Telekom Malaysia app streamlines prescriptions for pharmacies

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Virgin Media O2 Breaks New Ground with Smart Pole Trial  


News 

The trial will boost mobile capacity in dense urban areas 

British broadband and mobile operator Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has announced its latest initiative – the Smart Pole Trial, in collaboration with shareholder Liberty Global.  

As part of the trial, VMO2 has erected 4G and 5G smart poles on their existing fibre network to help boost mobile network coverage and capacity. 

The poles are smaller than normal mobile masts and can be set up quickly and without regulatory hurdles such as planning permission. As VMO2 have approximately 25,000 street cabinet dotted across the UK, the trial allows for a wide scale rollout that would speed up network build, reduce costs and de-risk upgrade programmes.  

The company also claim that in a UK first, the electricity “is supplied by Virgin Media’s fibre network rather than a traditional power supply through innovative ‘digital electricity’ technology, which transmits power from on-street cabinets in the local area along fibre optic cables”. 

There is also the possibility that in the future, the smart poles could power smart city solutions and electric vehicle chargers using the company’s existing network. 

“As we continue investing to upgrade and expand our network, we’re always looking for new ways to work smarter and deliver more for our customers,” said Chief Technology Officer Jeanie York in a press release.  

“The ability to use our existing national fixed network to backhaul and power small cells could be transformational – helping us save time and money, open up new revenue streams, support smart city technology and fully leverage the benefits of our scaled converged network,” she continued. 

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

Also in the news:
BT wins £26m contract to connect UK schools
Apple fined €1.8bn by European Commission over Spotify row
Japan to reduce regulatory pressure on incumbent NTT 

Industry Spotlight: Windstream Enterprise President Michael Flannery

Industry Spotlight: Windstream Enterprise President Michael Flannery

Anticipating Key Trends in the Industry for 2024

Michael Flannery is President of the Enterprise business unit at Windstream. A seasoned business leader with more than 24 years of industry experience, he oversees all components of Windstream Enterprise and transformative initiatives within the enterprise world.  We spoke with Michael to get his perspectives on trends he believes will shape business strategies in the telecommunications sector this year. He shares … [visit site to read more]

Indian telcos say theft of wireless radio gear is getting worse

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has reportedly urged the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to do more to stop the theft of telecoms gear from cell towers, which has escalated in the last few months amid aggressive 5G rollouts.

According to ETTelecom, the COAI – which represents Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea – sent a letter to DoT secretary Neeraj Mittal last Thursday saying that incidents of theft have increased “multi-fold” since October 2023.

COAI Director General SP Kochhar said in the letter that thieves are mainly making off with remote radio units (RRUs) and baseband units (BBUs). He also said that theft is particularly rampant in Delhi NCR, Rajasthan, Assam, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Punjab & Haryana, “with just 31 districts contributing to as much as 50% of the theft incidents reported pan India”, the report said.

The letter also said that a “huge number of sites” have been robbed multiple times and claims that the stolen gear is being openly sold on e-commerce sites such as Ebay, Telefly, Seeker816, Dorfatrade, and Alibaba, according to the report.

Kochhar added that in most cases, telcos are unable to recover both the stolen equipment and the subsequent losses in replacing them. 

The increase in theft cases comes as Jio and Airtel complete their rollouts of 5G technologies across the country, while Vodafone Idea has started its rollout and is planning to launch 5G in the second half of this year,

The COAI letter asked the DoT to contact all state chief secretaries to prioritise telecoms theft cases, arrange police protection for telecoms infrastructure and block websites selling the equipment, the report said.

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Internet down due to subsea cable damage in Africa

Operators have reported connectivity disruption across Africa after multiple subsea cables had been reported to be damaged off the coast in West Africa.

Subsea cables carry the bulk of connectivity traffic with a small part carried by satellites. Reports of internet connectivity being disrupted came in yesterday (March 14). Internet security company Cloudflare reported Liberia saw disruptions lasting more than 12 hours, while in Gambia and Guinea outages only lasted 30 minutes. 

In a statement to Developing Telecoms, Orange said the ACE, MainOne Sat 3, and WACS cables had been damaged along the West Coast of Africa.

“Major impacts on international connectivity (voice and data) have been observed in several countries, particularly for Orange subsidiaries in the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Burkina Mali and Guinea,” said an Orange spokesperson. 

The operator said the cause of the outages is unknown at this time, and it is looking to reroute traffic and connect isolated countries through alternative routes. “Several terrestrial links have already been reinforced to improve the situation,” said Orange. 

Vodacom posted on X (formerly Twitter) that there had been “undersea cable failures between South Africa and Europe” which had affected South African MNOs”. The operator implemented alternative solutions and “normal service has been restored to customers”. 

Angola Cables detailed in a statement there had indeed been “cable breaks” off the coast of West Africa, specifically in the Ivory Coast. Traffic has been redirected to the SACS cable which connects Angola directly to Brazil, the US and Europe. 

“Angola Cables has network backup and restoration solutions available through cables that have not been affected by the faults off the Ivory Coast,” the cable company said. 

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UK Government cracks down on telegraph pole deployment 


News 

The announcement comes “in light of increasing public concern” of telegraph pole deployment 

This week, Julia Lopez MP, Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure, penned an recent open letter directed to all fixed-line operators, cracking down on the installation of new telegraph poles in the UK, suggesting that the infrastructure should be shared. 

According to the letter, many MPs have highlighted the issue, as constituents have grown frustrated the duplication of overhead fibre networks. They have advised that their constituents feel they have no control over how infrastructure is deployed in their local area, and this can negatively affect the overall perception of full fibre deployment. 

While these concerns are more pronounced in specific regions (especially rural areas), she emphasized their resonance across the nation, urging fixed-line operators to heed and address these issues promptly. 

Therefore, the government wants to implement a refreshed set of guidelines that makes sure that “communities feel engaged in the deployment of new broadband infrastructure, whilst still allowing operators to continue deploying their networks.” 

“Telegraph poles are a key piece of infrastructure bringing faster connectivity to communities and businesses across the country,” said Lopez. 

“Most telecoms companies are doing a fantastic job in delivering that connectivity with the support of those communities, by sharing existing infrastructure and taking into account surroundings when putting up new poles. But we know that there are some firms that are losing that vital community support by inappropriately or unnecessarily throwing up new infrastructure.” 

Lopez confirmed that she had written to operators asking them to share existing infrastructure. Of particular note was Lopez’s announcement of forthcoming revisions to the Cabinet Siting and Pole Siting Code of Practice. This which provides guidance on ways operators can ensure that telegraph pole and cabinet installations are placed appropriately, and that local authorities and communities are engaged with regarding proposed installations. 

The new changes will make sure that communities feel engaged in the deployment of new broadband infrastructure, whilst still allowing operators to continue deploying their networks, bringing faster connectivity and greater choice to consumers. 

The epistle culminated with expressions of gratitude for operators’ tireless efforts in advancing the country’s connectivity goals, underscoring the pivotal role of infrastructure sharing in rallying public support and expediting broadband deployment. 

In response to Lopez’s the letter, telecom operators are set to reassess their deployment strategies, placing heightened emphasis on infrastructure sharing and community engagement.  

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

Also in the news:
BT wins £26m contract to connect UK schools
Apple fined €1.8bn by European Commission over Spotify row
Japan to reduce regulatory pressure on incumbent NTT

Building on 5G network and services innovation will drive future growth, say operators

Huawei’s pre-show industry forum at MWC2024 in Barcelona, under the banner of the 5G Beyond Growth Summit, provided a platform for key executives from the ICT industry to share their experiences of 5G business growth and to explore prospects for 5.5G (5G-A).

The final session of the day brought together senior executives from leading operators in a panel discussion to share their 5G experiences so far and to discuss how to drive business growth in the 5.5G era.

Asked what had impressed them so far about 5G, the panellists pointed to a variety of aspects. Chika Ekeji, Chief Strategy Transformation Officer for MTN Group said that 5G’s potential particularly with regard to use cases was the feature that had most impressed him. Karim Benkirane, Chief Commerical Officer at du, UAE noted the speed at which 5G had been able to gain market share.

Yelamate Mallikarjuna Rao, Chief Technology & Information Officer at Telefónica, Deutschland cited 5G’s ecosystem, but urged greater investment in people and skills. This was essential if the industry was to progress away from non-standalone 5G, Rao had observed in an earlier presentation. Quality is key to the future of networks and the future of operations because of the significant complexity involved in the way networks are operated, he noted.

Fan Ji’an, Big Data Chief Scientist at China Unicom Group pointed to 5G’s support for private networks and how these were able to positively transform the traditional working environment. Noting that the company had already deployed 500 private networks for the mining sector, he said that thanks to 5G workers who formerly worked underground could now operate vehicles from the surface.

Asked about network efficiency as a key focus for China’s 5G operators, Huang Lilian, General Manager of 5G co-construction and sharing work team at China Telecom noted that while there were many 5G models, the shared access network approach between China Telecom and China Unicom was probably unique.

“RAN sharing has built the world’s largest (standalone) 5G shared network, now with more than 1.2 million base stations covering towns and villages, said Huang Lilian. “Many operators face the challenge of high investment. We saved 270 billion RNB and reduced carbon emission by 10 billion tons. This is the practice I want to share for building a large network efficiently.”

On the subject of service innovation and network experience, Fan Ji’an said that over the past 5 years China Unicom has employed 5G for different industries and public services such as healthcare and education. As an example of innovation in an industrial context a multi-campus 5G network built by Unicom for the Schneider Electric energy equipment manufacturer uses cameras to detect the components and track stock levels on their production lines.

“For this you need enhanced MBB to support video, but also low latency,” explained Fan Ji’an. “That means the relationship between the network experience and service innovation is key.”

MTN Group’s Chika Ekeji acknowledged that operators in Africa may not yet have some of the advanced use cases that will become important to the continent, but he said there was a need to discover how to get creative around leveraging 5G technology.

In an earlier presentation, Ekeji outlined how these aims are enshrined in MTN’s “CHASE” framework which is designed to address the barriers to 5G in Africa through a series of measures including timely access to new spectrum bands for cost-effective 5G coverage, financing schemes to make handsets more affordable, regulatory support for more efficient spectrum use, collaboration with content providers to offer 5G service bundling and promote the adoption of cutting-edge technologies such as AR/VR, and better articulation of 5G capabilities and use cases, especially to businesses on the continent.

“As we look forward we have to find a way to unlock value for Africa’s young population,” said Ekeji. “Coverage and handsets are critical factors…as is engaging with the leadership of the regulatory bodies around these issues.”

Responding to a question about how du would market 5.5G to its customers, Karim Benkirane said that since launching fixed wireless access (FWA) in the UAE 3 years ago, du had doubled market share in terms of subscribers. In a presentation earlier in the day Benkirane explained that du had already achieved 98.5% population coverage with 5G, and that the share of data volume accounted for by 5G had also risen to beyond 60 per cent.

“5G FWA already represents a huge opportunity, and FWA with 5G Advanced can really deliver performance equivalent to fibre. Also the (optimum) latency will be achieved to make a great user experience,” he said.

The panel concluded with an acknowledgment by all particiants of the need to work jointly to develop a blueprint for the sustainable growth of 5G, and to embrace new challenges and opportunities in the era of 5.5G.

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Viettel wins Vietnam’s first round of 5G spectrum auctions

Viettel Group announced it has officially won the Ministry of Information and Communications’ auction for the 2500-2600 MHz band for 5G usage in Vietnam.

Under the new spectrum licence, Viettel will have rights to the 2500-2600 MHz band for the next 15 years, and can use the band for both 4G and 5G services.

No financial details were disclosed, although earlier media reports have said the starting price for the 2500-2600 MHz band was VND3.9 trillion (US$158 million).

The MIC kicked off an auction for the 3700-3800 MHz band on Thursday, and is expected to hold a third auction for the 3800-3900 MHz on March 19. The starting price for both of those bands is VND1.89 trillion. According to VNEconomy, each bidder is only allowed to win one band.

Viettel said the 2500-2600 MHz band would give it an advantage over the other two bands, as it offers slightly wider coverage. Viettel also said that 5G devices it has researched and produced support the 2500-2600 MHz band. According to Viettel, only 17% to 20% of devices in Vietnam currently support 5G connectivity.

Viettel said it plans to launch the national 5G network “in the shortest possible time.” Earlier, Nguyen Van Son, director of Viettel Telecom’s Mobile Centre, told the state Vietnam News Agency that Viettel plans to focus its 5G deployments in locations where there is both high demand and a high concentration of 5G-compatible devices, such as “industrial zones, export processing zones and innovation centres.”

An October 2023 report from VNMedia said that the 2500-2600 MHz auction winner will be required to deploy at least 3,000 5G broadcasting stations using the band within two years after they receive the licence. They must also commit to launching commercial 5G services using the band within the first 12 months.

VNA reports that the MIC has set a target to provide 5G coverage to 99% of the population by 2025, with minimum data speeds of 100 Mbps.

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CityFibre acquire Lit Fibre in latest round of UK altnet consolidation

In a move set to accelerate its nationwide full-fibre rollout, CityFibre, the UK’s leading independent network operator, has announced the acquisition of full fibre altnet Lit Fibre from Newlight Partners. This strategic acquisition is poised to extend CityFibre’s reach by up to 300,000 premises as part of its ambitious 8 million premises rollout program. The agreement, structured on a share-based acquisition model, will see Newlight Partners assume a minority stake in CityFibre. The completion of the transaction is anticipated in the second quarter of 2024.

Lit Fibre, a vertically integrated altnet, is both a network builder and Internet Service Provider (ISP). As of now, they cover 200,000 premises spanning across more than 20 towns in various regions including Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Worcestershire, Essex, and Suffolk. With a rapidly expanding subscriber base exceeding 9,000 retail customers, Lit Fibre brings significant operational value to CityFibre’s growth strategy.

This acquisition marks CityFibre’s initial move in a series of anticipated deals over the next two years, aligning with its vision to leverage altnet acquisitions as a key driver for growth. By integrating Lit Fibre into its network infrastructure, CityFibre aims to solidify its position as the primary wholesale competitor to BT Openreach in the UK.

The integration process, slated for completion later this year, will enable ISPs to access a consistent range of market-leading products, pricing, and service offerings across the network. CityFibre plans to seamlessly integrate Lit Fibre’s assets into its carrier-grade network, encompassing passive, active, and operational support systems.

The acquisition also includes Lit Fibre’s ongoing deployment initiatives, aiming to cover up to an additional 100,000 premises by early 2025. Leveraging existing poles and ducts, Lit Fibre’s network demonstrates an attractive build cost per premises. Lit Fibre also uses high standard and compatible 10Gbps XGS-PON network architecture which will be a boon to CityFibre’s integration process by allowing them to maintain high-quality services to customers.

CityFibre assures Lit Fibre customers of uninterrupted full-fibre broadband services throughout the integration process. As a wholesale-only operator, CityFibre remains committed to exploring retail ISP options post-integration to enhance service offerings.

With a proven track record of successful acquisitions including KCOM, Redcentric, Entanet, and FibreNation, CityFibre is well-equipped to integrate Lit Fibre into its commercial strategy.