Press Release

Virgin Media O2 will be giving millions of its customers more data and extra benefits this year as it begins moving all Virgin Mobile customers over to O2’s range of plans

From February, the company will start sending communications to the first group of Virgin Mobile customers to let them know that their current service will transfer over to a new O2 plan. As part of this migration, millions of customers will receive unlimited texts and voice calls, and either double the data or unlimited data for the same amount each month – no customers will see the cost of their plan rise as a result of this move. This will be alongside access to Priority from O2 and other O2 benefits such as extra roaming destinations and continued inclusive EU roaming, something not offered to all customers by any other major mobile network.

The move will occur seamlessly and over the air for the vast majority of customers with no need to replace SIMs, port phone numbers or change billing dates or information. Exact details of the changes and steps will be outlined clearly to individual customers at least 30 days ahead of their migration taking place. Migrations will occur throughout the year, and by the end of 2023 all existing and newly joined Virgin Mobile customers will have been moved to O2 plans.

This represents a key pillar in Virgin Media O2’s integration, with the first stage of this plan completed at the end of last year when the entire Virgin Mobile base transferred over to using the O2 network – so all data, voice and text traffic is already using the company’s connectivity. This latest stage now marks the moment when customer plans start moving over to O2.

Virgin Mobile will continue to offer flexible handset contracts and 30-day rolling SIM only plans this year, with a variety of options under consideration regarding the use of the Virgin Mobile brand in future.

Gareth Turpin, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Media O2 said: “This is a major milestone moment for Virgin Media O2 as our Virgin Mobile customers start moving over to O2 plans, receiving added value and benefits on top. Our teams will guide customers through every step of the migration, and we’re laser focused on making sure this all occurs in the most hassle-free way possible. With all of our mobile brands now powered by the award-winning O2 network, we are making fantastic progress in our integration plans while continuing to deliver a range of knockout mobile services that cater for all needs.”

Virgin Media and O2 merged in June 2021 creating the UK’s largest telecoms challenger with award-winning mobile services and the fastest widely available broadband in the market all under one roof.

O2 provides 4G services to 99% of the UK and 5G services to more than 800 towns and cities with a plan to cover 50% of the UK population with 5G this year. It also stands alone as the only major mobile network to not reintroduce EU roaming fees and, since the app launched, has provided more than £200 million of savings to customers through Priority from O2 which offer customers exclusive access to rewards, unique experiences and daily perks, as well as Priority Tickets for thousands of gigs and events across the UK.

How is the UK telecoms sector evolving in 2023? Join the operators in discussion with the wider ecosystem at this year’s live Connected North conference in Manchester

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News

The operator group will eliminate hundreds of jobs as part of wider efforts to generate €1 billion in cost savings

Back in November, Vodafone’s announcement of its most recent financial details was met with concern as the multinational mobile network operator group continues to struggle to turn its fortunes around. The company’s results in highly competitive markets like Germany and Spain were particularly poor, adding further weight to the operator’s long-held beliefs that consolidation is needed in various European markets.

Following these results, Vodafone announced that it would seek to cut its costs by €1 billion by 2026, partly though simplifying their portfolio. At the time, CEO Nick Read hinted that some of these cost-savings could be derived from job cuts, though the scale of these cuts was not yet clear.

Now, the first wave of cost-saving job cuts, with the Financial Times reporting that the company is seeking to cut “several hundred jobs”, with sources suggesting that most of these will come from Vodafone’s London office.

Vodafone reportedly employs around 104,000 people globally, around 9,400 of which are in the UK.

The news follows announcements earlier this week of a major leadership reshuffle within Vodafone, with the CEO of Vodafone Spain, Colman Deegan, stepping down from the role, and Vodafone Italy CEO Alado Bisio appointed group chief commercial officer.

This leaves Vodafone now hunting for two new CEOs, with Group CEO Nick Read having stepped down from his role at the end of last year.

Margherita Della Valle, previously the Group’s head of finance, is serving as interim CEO until the position can be filled.

However, the start of 2023 has not been all doom and gloom for Vodafone. At the start of this week, the company announced that it had agreed to sell its Hungarian unit to local IT specialist 4iG for €1.7 billion.

The operator said that the funds would be used to pay down the company’s debt.

What impact would the merger of Three UK and Vodafone UK have for the nation’s mobile market? Join the debate at the upcoming Connected North conference 

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Street Works UK (SWUK), which is a Trade Association that represents utilities and their contractors on street works issues, has published a new report that helps to highlight some of the barriers that civil engineers are facing as they attempt to upgrade the nation’s water, sewage, gas, electricity and broadband ISP infrastructure. The report – […]

Alternative network builder and UK broadband ISP Zzoomm has faced some criticism from locals in the North Yorkshire (England) town of Stokesley after resurfacing work conducted by their engineers left “mismatched Tarmac and bumpy paths“, which residents complained were potentially unsafe (trip hazard). The provider, which aims to reach 1 million premises across 85 UK […]

As expected, Ofcom has today confirmed that the requirement for certain UK telecoms operators to provide “outdated” FAX (facsimile) services under their legally-binding Universal Service Obligation (USO), which only applies to BT and KCOM, has officially been removed. The related obligation was last set in 2003, when fax machines were much more prevalent and email […]

Last year we revealed (here) that Ofcom’s April 2023 deadline for the launch of One Touch Switch (OTS), which will make it easier for consumers to migrate between broadband ISPs on different networks, was at high risk of delay. The latest information suggests that some key aspects won’t even be ready to test until late […]

News

The controversial merger of True Corporation and Total Access Communication (DTAC) is set to take place in Q1 this year

This week, the boards of True Corp and DTAC have announced that they have chosen the name for their soon-to-be-combined business, retaining the True Corporation brand name.

The news comes ahead of a joint shareholders’ meeting on February 23, where the two companies will iron out the merged entity’s combined corporate structure and other details.

The first public announcement that that the two operators were seeking to merger came back in November 2021. Since then, the controversial $7 billion deal has been plagued with delays, with various industry players, regulators, and academics saying that reducing the Thai mobile market to two players would damage competition and see customers face higher prices.

DTAC and True, on the other hand, maintained that the deal would help drive Thailand’s digitalisation journey, arguing that the dominance of existing market leader AIS meant that merger would in fact increase competition within the sector.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) finally gave the merger the green light with various conditions on 20 October last year. These conditions focussed on maintaining reasonable average prices for consumers, protecting customer choice by requiring DTAC and True brands to remain separate for the next three years, and encouraging mobile virtual network operators to use the company’s network.

Nonetheless, despite these seemingly strict conditions, various onlookers were still unsatisfied, with the Thailand Consumers Council launching an appeal with the Central Administrative Court to revoke the NBTC’s decision.

Ultimately, this appeal was rejected in December, leaving DTAC and True free to complete their merger later this quarter.

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Press Release

Verizon signed four new long-term renewable energy purchase agreements (REPAs) for an aggregate of up to 410 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity. With these new agreements, Verizon has surpassed 3.0 gigawatts (GW) of total projected renewable energy capacity, as it continues to be a leading buyer of U.S. renewable energy. These agreements also position the company to meet its goal to source or generate renewable energy equivalent to 50 percent of its total annual electricity consumption by 2025.

Since 2019, Verizon has signed 24 REPAs for more than 3.0 GW of projected renewable energy capacity, which is roughly equivalent to 8.4 million megawatt hours (MWh) of annual electricity production, enough to power more than 707,000 homes for a year1.

These agreements also support Citizen Verizon, the company’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement.

“We are proud to be among the leading corporations in the U.S. in buying renewable energy,” said Matt Ellis, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Verizon. “We are also a leader in green financing, issuing four green bonds totaling $4 billion in as many years, allowing us to further support and invest in renewable energy to deliver on our goal to be net zero in our operational emissions (scope 1 and 2) by 2035.”

Overview of Verizon’s new REPAs

Two REPAs with Invenergy for an aggregate of up to 240 MW of renewable energy capacity. The projects include a facility in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) regional market that became operational in 2022; and a facility in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) regional market.
A 12-year REPA with Enel North America for an aggregate of up to 100 MW of anticipated renewable energy capacity. The wind facility, located in the SPP regional market, became operational in December 2022.
A REPA for an aggregate of up to 70 MW of anticipated renewable energy capacity. The facility is located in the Pennsylvania Jersey Maryland (PJM) Interconnection regional market.

To date, seven renewable energy facilities relating to Verizon’s REPAs for an aggregate of more than 800 MW of capacity are operational. This includes the wind facility relating to Verizon’s previously announced REPA with Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, which recently became fully operational.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology and communications services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $133.6 billion in 2021. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.

Are US operators doing enough to promote sustainability and reach their carbon neutrality goals? Join the operators in discussion at the upcoming Connected America conference

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News

In its latest update to Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) showed more than half of respondents were having difficulties in affording to replace untrusted network equipment

The latest report from the FCC shows that US operators continue to struggle to implement the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (STCNA), with lack of funding the primary obstacle.

The STCNA was signed into law under President Donald Trump back in 2020, essentially ordering US telcos to replace of all networking equipment currently provided by vendors deemed a threat to national security, most notably Huawei and ZTE.

Naturally, this ‘rip and replace’ process is a timely and costly endeavour, with many US operators and associations warning that implementing the STCNA would be financially unfeasible for smaller operators. As a result, the FCC created a Reimbursement Fund of $1.9 billion, allowing smaller operators to apply for subsidies to facilitate the replacement process.

However, by summer last year, it had become apparent that this fund was far too small, with the FCC recording reimbursement applications from 181 companies, collectively totalling around $5 billion.

The FCC had hoped that these additional funds would be granted in the government’s December spending bill last year but were left disappointed.

Now, the regulator’s latest update shows the scale of the challenge facing the nation’s operators, with almost half of respondents saying that the lack of funding was inhibiting their ability to replace the proscribed equipment.

“Roughly half of respondents indicated in their status updates that a lack of funding is a challenge they face to complete the permanent removal, replacement, and disposal of the covered communications equipment and services in their networks in their entirety,” explained the report. “Approximately 2% of respondents indicated in their status updates that they will not start work on their removal, replacement, and disposal projects unless they receive additional funding.”

Beyond funding, other major challenges included supply chain issues, labour shortages, and weather-related delays.

The FCC’s next update on the progress of the national rip and replace effort will be announced on July 10, 2023.

How is the replacement of Huawei equipment in telco networks reshaping the US telecoms market? Join the experts in discussion at this year’s live Connected America conference

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Cityfibre has today confirmed that they’ve begun the construction phase of their £50m project – supported by civil engineering firm Lanes-i – to deploy a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network to “almost every home and business” in the Kent (England) town of Maidstone. So far as we can tell, most of the operator’s […]