News  

Japan’s top telecom providers have joined forces to improve how quickly communication networks are restored after disasters 

The initiative, launched earlier this month, brings together the NTT, KDDI, SoftBank , and Rakuten Mobile, aiming to streamline recovery efforts and minimise the impact of outages on affected communities. 

The companies will share resources such as storage facilities, accommodations, and refueling stations to accelerate recovery in disaster-hit areas. Ships from NTT and KDDI, traditionally used for cable-laying, will be repurposed to transport portable base stations, generators, and essential supplies like food and water to coastal regions. These ships will also serve as temporary mobile base stations, helping restore connectivity in areas hardest hit by natural disasters. SoftBank and Rakuten are now part of this initiative, enhancing its scale and effectiveness. 

Mobile and fixed-line operators will coordinate closely, sharing real-time information about network damage and prioritising repairs in critical locations such as hospitals and municipal offices. This collaboration will ensure a faster and more organized response, reducing the time it takes to restore vital communication links. 

Building on lessons learned from the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, the initiative reflects a commitment to improving disaster preparedness across Japan. By working together, the participating companies aim to set a new standard for resilience, ensuring that communities stay connected when it matters most.  

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

Also in the news:
Softbank to invest $100bn in US AI
BT’s network wrapped reveals how Brits connected with the biggest cultural moments of 2024
Talking the language of sustainability

Vodafone UK has announced that they’ve worked with Google to bring MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) support to their Pixel 8 Pro and new Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, and 9 Fold phones when on the mobile operator’s new 5G Standalone (broadband) network, which has helped to boost upload speeds. But Google users won’t be the only ones to benefit.

Vodafone has already made 5G SA technology (i.e. their end-to-end pure 5G network) available in the “busy areas” of 23 cities and hundreds of other locations across the UK, although it’s currently only accessible to customers with supporting devices on their Ultra plans.

However, until recently, owners of Google’s Pixel 8 and 9 Smartphones haven’t been able to take full advantage of some of the new network’s features (when covered by it). But that started to change in June 2024, when MIMO technology was introduced to Google’s phones, resulting in faster uploads, and enhanced Uplink Carrier Aggregation (ULCA – using several radio bands at once) was also added for increased download speeds.

Vodafone has since doubled the number of antennas communicating with Google’s phones, improving their mobile broadband performance and the reliability of the connection. This is complemented by the new ULCA combinations available on their 5G Ultra network, allowing the simultaneous aggregation of four spectrum bands (i.e. more spectrum capacity and greater efficiency of the transmission itself).

Andrea Dona, Chief Network Officer, Vodafone UK, said:

“By looking at the data, we can clearly see customer behaviour changing as more of our lives become digital. In previous years, the digital highway was a one-way street, with consumers downloading significantly more data than uploading, but it is starting to balance out now. We must recognise this customer trend and adapt our network as a result.”

Michiel van Eldik, VP, Devices & Services Partnerships, Google EMEA, said:

“We want our customers to have the freedom to share their experiences seamlessly and in the highest quality possible. That’s why we’re thrilled to partner with Vodafone on network advancements that make this a reality. Whether it’s live-streaming a concert or sharing a 4K video with loved ones, we’re committed to providing the best possible mobile experience.”

We should point out that MIMO technology, which is an enhancement in which multiple antennas are used at both the source (mobile mast) and the destination (the user device), is nothing new to wireless networks. But sometimes extra work is required to ensure that these enhancements are properly supported with each new generation of technology and device. It’s a similar story for ULCA, which was also part of the 4G Advanced (LTE-A) spec.

The good news is that Vodafone now intends for both of these capabilities, under their 5G SA network, to be “made available on other devices in the future“. But at the time of writing, we don’t currently know which devices that will include or when the enhancements will go live for them. Sadly, Vodafone did not provide any benchmarks to show the before and after impact of these changes, which would have been interesting.

The London Internet Exchange (LINX), which handles a large chunk of UK and global data traffic through their switches via around 900 members (broadband ISPs, mobile operators etc.), has today revealed that they increased their connected network capacity by 21% over the past year, from 60.10Tbps (Terabits per second) in 2023, to 72.91Tbps in 2024.

The exchange, which is also today celebrating 30 years of the internet, noted that during 2024 they achieved their highest-ever network traffic, with a maximum peak of over 10.841Tbps, up from 9.229Tbps in 2023 and 7.424Tbps in 2022.

LINX has members located in more than 85 countries and offers various other products and services, such as Cloud Connect, Closed User Groups, and the Microsoft Azure Peering Service (MAPS). Over the last 12 months LINX celebrated 10 years of operations in the US through its LINX NoVA Internet Exchange in Northern Virginia. Additionally, the company took its first step into Africa with the launch of the LINX Nairobi Internet Exchange in Kenya in late 2023 and further announcements have come in 2024 with plans for LINX Mombasa and LINX Accra in 2025.

Additionally, LINX has welcomed a host of new partners as part of its UK growth strategy, including Lunar Digital Data Centre and AtlasEdge Data Centre in Manchester. LINX also welcomed new CEO, Jennifer Holmes in November, who has been with the London Internet Exchange (LINX) since 2007. Holmes replaced Kurtis Lindqvist, who is moved to a new role as CEO and Vice President of ICANN. Previously before Lindqvist, the CEO of LINX was John Souter until 2019.

Jennifer Holmes, CEO Of LINX, said:

“Over the past three decades, the internet has transformed the way we connect, communicate, and conduct business. As the digital landscape has evolved, so too has the infrastructure that supports it. LINX has played a vital role in this journey, adapting to the increasing demand for reliable connectivity and seamless online experiences.

Our recent increase in network capacity shows our commitment to a robust and efficient internet ecosystem. This growth not only highlights our role in supporting businesses, ISPs, and content providers but also reflects the achievements of an interconnected global network.

LINX continues to sustain, grow, and optimise its services by introducing new products and pricing, ensuring it provides ongoing value for its 850+ members through flexible peering speeds and services.”

European satellite operator Eutelsat has announced that they’ve selected Airbus Defence and Space (ADS) to build the first batch of 100 next generation (GEN2) broadband satellites for their global OneWeb network in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is a constellation that has been partly supported by the UK government. Expect various upgrades, such as 5G mobile support.

OneWeb (aka – Eutelsat OneWeb) has 654 small (c.150kg) first generation (GEN1) LEO platforms in space – orbiting at an altitude of 1,200km above the Earth (c.600 of them for coverage and the rest for redundancy). The network was completed in March 2023 (here), promising both ultrafast broadband speeds and fast latency times. But a further 15 satellites (plus one GEN2 prototype) were then added in May 2023 for “resiliency and redundancy to the network” (here) and then 20 more in October 2024 (here).

In case anybody has forgotten, OneWeb originally planned to launch hundreds more satellites in the future (funds allowing), which were expected to reflect a GEN2 model that could potentially sit in a higher Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) of 8,500km. The GEN2s were widely expected to have more data capacity, support for 5G mobile and may, possibly, introduce enhanced navigation and positioning features. A £32m beam-hopping prototype of the GEN2 satellite, known as “Joey-Sat”, was launched in 2023 (here).

However, Eutelsat signalled, after its merger with OneWeb in Sept 2023 (here), that it would now aim to make the GEN1s last longer than originally anticipated, while also phasing-in the GEN2s more slowly over time and with fewer satellites. The change in strategy was partly due to the low failure rate of the GEN1s and Eutelsat’s desire to spread the capital expenditure (cost) burden over a longer period of time, which helps to de-risk their investment.

The ADS Deal and IRIS 2

Despite the expectation of future OneWeb satellites, Eutelsat is known to have been under some financial strain (significant debts) and previous reports suggested that their future plans may depend, at least in part, upon what approach the EU took to growing their own IRIS 2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) LEO constellation.

The question of OneWeb’s future was underlined again this week after Cheng-Wen Wu, the Minister responsible for Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council, suggested that OneWeb’s network lacked the bandwidth to help cater for the island’s needs (something Eutelsat denies) and suggested that there were concerns about delays in the delivery of GEN2. However, in fairness, we are talking about supporting a huge island in the event of a possible war (Elon Musk’s ties to China make Starlink unfavourable). As it stands, Taiwan is now pursuing a possible arrangement with Amazon’s Kuiper constellation, which hasn’t launched yet.

The good news is that Eutelsat made two big announcements this week. The first saw them confirm that the SpaceRISE consortium, of which they are a part (inc. Hispasat, and SES), had inked an agreement as concessionaire for the EU’s new €10.6bn (£8.77bn) IRIS2 constellation. The new constellation will comprise around 290 spacecraft including 264 LEO and 18 MEO satellites and is expected to be in service in 2030.

In an ideal world, Eutelsat would have liked OneWeb to form the backbone of IRIS2, but under the new deal they will still play a supporting role.

Extract from Eutelsat’s IRIS2 Announcement

“Eutelsat’s involvement in IRIS2 represents a key step in the company’s strategy to develop and expand its low Earth orbit capacities, and the extension of its existing OneWeb constellation will be technologically compatible with the future IRIS² assets.

Once operational the IRIS² constellation will offer compelling complementarity with Eutelsat’s existing LEO business, notably giving Eutelsat access to additional sellable LEO capacity secured by its investment of at least 1.5 Tbps out of a total of 2 Tbps of LEO capacity, at an attractive cost per Gbps, as well as to KaMil capacity not consumed by EU sovereign needs.

Eutelsat will also be able to complete IRIS² with further satellites to scale up capacity and carry additional payloads based on demand.”

A second announcement followed yesterday, when Eutelsat announced that it had chosen Airbus to build the “first batches” of OneWeb’s future GEN2 spacecraft, totalling 100 satellites, with delivery targeted starting end of calendar-2026. The new satellites will embark key technology upgrades, notably “5G on-ground integration” and, as expected, will also be technologically compatible with Europe’s IRIS² constellation.

Eva Berneke, CEO of Eutelsat Group, said:

“We are relying on our long-standing partner, Airbus, to begin building the first batches of the Next Generation of our OneWeb LEO constellation, which will ensure we deliver continuity of service of the existing constellation with enhanced service features, as we move towards an architecture in line with the IRIS2constellation in 2030. Our in-market experience shows us that the appetite for low Earth orbit capacity is growing rapidly, and we are excited to embark on the next stage of our journey to satisfy that demand.”

Sadly, the announcement doesn’t provide any future detail than that, such as precisely what technical enhancements the new GEN2 satellites will have or what orbit altitude they will adopt. All 100 new satellites will be built at the Airbus site in Toulouse (not the UK) and production is expected to start in 2026, although it’s presently unclear which rockets will be used to launch the satellites and when that will occur.

A new survey of 1,020 people in the UK, which was conduct by Strand Partners on behalf of broadband ISP Virgin Media (O2) and Internet Matters, has found that 44% of parents don’t know how to add safety controls or tools to the tech (devices) they’re planning to gift this Christmas. This is despite 82% being worried about their children having unrestricted access to the internet.

The study notes that 1 in 10 parents are planning to give their child a smartphone as a present this Christmas, including 64% to children below the age of 14. At the same time, some 60% of parents also believe their kids know more about technology than they do, which is not an uncommon reality.

The survey also found that 37% of parents believe their kids would be upset if they’d activated safety controls on their new device. Perhaps that’s why 40% of parents would rather assemble flat pack furniture than set up safety controls on new tech, and are more likely to set up bikes (78%), play kitchens (70%) and remote-controlled toys (63%) over a phone (60%) or tablet (35%).

In fairness, respondents could be forgiven for not knowing how to add or activate such features to these devices, since that is normally a process that only becomes apparent after the gift has actually been unwrapped on Christmas Day. Expecting prior knowledge of such features, on an unfamiliar device, is perhaps not always viable unless the parent proactively chooses to unbox and set-up the device ahead of time (not many people do that).

However, it’s worth pointing out that both Virgin Media and O2 – like most major network operators – also provide network-level parental controls (here and here), which will apply across your home network – regardless of the device being used.

In addition, Virgin Media notes that there are also a range of parental controls that can be set up across a range of operating systems and devices, which have been set out below.

Online safety advice

1. Broadband and mobile network settings

• Virgin Media and O2 both provide broadband and mobile controls to restrict inappropriate content.
• Virgin Media customers have access to Essential Security, which includes parental controls settings where people can block inappropriate sites. This can be enabled via the ‘My Virgin Media’ account.  With Advanced Security, customers can also block specific content they don’t want a child to see, and can protect family time by setting screen time limits on kids’ devices.
• O2 customers can use Parental Controls to restrict children’s web access to suitable sites on mobile devices.

2. Operating system parental controls and screentime limits

• There are a range of parental controls that can be set up across a range of operating systems including iOS, Android and Windows 11 to set limits on how long children can be online,  approve app downloads and restrict inappropriate sites.
• You can set daily screen time limits for overall device usage and specific apps, through Apple Screen Time and Google Family Link.

3. Social media and video streaming settings

• Social media platforms have privacy settings which can help parents to limit who can contact their children and view their content.
• ‘SafeSearch’ can filter out explicit content on popular search engines.
• YouTube also has a ‘Restricted Mode’ which can hide potentially mature videos.

4. Gaming and entertainment controls

• Use the built-in parental controls on gaming consoles to set playtime limits and restrict online interactions. 
• Parental controls can also be added to streaming sites to restrict access to age-inappropriate content.

5. Content filtering and monitoring

• Age-appropriate filters can block content unsuitable for a child’s age on streaming services, app stores, and web browsers.
• You can also regularly review activity reports provided by tools like Google Family Link and Windows Family Safety to monitor your child’s online behaviour. 

6. Reporting and support

• Ensure your child knows how to report inappropriate content or behaviour on various platforms, and other tools such as blocking, muting, and restricting. Many social media and gaming platforms have these tools built in.
• Familiarise yourself with resources like Childline and CEOP for additional support and guidance on dealing with serious online issues.

7. Regular review and update

• It’s important to review and update parental controls settings as your child grows and their online activities change. 
• Keep up to date with the latest online trends and potential risks to ensure your protective measures remain effective.

News

The cash injection follows a $50 billion investment in 2016

SoftBank Group, led by CEO Masayoshi Son, has announced plans to invest $100 billion in the US over the next four years, a move that will focus on advancing AI and its related infrastructure. This investment aims to create 100,000 new jobs.

Son made the announcement alongside President-elect Donald Trump, who praised the deal as a strong sign of confidence in the future of the US economy. Trump said that the investment shows “monumental confidence in America’s future.”

Trump welcomed the new investment as part of his broader strategy to boost the US economy and tackle inflation in his second term. “It will help ensure that artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and other industries tomorrow are built, created and grown right here in the USA,” he continued.

The new pledge echoes a similar commitment made in December 2016, when Son promised a $50 billion investment and 50,000 jobs. While that money was deployed, the impact on job creation was unclear.

Although the $100 billion is set to be deployed over the next four years, the funding sources remain uncertain. SoftBank reported $27 billion in cash reserves as of September 30, and the company’s Vision Fund 2 still has $3 billion left to invest. It’s also possible that SoftBank could use funds from its recent acquisition of chipmaker Arm Holdings to help support this ambitious pledge.

This year, SoftBank also invested $960 million in Japanese AIto upgrade its computing infrastructure to deliver a Generative AI  platform in the Japanese language. Over the next two years, SoftBank will purchase GPUs (graphics processing units) from US based chip company Nvidia, using them to train and power its own large language models (LLMs), and then loan access to them to other firms.

Join us at next year’s Connected America, 11-12 March in Dallas. Get discounted tickets here!

Also in the news:
Congress boosts funding for drive to replace Chinese equipment
BT’s network wrapped reveals how Brits connected with the biggest cultural moments of 2024
Talking the language of sustainability

Press Release

LONDON, 17th December: The UK has become a nation of split-screeners, secret streamers and event schemers according to new research commissioned by BT Group. ‘Network Wrapped’ is a new annual study that combines mobile and broadband data with consumer insights to reveal the latest trends around how the British public engaged with the biggest cultural moments of the year, both in-person and online.

Era of split-screeners

Whereas once families were more likely to gather around a TV for major events like football matches or Christmas TV specials, the nation’s view of quality time now looks very different with more than a third (35%) of the UK admitting to regularly splitting their attention between multiple screens or devices at the same time. This rises to 58% among Gen Z who have been credited with giving rise to the split-screening habit.

The top reasons Brits are using secondary screens during major events include scrolling social media (47%), messaging friends and family (39%), shopping online (33%) and playing video games (30%).

Rise of secret streamers

When it comes to the most significant cultural moments of 2024, more than half of the UK population (56%) believe live sport is the most important for the nation’s psyche, more than the UK general election (55%), live music (29%), film and TV releases (15%) and gaming launches (11%).

With more connected devices in the household, this year has also seen a greater rise in ‘secret streaming’ with 46% of multi-tasking men having been caught watching a live event covertly; while one in 16 people admit to having watched live events on their smartphone while attending a wedding, funeral, or christening.

The growing desire to be part of the biggest cultural moments in real-time has led to an increase in livestreaming across the nation, with more than a quarter (27%) of Millennials now livestreaming their attendance at major events to share the experience with others, while 35% of Gen Z attendees admit to video calling friends or family members from an event venue.

Celebrating event schemers

Nearly two thirds of the population (61%) spend up to two hours preparing to attend live events, with 14% of ultra-organised Brits spending more than three hours researching travel routes, setting up group chats, buying new outfits online, and chatting to fellow event goers on social media.

This means Brits often spend more time planning to attend an event than the duration of the event itself; none more so than those in the East Midlands where people spend the most time preparing to attend a live event – an average of 2 hours and 4 minutes.

This national obsession with planning is in part caused by a desire to make the most of the biggest cultural moments because of the high cost associated with attending in person. ‘Network Wrapped’ found:

• Despite ongoing cost pressures, people spent more than £155 on average, in addition to their ticket, to attend major events in 2024
• One in ten Brits admit they splash the cash to make the most of the experience by spending an additional £300 per event
• Fans in the Northeast of England are some of the most likely to spend on additional experiences such as VIP access and merchandise, splashing out 66% more than those in Norfolk and Suffolk who spend the least on average (£114.38 vs £68.51).

The biggest frustrations with attending the UK’s biggest cultural moments include queuing to get into the venue, for the toilets, or for food and drink (47%), managing parking and travel (27%), trying to find the right seats (15%), and people recording entire shows on their phones (13%).

Those frustrations aren’t doing much to dampen spirits though, with almost a quarter (24%) of Brits planning to attend or engage with even more major events in 2025.

Howard Watson, Chief Security and Networks Officer at BT Group, said: “This year has seen the British public connect, stream, and split-screen their way through some truly iconic moments – from the final of Euro 2024 to Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour. But with more people using more connected devices than ever before, there is a growing desire – among all generations – to be part of the biggest cultural moments as they happen, and this is reshaping how we all use connectivity.”

The full ‘Network Wrapped’ report is available here: bt.com/network-wrapped

Network access provider Openreach (BT) has today revealed the top five London Boroughs for coverage of their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network, which sees Barking and Dagenham topping the table with more than 8 out of 10 premises now able to upgrade to the new service.

The boroughs of Bexley, Redbridge, Hillingdon and Merton then round off the remaining top five slots, although Openreach hasn’t provided any coverage figures for those. The network operator’s new full fibre network is currently available to more than 1.5 million homes and businesses across London. But London is home to around 3.8 million dwellings and Openreach’s coverage is thus somewhere around 40%, which could be better.

Elaine Hope, Openreach’s Partnership Director for London, said: “This Full Fibre upgrade is a huge boost for London. Better connectivity helps communities thrive and supports people to work from home easily, keep in touch with their loved ones and build connections and opportunities. And we’re not stopping yet; our investment across the city continues at pace with build continuing at forty locations across Greater London”.

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

The 40 locations in London where Openreach are currently building

Albert Dock

Bowes Park

Canonbury

Deptford

Enfield

Goodmayes

Greenford

Hainault

Harrow

Hornchurch

Hounslow

Kingston

Leytonstone

Mitcham

Mortlake

New Malden

New Southgate

North Finchley

North Wembley

Palmers Green

Pimlico

Putney

Romford

South Harrow

Stamford Hill

Teddington

Tottenham

Upper Holloway

Upton Park

Vauxhall

Walthamstow

Walworth

Wembley

West Wickham

Wimbledon

Troubled mobile operator Lyca Mobile, which is a virtual operator (mvno) on EE’s network, has reportedly told its UK workforce that the company is facing some “pretty serious challenges” and as a result of that almost 90% of their workers (up to 316 jobs) could be made redundant.

Over the past couple of years’ the operator has certainly faced its fair share of “serious challenges“. For example, there was last year’s cyberattack (here), as well as the conviction of Lyca’s French entities for money laundering and VAT fraud (the operator is appealing against that), and a Tax Tribunal recently ruled in HMRC’s favour over a £51m (aggregate) dispute related to the VAT treatment of customer “bundles” (here). Not to mention issues with the auditing of their accounts (here) and some other things.

According to The Guardian, the company’s general counsel, David Dobbie, warned staff on Friday (13th.. of course it was) that more than 300 of them could face the chop due to issues such as competition, cost inflation, “legacy technology issues” and internal inefficiencies due to overlap between divisions based in the UK and India. No mention is said to have been made of their tax dispute.

The newspaper claims that the operator’s customer service team will also be impacted, which will see Lyca Mobile moving its support offshore to places such as India. “This proposed expansion of global service centres is going to unlock significant cost savings for us,” he said, while allegedly asking for the support of staff to “make this no harder than it needs to be”.

Cuts are also expected to be felt across other parts of the group, such as in property, media and their restaurant chain, Bella Cosa.

Rural broadband ISP Voneus, which has built a mix of full fibre (FTTP) and fixed wireless broadband networks across parts of Wales and England, has pledge to “increase community communication” after more than a hundred complaints about their service were raised by residents through two MPs for Shropshire and Powys.

According to the BBC News, the complaints highlighted issues of connection drops, extremely poor speeds (sometimes sub-1Mbps) and customer support being slow to respond or failing to rectify the problem. The issues have been raised with Voneus by Heather Kidd, Councillor for Chirbury & Worthen (Shropshire), and Danny Bebb, who represents Churchstoke on Powys Council.

Kidd said she had logged more than 60 complaints, which is on top of the 69 from neighbouring divisions. Many of those complaints seem to relate to the network areas that were previously served by SWS Broadband. In case anybody has forgotten, SWS was merged into Voneus last year (here) and most of the networks they built in this area used fixed wireless access (FWA) technologies (they also had some plans to deploy FTTP).

The article largely focuses upon problems in Rowley (Shrewsbury), although it also lists other locations with complaints, such as Habberley, Vennington, Brompton, Marton, Stoney Stretton, Montgomery, Stiperstones and Pennerley. This is sadly not the first time we’ve heard complaints about Voneus this year (here and here).

A Spokesperson for Voneus said:

“We appreciate the comments and concerns raised by councillor Kidd and councillor Bebb. We will increase community communication whilst we complete a number of fibre network builds and network upgrades across Shropshire and Powys.”

Some of these areas may at least have access to reasonable mobile broadband connectivity as an alternative, but many do not, and locals often have little desire to go back to older copper lines. The Starlink (LEO satellite) service is another option but, at £75 per month (plus £299 for the hardware), it’s not something that everybody can afford and most just want Voneus to deliver what SWS before them promised.

Earlier this year Voneus also secured the £12m (state aid) Project Gigabit contract to connect 6,000 premises across Mid West Shropshire (Lot 25.01) to their gigabit-capable broadband network (here), which is expected to be rolled out across rural areas like Alberbury, Westbury, Snailbeach, Wentnor, Ford, Hanwood, Longden, Dorrington, Leebotwood and Bicton (here). This may also make upgrading some of the problematic SWS areas a bit easier.

Until recently Voneus was being backed by up to £250m from investors including Macquarie Capital, IIF, Tiger Infrastructure Partners and bank lenders. But they’ve since secured a further £25m investment boost from Global Connectivity PLC (G-CON) in January 2024 and then an injection of £18m (capital) from Rural Broadband Solutions Holdings Limited (RBSHL) in June 2024 (here). The G-CON and RBSHL investments are closely connected because G-CON holds a sizeable stake in RBSHL.

However, we appear to have missed another recent announcement from G-CON, which last month pushed another capital investment worth £20m into the company.

G-CON Statement on 21st Nov 2024

Global Connectivity plc (AQSE: GCON), a company focused on communication services and technologies that enhance connectivity and a shareholder in leading UK broadband provider Voneus Limited (“Voneus”) through its investment in Rural Broadband Solutions Holdings Limited (“RBSHL”) is pleased to announce that on 14 November, a further combined capital investment of £20m was made into Voneus by its shareholders.

As reported on 12 June 2024, RBSHL’s stake in Voneus increased to 41%. In August, the further capital injection reduced GCON’s holding in RBSHL to 11.8% and we reported a valuation of £13.6m in our half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2024 as a post period event, which equated to 3.75p per GCON share.

With this latest November investment, RBSHL’s stake in Voneus remained at 41% after investing £8.2m of the £20m. As in August, Global Connectivity plc again elected not to invest and now owns a 9.5% stake in RBSHL’s common equity. This equates to £11.7m or 3.2 pence per GCON share. The intrinsic value of Voneus should be expected to have increased at the point of future investment, which serves to mitigate the effects of dilution for GCON.