This week, Virgin Media O2 (VMO”) has announced that launch of five new apprenticeship schemes, set to focus on digital marketing, cyber security, quantity surveying, network cabling and DevOps.
 
These new schemes will run in addition to the 40 the company already offers in these crucial areas, with VMO2 also running alternative schemes for network engineering roles.
 
Apprentices will reportedly be paid a minimum annual salary of £19,000, with the company seeking to fill an additional 70 roles in total…

These new schemes will run in addition to the 40 the company already offers in these crucial areas, with VMO2 also running alternative schemes for network engineering roles.

Apprentices will reportedly be paid a minimum annual salary of £19,000, with the company seeking to fill an additional 70 roles in total, adding to the 450 apprentices it has taken on since June 2021.

“We’re on a mission to upgrade the UK, and are recruiting talented people to make this happen,” said Karen Handley, Head of Future Careers at Virgin Media O2. “With thousands of people finishing school or college and receiving their A-Level results, there has never been a better time to join us as an apprentice where you can earn whilst you learn. Whether it’s cyber security or network engineering, digital marketing or planning, at Virgin Media O2 we’re constantly expanding our array of apprenticeship programmes to help our people develop the skills they need for the future.”

VMO2’s decision to announce this expansion at the same time as UK students receive their A-Level results is no coincidence. 

This year, despite top grades falling compared to 2021, UCAS figures show that around 425,000 students achieved the grades required to go to university, the second highest amount ever in the UK. 

However, in contrast to enduring popularity of going to university, recent studies have shown that teenagers are increasingly concerned about securing a career path earlier in life, potentially concurrently with their studies. An 800-person study conducted by VMO2 itself found that more than a quarter (27%) of teens aged 11 to 18-years-old felt that university was not the right choice unless it led directly towards a career. The cost-of-living crisis was also a major concern, with 31% of respondents in the study saying they felt the economic environment meant that university was not longer a good idea.

Parents, however, still view university as superior to apprenticeships and other work schemes, with 41% of parents saying they hoped their child would go to university, versus just 21% that would like to see them do an apprenticeship. 

VMO2 itself suggests that this study indicates that there are still negative misconceptions attached to the idea of apprenticeships – something they hope to change with their own schemes.

“Apprenticeships are still a confusing concept to many parents and potential apprentices – but they offer a great alternative to university,” said Handley. “There is a common misconception in the UK that apprenticeships are only for traditional trades such as plumbing or hairdressing – but in actual fact, there are many opportunities available in fields as broad as cyber security, marketing, and IT.”

With finding the next generation of telecoms professionals a constant thorn in the industry’s side, VMO2 will be hopeful that the expansion of their apprenticeship programmes will help alleviate some of their recruitment pressure in the years to come, particularly in increasingly crucial areas like software development and cybersecurity. 

Today, Brazilian media is reporting that both ATC and IHS Towers are lining up to bid for OI’s 8,000 mobile towers, situated throughout Brazil, according to anonymous sources close to the matter.
Oi has already received a binding offer of roughly $326 million in early August for the towers from NK 108 Empreendimentos e Participacoes (NK 108)…

Today, Brazilian media is reporting that both ATC and IHS Towers are lining up to bid for OI’s 8,000 mobile towers, situated throughout Brazil, according to anonymous sources close to the matter.

Oi has already received a binding offer of roughly $326 million in early August for the towers from NK 108 Empreendimentos e Participacoes (NK 108), an affiliate of Brazilian infrastructure developer Highline do Brasil II Infraestrutura de Telecomunicacoes (Highline). The deal would see around $210 million paid to Oi immediately, with the rest of the sum paid up until 2026, depending on the level of infrastructure usage.

Now, according to reports, any new proposals from other potential suitors are expected to be submitted by Monday afternoon, with the minimum bid at least matching that of Highline. 

All three of these tower companies have been growing at pace in recent years, with tower infrastructure becoming an ever more attractive long-term investment, particularly in today’s unstable global economy. 

Highline has increased its Brazilian tower portfolio significantly in recent years through a number of acquisitions, including buying 637 towers from Oi itself last year and over 3,000 via the acquisition of Phoenix Tower Brazil back in 2020. 

ATC, meanwhile, most notably acquired Telefonica’s tower unit, Telxius, last year, giving it access to an additional 30,722 mobile towers spread throughout Germany, Spain, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Argentina.

Finally, IHS Tower’s most recent acquisitions have been on the African continent, most notably paying telecoms giant MTN $412 million for around 13,000 sites in South Africa. However, IHS has also expanded its Brazilian tower holdings already this year, with its acquisition of São Paulo Cinco Locação de Torres Ltda. (“SP5”) increasing their portfolio in the country to over 7,000 sites.

This week, the Tanzanian government has announced that state-owned mobile operator Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation (TTC) has begun connecting Africa’s highest mountain to the internet. 
 
The government said that it had completed the installation of telecommunications equipment 3,720 metres up the mountainside, providing access to a high-speed broadband connection for the thousands of climbers that visit the mountain every year. 
 
By the end of the year…

This week, the Tanzanian government has announced that state-owned mobile operator Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation (TTC) has begun connecting Africa’s highest mountain to the internet. 

The government said that it had completed the installation of telecommunications equipment 3,720 metres up the mountainside, providing access to a high-speed broadband connection for the thousands of climbers that visit the mountain every year. 

By the end of the year, TTC says it will have deployed infrastructure covering Kilimanjaro’s summit, some 5,895 metres above sea level.

The specific technologies used to provide these services and the speeds that consumers can expect have not been revealed.

« Today Up on Mount Kilimanjaro: I am hoisting high-speed INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS (BROADBAND) on the ROOF OF AFRICA, » wrote Tanzania’s minister of information, communication and information technology, Nape Moses Nnauye in a tweet.

Today Up on Mount Kilimanjaro: I am hoisting high-speed INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS (BROADBAND) on the ROOF OF AFRICA. Tourists can now communicate worldwide from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. WE ARE GOING TO UHURU PEAK 5880 Meters Above Sea Level!#royaltourcompliment #royaltour pic.twitter.com/jXqGoWCBjU

— Nape Moses Nnauye (@Nnauye_Nape) August 16, 2022

The government says that the infrastructure deployment will allow for greater safety while up on the mountain, giving climbers better access to emergency services, as well as navigation and weather information. 

While this is certainly a major advantage for prospective climbers, mountaineering organisations have warned climbers to be wary of an overreliance on fallible technology.

Beyond safety concerns, perhaps a bigger driver for this infrastructure deployment is the connectivity’s potential positive impact on tourism. 

In recent years, the Tanzanian government has been realigning its tourism strategy with regard to the continent’s most famous mountain, including last year announcing a controversial plan to build a cable car on mountain’s southern slope. Allowing tourists to post pictures and engage with social media while climbing the mountain itself, will surely be a boon for the country’s tourism board.

Another interested party that seems particularly excited about this announcement has been the Chinese government, which has been helping Tanzania to invest in connectivity infrastructure for many years. 

According to data from the Tanzania Investment Center (TIC), China is Tanzania’s largest source of foreign investment, funding projects transportation, manufacturing, mining, tourism, agriculture, fishing, agro-processing, and, indeed, telecommunications. Back in 2017, for example, China’s Exim Bank loaned the Tanzanian government $70 million for the rollout of the first phase of the nation’s fibre optic backbone project.

Tanzania is also a key location in the Chinese government’s Belt and Road Initiative.