News

The landing further cements Sicily as a cornerstone of Mediterranean connectivity, as well being a milestone for Google’s larger Blue–Raman cable project

Italian wholesale connectivity specialist Sparkle has announced that it has landed its BlueMed cable at its data centre in Palermo, Sicily.

This landing completes the BlueMed’s primary Genoa-Golfo Aranci-Pomezia-Palermo Tyrrhenian route, with the system expected to be operational by the end of May.

Further expansion to Bastia in Corsica is expected in autumn this year.

The BlueMed cable comprises four fibre pairs and an initial design capacity of more than 25 Terabits per second (Tbps) per pair, helping to further transform Sicily into a digital hub in the centre of the Mediterranean.

Sparkle’s open access Sicily Hub open data centre in Palermo already serves eighteen international cables.

“With the landing of BlueMed in Palermo, we complete the laying of the Tyrrhenian section of one of the most advanced digital infrastructures in the world while reinforcing Sicily’s centrality in the global Internet system,” said Sparkle CEO Enrico Bagnasco. “Thanks to BlueMed, the Sicily Hub in Palermo is set for further expansion and growth, confirming itself as a strategic asset for the country’s digitization and a key hub for data traffic in the Mediterranean region.”

The plan to create BlueMed was first announced back in 2019, with Sparkle aiming to connect their Sicily Hub to a new landing site in Genoa. From there, the system would connect overland to Milan, one of Europe’s busiest data nodes.

Shortly after announcing the creation of this new open landing station in Genoa, however, Google announced they were seeking to create their own submarine cable route across the Med, presenting a plan to incorporate Sparkle’s nascent MedBlue cable into their larger Blue–Raman project.

The Google’s Blue–Raman cable system plans to expand the BlueMed system all the way to Tel Aviv, Israel. From there, the system will travel overland to Aqaba, Jordan, before linking to Raman cable system and continuing its journey through the Red Sea and on to Mumbai, India.

In this way, Google and its partners aim to create a new route for Asian data traffic to travel into Europe.

Blue–Raman will have a total of 16 fibre pairs, four of which will be shared with Sparkle.

The Blue–Raman cable is expected to be ready for service next year.

Sparkle will be participating in this year’s Submarine Networks EMEA event at the end of this month!

On May 31, Sparkle’s VP Product Management Backbone & Infrastructure Solutions Giuseppe Valentino will discuss the development of the latest connectivity hubs in the EMEA region and, on June 1, Sparkle’s EVP Europe, Zvika Caspy, will provide an update on Sparkle’s latest projects.

Also in the news:
Wind Tre carves out network assets, sells majority stake to EQT
Rakuten Mobile and KDDI strike roaming agreement
CMA gives Viasat the thumbs up to acquire Inmarsat

News

Swedish infrastructure fund EQT will own 60% of the newly formed company, with the remaining 40% held by Wind Tre’s owner, CK Hutchison

Today, private equity firm EQT have announced a new deal that will see them acquire a 60% stake in a newly formed company, set to own and operate Italian operator Wind Tre’s fixed and mobile network assets.

The new company will take ownership of all Wind Tre’s radio antennas, base stations, transport network, and associated contracts, offering the network to customers on an independent wholesale basis. Wind Tre will retain access to the infrastucture as an anchor tenant of the new business.

Estimates suggest the deal’s enterprise value is around €3.4 billion.

According to Wind Tre, this deal will allow them to focus on serving their retail customers, as well as generating new revenue streams beyond their core fixed and mobile offerngs.

“This is part of our Group’s ‘asset light strategy’ for us to recoup the cost of our network investment. At the same time, Wind Tre will benefit from having a partner to own and maintain a state-of-the-art network which will benefit our customers while having certainty on its cost base for OPEX and CAPEX,” explained Canning Fok, Group Co-Managing Director of CK Hutchison. “Our partner EQT is a renowned investor in this infrastructure investment space, and we look forward to working with them for a very long time.”

As always, this deal will be subject to regulatory approvals, with the company’s hoping to close around the end of the year.

Italy has been a highly competitive telecoms market for many years now, with the introduction of Iliad Italia to the market in 2018 causing an aggressive price war in the mobile sector that still rumbled on to this day. Since then, the operators have been struggling to produce sustainable growth, particularly given their expensive network rollouts and the punishing global economic landscape.

Indeed, Italy’s largest operator TIM has been attempting to similarly monetise its network assets for many months now, with new CEO Pietro Labriola penning a plan to spin off the company’s infrastructure unit into a separate business.

Currently, TIM has received offers from both KKR and a partnership of the CDP Equity and Macquarie for a stake in this spun-off NetCo, with TIM announcing a formal competitive bidding process back in March.

The bidders have until June 9 to submit improved offers.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest international telecoms news? Click here to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter direct to your inbox!

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

Press Release

KDDI Corporation, Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company and Rakuten Mobile, Inc. today announced that the three companies have concluded a new roaming agreement as of April 2023

In order to contribute to the promotion of fair competition among mobile network operators in Japan, KDDI committed to providing roaming services through its au network to Rakuten Mobile from the launch of fourth generation (4G) mobile communication service until the end of March 2026. As Rakuten Mobile has expanded its own 4G network area to achieve 98% population coverage since its full-scale commercial launch in April 2020, KDDI and Rakuten Mobile came together to review their roaming agreement.

Under the new agreement, KDDI will provide roaming services to Rakuten Mobile in areas not covered by the previous roaming agreement including select high-traffic shopping districts in Tokyo’s 23 wards and the cities of Osaka and Nagoya, as well as continue to provide roaming services for select indoor locations (subways, underground shopping centers, tunnels and other indoor facilities) and rural areas. The new roaming agreement comes into effect in June 2023 and extends to September 2026.

Utilizing these roaming services allows Rakuten Mobile to provide subscribers with a more convenient service by improving network connectivity rapidly and efficiently, while at the same time limiting its financial burden. Additionally, by promoting the shared use of its infrastructure, KDDI will drive both the effective use of its 4G infrastructure and the rollout of its 5G network.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest international telecoms news? Click here to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter direct to your inbox!

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

News

The UK competition regulator said that the $7.3 billion acquisition will not substantially reduce competition in the satellite communications sector

This week, Viasat has moved one step closer to completing its acquisition of fellow satellite communications specialist Inmarsat, with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) granting unconditional approval for the deal on Tuesday.

The deal, first announced back in November 2021, would see the companies combine their satellite assets, which currently include around 20 geostationary devices providing services in the Ka-, L- and S-bands. An additional ten geostationary spacecraft are planned for launch until by 2024, with Inmarsat also seeking to deploy 150–175 low Earth orbit satellites as part of its ORCHESTRA project.

The scale of the merger immediately set alarm bells ringing for regulators around the world, many of whom quickly launched probes into the deal’s impact on market competition. The CMA was particularly concerned that the deal would lead to pricier in-flight Wi-Fi services, launching an in-depth investigation in October last year.

By March 2023, the CMA had provisionally cleared the takeover, pending the results of its Phase 2 investigation.

Now, this Phase 2 probe is complete, with the CAM finding that the merger should not have a negative impact on market competition, due largely to the expanding nature of the satellite communications sector and the emergence of new players.

““The satellite communications sector is evolving at rapid pace – new companies are entering the market, more satellites are being launched into space, and firms are exploring and entering into new commercial deals. All the evidence has shown that the sector will continue to grow as the demand for satellite connectivity increases,” said the CMA’s Richard Feasey, who chaired the investigation into the merger. “After carefully scrutinising the deal, we are now satisfied that, following the merger, these developments will ensure that both airlines and their UK customers will continue to benefit from strong competition.”

This marks the latest in a number of hurdles for the deal to clear, including permissions to proceed from both the Foreign Investment Review Board of Australia and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US.

However, even larger hurdles are still to come, most notably from the European Commission and the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which are both currently conducting their own independent investigations into the merger.

The European Commission is expected to announced its decision on June 29, but the FCC’s investigation could take longer still, following complaints by rival satellite players, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest international telecoms news? Click here to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter direct to your inbox!

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

News

The two firms continue to deepen ties, saying they will work together on technology, procurement, and creating joint solutions for customers

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