News 

An EU report published this week by ex-Italian Prime Minster Enrico Letta has urged the telecoms industry to consolidate, to increase its global competition potential 

The report, titled ‘Much More Than a Market – Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizens”, sets out ideas to build a stronger economy that can compete more effectively on a global scale. Letta was tasked by Europe’s leaders to assess the failures of Europe’s single market, and the reports findings are to be presented today to the European Council, after a press conference held yesterday. 

Multiple industries were singled out in the report, including finance, energy, retail, telecoms, health, agrifood. The European telecoms market in particular was highlighted for its notable fragmentation. According to the report, the EU is comprised of 27 different national communications markets that each service an average of five million customers, compared to 107 million in the US and 467 million in China. 

It advocates for increased unity and harmonisation of national telecom regulations in the EU and a new cross-European regulatory body to oversee the telco sector. 

Although the report notes that the pro-competitive nature of the European regulation invites new market entrants and benefits the end consumer in terms of price, the ‘excessive’ market entry by ‘small-scale, territorially focused operators”, keeping this focus “would be detrimental for a technology switch towards advanced networks that require massive investments.” 

Only with increased scale can European telcos achieve the cost savings and levels of innovation needed to build critical digital infrastructure and develop new services like edge computing and the IoT, the report said. 

Europe’s mobile operators have been arguing similar points for years through their lobbying group ETNO. The group has long argued that the competitive nature of the EU market, although it is good for consumers, has left operators in a financially weak position with little resources for additional investments.  

“The lack of integration in the financial, energy, and electronic communications sectors is a primary reason for Europe’s declining competitiveness,” read the report. 

“There is an urgent need to catch up and strengthen the Single Market dimension for financial services, energy, and electronic Communications”. 

This is essential for Europe to compete with the likes of China, the US and India. “By identifying the European one as the relevant market, we can finally enable market forces to drive consolidation and growth in scale.” 

The primary objective of the consolidation is to promote growth and investment attractiveness for European operators. The report notes that “Europe must leverage the strengths of a unified telecommunications market and prioritise incentivising the necessary investments to bridge its growing connectivity investment gap.” 

Since the release of the report, Telefonica has expressed its support of it, particularly the “consideration of the telecommunications sector as one of the strategic levers for competitiveness, innovation, citizens’ well-being and the EU’s resilience, especially in terms of cybersecurity.” 

The report states that its contents ‘aim to inspire a genuine call to action among the European public opinion.” Once discussions on the report have been held, the European elections from 6-9 June will help decide on the adoption of the reports’ outlined steps. 

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

Also in the news:
South Korea to invest $7 billion in AI semiconductors
Swisscom expands 5G partnership with Ericsson
Daisy Group set to acquire 4Com for £215m

News

The move will be facilitated by a stake swap, with Dialog Axiata taking 100% ownership of Airtel Lanka in exchange for giving Bharti Airtel a 10.4% stake in Dialog Axiata

Today, Bharti Airtel and Dialog Axiata have jointly announced the signing of a formal agreement to merge their Sri Lankan operations.

The deal, which was first announced almost a year ago, will take place via an equity swap, with Bharti Airtel swapping 100% of its shares in its Sri Lankan unit, Airtel Lanka, for a 10.4% stake in its local rival Dialog Axiata.

The move see Airtel Lanka’s 5 million mobile subscribers integrated with Dialog Axiata’s 17 million, giving Dialog Axiata an even larger lead in the Sri Lankan market, with a market share of over two-thirds.

Rivals Hutch and SLT Mobitel have roughly 3.5 million and 7.5 million subscribers, respectively.

“This consolidation will enable the merged entity to garner economies of scale, reduce duplication of infrastructure, achieve synergies in technologies and capital expenditure, leading to enhanced high-speed broadband connectivity, voice and value-added services, cost savings, and operational efficiencies,” read a joint statement from Airtel and Dialog Axiata.

“The merger between Dialog and Airtel Lanka is aligned to Axiata’s strategy of market consolidation and resilience,” said Vivek Sood, Axiata Group Berhad’s Group CEO and Managing Director. “The merger will create value for shareholders of Dialog Axiata PLC and of Axiata Group through achievable synergies. We have the utmost respect for Airtel Lanka and its employees and look forward to working together as we integrate the two companies.”

According to the statement, the merger has already received regulatory approval from the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka.

The timeline for the mergers finalisation has not been announced.

Keep up to date with all the latest telecoms news from around the world with Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

Also in the news:
South Korea to invest $7 billion in AI semiconductors
Swisscom expands 5G partnership with Ericsson
Daisy Group set to acquire 4Com for £215m

Some of Zen Internet’s broadband ISP customers are this afternoon being affected by a “NATIONWIDE OUTAGE“, which appears to have started at around 11:30am today and is currently still ongoing. BT also saw a small increase in complaints at around the same time, but Zen appears to be suffering from the biggest impact.

According to some of those impacted by the problem, their broadband connections are still physically live (i.e. all the router lights are green), but the actual internet connectivity itself doesn’t seem to be functioning or is only partly functional. This usually tends to suggest a problem with routing/peering or possibly a Domain Name System (DNS) issue.

A spokesperson for Zen Internet told ISPreview: “Some of our valued customers may be experiencing an internet outage. Our teams are aware of this and are working to get it resolved asap. We will keep our service alert updated and will also post again across our social media channels as we have updates. Please know that we take this very seriously and we are sorry for any inconvenience this may be causing.”

Zen has also opened a Service Status Page report on the fault, although at the moment it doesn’t add much to the above information.

UPDATE 1:31pm

Some customers have reported that using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) provided a temporary workaround, which further suggests that a routing or DNS issue may be the cause. We should add that the issue also appears to be impacting some of Zen’s leased line users.

Network operator Colt (Colt Technology Services) recently revealed (here) that their metro fibre optic broadband and Ethernet network has been expanded to reach 7,000 more on-net sites through their long-running partnership with CityFibre, which is deploying a full fibre network across a significant chunk of the UK.

The partnership with CityFibre enables Colt to use its access model to connect commercial buildings as on-net locations, supporting the provision of fully managed and multi-gigabit speed Colt services. The extended metro reach enables Colt’s customers to benefit from “On Demand” capabilities in these cities.

As a result of recent work, Colt’s customers now have access to more than 7,000 “virtual on-net buildings across seven new cities“, with the latest additions meaning that businesses in Bracknell, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Maidenhead, Milton Keynes, Leeds and Slough can now benefit from access to Colt’s connectivity services. Credits to Fibre Provider for spotting.

Colt’s Statement

Both Colt and CityFibre are continuing to invest in our networks and expand our reach, with the ever-expanding footprint meaning that businesses in Bracknell, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Maidenhead, Milton Keynes, Leeds and Slough can now benefit from Colt’s agile, reliable and secure global connectivity. For existing Colt customers, this makes it quicker and easier to add new locations in these cities.

Our close partnership means we can offer these sites as ‘virtual on-net’ locations, so customers can provision services through the Colt On Demand portal and quickly see availability.

We’ve been working together with CityFibre since 2016 and their network and values are a great match for ours. Their 10Gbps XGS-PON platform technology upgrade means that, since 2023, we’ve been enabling the future delivery of multi-gig services to businesses, alongside innovations such as zero-touch service upgrades and proactive in-life maintenance and repairs to continually deliver best-in-class service.

Broadband ISP Plusnet has this week introduced a bunch of new discounts across their home broadband packages, which for example have slashed the monthly price of their top 900Mbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) package to just £41.99 per month on a 24-month term.

The internet provider’s fibre broadband packages are typically data-only plans (no home phone) that include unlimited usage, a new Hub Two wireless router (re-branded BT Smart Hub 2), a 24-month minimum contract term, Plusnet SafeGuard and Protect – both powered by Norton – and free activation.

Prices tend to start at £24.99 for their SoGEA Fibre / FTTC (up to 70-80Mbps) package (£32.37 after 24-months) and we’ve listed their full fibre (FTTP) packages below. But be aware that prices tend to rise each year on 31st March by Consumer Price Index rate of inflation + 3.9%, although this policy is due to change sometime during the coming summer (here).

Plusnet’s Full Fibre Packages

Full Fibre 145Mbps (30Mbps upload)
PRICE: £27.99 per month for 24-months (£43.20 thereafter)

Full Fibre 300Mbps (50Mbps upload)
PRICE: £29.99 per month for 24-months (£49.38 thereafter)

Full Fibre 500Mbps (75Mbps upload)
PRICE: £33.99 per month for 24-months (£58.02 thereafter)

Full Fibre 900Mbps (115Mbps upload)
PRICE: £41.99 per month for 24-months (£67.89 thereafter)

News

Internet providers are preparing their post-ACP game plans.

The end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is fast approaching and providers and consumers alike are preparing for their next steps.

In early 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched ACP to replace the Emergency Broadband Benefit. The program provided eligible households $30 per month towards internet service ($75/month for those on qualifying Tribal land). Some households could also receive a one-time discount on purchasing a laptop, desktop, or tablet.

Now, the end of the ACP is imminent, unless Congress allocates additional funds. The program has less than $1.8 billion remaining, meaning that April is the last month in which operators will be able to provide the full $30 per month benefit with the program’s funding. In May, operators can choose to discontinue the benefit, or to put in place their own subsidized plans.

In a statement released on April 9th, 2024 the FCC indicated that the maximum benefit providers should expect to receive in May is $14 per ACP customer, or $35 per qualifying Tribal customer. The FCC stopped accepting new ACP enrollments in February.

Several providers have already outlined the strategies they will take to “keep consumers connected at this crucial time”, as urged by the FCC.

Verizon will offer home internet for as low as $20/month through “Verizon Forward”. New Verizon Forward customers will pay $0/month for the first 6 months they are enrolled.

AT&T will continue offering its “Access from AT&T” plan which provides 100 Megabit speeds for $30/month. With the ACP’s $30 discount, this plans was previously free for some customers.

With home internet from $9.95/month, Comcast’s “Internet Essentials” plan will continue to provide a low-cost connectivity option. Additionally, customers can transfer their ACP benefit to some plans.

Charter, who was “far and away” the largest provider in the ACP program, has not made specific announcements about ACP replacements or alternatives. However, some customers who were using the ACP benefit may be eligible for Spectrum’s Internet Assist Plan. This offers 50 megabit internet for $24.99/month.

Through August 2024, Fastwyre Broadband will continue to provide the $30 ACP benefit (and $75 benefit for those on Tribal lands) at its own expense. This applies to their existing ACP customers.

A number of other providers offer discounted plans for qualifying families, some from $10 per month. The Lifeline program will continue to provide a benefit, though it is smaller than that provided by the ACP. There are also a number of charitable organizations that can offer assistance with monthly internet costs or provide internet-enabled devices like laptops or tablets.

While there is bipartisan support for extending the ACP and there have been calls from ISPs, government bodies, and advocacy groups to provide additional funding, it seems increasingly unlikely that the program will continue.

Currently, more than 23 million households rely on the ACP to access the internet. The COVID-19 pandemic made it more clear than ever that a reliable, fast internet connection is crucial for participating fully in modern life. Without the extension of ACP or a comprehensive alternative, millions of Americans face being excluded from a host of opportunities.

WALTHAM, MA — April 16, 2024 — Netcracker Technology announced today that Play, the operator that acquired UPC Poland and is part of iliad, a major European telecommunications group, has extended its relationship with Netcracker for professional services and Digital BSS, which provides support for a number of functions, from onboarding new subscribers to service activation, including billing and payments.

Play, the leading operator in Poland, offers mobile, broadband Internet and television services to customers throughout the country over its extensive mobile and fixed networks. By continuing to incorporate Netcracker’s professional services, Play will gain numerous benefits, including the highest level of system performance, visibility into critical business processes, the ability to quickly launch new products and services and unmatched service quality.

“We have been working with Netcracker for many years, through several business changes and acquisitions, and we appreciate the extensive experience and knowledge to help us in key areas, such as application development and supporting our BSS stack,” said Pawel Passowicz, Chief IT Officer at Play. “We are happy to continue our engagement going forward.”

“Play has grown and evolved over the years, making this a truly fulfilling partnership for Netcracker,” said Benedetto Spaziani, GM at Netcracker. “We are proud to be Play’s vendor of choice for BSS and support and maintenance, which when combined deliver a strong solution for the future.”

About Netcracker Technology

Rapid digitization is disrupting the status quo of today’s communications markets. Constantly evolving customer needs and behaviors require service providers to adapt quickly and diversify their businesses to deliver the outcomes that their customers expect. Building digital ecosystems, anticipating customer requirements and delivering a digital-first experience are essential for service providers to accelerate innovation, expand into new markets and become the disruptors in the 5G era.

Netcracker Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, has the expertise, culture and resources to help service providers around the world transform their businesses to thrive in a digital economy. Our innovative solutions – including our flagship cloud-native Netcracker Digital Platform – value-driven services and unbroken delivery track record of three decades help service providers to achieve their digital transformation goals, drive the telco to techco evolution within their organizations and realize business growth and profitability. For more information, visit www.netcracker.com.

News

The Council, aimed at reinforcing the UK’s supply of key imports, includes 23 representatives from business, academia, and government

Today, the UK government has announced the first meeting of the newly formed Critical Imports Council, a group formed to ‘help safeguard flows of vital goods such as medicines and smartphone chips’.

The creation of the Council is part of the government’s wider Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy, announced in January, aimed at ensuring minimal disruption for British consumers due to global supply chain shortages.

In its announcement, the government noted the increasingly volatile nature of global supply chains, highlighting the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Russia invasion of Ukraine, attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, and environmental disasters on UK businesses.

“It’s never been more important to strengthen our supply chains and make sure vital goods can continue reaching consumers, in the face of the pandemic, the Red Sea attacks and many other crises around the world,” said Business and Trade Minister Alan Mak, who is serving as Chair of the Critical Import Council. “That’s why we’re now going even further to strengthen our critical goods supplies with the launch of this new Council, which will bring together government and industry experts to help protect businesses from supply chain shocks now and in the future.”

The Council will comprise 23 representatives from across the public and private sector, covering numerous industries from aerospace automotive to healthcare and shipping. The full list of representatives can be found here.

The interest of the UK’s communication industry is seemingly represented by the likes of BT and Tech UK, with BT’s Chief Security and Network Officer, Howard Watson, noting his involvement in a Linkedin post.

“The new Critical Imports Council met for the first time today. It has been established to address some of the difficulties that international conflict, pandemics and other challenges pose to the usual flow of vital equipment that’s needed across a range of sectors,”  he said. “Having the voice of the telecommunications industry is therefore vital and I’ll raise issues on behalf of all colleagues in our sector to seek to protect the supply chains we all rely upon.”

The Council will meet quarterly to evaluate risks to their relevant supply chains and how to mitigate their impact for UK consumers.

Ensuring robust supply chains for critical technologies has been a key focus for governments around the world in recent years. Alongside the aforementioned challenges for global supply chains, geopolitical tensions between East and West has seen industry’s grow increasingly protectionist and insular, particularly with regards to semiconductors, AI, and other rapidly advancing technologies viewed as the bedrock of the future economy.

When it comes to smartphone chips, for example, massive subsidies are being doled out in the US, Europe, China, and Japan to bolster their respective production capabilities and reduce reliance on overseas suppliers.

How important is global supply chain resilience for UK telcos? Join the discussions at the Connected North conference live in Manchester. Get your tickets today!

Also in the news:
South Korea to invest $7 billion in AI semiconductors
Swisscom expands 5G partnership with Ericsson
Daisy Group set to acquire 4Com for £215m

Sky (Sky Broadband) has today announced plans to deploy the next major new update (Entertainment OS v1.3) for the operating system firmware (software) that underpins their broadband-based Sky Glass and Sky Stream pay TV platforms, which will introduce a variety of new features when it begins rolling out in the next few weeks.

The last big update, EOS v1.2, began rolling out in July 2023 (here) and introduced various features, such as the ability to fast-forward and rewind using your voice, as well as more personalisation for playlists, tailored viewing recommendations via the movie / TV genre rails and bug fixes etc.

The next EOS v1.3 update, which is due to start rolling out to existing customers from May 2024, will similarly introduce various new features, such as Auto Game Mode, enhanced voice control options and lower latency (i.e. quicker response times) on Sky Sports Main Event.

Entertainment OS 1.3 Features

Auto Game Mode levels up gameplay

Good news for gamers, Auto Game Mode is launching on Sky Glass which uses Auto Low Latency (ALLM) to offer a more responsive gaming experience for casual players. Simply plug in your console and Sky Glass will automatically switch to Auto Game Mode.

Add actors to your Playlist

Add your favourite actors to your playlist, and then easily find movies and TV shows they’ve been in to watch whenever you want. Soon, football fans will be able to follow their teams to enjoy the latest matches all in one place.
Simply press the + button on the remote whilst browsing for people in the UI, e.g. from the new Cast & Crew rail on the show page, or search for your favourite people and add from there. When a person has been added, you can find them within a ‘People you follow’ rail within the playlist section.

“Hello Sky, add to Playlist”

You’ll be able to use your voice to add movies and shows to your playlist. Simply go to the show or movie page and say, “Hello Sky, add to playlist” to save things you want to watch later.

Sky Sports Main Event soon to be available in Low Latency

Sky Sports Main Event viewers will soon be able to watch the channel in Low Latency, reducing the time between the action on the pitch and watching on your Sky Glass or Stream. Latency has been reduced by over 20 seconds, which means you can now watch your favourite sports faster than many other streaming services.
Sky Sports Main Event viewers will be able to watch sports in Low Latency over the coming months, before being rolled out to other Sky Sports channels this year.

Show Page to show Rotten Tomatoes ratings

Show pages will feature Rotten Tomatoes scores to save the hassle of googling a rating before jumping into a movie, as well as a range of new icons.

Enjoy all your favourite shows and movies with subtitles

All Ultra HD on demand content, including Sky Nature shows and blockbuster films, will have the option for subtitles by the end of the summer – a feature already available on HD
Coming soon, Audio Description, a popular feature on our TV channels, will also be available on video on demand content

In addition, customers who also make use of Sky Live (Sky’s smart camera) will be able to enjoy three new or updated motion games in the shape of Basketball Knockout, Tennis Smash: Racketville and the ability to enjoy a two-player music rhythm game of Starri.

News 

The revised restrictions were passed by majority vote in the House of Councillors’ (upper house), after passing through the House of Representatives (lower house) earlier this month 

This week, the Japanese government has passed a law to ease restrictions on Japan’s largest telco NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation) that were first placed on the company 40 years ago. 

NTT was a government-owned monopoly until it was privatised in 1985, following a long period of rapid economic growth in Japan.  

As part of this process, restrictions were placed on the company to prevent it from dominating the country’s telco market and to enable entrance of new competitors. As per the agreement, the Japanese government would retain ownership of a third of the business, only Japanese nationals would sit on the company’s board, and the company’s fixed-line, mobile, and enterprise businesses would be separated. 

This so-called ‘NTT Law’ has played a major role in creating a reasonably healthy telecoms market in Japan over the past four decades. However, in recent years, NTT has complained that the regulations are holding the company back from becoming a major player on the global stage, particularly due to being forced to disclose the results of its R&D projects due to the company’s partial government ownership. 

Now, the easing of restrictions will mean that NTT will no longer have to disclose its R&D results, a fact the company says will allow them to “become more competitive on a global stage” according to a company press release.  

In addition, NTT will be permitted to allocate seats on its director’s board to foreign nationals (one third of the total members), as well as allowing NTT and its two regional units to change their official business names, if so desired. 

The easing of restrictions has not been received favourably by the wider Japanese telecoms industry. In November last year, rival Japanese firms KDDI, SoftBank, and Rakuten Mobile issued a joint statement expressing their objections to the revision of the NTT Law. The statement expressed that “it is crucial that discussions on the NTT Law be conducted in a manner that avoids any potential harm to Japan’s national interests and its citizens’ lives.” 

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

Also in the news:
South Korea to invest $7 billion in AI semiconductors
Swisscom expands 5G partnership with Ericsson
Daisy Group set to acquire 4Com for £215m