Some customers of mobile network operators EE (BT), Vodafone and O2 (Virgin Media) are this morning continuing to report problems with making and receiving calls between the aforementioned networks (this also impacted some landline calls), which is an issue that first began around midday on Monday (4th Sept). Just to recap. Yesterday afternoon quickly turned […]

Openreach (BT) has this morning confirmed that they’ve formally introduced their long-planned UK wide “stop sell” on sales of new Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) and related broadband ISP products, which is part of their aim to completely withdraw the old copper-based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) by December 2025. As we’ve said before, this does […]

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The two deals will make France the largest market in which Phoenix Tower International (PTI) operators 

PTI, based in Florida, has closed two deals allowing it to acquire 1,978 cell sites located in urban areas across France. 

These sites will be added to the more than 1,600 sites PTI already owns in France, with the firm aiming to increase the total number of sites it owns in the country to 5,000 sites  within the next two years. 

 The site acquisitions took the form of two separate deals, with1,226 sites hosting French operator SFR acquired through a wholly owned subsidiary of PTI, and the expansion of Phoenix France Infrastructures 2, a subsidiary of PTI, through the addition of 752 sites hosting Bouygues Telecom. 

“With these transactions, PTI diversifies its portfolio across France with sites located all over the country, including major cities to better serve the populations with strong wireless connectivity,” said Dagan Kasavana, CEO of PTI. 

“France is one of the most dynamic telecom markets in Europe and PTI’s growth will continue facilitating coverage deployments for all French wireless operators across the country. We are pleased to have collaborated with the professionals at Cellnex, Bouygues Telecom, and SFR on these transactions.” 

Following the transaction, France is now the largest market of the 21 in which PTI operate. The firm operate more than 22,000 towers across Europe and the Americas. 

In 2020, PTI partnered with Bouygues Telecom to develop 4,000 new wireless towers in rural areas over the next 12 years. 

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The facility will bring together partners from universities, research institutes, and businesses across Germany 

Deutsche Telekom has opened a “Quantum Lab” facility based at its Berlin T-Labs, dedicated to quantum research and the integration of quantum technology into its telecommunications operations. 

The research facility is connected to over 2,000km of fibre optical network, allowing researchers to conduct quantum-optical experiments alongside partners across Germany. 

Deutsche Telekom notes that research at the facility will primarily focus on quantum entanglement, particularly its connotations for quantum cryptography and the creation of extra security in communications.  

According to the operator, this focus on quantum entanglement also could allow for a “quantum internet of things”, creating a higher-powered network of distributed and sensory applications. 

“The opening of our Quantum Lab is a clear signal that we are serious about bringing quantum technology to the commercial networks of telecommunications providers,” said Claudia Nemat, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Deutsche Telekom. 

“We explicitly invite the research and innovation community to join us in leveraging networks at the interface between R&D and commercial exploration like ours. To prove that innovative quantum technology solutions work under real-world conditions. And to usher in a new era of communications service.” 

In February, the company announced its leading position in the European Union’s PETRUS project, leading and coordinating the collaboration of 27 EU countries as they collectively build a quantum communications infrastructure that will run through Europe, named EuroQCI. 

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Also in the news:
Altafiber raises $600m in funding for fibre expansion
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Network operator Upp, which is investing £1bn (via LetterOne) to deploy a new gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network for homes and businesses across the East of England, has launched a new ‘BusinessEssentials’ package that is designed to provide its “Next Level Broadband” service to smaller firms. Just to recap. Upp’s initial aim was to cover […]

The Common Wholesale Platform (CWP) and related Common Switching Platform (CSP), which is a non-profit member-owned organisation that helps alternative broadband networks to provide wholesale services to the UK market (ISPs), has hailed successful switching tests with the TOTSCo One Touch Switching (OTS) platform. The industry-led One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo) currently has the complex […]

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The Indian operator is reportedly in discussions with financial services firm BNP Paribas to arrange the loans 

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecoms arm of India’s Reliance Industries, is set to raise $2 billion in offshore loans, according to a report from the Economic Times. The capital raised will be used to fund the purchase of 5G network equipment from Ericsson. 

“BNP Paribas will provide $1.9–2 billion over a nine-month period during the course of which Jio will be paying back Ericsson, BNP, and some other banks,” noted an anonymous source. 

As part of the deal, Swedish export credit firm EKN has provided Jio with a cover of $2.2 billion, protecting the deal’s stakeholders from potential risks. 

The report did not mention the specific amounts that Jio will pay back to Ericsson, BNP, and others involved in the loan deal. 

Jio announced they had partnered with Ericsson for 5G RAN equipment in October last year. 

“We are delighted to partner with Ericsson for Jio’s 5G SA rollout. Jio transformed the digital landscape in India with the launch of LTE services in 2016,” said Akash Ambani, Reliance Jio’s Chairman in a press release last year. 

“We are confident that Jio’s 5G network will accelerate India’s digitalization and will serve as the foundation for achieving our nation’s ‘Digital India’ vision.” 

It should be noted, that Jio is also working with two of Ericsson’s rivals, Nokia and Samsung, when it comes to 5G equipment. The company signed a $1.5 billion 5G equipment deal with Nokia earlier this year, which was financed by several global banks, including HSBC, Citigroup, and JP Morgan. More recently, Reliance Industries issued a letter of guarantee to Samsung India worth roughly $932 million, aiming to support Jio in the procurement of 5G equipment.   

Jio’s aim to achieve nationwide standalone 5G coverage by the end of the year, which Ambani claims will be the fastest ever mass 5G rollout anywhere in the world.  

Indeed, the company is already making rapid 5G progress, recently noting it had topped 50 million 5G subscribers just nine months after the service’s commercial launch. 

How is the 5G Standalone market evolving in 2023? Find out at this year’s Total Telecom Congress, live from Amsterdam, 21-22 November 2023  

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London-focused network builder and UK ISP CommunityFibre, which is rolling out a 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across the city (currently covering 1.2m premises), has launched a special set of two packages for students that come attached to 3 months of free service. The operator, which is currently aiming to reach 2.2 million premises in […]

Alternative UK network operator and ISP County Broadband, which holds an aspiration to cover 500,000 premises across the East of England with their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network by the end of 2027, has donated £10,000 worth of computers to Digital Essex to tackle digital exclusion. The provider, which has so far raised an estimated […]

The Government has posted an updated State Aid evaluation of the previous ‘Superfast Broadband Programme’ (UK National Broadband Scheme), which specifically examines the final Phase 3 of the project to extend “superfast” (30Mbps+) coverage – run between 2016 and 2022. Suffice to say, it finds various economic and coverage benefits. The SFBB programme – managed […]