The UK Labour Party’s Shadow Digital Minister, Stephanie Peacock MP, has this week given her support to full fibre broadband ISP Hyperoptic in its ongoing campaign to stop mid-contract price rises by rivals, which often increases consumer prices well above the current level of inflation (hikes of 13-15% hit many consumers earlier this year). The […]

Openreach has notified UK ISPs of an upcoming trial on their hybrid-fibre G.fast based “ultrafast broadband” (100Mbps+) products (including SOGFAST), which looks as if it will attempt to improve line performance by establishing the “most effective” Dynamic Line Management (DLM) thresholds. Just to recap. Before the FTTP rollout took centre stage in 2018/19, Openreach initially […]

A new survey conducted by Opinium with 2,000 UK adults, which was commissioned by Sky Mobile (vested interest), has found that 19% of UK mobile phone users have never changed their network operator, while 28% haven’t switched for more than 5 years and could thus potentially be missing out on over £100 every year in […]

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The company aims to upgrade the companies’ existing hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) networks to fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP)

In summer last year, Belgian operator Telenet formed a partnership with utility company Fluvius to set up a fibre joint venture, aimed at deploying full fibre throughout the Flanders region.

The JV, then known simple as NetCo, would focus on upgrading the duo’s existing HFC networks in the region to full fibre, or to DOCSIS technology where FTTP would be unfeasible.

Telenet said that it would own 66.8% of the business, with Fluvius owning the remaining 33.2%.

Combined, the partners said they would invest up to €2 billion in the business over the following eight years to achieve the goal of providing everyone in Flanders with access to gigabit-capable broadband.

The JV received approval from the European Commission two weeks ago, paving the way for the company’s initial fibre deployments, which are scheduled to begin next month.

With this in mind, the company has now announced its new brand name: Wyre.

Aside from the obvious fibre-related pun, Wyre says that the ‘y’ in its name stands for ‘you’ – a reminder of the company’s pledge “to take everyone into the digital future”. A tenuous explanation, yes, but no doubt the title will be functional for SEO purposes.

Micha Berger (pictured), previously Telenet’s special projects lead, will serve as Wyre’s CEO.

In somewhat related news, Liberty Global formally began the process of buying out Telenet’s shares earlier this month, seemingly seeking to take advantage of the company’s depressed share price.

Join the telecoms community in discussion at this year’s Total Telecom Congress live in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Also in the news:
Final bids for TIM’s fibre network expected tomorrow
Let’s talk about the symbiotic relationship between data centers and submarine cables
Mexico’s high 5G spectrum price could see Telcel the only bidder in latest auction

Broadband ISP Home Telecom has signed a new partnership that will enable them to harness F&W Networks‘ new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network, which already covers 335,000 premises across the UK (not all are Ready for Service) and aims to reach 1 million premises by 2025. FWN is currently busy building their “full fibre” network across […]

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The South African operator has received an unsolicited bid from a consortium led by former CEO Sipho Maseko

This week, Telkom South Africa has confirmed that it has been approached with a “non-binding indicative letter” from a consortium seeking a majority stake in the business.

The consortium reportedly includes Axian Telecom and the Government Employees Pension Fund, managed by the Public Investment Corporation, and is led by Telkom’s former CEO, Sipho Maseko.

Discussions surrounding the bid are reportedly still in the “exploratory” stage, with the Telkom board of directors considering its options. Telkom has also asked the consortium to provide additional clarity on a number of matters, including the proposed offer price and the certainty of funding.

The bid comes at a troubling time for Telkom, which has this week announced that its full-year earnings have plummeted, falling 76.6% year-on-year. The company blames this collapse on various macroeconomic factors, primarily soaring inflation and the ongoing national energy crisis.

South Africa is currently facing some of its worst-ever power cuts as a result of its overwhelmed national power grid, with some blackouts lasting up to 16 hours. Throughout this crisis, the nation’s telecoms operators have been scrambling to keep their networks operational – at considerable cost – with MTN even crowdsourcing generators to keep their mobile sites up and running.

Telkom itself noted the “unparalleled levels of loadshedding” that the company had faced in the past year, also highlighting the “alarming number of incidents of theft and vandalism targeting network infrastructure”.

However, the company’s struggling financial performance is not the only driver for the takeover offer. In fact, the company has been mulling over mergers and tie-ups with local and international players for over a year now, having seen negotiations take place with both Rain and MTN in the last year.

More recently, however, it has been pan-African operator group Axian that has perhaps displayed the greatest interest, having submitted a joint bid as part of the Afrifund Investments consortium earlier this year. This bid was ultimately rejected for being too low, hence necessitating this new approach this week.

Join the telecoms community in discussion at this year’s Total Telecom Congress live in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Also in the news:
Final bids for TIM’s fibre network expected tomorrow
Let’s talk about the symbiotic relationship between data centers and submarine cables
Mexico’s high 5G spectrum price could see Telcel the only bidder in latest auction

Colt Technology Services has confirmed the completion of a new multi-Terabit speed capable Dark Fibre (G.652D/G.657) cable along the Channel Tunnel, which runs between the UK (Folkestone, Kent) and France (Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais) under the English Channel sea. The successful deployment follows the signing of an exclusive new 25-year concession agreement between Colt and Getlink in […]

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The operator will join its rival Omantel in monetising its passive infrastructure, seeking to sell and leaseback its towers

Ooredoo Oman has issued a tender for the sale and leaseback of its tower infrastructure, with ‘several companies with expertise in telecommunication towers’ invited to bid, according to a report in the Muscat Daily.

“Ooredoo will provide updates to the market regarding any significant developments in the project. The winning bid will be disclosed once a final decision is reached by the company, subject to approval from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and other relevant authorities in compliance with the law and the company’s internal regulations,” said the operator.

The operator is currently evaluating bids, though notes that the process is in the early stages.

The number of towers on offer, the estimated value of the infrastructure, and the financial details of bids have yet to be revealed.

Ooredoo Oman’s parent company, Ooredoo Group, has been exploring the sale of its tower assets in various markets for over a year now, following a global trend set by the likes of Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, and Telefonica. These operators have all spun off their tower units in recent years to attract investment, buoyed by attractive valuations from private investment firms at a time when they are undergoing expensive fibre and 5G infrastructure rollouts.

Ooredoo itself has a portfolio of over 20,000 towers in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, which combined could be worth as much as $5 billion.

The sale of the operator’s Omani towers specifically was first hinted at back in September last year.

It should be noted that Ooredoo is not the only Middle Eastern operator to be monetising its tower infrastructure. The company’s local rival, Omantel, for example, sold its towers to Helios Towers Company at the end of last year for $495 million.

Oman’s final mobile player, Vodafone Oman, primarily uses tower infrastructure owned and operated by Oman Towers Company, with whom they struck a deal back in 2020.

How is the mobile tower market evolving in 2023?  Join the telecoms community in discussion at this year’s Total Telecom Congress live in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Also in the news:
Final bids for TIM’s fibre network expected tomorrow
Let’s talk about the symbiotic relationship between data centers and submarine cables
Mexico’s high 5G spectrum price could see Telcel the only bidder in latest auction

Hull-based UK broadband ISP KCOM, which is currently extending their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across more of East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (England), has added the small rural East Yorkshire village of East Cottingwith (population of around 350) to their coverage. The operator’s full fibre network already covers around 300,000 premises, but in September 2022 they […]

UK ISP Virgin Media (VMO2) has launched a new “flash offer” that, until 1:59pm on Thursday (15th June), will give new customers the opportunity to get their hands on either a 43″ Toshiba TV or £200 bill credit when they purchase one of several selected bundles on an 18-month contract. Whichever package customers choose, they […]