said the ITIF report. “Once this relatively low-hanging policy fruit has been picked, broadband policy is not finished. Remaining offline groups will require different kinds of help to achieve full digital inclusion.”

Want to learn more about how government funding is transforming the connectivity landscape in the US? Join the digital ecosystem in discussion at this year’s Connected America

Also in the news:
EU and Japan sign deals for subsea cables and semiconductors
Home Office lambasted over Emergency Services Network delays
Ofcom probes VMO2 as customers complain about contract cancellation

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

Mobile money growth continues across Africa. Two recent announcements, from IDT Corporation, a global fintech company, and from TerraPay, a leading global payments infrastructure company partnering with operator Safaricom, are the latest example of companies targeting consumers in Africa – and notably the remittance market.

IDT Corporation has announced the expansion of its BOSS Money app into Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The BOSS Money app now enables app users to send, receive, carry, and exchange money in multiple local currencies across Francophone Africa. The app also enables direct receipt of BOSS Money remittances within minutes from friends and family in the US.

IDT says the BOSS Money app aims to redefine the financial transaction landscape for individuals and small businesses in Francophone Africa, offering innovative solutions tailored to the unique needs and aspirations of the local communities.

Meanwhile, TerraPay and Safaricom plan to facilitate instant borderless payments. The partnership, through TerraPay’s group company Mobex (Kenya), a licensed money remittance provider, will enable more than 30 million M-Pesa mobile wallet holders in Kenya to send real-time payments through TerraPay’s interoperable network across all wallets in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Roll-out of the service in India and Nepal is expected in a few months.

Speaking about this new partnership, Ambar Sur, Founder and CEO, TerraPay says: « We believe this breakthrough collaboration with Safaricom will spur a world of new possibilities for mobile financial service operators to directly scale globally and provide customers with a choice to send payments in a secure, transparent and swift manner.”

He adds: “Our partnership with Safaricom will further boost our capabilities in providing an inclusive global financial ecosystem powered by our agile payments infrastructure and empower Safaricom customers with fast and affordable borderless payment options and access to TerraPay’s widespread partner network of more than 7.5 billion bank accounts and more than 2.1 billion mobile wallets. »

News

Bell Canada and Telenor will be the global platforms first partners, focussing on expanding the companies’ eSIM-based network access and service footprints

Today, Verizon Business has announced the launch of its new eSIM-based IoT platform, dubbed Verizon Global IoT Orchestration.

The platform will enable devices to switch connection seamlessly between Verizon’s carrier partners’ networks using an eSIM profile, allowing them to operate as a native network subscribers within that partner’s footprint.

In this way, IoT devices will be less reliant on roaming agreements to function effectively, with eSIM allowing for more streamlined connectivity and management.

The new platform will incorporate Verizon’s existing IoT management platform, Verizon ThingSpace IoT, which reportedly already manages millions of IoT devices.

Global IoT Orchestration is today launching with two strategic partners in Bell Canada and Norwegian multinational carrier Telenor, allow customers to receive eSIM connectivity in the US, Canada, and various countries in Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions.

Additional partners are expected to be announced by the end of the year, with Verizon suggesting it would ultimately like 30 carriers to sign up to use the platform, covering a targeted 200 countries and regions.

“The move toward global IoT reflects the reality of doing business in the massive IoT era. The number of IoT devices is expanding rapidly and fleets are fanning outward, so our customers need flexible, reliable connectivity that moves across borders,” said Debika Bhattacharya, Chief Product Officer at Verizon Business. “With our partners Bell Canada, Telenor, and more to come, Verizon Global IoT Orchestration will be able to provide that — a globe-spanning footprint with seamless eSIM IoT connectivity.”

Discussing the benefits of this eSIM approach over traditional IoT roaming, Shamik Basu, executive director of IoT and edge product for Verizon Business noted that it allowed devices entering a market to be considered “a local rather than a visitor”. This allows devices to operate without certain limitations that can be imposed on roaming devices, such as latency levels, as well as providing as regulatory compliance.

How is the rise of the IoT creating opportunities for businesses across the US? Join the digital ecosystem in discussion at this year’s Connected America

Also in the news:
EU and Japan sign deals for subsea cables and semiconductors
Home Office lambasted over Emergency Services Network delays
Ofcom probes VMO2 as customers complain about contract cancellation