News

The deal will see Vertical Bridge build towers across the US to help Verizon expand the reach of its 4G and 5G Ultra Wideband services

This week, Verizon has announced it’s a new deal with Vertical Bridge that will see the infrastructure specialist build new mobile towers for the operator on a to-suit basis.

Verizon will serve as the anchor tenant for these new towers, which will also be offered on a wholesale basis to other wireless service providers.

The deal will see Vertical Bridge set up a new company to own and manage the new towers, with Verizon holding a profits interest in the company, thereby giving them a vested interest in the towers’ wholesale success.

This is a new business model when it comes to tower deployment, one that the companies argue wil be a win–win for both parties and help accelerate the rollout of 4G and 5G in the US.

“Our new agreement with Vertical Bridge is an excellent alternative to the traditional tower leasing model. This cost-effective, sustainable and efficient model will allow us to accelerate our build program and provide additional services to customers,” said Lynn Cox, Chief Engineering Officer for Verizon. “We continue to focus on technology innovation and fast deployment to enable greater connectivity for our customers.”

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In related news, Vertical Bridge this week announced that Ronald G. Bizick II, currently the company’s president and chief operating officer, will

He takes over the role from Vertical Bridge co-founder Alex Gellman, who will become the companies executive chairman and “remain active in steering the strategy and investments of the company”.

How is the US mobile tower market shifting? Join the operators in discussion at Connected America 2024

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News

Working alongside Swedish operator Telia, Ericsson’s says its private 5G network tech will enable numerous advanced use cases, from real-time video analytics to digital twins

This week, Ericsson has announced a new partnership with Telia to deploy the Baltics’ first enterprise 5G network at Ericsson’s own Estonian supply factory, located in the capital city, Tallinn.

According to Ericsson, this deployment will not only drive “productivity, agility, and sustainability” for the factory’s operations, but will also provide the foundations for numerous connected use cases, including asset condition monitoring and management, computer vision, digital twins, collaborative robotics, and 5G precise indoor positioning.

The site itself plays a key role in Ericsson’s overall supply chain, accounting for nearly half of the new product introductions; i.e., the process of turning R&D projects into viable, scalable commercial products.

According to Ericsson, since its activation on May 2, the private network is already having a significant impact on the factory’s operations, bringing improvements in terms of automation, safety, and agility.

“The implementation of Ericsson Private 5G at our Supply Site in Tallinn is a testament to our commitment to connected manufacturing and emerging data-driven technologies – after all, in today’s highly competitive manufacturing environment, keeping up with the latest technological capabilities is essential to stay ahead of the curve,” said Sirli Männiksaar, Country Manager of Ericsson Estonia. “Our 5G private network enables advanced use cases such as real time video analytics, immersive technologies, digital twins, collaborative robotics and multiple mobile equipment tracking and control capabilities that empower our daily operations. As a leading adopter of advanced cellular technologies supporting Industry 4.0 implementations, Ericsson’s Supply Site in Tallinn is proud to play a key role in the industry’s continued growth and success, delivering new products and smart solutions to customers worldwide.”

Ericsson will be hopeful that this is the first of many collaborations with Telia in the industrial space. Earlier this year, the two companies announced a joint 5G programme called NorthStar, aiming to help various industrial businesses embrace the benefits of 5G connectivity, particularly via private network deployments.

The programme will reportedly target customer innovation and R&D units in numerous verticals, with the automotive industry the initial focus.

In fact, Ericsson’s private 5G momentum already appears to be building, with today’s announcement the latest in a string of enterprise private 5G network deals the company has signed over the past few months. These include a deal with systems integrator Comsol to provide connectivity for a South African mining operation and with Mugler to develop private campus networks in Germany.

Just two weeks ago, Ericsson announced the latest hardware and software enhancements to its private 5G offering, offering improved visibility and management, as well as increased coverage of over 1,000,000m2.

Keep up with all of the latest telecoms news with Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

Also in the news:
Vodafone and Three UK closing in on merger
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Virgin Media O2 and Good Things Foundation launch apprenticeship scheme

Instability in the UK market for alternative broadband networks has continued to rise today after ISP and network builder G.Network, which had been investing around £1bn to deploy a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / XGS-PON) network across London, notified staff of future redundancies (sources indicate over 200 jobs could go). The operator, which last year claimed […]

Interview

It’s been a busy few months for the Islalink team with the completion of the IONIAN cable taking place earlier this year. Esther Garcès, CEO of Islalink will be speaking about the launch at Submarine Networks EMEA 2023 later this month. Total Telecom caught up with Esther this week to find out more about the project.

The IONIAN cable has been in operation since March 2023; how did the launch go?

Indeed, IONIAN reached RFS (‘ready for service’) at the end of March 2023. We already have customers flowing their traffic through our system.

It has been a wonderful journey, started with the initial inception of the project and the design of the route, followed by carefully selecting our business associates and then finally delivering the project. A few weeks prior to RFS, we were happy to witness the landings of the cable with our team, partners and friends: first in Crotone (Italy) and then in Preveza (Greece). Following that, we have integrated the submarine system with the terrestrial backbones to have a single end to end system connecting the POP’s of Milan, Rome, Athens and Thessaloniki. We are proud to say that IONIAN is the most advanced, state-of-the-art transmission system between Italy and Greece.

A few weeks ago (25th April), we officially inaugurated the system in Athens with our business partners, customers and authorities.

Can you tell us more about the cable?

This new unrepeated submarine cable is a 330Km single stretch and consists of 24 fiber pairs. The cable is mostly laid (75%) on the seabed (deep waters – more than 1.000 meters of depth) to avoid man-made hazards such as fishing and anchoring. The route of the cable has been determined in such way so that it is totally diverse from existing transmission systems in the Adriatic and in the Mediterranean Sea.

On top of that, we have in place redundant terrestrial routes connecting Milan, Rome, Athens, and Thessaloniki.

What were your key learnings and takeaways from the deployment process?

Our in-house engineering team has a successful and long-standing track record in the development and construction of submarine systems. This was complemented by collaboration with trusted local partners working in the most specialised areas of subcontracting, such as permitting, environmental assessment and civil engineering.

With this, we have ensured a smooth transition process from desktop study and analysis of the project, up to its completion.

Why did you choose this route and landing stations for the project?

This is the most critical decision to be made when launching a new submarine cable project. Making this decision is very important to the success of a new system, as those parameters cannot be changed in the future. Our decision is based on the following principles:

Commercial potential – Italy-Greece is typically an underserved route. Now, there are many investments from OTTs, hyperscalers and data centre providers being announced in Greece.
Diversity from existing routes – IONIAN is totally diverse from existing systems.
Security and reliability – IONIAN is mostly laid through deep waters, making the whole system robust.

What do the next 12 months look like for Islalink?

We like to keep ourselves busy, so yes, we are definitely on the outlook for more investments. Obviously, we also want to further develop IONIAN as a platform for growth and we are working to enable new PoPs in Greece and in Italy to address our customer’s needs and better reach the market. We also are exploring the possibility to further extend IONIAN to neighbouring countries.

What are you looking forward to at Submarine Networks EMEA 2023?

Submarine Networks EMEA is the leading annual subsea connectivity event in the region. We have been participating in this event since it started, and have seen how it has managed to attract the community of professionals from the submarine sector. We are looking forward to discussing IONIAN with and identify future projects.

Esther will be presenting on the IONIAN cable at Submarine Networks EMEA 2023 on 31st May. To join Esther and 800 senior decision makers from the global submarine cable market, head to the event website and book your ticket.

News

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has approved the terms of mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) access agreements, potentially offering Canadian customers a broader choice of mobile providers

This week, the CRTC has ruled that Canada’s four national mobile network operators – Bell, Rogers, Sasktel, and Telus – will be mandated to allow regional competitors access to their mobile networks on an MVNO basis.

This will allow smaller players to offer services throughout the country, with the CRTC saying the move will foster competition and drive down costs for customers.

Following the ruling, Canada’s major operators will now have 90 days to negotiate MVNO access agreements with these smaller providers. If agreements cannot be reached within this timeframe, the CRTC may intervene to facilitate a deal.

“While there are encouraging signs that prices are trending downwards, we need to accelerate competition and more affordable options for Canadians,” said CRTC chairperson Ian Scott in a statement. “The competitive model we are introducing today will result in greater choice and cheaper mobile wireless services for Canadians, who rely on their smartphones now more than ever.”

This new hybrid MVNO approach means access must be granted to regional players that own their own spectrum and networks, but not to smaller players without such investments (i.e., true MVNOs). The CRTC will reportedly consider moving to a full, broad-based MVNO model is the hybrid model fails to produce the desired results.

The debate as to whether the CRTC should open up the Canadian mobile ecosystem to MVNOs has been rumbling for a number of years.

In early 2020, the CRTC announced a review of the country’s wireless market after surveys found that the majority of Canadians viewed their mobile bills as higher than everywhere else in the world. Following this review, the CRTC began discussing the potential of granting regional mobile operators access to the major operators’ networks on a wholesale basis, thereby allowing them greater reach and customers more choice.

Such suggestions where immediately met with criticism from the likes of Telus, Rogers, and Bell, which argued that the Canadian mobile market was already competitive enough and that the introduction of MVNOs could disincentivise network investment.

Nevertheless, the CRTC decided to move forward with a facilities-based MVNO access model in 2021, with an initial draft of the new policy announced in 2022. The operators were invited to suggest revisions to the policy by May this year.

Now, that this deadline has passed, the CRTC is moving forward with the process once again, urging the operators to be fast and fair during their MVNO negotiations.

“We are one step closer to implementing our policy that will enable regional providers to offer wireless services in areas where competition is limited,” explained Scott. “This will help provide more affordable options to millions of Canadians while increasing competition. We expect the large providers to negotiate in good faith and come to an agreement as quickly as possible with regional wireless providers.”

Keep up with all of the latest telecoms news with Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

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Vodafone and Three UK closing in on merger
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Press release

Aqua Comms, a leading provider of global subsea connectivity services, today announced its first live commercial 400 Gbps Ethernet (GE) Trans-Atlantic service from London to New York for Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), the high-performance network built to support scientific research, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science and managed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

ESnet’s “data circulatory system” provides services to more than 50 DOE research sites, including the entire National Laboratory system, its supercomputing facilities, and its major scientific instruments, as well as to additional research and commercial networks. Through ESnet, DOE-funded scientists collaborate on some of the world’s most important scientific challenges, from the origins of the universe to the future of energy and climate science.

The new 400GE Aqua Comms circuit replaces an existing 100GE Aqua Comms New York–London circuit in ESnet’s network. “100GE has been the standard for most Trans-Atlantic connectivity for several years. The new circuit increases our aggregate Trans-Atlantic bandwidth from 400 Gbps to 700 Gbps,” said Jon-Paul Herron, ESnet’s Department Head of Network Services. “ESnet is actively preparing the network to meet the flood of data coming from all of our upcoming science needs, including the high-luminosity upgrades of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider as well as the related CERN Data Challenge ’24 (DC24) during the first quarter of next year.”

The Aqua Comms network utilises Ciena’s (NYSE: CIEN) GeoMesh Extreme submarine network solution, powered by WaveLogic 5 Extreme coherent optics and Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) advanced software capabilities, to support customers’ ever-growing connectivity and bandwidth needs.

Chris Bayly,  CCO, Aqua Comms said: “We’re proud to be at the forefront of the technology supporting the needs of our customers with high-bandwidth, efficient network services. As super computing requirements continue to grow, we envisage 400Gb/s and the transition to spectrum services being more widely consumed by organisations such as ESnet to help accommodate an almost insatiable need for bandwidth.”

Thomas Soerensen, Senior Director, Global Submarine Sales, Ciena, commented: “With Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme solution, Aqua Comms’ network has the scalability, intelligence, and efficiency to meet the digital demands of clients like ESnet. 400Gb/s capabilities provide a fourfold increase in capacity that’s ideal for high-bandwidth, ‘big science’ applications such as augmented/virtual reality, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence.”

Speakers from Aqua Comms and Ciena will be joining the programme at Submarine Networks EMEA 2023, taking place on the 31st May and 1st June at the Business Design Centre in London. To find out more, head to the event website.

 

The eighth contract to be awarded under the UK Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme – worth £24 million – has today been awarded to network builder Freedom Fibre, which will upgrade connectivity for “around” 12,000 hard-to-reach homes and businesses across rural parts of Shropshire (England). The provider, which is supported by UK ISP […]

Customers of troubled broadband ISP ZYBRE (Air Broadband), specifically those served by CityFibre’s UK full fibre (FTTP) network, have this week been informed that the provider has reached an agreement with rival internet provider Octaplus Networks to “support migrating of our existing broadband subscribers“. Just to recap. ZYBRE seems to have suffered from a variety […]

Fern Trading-backed UK ISP Giganet (Cuckoo) appears to have been suffering from a “mass service outage” over the past 12-24 hours which, judging by feedback from customers across the UK, has resulted in a variety of sporadic connectivity problems since around 3pm yesterday afternoon. Firstly, credit where credit is due, because Giganet – unlike the […]

Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2) has published their latest Q1 2023 results, which saw broadband customers grow to total 5,653,800 (up by 28.8k vs 22.7k in Q4 2022) and 5G mobile expand its coverage to 2,100 towns and cities. The operator also added 107,800 premises to their new full fibre (FTTP) network (primarily for nexfibre). […]