Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The FTTH Council Europe has just published their 2025 ranking of 39 European countries (EU39) with the strongest take-up and coverage of gigabit-capable “full fibre” (FTTP/B) broadband ISP networks. This sees the UK pass 21.4 million homes (up by 4.2m in the year) with take-up of 37.1% and a prediction that it’ll cover 31m by 2030. But growth has slowed a bit.

Firstly, it’s important to note that, compared with most of the other countries in the latest market panorama, the UK is still playing catch-up – others started deploying full fibre networks at scale many years earlier. The UK only began to appear (right at the bottom) of the council’s ranking six years ago, but we’ve been making rapid progress since then (Summary of Full Fibre Builds) and are now one of the fastest builders.

In terms of the annual change. At this time in 2021 the council reported that the UK had an FTTP growth rate (homes passed) of 1.7 million premises per year, which increased to 3.4m in 2022, 4.2m in 2023, 4.7m in 2024 (+38%) and this year we fell a bit to 4.2m (+24.56%). This means the UK is still the fastest growing country (by volume / homes) in the council’s latest EU27+UK ranking table, albeit only the fourth fastest by %.

The vast majority of the UK’s full fibre coverage has so far been delivered by commercial builds in urban areas (e.g. Openreach’s build alone should hit 25 million premises by December 2026, and they’re just one of many players), while the Government’s state aid funded £5bn Project Gigabit aims to help tackle the final 10-20% of hardest to reach (e.g. rural) premises by 2030.

Headline FTTH Stats for the UK (Sept 2024)
Homes Passed: 21,415,000 (+4.2m or 24.56% in the year)
Subscribers: 7,942,000 (+2.48m or 45.31% in the year)
Coverage: 71%
Take-up: 37.1%
Penetration Rate: 26.3%

However, it’s worth noting that a fair number of alternative networks in the UK – under pressure from rising build costs, competition and high interest rates – were forced to slow their build progress and cut jobs during the latter half of 2023 and that continued through much of 2024, which helps to explain the slowdown in the country’s growth rate.

In summary, the latest data shows that the UK now has a market penetration rate of 26.3% (up from 17.1% last year), a coverage figure of 71% or 21.4 million homes passed (up from 57% and 17.1m) and a take-up rate of 37.1% (up from 29.9% last year). By comparison, the EU39 countries have an average market penetration rate of 39.58% (up from 34.7%), with coverage of 74.61% (up from 69.9%) and a take-up rate of 53.05% (up from 49.6%).

On the subject of take-up – markets where FTTP/B is already at a mature level of deployment will naturally have significantly higher take-up, while those where the technology is still in the process of rapid deployment (like the UK) often appear further behind (i.e. the pace of build is so fast that it suppresses the % take-up figure – more premises being covered than adopting).

Overall, the total number of homes passed with FTTP/B broadband networks in the 39 European countries surveyed has reached 269m (up from 244m last year) and subscribers now stand at 143 million. The top of the annual growth rates in terms of homes passed by volume is, as above, headed by the United Kingdom, while the top 5 of the annual % growth rates in terms of homes passed are headed by Serbia (26.48%).

Future Predictions

In terms of future progress, the council’s report notes that the UK still has a long way to go in terms of build, but we’re still forecast to reach 25.5 million homes passed by the end of 2025 (up 19% in the year) and then 31 million by the end of 2030 (up by 22% between 2025 and 2030). Similarly, UK subscribers are forecast to reach 9.1m by the end of 2025 (up by 15% in the year) and 22.4m by 2030 (up by 146% between 2025 and 2030).

However, country-to-county comparisons never tell the whole story. For example, some countries have funded the deployment of fibre almost entirely from public money, while offering very little in the way of competition (e.g. weak consumer choice). Meanwhile, other countries have a significantly higher proportion of people living in large blocks of flats (e.g. Spain, Portugal), which are much cheaper and quicker to serve that those with a greater proportion of individual housing (e.g. UK).

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Partner Article

The telecom industry is at a crossroads, caught between the rapid evolution of AI and other technologies and the challenge of implementing meaningful change without disrupting operations

Speaking on stage at the event at Mobile World Congress, leaders from Orange, Accenture, and Kingfisher and moderator from CCS Insight came together to discuss the challenge of change and how starting small can have big results 

A perception problem  

In today’s fast evolving economic environment, where AI and new market segments are reshaping the digital landscape, the industry is under increasing pressure to keep up and change quickly. 

In this transformation process, the first obstacle to overcome is the perception of change as being difficult, costly, and time consuming. For Kingfisher CEO Georgiann Reigle, the core of this challenge stems from competing priorities within a typical telco.  

“The job of the telco is massive,” said Reigle. “They are trying to meet customer demands, innovate, reduce operational costs, drive growth, and deliver new services – all at the same time. Every single telco is in the midst of one or many digitisation projects and that context makes it difficult push for further organisational change That’s a stack of priorities that they have to force rank, which is a challenge.” 

Underpinning these competing priorities is the perception of large-scale transformation as resource intensive and disruptive. But, the panellists emphasised that meaningful change doesn’t have to be overwhelming, it can start with small strategic steps.  

Jefferson Wang, Chief Strategy Officer of Cloud First at Accenture added that “there is this perception that transformation requires a big bang process, that is certainly one way to approach it, but there is also a progressive way to do it. A lot of times we see success happen in a smaller and more progressive way, and there’s an art to that.” 

The importance of momentum  

At the heart of overcoming these preconceptions is being able to demonstrate meaningful results and tangible progress quickly.  

“We see a lot of progress happening in a smaller, progressive way. There’s an art to that, because you want to build in some quick wins so you can quickly realise momentum,” said Wang. 

“You don’t need to change everything all at once,” noting that telco customers are sensitive to service disruption. “The plane is flying and we’re going to rebuild the engine while we’re still in the air. It has to be small steps so that customers feel a positive impact rather than a negative one.” 

Identifying quick wins is key in this respect, with small successes unlocking the door for change on a larger scale.  

A smarter path to the circular economy 

Small progressive steps are central to advancing the circular device economy. Kingfisher, for example, shared how it collaborates with telcos to enhance mobile phone ownership experiences through its circular operating platform Katalyst. It enables telcos to deliver tailored device programmes through a one-for-one device ownership model, helping streamline operations, harness emerging technologies, and meet the needs of today’s consumers, all while driving environmental benefits and without disrupting core operations. For Reigle, programmes and platforms like this are beneficial for telcos, as they only require small changes to existing initiatives and infrastructures to significantly boost device return rates, increase customer satisfaction and drive growth. 

“Set the expectation that the customer will return the device at the point of sale. That’s not a significant change for the telco and their business model – it might only be a few tweaks to their programme and their communication […] but it can deliver a 10–15x in the number of devices customers return,” Reigle explained. “It’s a win-win. The customer wins financially, and the operator wins by seeing that customer return to their store.” 

Orange’s Managing Director Regional Karine Dussert-Sarthe, echoed these sentiments, noting an observed disconnect between customer views on second-hand device ownership and their observed behaviours – emphasising the need for awareness amongst target audiences. 

“We’re slightly disappointed with customer behaviour,” said Dussert-Sarthe. “They know purchasing the newest device every time is less sustainable – in fact, they tell us they want second-hand devices. But the numbers don’t support this. It’s probably less than 10% of our customer base right now that do this.” 

An example given was Orange’s Christmas campaign aimed at encouraging parents to buy their children second-hand devices rather than new ones during the holiday period.  

“Results were very good,” said Dussert-Sarthe. “We’re confident that with programmes like this we can build awareness and change this behaviour. But it must be an industry-wide effort.”  

The first move toward meaningful change 

To close the session Ben Wood, CCS Insight, asked panellists “If there’s one small step [or piece of advice] that telcos could take today to drive the biggest long-term impact, what would it be? 

Wang’s advice to telcos is clear “think big, start small, scale fast!” 

Dussert-Sarthe said, “There’s no one-size-fits-all to customer experience. These days customers want seamless networks, they want ubiquity. The standard of expectation is so high that we have to keep evolving. I’d say test–and–learn and being customer obsessed are my two key factors.”  

Reigle concluded, “We’re always going to live in a world of competing priorities, so getting the alignment of those priorities is so important. When you can create a win-win that meets ARPU growth goals, meets customer lifetime value extension goals, and meets sustainability goals at the same time, that’s where you’ll see the most impact,”  

Find out more from Orange, Kingfisher and Accenture here

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Photo: NVIDIA 

By Grace Dawes, Editor of Movemnt

American automaker General Motors (GM) has announced they will be working with leading tech company NVIDIA to develop next-generation vehicles, factories and robots using AI, simulation and accelerated computing.

NVIDIA’s Founder and CEO Jensen Huang announced the partnership during his keynote presentation at the GTC conference in San Jose on Tuesday.

During his talk, Huang said:

“The era of physical AI is here, and together with GM, we’re transforming transportation, from vehicles to the factories where they’re made,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “We are thrilled to partner with GM to build AI systems tailored to their vision, craft and know-how.”

The companies will work together to build custom AI systems for the automaker’s business using NVIDIA’s accelerated computer platforms to train AI manufacturing models for optimising GM’s factory planning and robotics. GM will also reportedly use NVIDIA DRIVE AGX for in-vehicle hardware for future advanced driver-assistance systems.

Mary Barra, Chair and CEO of General Motors, said:

“GM has enjoyed a longstanding partnership with NVIDIA, leveraging its GPUs across our operations. AI not only optimises manufacturing processes and accelerates virtual testing but also helps us build smarter vehicles while empowering our workforce to focus on craftsmanship. By merging technology with human ingenuity, we unlock new levels of innovation in vehicle manufacturing and beyond.”

GM will reportedly be using the NVIDIA Omniverse platform to create digital twins of assembly lines, allowing for virtual testing and production simulations to reduce downtime. The effort will include training robotics platforms already in use for operations such as material handling and transport, along with precision welding, to increase manufacturing safety and efficiency.

GM will also build next-generation vehicles based on the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture. Watch our interview with NVIDIA’s VP of Automotive, Danny Shapiro, discussing how the company’s Blackwell chip is going to change the game for self-driving cars.

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

Also in the news:
Google announces agreement to acquire Wiz for $32bn
How small moves ignite industry-wide change
Liberty Global in talks to acquire Vodafone’s stake in Dutch JV VodafoneZiggo 

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Mobile network operator O2 (Virgin Media) has today issued a reminder about how they intend to start switching off their old 3G mobile (broadband) services across the United Kingdom from next month, which is a process that will start in the city (NOT county) of Durham and should complete nationally by the end of 2025.

The first switch-off in Durham will help to inform O2’s wider withdrawal programme. The process also aims to free up radio spectrum so it can be used to further improve the network coverage and mobile broadband speeds of their modern 4G and 5G networks (O2 said they’d already upgraded masts in the city ahead of the switch-off and more improvements are planned). The switch-off will also reduce the operators’ costs and power consumption.

The switch-off means that, from 2nd April 2025, customers of O2 will require a 4G SIM and handset to continue using mobile data. But they aren’t switching 2G services off yet, which means that affected customers will still be able to use voice calls and send text messages as they currently do, at least for now – O2 will start shifting customers off 2G during 2025 too, but they won’t be able to completely withdraw it for several years (here).

The operator added that they’ve already contacted customers who have recently been in Durham to provide further information and support. Known vulnerable customers have also been contacted with an offer of a 4G-ready device “free of charge“, while all other customers who don’t currently have a 4G handset or SIM have been offered a new device at a reduced price.

VMO2 said they were working closely with Age UK County Durham to raise awareness of the switch-off and encourage those who will be impacted to take action. An informative leaflet has been produced to be delivered to local community venues, while the charity is also including information about the 3G switch off across its website and social media, and its staff and volunteers are educating customers during digital support home visits.

Jeanie York, VMO2’s Chief Technology Officer, said:

“Switching off 3G will be an important milestone in the evolution of our network, enabling us to focus our attention and investment on faster and more reliable 4G and 5G networks that will deliver improved services for our customers.

By starting in just one location and by putting careful monitoring in place, we’ll minimise disruption to customers and ensure the success of this essential modernisation programme.

While the vast majority of our customers already have a 4G or 5G device and will not be impacted, our priority is to provide support to those who need it. That is why we are reaching out directly to customers who do not have a 4G or 5G-ready device, and calling those we know are vulnerable, to help them prepare.

We will continue to support our customers as we complete the switch off of our 3G network.”

Customers of O2’s virtual network operators (MVNO), such as Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile and giffgaff, will also be impacted by the switch off and are being contacted directly by their providers.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

For the second time this week (here), the Government (DSIT) has published another round of contract modification notices for several of Wildanet, CityFibre and Quickline’s state aid funded Project Gigabit broadband roll-outs across several regions – North Yorkshire, Cornwall, Suffolk, Hampshire and Norfolk. The tweaks change both the level of public funding and premises target.

Just to repeat ourselves a little. Project Gigabit’s contracts are not static and their scope, as well as committed levels of public funding, can change over time for a number of different reasons (this is informed by regular ‘Open Market Reviews’ of UK deployment plans by broadband operators). For example, commercial operators may expand or reduce their roll-out plans in the same region, which can reduce or grow the scope for public investment within those same contracted areas.

The contracted operator could also find the deployment more expensive or even cheaper than previously envisaged, such as due to changes in build costs and interest rates / inflation, as well as any unexpected obstacles to street works or greater efficiencies of build than planned or expected. Rising build costs and high interest rates are currently a well-known bugbear for the whole industry.

Suffice to say, there can be various reasons why the contracted scope of related builds and level of allocated public funding may change over time. But officially the latest contract modifications only list the following highly generic reasons (except for Cornwall), without giving any real specifics.

Reasons for modification

Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire.

Description of the economic or technical reasons and the inconvenience or duplication of cost preventing a change of contractor:

Additional scope added to the contract in accordance with the UK subsidy control regime.

As before, we’ve summarised the main before and after changes below (click the links to see the original news announcements for each). Interestingly, North Yorkshire has cropped up for a second time this week, which we think may have been due to a mistake with the previous modification notice.

Project Gigabit Contract Modifications (18th March 2025)

North Yorkshire (Lot 31) – Quickline

Following the modification, the awarded contract value has increased by £7,988,520 to £81,457,520 from the original value of £73,469,000. The awarded premises have increased by 6,401to a total of 42,701 from the original 36,300.

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (Lot 32.02) – Wildanet

Awarded value after modification £18,007,306, value decreased by £8,694 – reflecting a “reduction in volume of UPRN’s from original contract in accordance with the UK subsidy control regime“.

Suffolk (Lot 2) – CityFibre

Following the modification, the awarded contract value has increased by £15,526,877 to £116,015,193 from the original value of £100,448,316. The awarded premises have increased by 9,469 to a total of 88,970 from the original 79,501.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight (Lot 27) – CityFibre

Following the modification, the awarded contract value has increased by £23,700,419 to £127,875,417 from the original value of £104,174,998. The awarded premises have increased by 10,832 to a total of 86,371 from the original 75,539.

Norfolk (Lot 7) – CityFibre

Following the modification, the awarded contract value has increased by £14,587,891 to £128,804,454 from the original value of £114,216,563. The awarded premises have increased by 13,363 to a total of 75,645 from the original 62,282.

One thing to be aware of is that changes like this can sometime also impact the expected completion date of a contract, although only a few of the awarded Project Gigabit contracts have actually announced a firm public completion date (this makes it harder to judge their progress). Such contracts are frequently reviewed, so we may see further changes to these and others in the future, although from now on we’ll only cover bigger modifications (minor changes, like for Cornwall above, aren’t really worth writing about).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Barnet Council in London has reached a wayleave agreement (legal land/property access) that will enable Openreach (BT) to deploy their gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cover 8,000 households managed by the UK council’s social housing provider, Barnet Homes.

The deployment will form part of Openreach’s commercial £15bn investment to roll-out their new full fibre network to 25 million UK premises by December 2026 (nearly 18 million have already been covered), which is to be followed by their ambition to reach “up to” 30 million premises by the end of 2030.

The service itself, once live, can be ordered via various broadband ISPs, such as BT, EE, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Vodafone and many more (Openreach FTTP ISP Choices) – it is not currently an automatic upgrade, although some ISPs are doing free automatic upgrades as older copper-based services and lines are slowly withdrawn.

Barry Rawlings, Leader of Barnet Council, said:

“We are committed to improving digital access for our residents. Our partnership with Openreach is enabling us to connect our social housing to full fibre and ultrafast internet speeds. This upgrade will allow our residents to use the latest technology to meet their work, study and leisure needs, as well as accessing many essential online services.”

Elaine Hope, Openreach’s Partnership Director for London, said:

“This is a major infrastructure upgrade, so you will see more of our engineers, vans and equipment out and about. Wherever possible, we’ll use our existing network of ducts and poles to avoid roadworks, new street furniture and disturbance. But there may be places where we need to install new poles or underground ducts because it’s the only way to make sure as many premises as possible are included in the upgrade.”

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Broadband ISP and mobile operator EE (BT) has today announced the next batch of locations where their new 5G Standalone (SA) mobile network will be deployed and made it available to all new customers. By the end of March 2025, the new 5GSA network will be live and available to over 28 million people across 50 “major towns and cities” in the UK (over 40% of the population).

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, support for Voice over New Radio (VoNR or Vo5G) and increased reliability and security etc.

In case anybody has forgotten, EE officially launched a range of new 5G SA supporting mobile plans across 15 major UK cities in September 2024 (here), including Bath, Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Sheffield. A month after that, they added another batch of 16 locations (here) and have continued to expand.

Unlike some of their rivals, EE states that they only announce 5GSA availability once a location has “at least 95% outdoor coverage“, so customers upgrading to the new technology know they will receive a “reliable and consistent experience“. Some of the new places set to benefit from EE’s 5G standalone upgrades in the next few weeks include the following locations.

Latest Additions to EE’s 5GSA Network
Altrincham
Blackburn
Bridgend
Caerphilly
Corby
Cwmbran
Doncaster
Exeter
Huddersfield
Hyde
Middlesbrough
Milton Keynes
Port Talbot
Rotherham
Sale
Sunderland
Wakefield
Walkden
Wilmslow

However, 5G SA technology is still somewhat constrained by limited device support among end-users, which is required in order for end-users to be able to fully harness the new network. But this problem will typically resolve itself as consumers go through their usual upgrade cycles. The technology is also available on EE’s latest 5GEE Wi-Fi and 5GEE Home (Smart 5G Hub) devices.

Malcolm Cubitt, Director of Mobile at EE, said:

“5G standalone is giving many customers a better and more reliable mobile experience, especially in busy locations. As we rapidly expand our network footprint to cover more than 40 percent of the UK population, we are widening its accessibility so more people can benefit – especially those looking to harness the power of cutting-edge features on the newest smartphones.”

In support of their ongoing coverage rollout and wider smartphone ecosystem, from today, EE said they would also be making 5GSA available to “all new and upgrading customers taking any EE handset plan“, enabling more consumers to access this next-generation network experience.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Good news for customers of Abingdon-based alternative network provider Gigaclear. The ISP has now confirmed to ISPreview that they recently started rolling out IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) internet addressing across their full fibre (FTTP) broadband network. The deployment is currently halfway to completion.

Just for context. IP addresses help to connect your software and devices with others around the online world – like an ID number for your connection. The issue these days is that the existing IPv4 address space has been exhausted, which makes it difficult to add new connections without compromising by sharing IPs between many users (CGNAT, MAP-T etc.) or spending big to buy additional v4 addresses. The solution to this is adoption of IPv6 addresses, which are not directly compatible with IPv4 and so require a bit of an investment in order to make both work properly side-by-side.

Last year we reported that Gigaclear had tentative plans to roll out IPv6 across their customer base (here), but in the meantime new customers were increasingly being put on broadband packages that harnessed Carrier Grade NAT (CGNAT) technology. This can sometimes cause problems with internet connectivity, as well as security concerns for some users, although many won’t notice those caveats.

The good news is that, over the past few weeks, some of ISPreview’s readers and Gigaclear customers have started to spot a gradual rise in IPv6 internet addresses going live on end-user connections (here). The provider’s Director of Networks & Infrastructure, Gabriel Yepes, has now officially confirmed to ISPreview they’re “rolling out IPv6 across our entire base“.

Gabriel added that they have, as of today, already “enabled dual-stack for just over half of our subscriber base” (i.e. the approach used for ensuring that IPv4 and IPv6 addresses work harmoniously together). The provider expects to complete this deployment by “early” April 2025, which will no doubt make their CGNAT based customers a bit happier.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

Image credit: MLL Telecom

MLL Telecom, a leading provider of secure managed network services to the UK Public Sector, is pleased to announce the appointments of James Withers as Chief Financial Officer

James’s long and highly successful career in finance commenced at HP followed by senior posts at Computer Sciences Corporation, BT and EE. James’ tenure at BT included Financial Director and VP Finance roles for the company’s Enterprise Transformation, Emergency Services Networks, Global Services and Global Banking divisions. At EE he was VP Finance of Emergency Services.

“From my time at BT and EE I was well aware of MLL and their strong reputation,” said James Withers. “The opportunity to join the company came at the right time as I was looking for a new challenge where I could leverage my experience to help a successful and established SME maximise its potential. With its investment in a state of the art core network, proven engineering and service competences, MLL is well placed to increase penetration of key markets such as Local Government, Healthcare and Education, aided by the government’s new public sector procurement rules which will ensure SMEs like MLL can compete more effectively against the major players.”

Additionally, Matt Baker has been appointed Strategic Client Director (South). He has over 20 years in sales and business development in the ICT sector, including senior strategic public sector account roles at KCOM and heading up sales at Alt Net providers Jurassic Fibre and Full Fibre Limited. He now has key account responsibility for MLL’s public sector client portfolio in the South of England. These include Local Government, NHS, Blue Light and Education customers which rely on MLL’s leading edge solutions for meeting their connectivity requirements, both now and in the future.

“I am very excited by the opportunity of serving MLL’s public sector clients across the South,” said Matt Baker. “I believe my previous experience in managing and developing public sector accounts as well as leading corporate sales at two fast-growing Alt Nets makes MLL an ideal fit for me. The company’s strong commitment to service and support and proven connectivity credentials, including its leadership in SD-WAN, will undoubtedly result in further partnership opportunities in the region.”

Shaun Ledgerwood, CEO, MLL Telecom, added: “I am delighted to have two proven leaders in their fields joining the business as we storm into an exciting new period of development for MLL. James’s experience of MLL, both as a provider to the Mobile Network Operators and the UK Public Sector, has enabled him to hit the ground running and he is already driving improvements to our processes and bottom line. Matt’s enthusiasm was clear from the outset, and I know he will work tirelessly to support and grow our critical client account base in the region.”

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and NEW YORK, N.Y. (March 18, 2025)— Google LLC today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Wiz, Inc., a leading cloud security platform headquartered in New York, for $32 billion, subject to closing adjustments, in an all-cash transaction. Once closed, Wiz will join Google Cloud.

This acquisition represents an investment by Google Cloud to accelerate two large and growing trends in the AI era: improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds (multicloud).

Both cybersecurity and cloud computing are rapidly growing industries with a vast range of solutions. The increased role of AI, and adoption of cloud services, have dramatically changed the security landscape for customers, making cybersecurity increasingly important in defending against emergent risks and protecting national security.

Wiz delivers an easy-to-use security platform that connects to all major clouds and code environments to help prevent cybersecurity incidents. Organizations of all sizes — from start-ups and large enterprises to governments and public sector organizations — can use Wiz to protect everything they build and run in the cloud. Wiz is an innovative leader and continues to deliver new products with strong adoption, fueling rapid business growth, including over the last 12 months in which it has begun to deliver new categories of cybersecurity solutions.

Google Cloud is a leader in cloud infrastructure, with deep AI expertise and a track record of industry-leading security innovation. Bringing all this to Wiz will help make their solutions even better and more scalable, benefiting customers and partners across all major clouds. The combination of Google Cloud and Wiz will:

• Vastly improve how security is designed, operated and automated — providing an end-to-end security platform for customers, of all types and sizes, in the AI era;
• Scale cybersecurity teams by providing them an automated security platform;
• Lower customers’ cost of implementing and managing security controls;
• Protect against new threats emerging due to the advancement of AI, prevent breaches, and help organizations respond to breaches much more efficiently; and
• Boost the adoption of multicloud security and, as a result, customers’ ability to use multiple clouds; further spurring innovation in and the adoption of cloud computing.

Wiz’s products will continue to work and be available across all major clouds, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud platforms, and will be offered to customers through an array of partner security solutions. Google Cloud will also continue to offer customers wide choice through a variety of partner security solutions available in the Google Cloud Marketplace.

You can read more technical details about Wiz’s solutions, and how they will work with Google Cloud, on the Google Cloud blog and Wiz blog.

The deal is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals.

Webcast

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) will host a webcast to discuss this announcement on Tuesday, March 18, at 6:00am Pacific Time (9:00am Eastern Time). Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google and Alphabet; Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud; Assaf Rappaport, CEO, Wiz; and Anat Ashkenazi, CFO, Google and Alphabet, will discuss the transaction.

The webcast can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/live/8jY5YBSRVEU. A replay will be available for two weeks through the same link following the webcast.

Quotes

Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google: “From its earliest days, Google’s strong security focus has made us a leader in keeping people safe online. Today, businesses and governments that run in the cloud are looking for even stronger security solutions, and greater choice in cloud computing providers. Together, Google Cloud and Wiz will turbocharge improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds.”

Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud: “Google Cloud and Wiz share a joint vision to make cybersecurity more accessible and simpler to use for organizations of any size and industry. Enabling more companies to prevent cyber attacks, including in very complex business software environments, will help organizations minimize the cost, disruption and hassle caused by cybersecurity incidents.”

Assaf Rappaport, Co-Founder & CEO, Wiz: “Wiz and Google Cloud are fully committed to continue supporting and protecting customers across all major clouds, helping keep them safe and secure wherever they operate. This is an exciting moment for our company, but an even more important one for customers and partners, as this acquisition will bolster our mission to improve security and prevent breaches by providing additional resources and deep AI expertise.”