The excitement is palpable. You’ve just been told that a UK network operator has deployed a Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network down your road and made it live, only to then suffer the bitter pill of disappointment when you discover that your house is one of the few that can’t get it. But why? We […]

A recent update to the Companies House records for broadband ISP Trooli, which was rolling out a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across parts of England and recently became the subject of various takeover talks, has confirmed that a new company called Agnar UK Infrastructure Ltd has taken significant control (75%+) of the business. Just […]

Customers of Vodafone’s fixed line broadband ISP, which is supplied to UK consumers via both Openreach and CityFibre’s respective networks (FTTC and FTTP lines), appear to be suffering from an Easter service outage that began earlier this morning (around 8:30am ish for some people). The issue, which is currently still ongoing, has resulted in the […]

Network operator Netomnia, which is supported by UK ISP YouFibre, has confirmed to ISPreview that they’ve quietly added another 4 towns – this time in Hertfordshire (England) – to the 2023 rollout plan for their 10Gbps capable full fibre (FTTP) broadband network (currently covers 410,000 premises, up from 300k in Nov 2022). The operator, which […]

Shrewsbury-based ISP SWS Broadband (Rural Broadband Solutions Plc), which covers premises in rural parts of Shropshire (England) and Wales via both wireless and full fibre (FTTP) connectivity, has today added the villages of Minsterley and Pontesbury to their gigabit fibre rollout plan. The company revealed last year that their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises network build would […]

The investor behind Upp’s £1bn project to deploy a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network across 1 million premises in the East of England by 2025 (here), LetterOne, has launched a legal challenge against the UK Government’s order for L1 to sell its entire stake in Upp in order to “prevent, remedy, or mitigate the […]

Most people tend to assume that the problem of slow broadband ISP connectivity is one that predominantly affects rural areas, which is matched by a presumption that commercial operators (Openreach, Virgin Media etc.) will quickly blanket big UK cities and towns with the fastest speeds. But such assumptions are not always correct. During the many […]

We’ve today published our second annual summary of the top broadband network operators with the greatest share of the new build homes market, which specifically reflects those that are catering for such developments by deploying Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP technology. This update adds a comparison with last year’s data. At present, around 98% of new […]

News

The deal with Telkomsel’s parent company Telkom will see the mobile operator merged with Telkom’s wholly owned broadband arm, IndiHome

Today, Indonesian wireless operator Telkomsel has announced plans to merge with fixed broadband operator, IndiHome.

The deal, worth roughly $3.9 billion, will see Indonesia’s largest mobile operator combined with the country’s largest fixed broadband provider.

Both Telkomsel and IndiHome are owned by the same parent company, multinational telecoms conglomerate PT Telkom Indonesia; Telkom wholly owns IniHome and owns a 65% stake in Telkomsel, with Singapore’s Singtel holding the remaining 35%.

Following the merger, Telkom will hold 70.4% of the combined entity, with Singtel holding the remaining 29.6%.

“We believe this is a rare opportunity for Telkomsel to tap into the high-growth fixed broadband market in Indonesia by partnering with the country’s largest broadband operator which is profitable and cash-generating,” said Yuen Kuan Moon, CEO of Singtel. “Given the post-pandemic demand for high-quality broadband and the global shift to fixed mobile convergence, this move will help Telkomsel entrench its position as Indonesia’s leading integrated telco and greatly enhance its growth prospects.”

The scale of the fixed broadband opportunity itself also cannot be underestimated. Indonesia has a broadband penetration rate of just 14%, leaving over 200 million people without access. In additional, fixed broadband ARPU is six-times that of mobile customers, offering a huge opportunity for revenue growth.

Telkomsel hopes that by offering converged fixed–mobile services, their dominant position within the Indonesian market will be secured for years to come.

The deal will be subject to all the typical regulatory oversight and will require the approval of Telkom’s shareholders.

The Indonesian telecoms sector has been undergoing significant consolidation recently, most notably with the combination of CK Hutchison’s H3I and Ooredoo’s Indosat, which was finalised at the start of 2022.

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Also in the news:
NTT and Microsoft collaborate to enhance corporate cyber resilience
Vodafone to cut around 1,300 jobs in Germany
Ofcom raise automatic compensation payments for UK ISP connectivity failures

News

Bouygues Telecom and Altice France (SFR) have began legal proceedings with the Administrative Court of Paris, seeking to gain compensation from the state for having to remove and replace Huawei radio equipment

At the height of debates surrounding 5G and national security in 2019–2020, France, like many European countries, refused to issue an outright ban on Huawei equipment, as was done by the UK and Sweden.

Instead, the country took a more indirect route, with 2019 Constitutional Council ruling ordering its operators to remove the Chinese vendor’s equipment in densely populated and strategically important areas.

Perhaps more importantly, this new law also stipulated than any new or renewed mobile equipment licences would need to be given the green light by ANSSI, France’s cybersecurity agency. Not long after this announcement, ANSSI indicated that it was unlikely to give such permission for Huawei equipment, in effect issuing a de facto ban on the vendor’s technology by 2028.

With Huawei equipment comprising a significant chunk of French mobile networks – around half for SFR and Bouygues Telecom – this new law presented operators with the unenviable and expensive task of removing and replacing the Chinese vendor’s equipment.

After around two years of unsuccessful legal challenges attempting to amend the law, SFR and Bouygues began removing Huawei equipment in March 2021.

Now, according to French news media L’Informe, the two operators are preparing to take the French government to court in attempt to recoup these rip and replace costs.

In a filing presented to the Administrative Court of Paris, Bouygues Telecom said that its costs amounted to roughly €82 million, though notes that this does not cover the entirety of the 3,000 towers it said will need to be re-equipped by 2028.

SFR did not reveal the specifics of its own expenses but, given it has over 8,000 affected towers, its own claim is likely to be significantly higher than those of Bouygues.

The media report notes that, while legal challenges against the so-called ‘anti-Huawei’ law were rejected by the French justice system in 2021, the rejection did accept that the new law impacted the operators’ property rights, thereby opening the door for potential compensation discussions.

Want to keep up to date with all the latest news from the international telecoms sector? Click here to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter direct to your inbox

Also in the news:
NTT and Microsoft collaborate to enhance corporate cyber resilience
Vodafone to cut around 1,300 jobs in Germany
Ofcom raise automatic compensation payments for UK ISP connectivity failures