News

The joint owner of Virgin Media O2 has purchased a 5% stake in its UK rival, arguing the company’s current share price does not represent its long term value

This week, the ongoing turmoil at Vodafone continues to open doors for investors, with US firm Liberty Global announcing their purchase of an almost 5% stake in the business for £1.2 billion.

Liberty, which is chaired by fabled “cable cowboy” John Malone and owns 50% of Vodafone’s UK rival, Virgin Media O2, said the purchase was ‘opportunistic’ in nature.

“We believe, like many others, that Vodafone’s current share price does not reflect the underlying long-term value of their operating businesses, or their announced consolidation and infrastructure opportunities,” explained Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries in a statement.

“The stock’s cheap — it’s an opportunistic and financial investment,” he added in a comment to the Financial Times.

Further motivation for the acquisition is reportedly Vodafone’s latent potential for value generation, with Fries specifically referencing the company’s potential merger with CK Hutchison’s Three UK. A tie-up between the two companies has been rumoured for many years, with both having repeatedly argued that the UK mobile market is overcrowded with four major players.

Negotiations between Three and Vodafone were acknowledged back in October and are still ongoing today.

Liberty also made clear that this investment was not the first step in a takeover attempt and that the company would not seek representation on Vodafone’s board.

Facing stiff competition in its most crucial markets, including Spain, Germany, and Italy, Vodafone has been struggling to find growth in recent years. Under the leadership of CEO Nick Read, the company had positioned consolidation in various European markets as the panacea to its financial woes; however, deals have been few and far between.

The company’s share price has tumbled by around 40% during Read’s four-year tenure, putting the company under increasing pressure from stakeholders – including activist investors like Cevian Capital – to undergo major restructuring.

At the end of last year, Read resigned from his position as CEO, handing over the reins to the company’s finance head, Margherita Della Valle, on an interim basis.

The search for a permanent replacement CEO is ongoing.

In the meantime, Della Valle is continuing the work of her predecessor in seeking focussing on the company’s key markets and pursuing operational simplification.

Vodafone currently has plans to generate €1 billion in cost-savings by 2026, some of which it admitted would be generated through job cuts. At the start of the year, Vodafone said it was cutting hundreds of jobs – primarily from its London office – as part of these cost-saving efforts.

Given the magnitude of the internal turmoil at Vodafone right now, coupled with the company’s latent potential, it is clear to see why the company’s shares could be enticing for investors.

Indeed, it should be noted that Liberty Global is not the only company to be taking advantage of Vodafone’s vulnerable financial position. Back in September, billionaire Xavier Niel, owner of French telecoms group Iliad, purchased a 2.5% stake in Vodafone for an undisclosed sum, noting opportunities to streamline the business and spin off its infrastructure assets.

Similarly, United Arab Emirates telecoms operator e& (previously Etisalat) has also quietly grown its stake in Vodafone to around 13%.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest news from the UK telecoms industry? Join the telecoms ecosystem in discussion around some of the sectors biggest issues at this year’s Connected North

Also in the news:
China Mobile and China Telecom withdraw from Sea-Me-We 6 project
CityFibre’s network up and running in Inverness
KDDI selects Samsung for its 5G Standalone core

Press Release

Broadband provider, Broadway Partners, has added three new senior hires to its senior leadership team, supporting its ambition to be a leading provider of fibre connectivity in hard-to-reach rural areas. 

Vincent Sagua joins as Chief Financial Officer and Pete Buckle joins as Chief Operating Officer, with Dave Carter joining as Chief Delivery Director. Vincent brings his experience in senior finance roles at Yahlive, BT Group and UPC Cablecom (Liberty Global).  Pete brings more than 35 years of UK and global telecoms experience including as Engineering Services Director at BT Networks. Dave brings over 20 years of experience in the telecoms industry including Virgin Media and Cityfibre, and has been instrumental in leading the delivery of builds along the extensive Broadway network. 

The three senior figures follow the company’s appointment of Steve Haines as CEO in 2022. Bringing 35 years of Telecom experience in Fixed and Wireless to help ensure Broadway delivers against future plans, Steve aims to steer the company alongside the senior leadership team to connect some of the hardest to reach locations across Wales and Scotland.  

The company, which was founded in 2016 by Michael Armitage and Barry Weaver, has set out ambitious growth plans to deliver 250,000 connections to homes and businesses across rural Wales and Scotland. 

The new senior positions come as Downing LLP committed investment of £145m to help Broadway deliver connectivity to isolated communities, including some of the most remote rural locations in Wales and Scotland. Areas that have been connected successfully include the Isle of Arran off Scotland’s West Coast and Pembrokeshire, Monmouthshire and Powys in South and Mid Wales.  

Steve Haines, CEO of Broadway Partners, said: “Working alongside a team that has the same vision for Broadway makes staying focused on our 250,000 rural connections promise and delivery achievable , and we are confident we can deliver connectivity to some of those communities in the hardest to reach locations. 

“The appointment of Vincent, Pete and Dave is a huge boost for Broadway and its senior leadership team, as we continue our aim to be a reliable and dependable provider in the industry. Their expertise and skills are integral to helping drive us forward and deliver on our promises to our customers across Wales and Scotland.”  

Michael Armitage, Managing Director of Broadway Partners will be joining a panel at Connected North 2023 in Manchester on 18 April on “Engaging with public services”. Connected North 2023 will see 120 expert speakers and 1500 attendees from across the digital economy ecosystem come together for a dedicated regional forum on connectivity enabled social and economic growth.

Broadway Partners (ISP Broadway Broadband) has today appointed a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Delivery Director to help overseen their fibre build, which aims to cover 250,000 premises across rural Wales and Scotland with a gigabit broadband (FTTP) network by around 2028. The latest change in Broadway’s senior leadership follows […]

Lincolnshire-based UK ISP LightSpeed Broadband, which aspires to build a full fibre (FTTP) network to 1 million premises across the East of England by the end of 2025, has continued to create a new management team by appointing Chris Tagg as its new Chief Technology & Information Officer (CTIO). With over 20 years of senior […]

Startup Stories

Tell us about your start up
netElastic is an innovative software company that provides high-performance routing solutions for broadband service providers worldwide. netElastic developed one of the first software-based (or virtual) broadband network gateways (vBNGs) and has been a leader in vBNG technology ever since. netElastic CGNAT helps broadband providers conserve IPv4 addresses while ensuring a smooth transition to IPv6. And netElastic’s software-based CGNAT offers the lowest TCO in the industry.

What is your USP?
For broadband service providers that want to grow their subscribers, and not their costs, netElastic’s software-based BNG and CGNAT (Carrier-grade NAT) provide the scalability and flexibility they need with the lowest TCO in the industry.

What is your relationship with the telecom sector?
netElastic sells BNG and CGNAT software to broadband service providers / internet service providers.

Why did you establish the business?
netElastic was formed by experienced telecom executives that wanted to bring the benefits of network virtualization to the telecommunications industry.

What does the future hold for your business?
The future looks incredibly bright for netElastic. With governments worldwide spending millions (and billions) of dollars to provide internet access to all citizens, netElastic is uniquely positioned to help broadband providers grow with scalable, flexible, and cost-effective software-based BNG and CGNAT solutions.

COMPANY CV
Headquarters: Santa Clara, California, United States
Number of employees: 10
Last funding type: Self-funding
Website url: www.netelastic.com
Founder: Jason Lu
CEO: Weixiao Liu

You can meet netElastic in the Startup Village at Connected America this March. Find out more here

News

The government says it could leverage existing power grid infrastructure to quickly provide coverage across the nation

This week, local media reports from Montenegro suggest that the government are considering forming a state telecoms operator.

According to Montenegrin news service Mina, the government is considering using the 530km electricity grid owned by Crnogorski Elektrodistributivni Sistem (CEDIS) to form the basis of a new telecoms company.

Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic has suggested that a working group be formed to formally investigate the possibility of such a move, including taking inventory of existing infrastructure, examining potential costs, and estimating coverage.

He suggested that such a venture could be highly profitable for the government, whether through direct sales to customers or leasing the infrastructure to the wider industry.

“If we see that it makes sense, we can go one step further, and if not – no harm’s done,” he said.

The concept is also supported by Montenegro’s Finance Minister, Aleksandar Damjanovic, who noted the increased importance that EU governments have placed on nationally controlled critical infrastructure in recent years, given the geopolitical climate.

“This is a good idea and we are going to ensure that in the key EU countries and beyond, these services are, among other things, under the state’s control,” he said.

Montenegro’s fixed broadband industry is currently served by just two national operators: Crnogorski Telekom, a Deutsche Telekom subsidiary, and MTEL, a joint venture between Telekom Srbija and Telekom Srpske.

Want to keep up to date with all of 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:
China Mobile and China Telecom withdraw from Sea-Me-We 6 project
CityFibre’s network up and running in Inverness
KDDI selects Samsung for its 5G Standalone core

Press Release

Three-year agreement extends plans to co-innovate and accelerate deployment of flexible, reliable, and secure LTE and 5G private wireless connectivity services and Industry 4.0 solutions

Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, and Nokia, the leader in state-of-the-art networking technology, today announced a three-year extension and expansion of their global network and edge computing partnership, with a focus on developing and delivering industry-leading LTE and 5G private wireless services and Industry 4.0 solutions to customers worldwide.

Kyndryl and Nokia established their global network and edge computing alliance in February 2022. The partnership has since grown exponentially, with more than 100 active engagements with global enterprises, from advisory or testing, to piloting, to full implementation, across 24 countries. With a shared vision and commitment to help enterprise and mission critical infrastructure customers accelerate their digital transformations with leading-edge LTE and 5G private wireless networking, 90% of the current engagements are enterprises in the industrial manufacturing sector – including multinational petrochemical, mining and timber and utilities/energy companies.

“As enterprises seek to accelerate and deliver on their journeys towards Industry 4.0 and digitalisation, the effective integration and deployment of advanced LTE and 5G private wireless networking technologies becomes instrumental to integrate all enterprise operations in a seamless, reliable, efficient and built in a secure manner,” says Alejandro Cadenas, Associate Vice President of Telco and Mobility Research at IDC. “This expanding, powerful relationship between Nokia and Kyndryl is a unique combination of vertical and horizontal capabilities, and offers IT, OT and business leaders access to the innovation, tools, and expert resources they need to digitally transform their operations. The partnership offers a compelling shared vision and execution that will enable customers across all industries and geographies to access the ingredients they need to deliver against the promise of digital acceleration, powered by network and edge computing.”

The expanded effort will be enhanced with Kyndryl’s achievement of Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) Advanced accreditation status, which helps ensure that enterprise customers benefit from an expanded lineup of expert resources and skilled practitioners who have extensive training and deep understanding of Nokia products and solutions. In addition, customers will gain access to Kyndryl’s accelerated network deployment capabilities and support of Nokia cellular radio expertise in selected markets.

To meet the growing convergence and demands of IT and OT for enterprises, Kyndryl, Nokia, and Palo Alto Networks, a global cybersecurity leader, will launch a joint lab in Raleigh, North Carolina to bring reliable, and auditable wireless connectivity with advanced security capabilities to industrial networks. Through the collaboration, a multi-factor zero trust model for industrial networking is enabled at both the IT and OT sides of the network using the best tools and resources from each of the companies. Kyndryl’s network experts are developing an integrated system starting from the foundations of a typical Modbus process control network and extending access and security beyond the typical shop floor. Using the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud, private cellular connectivity will enable high mobility and extended reach of the network.

“Our partnership with Nokia has been focused on co-innovating and co-creating for customers to digitally transform their workspaces and operations,” said Paul Savill, global practice leader of Network and Edge computing for Kyndryl. “The success we have seen in deploying private wireless for customers like Dow Chemical over the past 12-months, along with the global expansion of our collaboration, is a testament to our belief that we can jointly help companies drive Industry 4.0 transformation across all industries, with speed and scale.”

“Kyndryl and Nokia have a shared vision for digital transformation, and as leaders in our respective industries we are driven to grow this market together. We are excited to build upon our existing success and strengthen our alliance targeting more enterprise customers across multiple industries,” said Chris Johnson, head of Nokia‘s Global Enterprise Business. “The two companies are currently exploring and developing new, integrated solutions and services for Edge, Cloud, IP networking, Optics, Fixed Access, 4G and 5G Core and Network Operations software technologies, which can address the growing demand for mission-critical, industrial-grade wireless networking.”

To date, Kyndryl and Nokia have successfully implemented a private wireless network with edge computing for Dow Chemical, at their petrochemical processing plant in Freeport, TX. The modernisation of the Dow Chemical plant with advanced connectivity has increased worker safety, and enabled remote audio and video collaboration, and real time smart procedures.

Want to keep up to date with all of 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:
China Mobile and China Telecom withdraw from Sea-Me-We 6 project
CityFibre’s network up and running in Inverness
KDDI selects Samsung for its 5G Standalone core

A new biannual update from Point Topic has revealed how the top and bottom 10 UK local authorities have changed to December 2022, at least with respect to their coverage of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband networks. In addition, more than 1.3 million premises can now choose between at least three independent fibre ISPs. Just to recap. […]

Sky’s (Sky Broadband) ISP sibling for small business customers, Sky Connect, has today moved to keep up with competitors by launching a new WiFi 6 capable Hub (broadband router) and 4G Dongle (i.e. mobile data as an automatic backup) with new capabilities, such as better security and guest Wi-Fi. Sadly, we don’t get a lot […]

Broadband ISP Hyperoptic has today confirmed that their “full fibre” (FTTP/B) network now covers 1.15 million UK homes, which will need to almost double in order to hit their goal of 2 million by the end of 2023. The provider has also launched a TV campaign to criticise ISPs that adopt “misleading” mid-contract price hikes. […]