Rural broadband ISP Gigaclear has announced that their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network will this month start to go live across the first 2,000 premises of their latest deployment patch – three villages in remote parts of Northamptonshire, England. This forms part of the operator’s wider £97m investment in the county. In total, once the local […]

Budget broadband ISP TalkTalk has today announced that customers ordering one of their “Full Fibre” (FTTP) packages will also, optionally, be able to add both their Android TV powered Pay TV service and a NOW TV Entertainment Membership for just £9.99 a month with no up-front costs. Just to be clear, it normally costs TalkTalk’s […]

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The Saudi Public Investment Find (PIF) will own a majority stake in the business, with Zain using the resulting funds to pay down its debt

This week, Zain KSA has announced that it has completed the sale of a majority stake in its tower unit to a PIF-led consortium for roughly $805 million.

The deal was first reached in February last year, with Zai agreeing to hand over a 60% share of the business to the PIF, as well as a further 10% each to Sultan Holding Company and prince Saudi bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz.

Zain will retain the final 20% stake.

According to local media, Zain has already transferred ownership of roughly 3,000 towers to the consortium, with the remaining 5,089 to be handed over in batches over the next 18 months.

It should be noted that the deal only accounts for the company’s passive infrastructure (i.e., the towers themselves), while Zain will retain ownership of the site’s active element, such as antennae, software, and related technology.

Zain says the move will help it to reduce its debt, as well as providing capital to focus on “higher-yielding digital investments” in line with their overall strategy.

“This transaction creates enormous shareholder value and gives Zain KSA greater financial muscle to invest in cutting-edge technologies and innovation that enhance the customer mobile and data experience,” explained Bader Al Kharafi, Zain Group vice-chairman and CEO, and Zain KSA vice-chairman.

“The unlocking of capital to focus on higher-yielding digital investments and optimization of infrastructure that creates internal efficiencies is a core element of Zain’s transformational ‘4Sight’ strategy, empowering Zain to enhance the meaningful connectivity we provide the communities, businesses, and governments we serve,” he added.

The move is the latest of a long string of digital investments by the PIF, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman continues to further his Vision 2030 plan for Saudi Arabia, first announced last year. As such, the PIF has said it is committed to investing $40 billion a year to develop the nation’s economy by 2025, as well as investing roughly $24 billion into the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

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Also in the news:
Orange opens European solar farm to boost access to renewable energy
Bullitt: Two-way satellite messaging will be available this quarter
Cox launches mobile services to bolster fixed line offerings

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The deal comes at a time when the UK-based operator group is under pressure from investors to improve its performance

This week, Vodafone has announced that it has agreed to sell its Hungarian unit, Vodafone Hungary, for roughly €1.7 billion.

The operator group will sell 100% of its Hungarian unit to Hungarian newcomer 4iG and Corvinus, a holding company owned by the Hungarian state. 4iG will hold a 51% stake in the business, with Corvinus holding the remaining 49%.

The deal was first revealed in August last year and is expected to be formally completed later this month.

“This combination establishes a scaled converged operator across mobile and fixed communications and supports the Hungarian government’s goal of creating a national Information and Communications Technology champion,” explained Vodafone’s interim CEO Margherita Della Valle. “The combined entity will increase competition and accelerate investment in the ongoing digitalisation of Hungary.”

According to Vodafone, the proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down debt.

In fact, this windfall could not come at a better time. The company having been under significant pressure from investors for years to turn its fortunes around and bolster share prices but has found little success.

The issue came to a head in January 2022, when ‘activist investor’ and major shareholder Cevian Capital called for Vodafone to restructure and be more aggressive in seeking consolidation in highly competitive markets.

A year later, however, and Vodafone’s outlook appears much the same. Despite the successful spin off and partial sale of the company’s European tower infrastructure in the form of Vantage Towers, as well as a burgeoning merger with Three in the UK, the Group’s share price has continued to stagnate.

As a result, at the start of December, Vodafone announced that CEO Nick Read would step down from his position at the end of the year, having failed to achieve the scale of consolidation he had championed for so long.

Under his four-year tenure, Vodafone shares had fallen in value by almost 50%.

Della Valle, the company’s finance director, is serving as interim CEO until a replacement can be found.

4iG, on the other hand, has been making something of a splash in the Hungarian market over the same period. Backed by billionaire Lőrinc Mészáros, a close associate of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, 4iG has been on an acquisition spree throughout the Balkans, aiming to become a major telecoms powerhouse and the second largest operator in Hungary.

With the acquisition of Vodafone Hungary, the company moves one step closer to this goal, creating a converged operator able to deliver fixed broadband, pay-TV, and mobile services on a national scale.

“The acquisition of Vodafone Hungary opens a new chapter in the Hungarian telecommunications market. It is the first info-communications group in almost thirty years that can operate as a Hungarian majority-owned convergent operator,” said Gellért Jászai, chairman of 4iG.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest telecoms news from around the world? Click here to have the Total Telecom daily newsletter sent straight to your inbox!

Also in the news:
Orange opens European solar farm to boost access to renewable energy
Bullitt: Two-way satellite messaging will be available this quarter
Cox launches mobile services to bolster fixed line offerings

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Fastwyre Broadband who brought together the American Broadband, TelAlaska and Cameron Communications brands has further expands with the acquisition of Moundville Communications in Alabama.

Fastwyre Broadband is owned Madison Dearborn Partners and Catania Capital Partners and has ambitions to deliver high-speed internet services across America and now reaches Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas.

Chris Eldredge, CEO of Fastwyre commented “This acquisition accelerates our growth by providing immediate access to vibrant communities in Alabama. We look forward to furthering the expansion of our high-quality, reliable broadband services into new Alabama communities, including those in Hale and Tuscaloosa Counties.”

Beyond Alabama, Fastwyre has also announced plans to extend fibre broadband services into Louisiana, Missouri and Nebraska in the first quarter of 2023.

Scott Taylor, former President and CEO of Moundville Communications said that “With the support and resources of Fastwyre, we are poised to be the preferred regional fiber-based broadband provider in the area.”

The Fastwyre Broadband name was announced in August 2022 as a rebrand of American Broadband Holding Company and looks to address the increasing need for access and upgrades across the United States. At the time the announcement Eldredge was quoted as saying “We believe all Americans should have access to reliable internet service. Our new identity reflects our pursuit of that mission, unifying our markets under a single national brand that will help keep communities connected.”

For more on the expansion of fibre broadband across the USA, join Total Telecom for Connected America on 28-29 March 2023 at the Irving Convention Center, Dallas.

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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed new update that would require telcos to accelerate their reporting of data breaches for both customers and law enforcement

On Friday, the FCC began proceedings to bolster the existing rules regarding telco obligations to notify their customers when sensitive data has been compromised.

Currently, network operators are required to notify the relevant authorities – the FCC, but also potentially the US Secret Services and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – of a data breach within a maximum of seven days after discovery. Only then, assuming no objections from law enforcement agencies, can customers be notified.

Now, the newly proposed update suggests eliminating this seven-business-day window, meaning that customers can be notified more quickly, “without unreasonable delay”, when their data has been leaked.

The update would also broaden the existing scope of what is considered a ‘breach’, now including cases of “inadvertent access, use, or disclosures of customer information”, rather solely breaches as a result of cyber-attacks. In short, telcos will be required to report incidents where customer data is compromised due to their own negligence as well as those caused by malicious actors attacking the network.

“The law requires carriers to protect sensitive consumer information but, given the increase in frequency, sophistication, and scale of data leaks, we must update our rules to protect consumers and strengthen reporting requirements,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.  “This new proceeding will take a much-needed, fresh look at our data breach reporting rules to better protect consumers, increase security, and reduce the impact of future breaches.”

If passed, this update will bring the FCC regulations more closely in line with those of data protection standards found elsewhere in the world, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires customers to be notified of any breach within 72 hours.

This would be the first time the law has been updated in 15 years.

How are the latest regulatory changes impacting the telecoms landscape in the US? Learn more from the operators themselves at the upcoming Connected America conference live in Dallas, Texas

Also in the news:
Orange opens European solar farm to boost access to renewable energy
Bullitt: Two-way satellite messaging will be available this quarter
Cox launches mobile services to bolster fixed line offerings

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British registered satellite operator OneWeb, which is partly owned by the UK Government, has closed one of its first – and most heavily promoted – test sites in Alaska after the Alaska Telecom Association (ATA) and local providers complained that the service was “too costly to adopt” and was “discontinued due to ongoing technical difficulties.” […]

A new survey of 5,139 UK consumers who had their contract end on either their mobile, broadband and /or TV plans has examined the impact of switching to a different ISP vs haggling for a lower price with your existing provider. On average, TV and broadband users saved £162 a year by switching, while haggling […]