News

Millicom, a provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications services in Latin America, has announced the successful launch of XGS-PON fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) internet services with Harmonic’s cOS broadband platform

Luxembourg-based telecommunications firm Millicom is expanding their partnership with Harmonic in Latin America, where Millicom has previously announced an intent to use Harmonic’s cOS broadband platform to provide high-speed internet to nine Latin American countries.

According to Millicom, Harmonic’s hybrid fiber-cable nodes have allowed Millicom to augment existing nodes to strategically and quickly deploy FTTH while continuing to deliver DOCSIS (data over cable service interface specification).

“Advanced telemetry via cOS Central’s real-time network analytics provides Millicom powerful new insights and actionable recommendations for optimal system performance,” the company’s announcement stated.

Millicom’s CTO, Fabio Mando, explained the significance of the news in comments included with Millicom’s Feb. 20 announcement.

“Adding fiber services with the Harmonic fiber solution enables us to ensure faster, reliable broadband experiences that delight our residential subscribers while simultaneously giving us the flexibility to offer ultrahigh-speed fiber broadband for enterprise accounts,” he said.

Millicom provides fiber-cable services to more than 45 million customers and has a fiber-cable footprint with over 13 million homes passed, according to a summary of the company’s operations provided to the media by Millicom. As of September 2023, Millicom, and its Honduras Joint Venture, employed approximately 19,000 people, the company’s summary stated.

“With the cOS platform and Harmonic’s hybrid nodes, Millicom can fast-track cost-effective deployment of new high-speed fiber broadband across Latin America and increase access to their market-leading internet options,” said Nimrod Ben-Natan, a senior vice president and general manager of Harmonic’s broadband business.

Ben-Natan added that Harmonic is “excited to broaden our partnership with Millicom and further support their business growth,” according to Millicom’s announcement.

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This article was originally published on Total Telecom’s sister website, Broadband Communities. Reach Brad Randall at brad.randall@totaltele.com.

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Globe Teleservices Pte. Ltd., a leading global provider of telecommunication solutions, has established a strategic alliance with Honora Tanzania PLC (TIGO), a leading mobile network operator in Tanzania which is part of the AXIAN Telecom group. TIGO Tanzania, recognized for its innovative communication solutions, has chosen to partner exclusively with Globe Teleservices due to its advanced and intelligent firewall solution for A2P SMS.

 

The security and reliability offered by Globe Teleservices’ firewall solutions align perfectly with TIGO’s mission to provide seamless, secure, and high-quality international Application-to-Person (A2P) traffic delivery.

 

In today’s era of rapid technological advancements, this exclusive partnership will equip TIGO to tackle revenue loss caused by SMS frauds like Smishing, SIM farming, grey routes, SMS pumping, and more.

 

Globe Teleservices’ firewall solution safeguards messaging traffic from grey routing and spam, ensuring secure and reliable communication. Given the diverse factors impacting each mobile network operator’s business, protecting the network requires a tailored approach with the right mix of technology and business alignment. This approach not only facilitates TIGO’s global expansion but also upholds the utmost security, a crucial imperative in today’s interconnected world.

 

Mr. Ashutosh Agrawal, CMD at Globe Teleservices, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership, saying, “Our intelligent firewall solutions complement TIGO Tanzania’s vision for secure and efficient international A2P traffic delivery. We are proud to be a part of this journey, looking forward to the innovation and growth this exclusive partnership will bring to both companies.”

 

This collaboration demonstrates the companies’ commitment to delivering high-quality, secure, and efficient communication solutions to customers within Tanzania and beyond.

 

 

 

 

About Globe Teleservices:

Globe Teleservices is a leader in telecommunications with its transformative solutions that enable businesses to establish seamless global connectivity. We provide operators with niche next-gen solutions in premium voice, omnichannel messaging, anti-fraud, cloud services, and A2P monetization. Globe Teleservices has also been recognized as a Tier 1 A2P SMS Vendor for MNOs in the ROCCO’s A2P SMS Market Impact Report – MNO Edition. We provide access to high-quality, secure, and reliable routes with our diverse product portfolio offerings. Globe Teleservices is headquartered in Singapore and provides direct interconnections across 65+ countries in Asia, the Middle East, LATAM, and Africa.

 

Media Contact:

Pournima Chavan

marcom@globeteleservices.com

National telecoms and broadband giant BT Group has this morning announced the sale of their iconic BT Tower building in London, which is a grade II listed communications tower located in Fitzrovia, to MCR Hotels for £275 million. The new owner plans to preserve the tower, albeit now serving as an “iconic hotel“. Breaking news.. […]

Some of UK ISP Virgin Media’s (VMO2) existing broadband customers in nexfibre areas have complained that, due to confusion within the provider’s support team, they’ve struggled to add the new +£6 per month symmetric speed boost to their package, which was recently launched alongside the new 2Gbps plan (here). Just to recap. The option to […]

Finnish technology firm Nokia, which supplies network kit to a number of UK broadband and mobile operators (EE, O2 etc.), has launched a new power saving mode called “extreme deep sleep” that it estimates could reduce power consumption on their radio kit in mobile networks by a factor of eight. The new enhancement, which is […]

The industry-led One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo) has signed a strategic partnership with Indian firm Tech Mahindra to design, build and operate a message exchange platform for the UK telecom industry, which will underpin the much delayed One Touch Switch (OTS) system for easier and quicker consumer switching between ISPs. In case anybody has missed […]

Hampshire-based UK ISP toob, which is deploying its own Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across parts of South England, has today suffered a second major broadband outage in the space of a week after customers reported losing connectivity at around 11am today. The first outage similarly occurred on a Tuesday (here) last week. The provider, which lacks […]

News

The move represents the first instance of BT using generative AI (GenAI) tools to enhance product development

Today, BT’s Digital Unit has announced that it will us Amazon Web Services (AWS)’s GenAI coding companion Amazon CodeWhisperer to help their software engineers code effectively.

Amazon CodeWhisperer works something akin to autocorrect on a mobile phone, with the AI assessing the piece of code being written in real time and suggesting additional code suited to the programme.

These capabilities span from snippets to full functions in multiple integrated development environments (IDEs) based on natural-language comments and existing code, across 15 coding languages.

The solution also filters out unreliable code and can flag its suggestions if they resemble open-source training data, all the while scanning for vulnerabilities within the code that can be corrected.

According to BT, the code is currently providing 15–20 suggestions of code per user per day, with software engineers accepting these suggestions 37% of the time. This, says BT, has led to the automation of around 12% of “tedious, repetitive, and time-consuming” coding work done by an initial group of volunteers.

“The adoption of generative AI solutions on this scale is not just a major milestone for BT Group, but for industry as a whole. It will equip our colleagues for a world of work that is transforming overnight, in turn delivering solutions for our customers quicker than ever before. Implementing coding assistance is step one in a wider enablement move for our digital colleagues in AI-supported product lifecycle management.”

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

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News 

The announcement comes as EE continues to play its part in the Shared Rural Network project 

EE has announced today that it has significantly improved its 4G coverage in rural North Yorkshire, revealing that it has built or upgraded over 40 masts in the area over the last two years. 

The villages of Chapel-le-Dale, Rievaulx, Blubberhouses, Danby Wiske, and Terrington, have recently benefitted from 4G connectivity from five recently updated masts, bringing connectivity for residents, visitors, local businesses, and the emergency services. 

The majority of the masts have been built as part of the ongoing Shared Rural Network (SRN) project, the £1 billion initiative to extend 4G to rural areas of the UK, with the aim of covering 95% of the country’s landmass by the end of 2025. The project combines investment from both the private and public sectors, with all related infrastructure being shared between the UK’s four (perhaps soon to be three…) mobile network operators.  

BT’s Chief Networks Officer, Greg McCall, confirmed that EE has upgraded over 1,600 rural locations so far under the SRN, which it claims is more than any other UK operator. 

These network upgrades cannot come soon enough. Back in 2021, an independent report from the North Yorkshire County Council noted that the “not-spots” in the area were hindering economic growth and development in the county, adding that increasing the area’s connectivity will boost investment and jobs in sectors such as hospitality, tourism and agriculture. 

“Having championed the creation of the Shared Rural Network, I know how essential it is in helping to close the digital divide between urban and rural areas and boost regional economic growth,” said local Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton in a press release. 

“This improved mobile connectivity from EE means businesses and visitors in North Yorkshire are now better connected and residents have more options when it comes to working remotely and accessing essential services,” he continued. 

In January this year, EE became the first of the UK’s four mobile operators (EE, Three, Vodafone, and Virgin Media O2) to complete the first phase of the SRN, six months ahead of schedule. As a result, EE’s networks now cover 88% of UK landmass or 99% of the population. The project’s second deadline in 2027 will involve the mobile operators developing shared masts to bring coverage to areas with no existing coverage, known as ‘total not spots’.  

Catch North Yorkshire Council at this year’s Connected North Event, 22-23 April in Manchester. Get your tickets here! 

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News 

The merger, which was first announced in June 2022, is worth €18.6 billion 

After an in-depth investigation was opened into the potential transaction in April last year, the European Commission has approved the creation of a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between France’s Orange and Spain’s MásMóvil.  

The JV’s approval was conditional on Romania’s Digi (the largest MVNO in Spain) acquiring spectrum from MásMóvil in order to become a new fourth mobile operator. 

The initial investigation was concerned that the transaction would restrict market competition by creating the largest operator in Spain in terms of customers and reducing the number of players in the market from four to three. 

To combat these concerns, Digi, which also has operations in Portugal, Italy, and Belgium, finalised a spectrum transfer agreement with the two Spanish firms in December last year, worth €120 million. The spectrum acquired is set to be 2x10MHz in the 1,800MHz band, 2x10MHz in the 2.1GHz band, and 20MHz in the 3.5GHz band. As a result of this, Digi can take the place of a fourth MNO in the Spanish market, providing a solution to the market’s competition problem. 

Orange CEO Christel Heydemann has emphasised that the deal will allow increased scale, innovation, and investment in Spain as a result of the “stronger and more sustainable” unified player. 

“The commitments offered by the parties will enable Digi, the largest and fastest-growing mobile virtual network operator in Spain, to replicate the strong competitive pressure exerted by MásMóvil,” EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in the announcement’s press release. 

“They will ensure that consumers in Spain continue to benefit from a competitive telecom market, in terms of prices, quality and 5G connectivity,” she continued. 

However, Kester Mann, Director of Consumer and Connectivity at CCS Insight, warned that the deal’s approval will mean the spotlight is turned towards Vodafone and Three in the UK.  

“Both parties will hope that the news represents a shift in position from the region’s regulators as they seek approval to combine,” he said in a LinkedIn post, but warned that the UK Competition and Markets Authority will not be won over easily. 

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

Also in the news:
VMO2 records £3.3bn loss as interest rates begin to bite
Verizon to trial private 5G networks at NHL stadiums
From humble beginnings: The amazing journey of Hormuud Telecom CEO Ahmed Mohamud Yusuf