Qualcomm ends satellite partnership with Iridium 


News 

The termination will be effective from 3 December  

Qualcomm and Iridium Communications have ended a deal that was set to provide satellite communication services to mobile phones. 

The partnership, which was confirmed in January, had planned to enable satellite messaging and emergency services in smartphones powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Mobile Platforms, which would be delivered through Iridium’s satellite constellation. 

The emergency messaging was expected to launch in the second half of this year for premium Android smartphones in select regions.  

However, although the technology developed by the partnership was successful, smartphone manufacturers have not included the new technology in their new devices, so the partnership has been terminated by Qualcomm. 

“While I’m disappointed that this partnership didn’t bear immediate fruit, we believe the direction of the industry is clear toward increased satellite connectivity in consumer devices,” said Iridium CEO Matt Desch in a press release. 

“Led by Apple today, MNOs and device manufacturers still plan, over time, to provide their customers with expanded coverage and new satellite-based features, and our global coverage and regulatory certainty make us well suited to be a key player in this emerging market. User experience will be critical to their success,” the statement continued. 

Iridium also confirmed that they are now seeking to work directly with smartphone manufacturers, developers, and chipmakers for existing and future service plans. 

The Iridium share price fell by 8% upon the news. 

Direct-to-mobile satellite services are becoming an increasingly hot topic across the telecoms ecosystem. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is currently seeking the approval of the Federal Communications Commission to fast-track its own direct-to-mobile satellite service. Meanwhile, the company’s rival AST SpaceMobile continues to make its own breakthroughs, notably making the first 5G call from space back in September. 

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Orange makes fresh FTTH rollout pledges to French government
BT talks up tech adoption as solution to NHS wait time woes 

Boldyn Networks snaps up Cellnex’s private networks business unit 


News 

The financial size of the deal has not been disclosed 

Cellnex and Boldyn Networks have reached an agreement that will se Boldyn will acquire Cellnex’s private networks business unit. 

The acquisition will primarily consist of Cellnex’s Finnish subsidiary Edzcom, which designs, builds, and operates private 4G and 5G networks. The company already has operations in various industrial sectors including oil and gas, mining, energy, ports, and manufacturing across multiple European markets.  

Cellnex itself only acquired Edzcom in 2020. 

Boldyn Networks, meanwhile, are one of the largest neutral host providers in the world. As such the company is well positioned to further accelerate Edzcom’s growth, according to Cellnex’s global innovation, business development and technology director Oscar Pallarols. 

“Boldyn Networks is the ideal operator to usher Edzcom into a new phase of expansive growth. Given that private networks are among Boldyn’s core activities, they are undoubtedly the ideal partner for Edzcom in this next phase of their growth,” said Pallarols. 

“Edzcom’s team capabilities, impeccable reputation and recognised expertise are an important addition to our team to capture the potential of this market across continents,” addd Igor Leprince, Group CEO of Boldyn Networks in a press release. 

“From venues and wind farms to ports and manufacturing sites, we are building upon being the partner of choice for 5G private and converged network infrastructure projects.” 

The move will serve to further enhance Boldyn Networks’ presence in multiple European markets, most notably in Finland, Spain, Germany, Sweden, and France. 

The sale seems a natural fit for Cellnex, which is seeking to reduce its large debt pile, which stood at €17.2 billion in Q2 after years of intense M&A. This including major acquisitions such as the takeover of CK Hutchinson’s European towers in 2020 (worth €10 billion).  

More recently, however, the company has shifted focus on consolidating its existing business units. In September, Investment company Stonepeak acquired a 49% stake in Cellnex Nordics, which raised €730 million of capital for Cellnex. 

The deal is subject to standard regulatory approval and is set to be completed by the end of Q1 next year. 

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LMT and Tele2 bag 5G spectrum in Latvia

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Samsung, Qualcomm oppose live TV on Indian phones

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How operators and application developers can overcome roadblocks to telecom network APIs

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Mikko Jarva, Head of Portfolio & Architecture, Network Monetization Platform at Nokia

With 5G deployments now widespread in many markets, telecom network providers are ushering in a new era to enable the building of new and improved software applications that enrich the network experience of business customers and consumers while generating new revenue streams. … [visit site to read more]

GSMA warns Indonesia its 5G spectrum prices are too high

The GSMA claims that Indonesia stands to lose US$14 billion in GDP gains over the next six years if it doesn’t rethink it 5G spectrum pricing in the next auction.

The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo) is planning to award several frequency bands over the next two years, including 700 MHz, 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz, as well as mmWave frequencies in the 26 GHz band. That would more than double the current total supply of mobile spectrum.

However, a new report from GSMA Intelligence points out that estimated annual spectrum costs for mobile operators in Indonesia have increased more than five-fold since 2010, mainly due to auction-related payments and spectrum fees associated with licence renewals.

Making matters worse, average revenue per unique mobile subscriber dropped 48% over the same period (in USD terms). The report estimates that annualised spectrum costs to recurring cellular revenue is currently at 12.2%, compared to the APAC and global median values of 8.7% and 7.0%, respectively.

At the very least, the report says, this could hamper the ability of Indonesian operators to meaningfully invest in 5G infrastructure, which will slow down rollouts and result in poor customer experiences.

The GSMA also frames the issue in terms of the expected socio-economic benefits that 5G will deliver to Indonesia, saying that the country could lose US$14 billion (IDR 216 trillion) in GDP between 2024 and 2030 if it prices 5G spectrum similar to the previous spectrum auction.

The report urges Kominfo to lower reserve prices below estimates of market value, and adjust the way it calculates annual spectrum fees to provide long-run incentives and avoid disproportionate increases in costs that aren’t aligned with market conditions.

The GSMA also recommends that Kominfo come up with a clear and comprehensive spectrum roadmap that accommodates current and future needs, particularly for mid-band spectrum. 

“According to our forecasts, 5G will reach 80% of the population by 2030,” said Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific, GSMA. “For 5G to succeed in Indonesia, the government should focus on the right enabling policies, including spectrum supply and pricing. This requires a well-crafted regulatory framework for a successful auction that delivers a fair return for the government and encourages digital growth.”

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Orange makes fresh FTTH rollout pledges to French government


News 

The deal will be submitted to the French telecoms regulator, just after it had fined the company €26 million for failing to meet its deployment targets 

French mobile operator Orange has announced a deal with the French government, that will see Orange increasing its fibre deployment to 1.12 million homes by 2025. 

The deployment deal will include areas which are the least densely populated in the country, named AMII zones. The company acknowledged the stark disparity between rural and urban areas, promising to provide over 140,000 homes with fibre in the areas with the least connectivity. 

In urban areas, deployments will continue, with the aim of connecting 300,000 premises by 2025. 

“After making a major contribution to the success of the France Très Haut Débit plan (France’s superfast broadband plan) in 2022, Orange is once again working with the government to ensure the widespread deployment of fibre by 2025,” said Orange CEO Christel Heydemann. 

“Having already covered 21 million of the 36 million eligible premises in France, we’re determined to make this major project a national success, benefiting as many people as possible.” 

The announcement comes after Orange ran into legal issues concerning the rate of their fibre deployment. The French Authority for Regulation of Electronic Communications, Mail and Press Distribution (ARCEP), fined Orange €26 million for missing the first deadline of deploying fibre for broadband in 3,000 municipalities across France. The first deadline was missed in 2020, and the company was put on notice in March last year. 

ARCEP noted that Orange’s non-compliance was “particularly serious” because it harmed the interests of end users in their access to networks. 

Arguing against the claim and fine, Orange said “the fine imposed by ARCEP could further reduce the amount of investments made in the deployment of fibre, to the detriment of households waiting for connection.” 

The company will refer the issue to France’s highest administrative jurisdiction, the Council of State. 

Keep up to date with international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter – subscribe here.  

Also in the news:
KPN outlines new €4.5bn network investment plan
Vodafone Germany accelerates railway 5G deployment 
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Tower sales and strong demand boost Zain KSA Q3 results

Operator Zain KSA has announced a strong Q3 2023 financial performance driven, in part by tower-related business.

The Saudi operator reports its highest quarterly revenues, exceeding SAR 2.5 billion (about US$666.7 million) – a 10% increase compared to the SAR 2.2 billion (US$586.7 million) generated in the third quarter of the previous year, as well as recording SAR 285 million (US$76 million) in net profit, a growth of 234% compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

Importantly, this strong financial performance is in part attributed to Zain’s recent tower infrastructure sale and leaseback deal. This generated gains totalling SAR 139 million (US$37.1 million) during this quarter. However, this is just part of a total financial impact which the company expects to reach SAR 1.1 billion (US$293.3 million) over the 18-month period of the tower ownership transfer.

Saudi Arabia’s second-largest telecoms company completed a deal in January to sell a stake in its tower infrastructure for more than SAR 3 billion (US$800 million). As part of the deal, Zain KSA sold at least 3,000 towers, out of a total of 8,069, to Golden Lattice Investment Company (GLIC), which is owned by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, Zain KSA, Prince Saud bin Fahad and Sultan Holding Company.

Towers are far from the sole reason for the strong balance sheet in Q3. Zain also cites sustained business growth across all sectors with strong demand for cutting-edge services and solutions such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence.

Beyond the growth in 5G revenue, Zain KSA says it has also witnessed a steady uptick in its consumer services and a surge in demand for Yaqoot digital services and micro-finance solutions offered through Tamam, its fintech arm.

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Lumen wins $110 million contract to provide network services for defense department

News

The company, which has provided 11,000 miles of fiber in support of the U.S. Department of Defense Information Network, will provide “mission-critical network services to the U.S. Department of Defense.”

Lumen Technologies has won a $110 million contract from the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) operate and maintain DISA’s fibre backbone.

The contract, which is the latest in a series won by Lumen, will see the company operating and maintaining colocation facilities, dark fibre, end-to-end network infrastructure, new fibre builds, and system updates “that use new technologies to improve network resilience, decrease latency and increase availability,” according to Lumen’s announcement about the contract.

The recent contract is an extension of an existing network services contract DISA previously awarded to Lumen, the company said.

Jason Schulman, Lumen national vice president, federal sales, said Lumen delivers always-on services that power the U.S. Department of Defense.

“DISA leverages the Lumen network’s strength, diversity and resiliency to achieve its mission of connecting and protecting America’s service men and women who help defend our nation,” he said.

The contract has a ceiling of approximately $110 million over a five-year period of performance until September 2028, according to Lumen’s Nov. 7 announcement.

Previously, Lumen won a $223 million contract with DISA, which was announced in Feb. 2023. In that contract, Lumen was selected to deliver voice communications services for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), according to Zain Ahmed, senior vice president, Lumen public sector, whose comments were included in a Feb. 2 announcement.

“DoD is modernising its network and leveraging cloud-based technologies like the new voice system enabled by Lumen that securely connects our troops with modern communications tools wherever they are,” he said at the time.

Other government contracts recently awarded to Lumen include a $1.5 billion contract from DISA to provide essential network transport and communications services in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Area of Responsibility and a $1.2 billion contract to deliver a fully integrated wide area data transport service with secure remote access, contact centre and cloud connectivity solutions to more than 9,500 USDA locations across the country, according to Lumen.

Before those contracts, both awarded in 2022, Lumen was awarded a $1.6 billion contract to provide secure network services and IT modernisation solutions to the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2020, according to information provided by the company.

Published by our sister title, Broadband Communities. Reach editor Brad Randall at brad.randall@totaltele.com.

Also in the news:
KPN outlines new €4.5bn network investment plan
Vodafone Germany accelerates railway 5G deployment
nexfibre releases rollout plans