Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News 

The deal is drawing early interest from global telcos and investors, while Altice continues its debt restructuring 

Altice is considering the sale of its controlling stake in SFR, with a potential transaction valuing the telecoms operator at up to €30 billion, according to a Bloomberg report. 

The company, owned by French billionaire Partick Drahi, has recently circulated information on its French unit to prospective buyers, as it explores its options. Interest is expected from domestic rivals including Bouygues Telecom, Iliad, and Orange, as well as major Middle Eastern operators, such as the UAE’s e& and private equity firms. 

Some parties are said to be considering bids for portions of the business, raising the prospect of consortium deals, Bloomberg reported.  

Several groups have already engaged financial advisors to assess a potential acquisition, though discussions remain preliminary in the preliminary stages and no dela is guaranteed. 

“Altice is focused on implementing the debt agreement, considering the sale of non-core assets, and pursuing SFR’s commercial relaunch and quality of service improvement, two indicators that have already been well oriented for several months,” said an Altice spokesperson speaking to Bloomberg. 

A transaction would be dependent on Altice France completing its ongoing debt restructuring. The company’s debt pile currently stands at around €60 billion. 

Sources also hinted that Drahi may choose to repurchase shares currently held by creditors, in a bid to strengthen his position ahead of any sale. 

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Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Westcon-Comstor, a global technology provider and specialist distributor, today announced a new collaboration with Ericsson that aims to enhance enterprises’ connectivity and unlock growth opportunities for channel partners.

The distribution agreement covers Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and will see Westcon accelerate adoption of Ericsson’s Enterprise Wireless Solutions by working with its network of technology resellers, systems integrators and service providers across the region.

Ericsson’s Enterprise Wireless Solutions enable organisations to innovate, operate, and grow anywhere without constraints. Ericsson NetCloud, Cradlepoint routers, and Enterprise 5G solutions provide the flexibility of public and private 5G, with the zero-trust security of simplified SASE.

As part of the collaboration, Westcon will deploy its suite of value-added services spanning education, data-led insights, training and enablement to drive partner growth, empowering partners to leverage the Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions portfolio to full effect.

“Ericsson’s Enterprise Wireless Solutions fuel innovation and growth, and we are excited to play an important role in driving their adoption around EMEA,” said Daniel Hurel, Senior Vice President, Westcon EMEA Go-To-Market at Westcon-Comstor. “This collaboration unlocks exciting new growth opportunities for partners and adds an extra dimension to our networking technology portfolio within the region. We look forward to deploying our value-added services to empower and enable partners, equipping them with additional capabilities as they bring the benefits of the Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions portfolio to their customers.”

“With the increased speed and decreased latency of 5G, businesses are now looking at 5G as not only a viable alternative to wires but also to innovate and transform their business,” said Julie Hens, Senior Vice President, Global Distribution Partners at Ericsson. “Westcon is an excellent business partner for our shared solution providers in supporting customers who are on this transformation path.”

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

BROOMFIELD, Colo. & FOSTER CITY, Calif. – May 20, 2025 – Exabeam, a global leader in intelligence and automation that powers security operations, today announced a new partnership with  Vectra AI, Inc., the cybersecurity AI company that protects modern networks from modern attacks. This collaboration integrates the Exabeam New-Scale Security Operations Platform, including security information and event management (SIEM), user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA), and automated workflows, with the Vectra AI Platform. Together, Exabeam and Vectra AI will simplify security operations, reduce manual workloads, and strengthen cloud security posture, empowering security teams to stop threats before they escalate.

Security teams often struggle to detect advanced threats that move laterally across cloud environments. Legacy tools built for on-premises detection frequently miss these signals, creating gaps in visibility and delaying response. Without a unified view, analysts are forced to manually pivot between disconnected tools, slowing investigations when speed is critical.

The integration of Vectra AI with Exabeam changes the game. Vectra AI detects and priortizes attackers moving laterally across the network, both east-west and north-south, and expose attackers’ every move across data center, campus, remote work, cloud and OT environments. Integrated with Exabeam SIEM and automation, this partnership delivers centralized visibility, faster detection, and smarter response across cloud environments. The result: streamlined investigations, reduced manual effort, and improved security outcomes.

“Teaming up with Vectra AI, isn’t just a partnership, it’s a power move. We need to shift the balance in cybersecurity, putting defenders back in control,” said Steve Wilson, Chief AI and Product Officer at Exabeam. “With their cloud threat intel and our AI-driven platform, we’re exposing the threats others miss and flipping the script on what modern threat detection looks like.”

Additional benefits from this collaboration include:

• Accelerated Threat Detection: Consolidating security data from multiple sources and automating workflows across the SOC stack enables analysts to identify and respond to threats faster and with greater precision.
• Enhanced Visibility: Network-based risks across cloud infrastructure, powered by advanced behavioral analytics, help teams detect lateral movement, insider threats, and other post-compromise activities that traditional tools often miss.
• Streamlined Security Operations: Out-of-the-box integration features, prebuilt mappings, a preconfigured Vectra AI dashboard tile, and webhook collectors accelerate deployment and minimize operational overhead for SOC teams.

“Security teams today need visibility to stay ahead of advanced threats, especially as attacks become more complex and move across hybrid and cloud environments,” said Jeff Reed, Chief Product Officer at Vectra AI. “By integrating Vectra AI’s advanced NDR with Exabeam’s powerful SIEM and automation capabilities, we’re empowering teams with a unified, intelligent platform to quickly identify, investigate, and stop threats before they escalate. This partnership is a major step forward in modernizing security operations for the AI-driven threat landscape.”

To learn more about the Exabeam and Vectra AI partnership, please visit: https://www.exabeam.com/partners/vectra-ai/

About Exabeam

Exabeam is a leader in intelligence and automation that powers security operations for the world’s smartest companies. As a global cybersecurity innovator, Exabeam provides industry-proven, security-focused, and flexible solutions for faster, more accurate threat detection, investigation, and response (TDIR). Cutting-edge technology enhances security operations center performance, optimizing workflows and accelerating time to resolution. With consistent leadership in AI innovation and a proven track record in security information and event management (SIEM) and user behavior analytics, Exabeam empowers global security teams to combat cyberthreats, mitigate risk, and streamline operations.

Learn more at www.exabeam.com.

About Vectra AI, Inc.  

Vectra AI, Inc. is the cybersecurity AI company that protects modern networks from modern attacks. When modern cyber attackers bypass existing controls, evade detection and gain access to customers’ data center, campus, remote work, identity, cloud, and IoT/OT environments, the Vectra AI Platform sees their every move, connects the dots in real-time, and stops them from becoming breaches. With 35 patents in AI security and the most vendor references in MITRE D3FEND, organizations worldwide rely on Vectra AI to see and stop attacks their other tools can’t. For more information, visit www.vectra.ai.  

Contact

Gemma Hamilton
PR for Exabeam
gemma@ilexcontent.com

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN), which is led by mobile operators, has this morning published new guidance for network operators that it hopes will improve the accuracy of supply chain emissions data (aka – Scope 3 / indirect emissions) by switching to a new reporting model.

According to the NGMN, scope 3 emissions – those generated across the broader value chain – represent approximately 90% of total emissions for mobile network operators (MNOs). But a recent survey indicated that only 66% of technology companies were confident in the accuracy of their IT-related emissions data.

In response, the alliance wants all mobile operators to move away from the current financial or price-based Scope 3 reporting methods and adopt a unit-based approach instead, in order “to improve data accuracy“. The guidance also emphasises the need for greater collaboration and industry-wide alignment of calculation methods.

Laurent Leboucher, Chairman of the NGMN Alliance Board, said:

“Tackling Scope 3 emissions is one of the greatest challenges for our industry — and it can only be done through stronger collaboration across the value chain. This new guidance marks an important step toward more accurate, transparent reporting and provides a clear path for the industry to prioritise meaningful carbon reduction.”

The publication also reviews key standards and regulatory frameworks, explores their interrelationships, and recommends that stakeholders stay aligned with and actively contribute to the evolving regulatory landscape.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Mobile network operator Vodafone recently hooked up with semiconductor (CPU etc.) firm MediaTek to test the combination of their 5G Standalone (5G SA) based mobile broadband network with the latest M90 modem. The solution proved able to deliver 5G uplink speeds of up to 277Mbps at their test facility in Madrid (Spain).

The majority of 5G mobile networks today are still Non-Standalone (NSA), which means they are partly reliant upon older and slower 4G infrastructure. But SA networks are pure end-to-end 5G that can deliver ultra-low latency times, greater energy efficiency, better speeds (particularly uploads), network slicing, improved support for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Voice over New Radio (VoNR or Vo5G) and increased reliability and security etc.

Vodafone is deploying their new 5G SA network across a number of countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom, but to make the most of this requires network hardware and end-user devices able to access the full potential. This is where the new modem from MediaTek could help, although they’re not the only such chipset in town.

While approximately 90% of mobile traffic traditionally utilises the downlink channel from mobile masts to users’ smartphones, there is still a growing need for good upload speeds too (e.g. remote play, cloud services / gaming, businesses etc.). On this front, the new MediaTek processor theoretically claims it can deliver download speeds of up to 12Gbps (Gigabits per second) and boosts uplink performance by up to 20% based on the latest 5G specification (Release 17 – developed by 3GPP).

The test itself also boosted the 5G uplink connection by using carrier aggregation to combine several spectrum channels (bands), which increased the capacity and speed of the connection up to 277Mbps. But some key details remain unclear, such as exactly what bands were used, over what distance and how much spectrum frequency this involved etc.

Vodafone and MediaTek also used MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) antennas to transmit two data streams simultaneously from a single smartphone to the nearest mast, as well as tested it with the two key mobile data transmission methods – Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). “This is like adding extra 5G lanes to an existing mast. TDD is used to provide capacity at high frequency bands and is used in urban areas, and FDD is used on lower frequency bands to provide wider coverage,” said Vodafone.

HC Hwang, General Manager of Wireless Comms System at MediaTek, said:

“Enhancing uplink performance using groundbreaking technology will ensure next generation 5G experiences continue to support users globally.”

However, one key caveat here is that commercial smartphones do not yet support this feature (as they need uplink MIMO in FDD), but Vodafone and MediaTek said they aim to drive the development of compatible devices for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Broadband ISP Virgin Media Business (VMO2) has today followed BTWholsale by launching Microsoft’s ‘Teams Phone Mobile‘ service to its large business customers (250+ employees) in the UK, which among other things makes it easy to move between mobile and desktop Teams calls seamlessly.

According to VMO2, with a single phone number, or Teams ID, Teams Phone Mobile users can make and receive calls over traditional mobile, app-based, or desktop calling. The integrated experience includes mobiles within Teams calling services, allowing employees to extend ‘in a call’ status, access call history, and voicemail across devices for ultimate flexibility.

The company also claims to be “the only UK operator” offering the Teams Calling Automation Portal, enabling organisations to deploy and activate users within minutes. This tool streamlines administrative tasks by providing a centralised management interface where IT administrations can provision, configure, and manage phone numbers and calling features across the organisation.

“There are hundreds and thousands of field workers across the UK – from social workers to consultants, insurance assessors to field engineers – all of whom need unified solutions to do their best work on the move.” said Jessica O’Connor, Product Director at VMO2 Business. “With Teams Phone Mobile now available to our customers, Virgin Media O2 Business is giving these workers the seamless, secure solution they need to do their best work anywhere. Businesses are empowered to make vital cost savings, all while benefitting from enhanced productivity and responsivity.”

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

One of the UK’s largest alternative full fibre broadband operators, Netomnia (inc. retail ISPs Brsk and YouFibre), has deployed a Smartoptics ROADM-based core network across the UK that should deliver scalable IP over DWDM at 100G and 400G wavelengths and is even classed as being “800G-ready by design” (800Gbps if you prefer).

Just for some context. Netomnia’s 10Gbps speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network currently covers 2.4 million UK premises (RFS) and has connected 310,000 customers (here). But they’re also aiming to expand their network to reach 3 million premises by the end of 2025 and then 5 million by the end of 2027 (inc. 1 million customers by 2028).

However, today’s announcement is more focused on the core network that underpins the aforementioned deployment, which needs a lot of capacity in order to support that connectivity to connect a rapidly rising number of homes and businesses. The company is thus connecting existing hubs around London, Manchester and Wales into a ring network using its own Dark Fibre.

As part of the above, Netomnia has chosen to deploy Smartoptics’ flexible 34-degree ROADMs (Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer) – managed with the SoSmart software suite, variable gain amplifiers and coherent optics, the 800G-ready network supports any-to-any high-speed services. For those unfamiliar with this, a ROADM is a device that dynamically manages the routing of optical signals (wavelengths) within their network.

“Netomnia’s new national ROADM network enables near-unlimited capacity while reducing dependence on external providers,” said the announcement.

Sam Defriez, Director of Networks at Netomnia, said:

“Investing in our own dark fibre and equipment was the clear long-term choice, with projected savings of millions compared to leased lit capacity over five to seven years. Smartoptics stood out with no licensing fees for alien wavelengths, a compact footprint, and 800G-ready ROADMs that are easy to manage with the SoSmart controller.

The solution outperformed more complex and restrictive alternatives. Deploying a national network could have been complex and challenging, but thanks to Smartoptics’ intuitive platform and strong support, the rollout felt easy from the start.”

The move complements YouFibre’s recent decision to do other things, such as becoming the first ISP to take a 400G (Gbps) port at the London Internet Exchange’s (LINX) regional interconnection hub in the North – LINX Manchester (here). Not to mention Netomnia’s now imminent plans to launch broadband products based off the cutting edge 50G PON standard (here), which in practice is likely to make broadband speeds of around 40Gbps+ via FTTP viable.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network operator CityFibre, which has so far built their 2.5Gbps speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network to cover 4.4 million UK premises (4.2m Ready for Service), have today confirmed the completion of their “primary” £30 million build in the Suffolk (England) town of Ipswich.

The new full fibre network, which is being underpinned by Dark Fibre infrastructure that was constructed as part of a much earlier (separate) agreement to connect various public sector sites in the region, is now said to be ‘Ready for Service’ (RFS) to over 70,000 local homes, or around 98% of the town’s premises.

The deployment in the town first began all the way back in 2020 (here) and was originally expected to complete, at a cost of around £24m, by the autumn of 2022. But the work appears to have taken a lot longer and ended up costing more than first planned, although it has already reached further too.

CityFibre has so far laid over 870km of dense full fibre infrastructure across the town, although they will continue to explore opportunities to connect more homes and businesses, including flats, new-build homes, business parks and homes on private roads – the latter groups can often be more complicated to reach.

Neil Madle, Partnership Manager at CityFibre, said:

“Our rollout in Ipswich makes it one of the best-connected towns in the UK, unlocking incredible opportunities for residents and businesses alike. Having access to the UK’s best available full fibre network will transform how people work, learn and stay connected, while also boosting the local economy.

This investment future-proofs Ipswich’s digital infrastructure, ensuring the town remains competitive, innovative, and ready to embrace new opportunities in a rapidly evolving digital world.”

Neil MacDonald, Leader of Ipswich Borough Council, said:

“The completion of CityFibre’s full fibre network is fantastic news for our town. In an increasingly digital world, reliable, high-speed connectivity is now a necessity for residents, businesses and public services to thrive.

In 2023, 99.4% of Ipswich had access to Superfast Broadband – one of the highest in the UK – making Ipswich a great place for business and home working. This investment will further boost access, strengthening our local economy, creating new opportunities and ensuring Ipswich remains a competitive and attractive place to live and work. I am excited to see how this improved infrastructure will benefit our community for years to come.”

The operator’s main gigabit-capable broadband rivals in the town are Openreach and Virgin Media (inc. nexfibre), although Hyperoptic, OFNL (inc. Fibrenest) and others also have a small amount of network coverage too. In addition, Trooli is present nearby (e.g. Kesgrave), but largely stays out of the main town.

Otherwise, CityFibre, which has so far attracted 550,000 (March 2025) live customers and also expects to have upgraded their entire network to 10Gbps capable XGS-PON technology by mid-2025 (here), currently still aspires to cover up to 8 million UK premises with their new full fibre network (funded by c.£2.4bn in equity, c.£4.9bn debt and nearly £1bn of BDUK / public subsidy) – representing c.30% of the UK. But quite when they’ll reach that point is unclear.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Eastwood, Jackson Carlaw, has warned of “serious uncertainty” over the ability of some areas in the City of Glasgow, which have been held up for years by the owners of private roads, to be connected to CityFibre’s new 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) UK broadband ISP network.

In case anybody has forgotten. CityFibre is currently investing around £270 million to expand their full fibre network across the city, which at the last update in 2023 was still due to be “substantially completed” by the end of 2025. But some areas often get left until after the main deployment, and one of the most common reasons for this stems from the issue of private or unadopted roads.

Quite a few local estates and lanes fall into this bracket, which in the case of Glasgow is, for example, impacting local homes in the associated town of Giffnock at Egidia Avenue, Eglinton Drive, Winton Avenue, Arran Drive, Berryhill Road leading to Maryville Avenue and two blocks of flats at Hutchison Court etc.

Local MSP Jackson Carlaw told the Glasgow Times that the “ongoing absence of the upgrades means they are continually experiencing poor internet connection and with significant dismay that the rollout is yet to reach their home“. The MSP added that CityFibre’s most recent correspondence suggested that there is now “serious uncertainty about whether the streets will be connected” and he has thus complained about this to the operator, but it may not be entirely their fault.

A CityFibre spokesperson said:

“Our teams have worked hard and brought full fibre broadband to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across Glasgow, Clydebank and Renfrewshire over the past few years and we continue to work through the operational and commercial detail of any further rollout plan to ensure it can deliver what local people need.”

Sadly, the issue with gaining permission to access unadopted roads (i.e. private roads, which are not maintained by a public authority) is not a new one, with many network operators across the UK running into similar challenges. Broadband builders typically need to secure a legal access (wayleave) style agreement, which isn’t always an easy, quick or economically viable process (although it’s easier than it was in the past).

The network operator first has to figure out who owns the road (historic ownership changes etc. can complicate things), then they need to make contact (details not always reliable) and, finally, come to an agreement – all of which may present challenges. The owners of such roads, assuming you can reach them, will naturally also have concerns (damage etc.) or may not want new infrastructure. In addition, they can sometimes also make unreasonable demands for payment, obstructing deployment.

CityFibre and similar operators can raise disputes over this, but sometimes the number of premises involved is so small as to simply make it not worth the cost /effort (i.e. the rollout becomes unviable). In that sense, the MSP might be more effective if he also put some pressure on the owners of such roads, while the residents could play their part by petitioning the property/landowner to allow access – assuming they can actually contact them.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has today ordered mobile operator EE (BT) to ensure that the “unlimited data” (mobile broadband) claims on their website, which apply to various 4G and 5G mobile plans, are directly qualified with the limits expressed in their associated Fair Usage Policy (FUP).

The ASA has long had specific guidelines on the use of “unlimited” claims in broadband and mobile advertising, which tend to apply if any restrictions are then applied to people who are perceived to have used too much (e.g. the customer uses a lot of data and then suffers a more than moderate loss of internet speed). Such restrictions are often set out inside Fair Usage Policies (FUP).

On this front, various mobile operators tend to provide a guideline for how much maximum data usage is allowable, per month, inside the FUPs on related mobile plans. In the case of EE, their FUP has long expressed how they “will consider usage above 600GB/month to be non-personal use and have the right to apply traffic management controls to deprioritise your mobile traffic during busy periods or to move you to a business plan.”

However, the FUPs around all this might talk tough, but they’re usually fairly soft (flexible) and rarely ever enforced. This is perhaps because actually enforcing them might risk breaching the ASA’s rules, which could in turn prevent them from using “unlimited” terminology on their packages.

EE was recently tested on this point after a complaint prompted the ASA to investigate whether the claim that their data plans were “unlimited” was misleading because, a) an FUP of 600GB per month applied; and b) the ad did not make the FUP restriction sufficiently clear. Interestingly, this also resulted in EE revealing more detail about their approach to enforcement, which mostly only impacts during periods of network congestion (4% of cell sites).

EE’s Position on their 600GB FUP

[EE] confirmed that legitimate users who exceeded the FUP of 600 GB per month would not incur an additional charge, nor would they have their service suspended. They believed the limitations imposed on such users were moderate; on exceeding the limit, their traffic was deprioritised at busy cell sites from the time they exceeded the data threshold until the end of their monthly bill cycle. EE referred to the most recent Ofcom report, which stated that the average fixed line broadband data consumption for a UK household was around 535 GB per month, and average mobile data use was 9.9 GB. EE provided data to show the proportion and number per month of customers impacted by the FUP. They said they considered any use that exceeded 600GB to be non-personal use.

EE explained that the measure applied only to the 4% of cell sites across the UK that were congested, and that even those sites were not busy all the time. They provided data to show the reduction in average throughput speed that a consumer who was subject to the FUP was likely to experience when the cell sites in question were busy. It was a guideline only, because many other factors such as signal strength and levels of congestion would come into play and also because it would vary from site to site. EE pointed out that users were extremely unlikely to notice the speed reduction if they were listening to music, using maps or browsing websites, activities that required only a few hundred kilobits per second. They might, however, experience a slower speed if they downloaded a large file.

Sadly, and somewhat controversially, EE did provide the ASA with a specific figure to show the percentage reduction in average throughput speed a user subject to the FUP might experience at a congested site, but they requested for the ASA to “keep that figure confidential“.

ISPreview disagrees with the above position and thinks consumers have a right to know how their service may be impacted. But the ASA ultimately ruled that “the restrictions imposed were moderate only” and thus did not uphold the first complaint (a). The ASA did, however, uphold the second (b) complaint.

ASA Ruling Ref: A24-1253564 EE Ltd

The main body of the ad did not state that an FUP applied, and did not feature any signposting within the plan details to indicate that qualifications might apply. We considered that consumers would not necessarily be aware that a provider might apply traffic management to the advertised data plans. The Guidance stated that any provider-imposed limitations, as well as meeting the conditions referenced in Point (1) above, must be clearly explained in the marketing communication. Notwithstanding that users did not incur a charge or suspension, and the restrictions imposed were moderate only, we considered that the existence of the FUP constituted a limitation and should therefore be made clear in the ad.

The terms of the FUP were detailed at the bottom of the webpage within a section entitled “Frequently asked questions”. That section was not visible when viewing the SIM-only plans; it was necessary to navigate further down the webpage. Within that section, the text containing details of the FUP was visible only when the subheading “The legal bit” was expanded.

We considered that consumers would not necessarily scroll further down the page, nor click on “The legal bit” heading in the “Frequently asked questions” section. Consequently, we considered that the existence of the FUP could easily be overlooked because of its placement in an expandable section situated beneath the main body of the ad. Because the ad did not clearly present the qualification to the “unlimited” claim, we concluded that it was misleading.

The ASA has thus effectively banned the existing promotions in their current form (seen by the ASA on 7th April 2025 via EE’s own website) and told EE to ensure that their unlimited claims are “directly qualified with the terms of their Fair Usage Policy“, which is at least an improvement on the transparency front.

The ruling will also have an impact on other mobile operators that often work in the same way as EE, particularly if they aren’t making the terms of their FUP clear (many do not). But of course, it may take further complaints by consumers in order to highlight that to the ASA.