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The energy will come from multinational energy company RWE’s offshore wind farm in the North Sea 

Vodafone Germany has announced a new 10-year deal to use energy company RWE’s renewable energy to power their 5G network, starting in 2026. 

The Power Purchase Agreement will see Vodafone purchase 250-GWh of energy annually from RWE, enough energy to permanently power 12,000 of Vodafone’s mobile base stations. 

The power will be generated by RWE’s ‘Kaskasi’ offshore wind farm in the North Sea, comprising 38 wind turbines. 

As part of the deal, Vodafone has also built and activated an offshore 5G base station in the sea to enable those working on the wind farm to connect with colleagues and family. In the future, the 5G station will allow enable inspection drones to be controlled in real time via mobile communication, to detect potential technical problems in the wind turbines. 

“We are bringing modern 5G to the sea to support the generation of wind energy in Germany,” said Vodafone Germany CEO Philippe Rogge in the announcement’s press release. 

“And we use wind energy from the sea to make mobile communications in Germany more sustainable – because if we want to support the energy transition with digitalization, then we ourselves have to set a good example and therefore operate our network from 100 percent renewable energy sources,” he continued. 

“We are pleased to be able to support Vodafone in implementing its ambitious climate protection goals,” added Ulf Kerstin, chief commercial officer of RWE supply & trading. “With our green energy solutions, we are helping to ensure that the energy transition is also making progress for our industrial customers.” 

In related news, in April last year, it was announced that Vodafone Germany was accelerating its 5G deployment along the country’s railways, activating its 5G SA network on over 15,000km of railway lines – covering half of the country. 

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

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The European Commissioner said that merger rules would not change, but nonetheless emphasised the need for a less fragmented European market

This week, European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has moved to dispel rumours that the European Union will ease merger rules for the telecoms sector, saying that she has not heard of any such proposals.

Her comments come after a report published last week by Reuters, based on Commission documents, said that antitrust regulators were preparing to make it easier for telcos to combine their operations.

Over the past decade, the European Commission has been wary of allowing major telecoms mergers, particularly in cases where this would reduce the number of players in the market from four to three. The Commission argues that these deals typically result in reduced competition and drive-up prices for consumers.

In the rare circumstances when such deals have been approved, the Commission has typically applied stringent conditions, often involving price fixes for customers and divestment of overlapping assets.

In recent years, however, facing expensive rollouts of fibre and 5G, network operators are crying out for change. Intense competition and the troubling macroeconomic environment have shrunk margins considerably, driving the operators into merger discussions as they seek cost-saving synergies and a path to scalable growth.

To make matters worse, the operators have suggested that the congested nature of the European telecoms market is seeing it fall behind rivals like the US and China, which are both dominated by just three nationwide mobile players and therefore can invest at scale far more easily.

Numerous major tie-ups are already being attempted in Europe, most notably Orange and MasMovil in Spain and Three and Vodafone in the UK (though the latter is no longer regulated by the European Commission post-Brexit implementation).

But while some view these deals as representative of a softening sentiment from the EU Commission, Vestager now suggests that merger regulations are unlikely to change. Instead, she argues that facilitating a less fragmented European market will focus on other policy hurdles, such as spectrum coordination.

“One of my hobby horses is indeed to push for taking away the barriers that disable us from having a real European single market for telcos,” Vestager told journalists earlier this week. “If you have a more centralised spectrum management, you can actually harvest efficiencies that are not possible today.”

Currently, each country in the EU has its own independent spectrum policy, making cross-border partnerships problematic.

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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Mobile operator EE (BT) has announced that they’ve upgraded or built more than 40 mobile masts in North Yorkshire (England) over the last two years, which is part of their commitment to expand rural 4G (mobile broadband) connectivity under the £1bn industry-led Shared Rural Network (SRN) project. The five most recent masts to go live […]

Network operator and UK ISP CommunityFibre, which has deployed a 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across a big chunk of London and some surrounding areas, has today announced a new 5-year deal with the London Grid for Learning (LGfL) to supply schools with a “back-up” full fibre broadband service. At present the LGfL already works […]

Openreach (BT) has finally succeeded in deploying ReTransmission (ReTx / G.INP) across their ECI (Ribbon) based UK estate of Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / VDSL2) broadband ISP cabinets and customer lines, which comes after many years of trying to get the technology to work. The result is faster speeds and improved stability. The news these days is […]

News 

The company claims the investment will allow them to build more than any other fibre network provider in the UK this year besides Openreach  

UK-based wholesale fibre operator nexfibre has announced that it will invest £1 billion in its network over the 2024 financial year. 

nexfibre was formed in 2022 as a £4.5 billion joint venture between InfraVia Capital Partners, Liberty Global and Telefonica. The company aims to build a Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband networks that will cover up to 7 million homes across the UK that are not already served by Virgin Media’s network.  

As of the end of last year, the company had currently expanded its FTTP network to around 830,000 premises, saying they would pass 1 million premises in spring 2024.  

Now, with confirmation of a £1 billion investment this year, nexfibre says it will aim to increase this total by an additional 1 million premises in the coming financial year. 

 “Our focus is on addressing the historical lack of investment that has left the UK lagging behind its European counterparts, and providing a platform for progress and innovation to deliver lasting value to the communities we serve, and the wider economy,” said nexfibre CEO Rajib Datta in a company press release.  

“The £1 billion we are investing this year will be a major boost to the UK’s digital infrastructure. Backed by our world-class investors, we are bringing much-needed sustainable competition and next generation connectivity to the UK,” he continued. 

nexfibre’s September 2023 build report highlighted that the company aims to have 5 million houses covered by the end of 2026, which will be capable of accessing speeds of up to 10Gbps. The report also shows a full, countrywide upcoming rollout plan. 

Beyond their increased investment, nexfibre has also recently been in the news for hitting out at the UK incumbent BT, arguing that its monopolistic position and lack of investment in the UK market has resulted in the UK lagging behind other European countries. 

According to Datta, speaking to the Daily Telegraph, BT behaves like a “typical monopoly”, and has only begun to invest in its core infrastructure when serious competitors arose. 

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

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The companies aim to launch the service commercially in 2026, but note that the specific timing remains “uncertain”  

Japanese mobile network operator Rakuten Mobile has announced that it is planning to launch a satellite-to-mobile service in collaboration with AST SpaceMobile in Japan. 

The companies envisage that the direct-to-mobile satellite services will be used for messaging initially, but ultimately being expanded to internet, voice, and video services using regular smartphones.  

Back in November 2022, Rakuten Mobile received preliminary approval from the Japanese authorities to test the service using AST SpaceMobile’s low Earth orbit (LEO) test satellite BlueWalker 3. 

The announcement notes that there is a growing need for such services in Japan because of the country’s high-risk of natural disasters and many hard-to-connect remote areas. For example, in January this year, the country’s Noto Peninsula earthquake cut off of recovery routes, causing delays to emergency responders that could have been mitigated with satellite connectivity. 

“Remote islands and mountainous regions present unique challenges that require innovative solutions, while the threat of natural disasters, coupled with the effects of climate change, has also heightened public awareness of the importance of mobile connectivity for daily life,” said Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten Group and Chairman of Rakuten Mobile. 

“We are proud to partner with AST SpaceMobile to bring their cutting-edge solutions to Japan by realizing satellite-to-mobile services, ensuring our customers would potentially enjoy mobile connectivity across Japan,” he continued. 

The launch is not the first time the two companies have worked together. After entering into a strategic partnership in March 2020, the two firms collaborated on the world’s first two-way voice call in April 2023 between Texas and Tokyo, using two standard smartphones. 

Direct-to-device satellite connectivity is an area of increasing interest for the global telecoms community, with SpaceX’s Starlink beginning to launch satellites equipped with the new technology at the start of this year.  

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

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Verizon to trial private 5G networks at NHL stadiums

News

Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) says that the new fibre wholesaler will establish the “biggest dedicated fixed network challenger in the country” and could prove a focal point for altnet consolidation

VMO2 is preparing to spin off its fixed broadband network into a fully owned wholesale subsidiary NetCo.

The move will open up VMO2’s broadband networks, which currently provide cable and fibre broadband services to 16 million homes, to wholesale for the first time, giving ISPs looking for scale an additional option beyond Openreach.

VMO2 is also currently in the process of upgrading this entire footprint to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), a process which will continue under the new NetCo.

The new NetCo will not include VMO2’s mobile assets or any other business units. Nexfibre, the joint venture between Liberty Global, Telefónica and Infravia, will notably remain a separate entity from the new NetCo.

When combined, nexfibre and NetCo currently have a full fibre footprint of just over 4 million premises, a total that will increase to 23 million homes once both companies have completed their respective builds.

“This is a logical evolution of our fibre strategy that creates a clear, focused and scaled network entity within the Virgin Media O2 family which underpins our shift to a fully fibre network and reinforces our position as the leading challenger to Openreach in the market,” explained VMO2 CEO Lutz Schüler.

He noted that the new wholesale platform could become a platform consolidation at a time when the UK’s vibrant altnet ecosystem is facing an almost existential financial crisis as a result of inflation and the macroeconomic environment.

“Working closely with our shareholders, this network business will provide a platform for potential altnet consolidation and wholesale opportunities in future, offering widescale network choice for other providers, as well as giving financing optionality. While nothing changes today work is well underway and you’ll hear more from us later in the year.”

This announcement comes as part of a wider restructuring from the company’s joint owner Liberty Global, which is currently seeking to better monetise its telecoms assets throughout Europe. Liberty says it has plans to list its Swiss operator business Sunrise later this year and will seek to do likewise with its Belgian operator Telenet and its stake in Dutch joint venture Vodafone Ziggo.

“I think it sends a message and a signal to the market that (..) this is going to be a big strategic reorientation of our investment focus,” said Liberty Global’s Chief Executive Mike Fries.

What does this spinoff mean for the UK’s broadband landscape? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s Connected North conference live in Manchester

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Press Release

TELUS to supercharge its 5G network using Samsung’s vRAN 3.0 and Open RAN solutions — improving performance, energy efficiency and flexibility for future enhancements

TELUS and Samsung Electronics announced today that they will build Canada’s first commercial virtualized and open radio access network (RAN) — an intelligent, next-generation technology that offers enhanced performance, flexibility, energy efficiency and automation. The companies are expanding their collaboration from greenfield (new builds) to brownfield (existing infrastructure) deployments.

Following TELUS’ selection of Samsung as its 5G network vendor in June 2020, this revolutionary approach to infrastructure deployment embodies the essence of collaboration, bringing together manufacturers and providers to create a modular, state-of-the-art wireless network. It is also one of the first truly virtualized Open RAN deployments within a complex, brownfield network environment.

With an Open RAN, TELUS is able to use components from different manufacturers that best meet its needs, while a virtualized radio access network (vRAN) allows the use of software instead of hardware. This provides TELUS with faster access to the latest technologies as they become available, helping enhance customer experiences and fuel network innovation, while increasing opportunities for equipment vendors.

“This is a very exciting milestone for TELUS and the industry overall, as we now have the most flexible way to offer a diversified set of services to Canadians, unlocking new levels of mobile experiences,” said Nazim Benhadid, Chief Technology Officer at TELUS. “We are proud to be the first Canadian telecommunications company to integrate this cutting-edge technology, together with Samsung and our other partners.”

“Innovation is not a result, but a continuous process that transforms our daily lives,” said Junehee Lee, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “TELUS and Samsung have been spearheading a meaningful transformation in mobile communications and we look forward to continuing to unleash the full benefits of software-centric innovation, by advancing our industry-leading vRAN and Open RAN.”

The companies have extensively tested both the vRAN and Open RAN rollout in select Canadian markets with excellent results, validating the telco-grade performance and reliability of multi-vendor Open RAN technology, powered by Samsung’s vRAN solutions. Commercial deployment will begin in the first half of this year and a large-scale network rollout is expected to begin mid-2024.

For this expanded collaboration, Samsung will deliver its versatile vRAN software and proven Open RAN compliant solutions, including its 64T64R Massive MIMO radios, as well as the support for third-party radio integration. Samsung’s solutions include its latest vRAN 3.0 for 4G and 5G, which features enhanced capabilities for improved energy savings, optimized performance and intelligent automation via Samsung’s Service Management and Orchestration (SMO). Samsung’s AI-based SMO will help TELUS accelerate vRAN rollouts at scale by enabling automated deployment of thousands of network sites simultaneously. It will also provide TELUS with a comprehensive set of capabilities for end-to-end automation for multi-party solutions, enabling easier deployment, operation and optimization of their network.

TELUS’ bold approach to embrace a multi-vendor Open RAN brownfield deployment leverages other ecosystem collaborations as well. Cloud infrastructure will be provided by Wind River, tapping the company’s experience in real-time operating systems and cloud-native, distributed edge platforms. Additionally, Hewlett Packard Enterprise will deliver HPE ProLiant DL110 Gen11 servers featuring 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor with Intel vRAN Boost, that are workload optimized for Open RAN while being open and flexible, providing the foundation for a Distributed Unit (DU).

“vRAN and Open RAN remain at the forefront of network transformation, with Samsung continuing to demonstrate leadership in proving virtualized Open RAN’s ability to deliver high performance and efficiency in commercial 5G networks,” said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President and Analyst at the Dell’Oro Group. “Introducing vRAN and Open RAN into the Canadian market with TELUS represents another formidable step in the re-shaping of the RAN for long-term advantage.”

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VMO2 records £3.3bn loss as interest rates begin to bite
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From humble beginnings: The amazing journey of Hormuud Telecom CEO Ahmed Mohamud Yusuf

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The ruling follows complaints made by Spotify in 2019 that Apple was abusing its App Store’s dominant position and limiting access to competitive services

This week, according to anonymous sources speaking to the Financial Times, European competition regulators are preparing to fine Apple €500 million for restrictive sales practices related to its iOS App Store.

The fine relates to an investigation launched following a formal complaint made by Spotify in 2019, when the music streaming service alleged that Apple was blocking apps from advertising cheaper alternative services not featured on the App Store to customers.

This constitutes anticompetitive practises, according to the sources, with the European Commission set to accuse Apple of leveraging its dominant market position to create “unfair trading conditions”.

The EU has been strengthening regulations on major tech firms for a number of years now, seeking to rein in companies like Apple, Google, and Meta that have enormous influence on the continent’s digital landscape. Over the past decade, this has seen the European Commission launch numerous investigations into these companies’ competitive practises, resulting in the tech giants being dealt billions of euros in fines by various regulatory bodies.

Alongside these investigations, the EU has also been working towards stronger regulatory legislation, most notably with the introduction of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in November 2022.

The DMA features a raft of new regulations for large online platform companies – so-called ‘gatekeepers’ – particularly focussed on making the market fairer and more accessible for smaller digital players.

Companies have until next month to comply with the new DMA rules, hence major tech firms are beginning to introduce significant changes to meet the new requirements. This includes Apple last month announcing major changes to its iOS system, though the company warned that some changes, such as the sideloading of apps, could risk reducing customers security and privacy.

Keep up with all the latest telecoms news from around the globe with Total Telecom’s 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