This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Steve Alexander, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Ciena
The telecom and networking industry is a foundation for the digital transformation of every critical business sector—from agriculture to manufacturing to finance and more. Essentially, telecom underpins every part of our lives, and as such has an increasingly vital … [visit site to read more]
This week, Vodafone has announced that the CEO of its largest stakeholder, e&, will be joining its board as a non-executive director.
e& CEO Hatem Dowidar’s new seat at the table is reportedly ensured provided the Emirati operator group retains at least its 14.6% stake in Vodafone, with the option of nominating a second non-executive director if the stake is increased to 20%.
This possibility could become reality in the relative short term, with e& telling investors in recent weeks that it was interested in increasing its stake in Vodafone to between 20% and 25%.
The seats on the board have been made available due to the announcement that three of Vodafone’s non-executive directors – Valerie Gooding, Sir Crispin Davis, and Dame Clara Furse – will not seek re-election at the company’s annual meeting.
Alongside e&’s influential board position, the announcement also revealed the extent to which Vodafone and e& will begin working more closely together. The duo will reportedly focus on a number of key areas, including offering cross-border digital services and solutions to multi-national customers, joint procurement, and wholesale and roaming.
The duo will also work more closely together from a technological perspective, particularly when it comes to further developing OpenRAN.
“Our investment in Vodafone is anchored by Vodafone Group’s established position and worldwide reputation as a prominent industry player that provides cutting-edge connectivity and digital services. This aligns with e&’s vision of becoming a global telecom and technology player,” said Dowidar
e& first took an interest in Vodafone in May last year, paying $4.4 billion for a 9.8% stake in the business. At the time, the Emirati telecoms group said it had no interest in taking over Vodafone, suggesting the deal was an excellent opportunity to “enhance and develop” their international portfolio and expand the company’s reach.
The purchase appeared relatively opportunistic, with Vodafone’s management at the time embroiled in a tussle with disgruntled shareholders over the company’s poor financial performance and depressed share price.
Indeed, e& was not the only company to swoop in and take a stake in the faltering operator group over the past year, with both French billionaire Xavier Niel and Liberty Global taking stakes in Vodafone Group.
e& itself has gradually increased its stake to its current 14.6% holdings over the last six months.
Ultimately, Vodafone’s CEO, Nick Read, resigned at the end of 2022 after failing to make meaningful progress in reversing the company’s fortunes. Since then, the company has been headed up by the group’s previous head of finance, Margherita Della Valle, who was permanently awarded the role of CEO last month.
“We extend a warm welcome to Margherita Della Valle as Vodafone’s newly appointed Group Chief Executive Officer, and we have full confidence in her leadership abilities to steer the company toward growth. We are convinced that our strategic relationship will unlock opportunities for both companies to explore the swiftly expanding global telecom market and next-generation technologies,” said Dowidar.
Also in the news:
Vodafone and Three UK closing in on merger
Bell partners with Air Canada for in-flight Wi-Fi
Virgin Media O2 and Good Things Foundation launch apprenticeship scheme
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Two interesting expansion projects, a significant upgrade project, and some bit R&E bandwidth: … [visit site to read more]
Cambodia’s Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Chea Vandeth, has announced government plans for a submarine cable connection from Hong Kong to Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh in 2024.
It will replace an earlier version – much earlier; it was connected more than a decade ago.
The funding for the new submarine cable will involve a loan from the Chinese government. In ten years’ time, the minister suggested during his announcement, the sale of internet services will repay the entirety of the loan. The project is to be implemented for 30 years, “so in addition to repaying the loan, we will make a profit”, he added.
In addition to connecting the submarine cable, he said that the telecommunications ministry is working to install up to 1,000 internet expansion antenna masts in several of Phnom Penh’s districts. It will also dismantle internet booster and repeater devices, which the ministry considers disruptive to internet speed.
As you might expect, Cambodian demand for internet services increased dramatically following the Covid-19 pandemic and yet the country has been dependent on infrastructure that was connected up to 15 years ago. Making Cambodia’s internet services faster and cheaper is certain to be popular, therefore.
According to figures cited by the Phnom Penh Post, as of February, Cambodia had more than 17 million registered SIM cards (a little more than the population, estimated at 16,891,245) and more than 310,000 fixed internet users.
The country has 38 internet service providers, and five onshore and submarine fibre optic infrastructure operators. There are an estimated 640 kilometres of submarine fibre optic cable in Cambodian waters.
This week, Ericsson has announced a new partnership with Telia to deploy the Baltics’ first enterprise 5G network at Ericsson’s own Estonian supply factory, located in the capital city, Tallinn.
According to Ericsson, this deployment will not only drive “productivity, agility, and sustainability” for the factory’s operations, but will also provide the foundations for numerous connected use cases, including asset condition monitoring and management, computer vision, digital twins, collaborative robotics, and 5G precise indoor positioning.
The site itself plays a key role in Ericsson’s overall supply chain, accounting for nearly half of the new product introductions; i.e., the process of turning R&D projects into viable, scalable commercial products.
According to Ericsson, since its activation on May 2, the private network is already having a significant impact on the factory’s operations, bringing improvements in terms of automation, safety, and agility.
“The implementation of Ericsson Private 5G at our Supply Site in Tallinn is a testament to our commitment to connected manufacturing and emerging data-driven technologies – after all, in today’s highly competitive manufacturing environment, keeping up with the latest technological capabilities is essential to stay ahead of the curve,” said Sirli Männiksaar, Country Manager of Ericsson Estonia. “Our 5G private network enables advanced use cases such as real time video analytics, immersive technologies, digital twins, collaborative robotics and multiple mobile equipment tracking and control capabilities that empower our daily operations. As a leading adopter of advanced cellular technologies supporting Industry 4.0 implementations, Ericsson’s Supply Site in Tallinn is proud to play a key role in the industry’s continued growth and success, delivering new products and smart solutions to customers worldwide.”
Ericsson will be hopeful that this is the first of many collaborations with Telia in the industrial space. Earlier this year, the two companies announced a joint 5G programme called NorthStar, aiming to help various industrial businesses embrace the benefits of 5G connectivity, particularly via private network deployments.
The programme will reportedly target customer innovation and R&D units in numerous verticals, with the automotive industry the initial focus.
In fact, Ericsson’s private 5G momentum already appears to be building, with today’s announcement the latest in a string of enterprise private 5G network deals the company has signed over the past few months. These include a deal with systems integrator Comsol to provide connectivity for a South African mining operation and with Mugler to develop private campus networks in Germany.
Just two weeks ago, Ericsson announced the latest hardware and software enhancements to its private 5G offering, offering improved visibility and management, as well as increased coverage of over 1,000,000m2.
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Also in the news:
Vodafone and Three UK closing in on merger
Bell partners with Air Canada for in-flight Wi-Fi
Virgin Media O2 and Good Things Foundation launch apprenticeship scheme
Three interconnection expansions, one new data center, and one restructuring financial move: … [visit site to read more]
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 week, TIM has announced a new PPA agreement with independent renewable energy firm ERG via the latter’s subsidiary Telenergia.
The new nine-year agreement will see ERG provide the operator with an additional “baseload” 200 GWh/year of renewable energy.
TIM first signed a deal with ERG for renewable energy back in May 2021, securing 340GWh/year for ten years over the 2022–2031 period.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed
As a result of this deal, around 34% of TIM’s energy purchases will come from renewable sources via PPAs.
“We are the second biggest Italian energy consumer and therefore it is crucial to make choices with the goal of resolving environmental issues,” explained TIM CEO Pietro Labriola. “The new agreement signed with ERG will help us to reach the ESG targets we have set ourselves, while at the same time stabilising costs in a context of continued macroeconomic uncertainty. The agreement confirms, once again, the importance of forging robust partnerships which share an industrial vision as well as consideration of the environment.”
TIM aims to use only renewable energy by 2025 and to generate Net Zero carbon emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3) by 2040.
Also in the news:
Vodafone and Three UK closing in on merger
Bell partners with Air Canada for in-flight Wi-Fi
Virgin Media O2 and Good Things Foundation launch apprenticeship scheme
Two data center expansion projects, a big bandwidth trial, and some SASE. … [visit site to read more]
