Interview

We spoke to Guillaume Boudin, CEO of Sofrecom, about the changing telecoms ecosystem and why unifying your team behind the company’s raison d’être is so important.

Can you tell us about Sofrecom and your role within the company?

Sofrecom is a consulting and engineering company focused principally on the telecoms market. We are accompany telcos in their business development and transformation, with a primary focus on Africa and Middle East.

Our main sites are in France, Tunisia, Morocco, and Dubai.

As a subsidiary of Orange Group, we are working, of course, with all Orange countries around the globe and also with other telcos, as long as they are not directly competing with Orange.

As CEO of Sofrecom, in very fast moving markets, I must ensure that we continue to meet our customers’ expectations and that we anticipate changes in the digital sector with the proper skills and expertise, the proper offers and organisation, and by capitalizing on our different assets globally.

From your perspective, how do telcos need to evolve to remain competitive in the modern connectivity ecosystem?

I will mention five key evolutions for telcos from which they can differentiate in very competitive environments. These five evolutions are: becoming more Green, more Agile , more Intelligent, more Innovative, and more Secure.

More Green: This is a key trend in all sectors. Green services and green providers will be more and more requested by customers, both for consumer and B2B markets. With the drastic increase of energy costs, programs to reduce networks’ energy consumption have already been set up everywhere.
More Agile: There should be more agility for network management thanks to network virtualisation and softwarisation, more agility for new services development through close interactions with customers, and more agility within the teams and organisations in very fast moving markets.
More Intelligent: With the roll-out of data ad AI use cases, we can improve customer experience, automate parts of operational activities, and help prevent negative network events, like outages and frauds.
More Innovative: Innovation being not only on technology and new services, but also on new business models in our rich and complex ecosytems.
More Secure: With more resilient infrastructures for networks and  data centres, and with stronger cyberdefense capabilities.

As Sofrecom, what are the key areas your company is assisting telcos with?

Sofrecom, as a consulting and engineering company focused principally on the telecom sector, can intervene on most of the above points. This includes helping telcos to define and roll-out action plans to reduce energy costs and their carbon footprint; implement agile and digital  models across organisations; design and migrate to new networks or IT infrastructures; identify and deploy data and AI use cases to improve customer experience or internal operational efficiency; analyse market evolutions to build new business models and launch new offers; and improve network coverage, quality of service, resiliency, and security.

You spoke on the Company Culture panel at Total Telecom Congress looking at a variety of subjects such as cultural transformation, diversity and inclusion, and building a successful working culture. What do you consider the key elements telcos must consider when trying to improve their company culture?

To improve company culture, we need first to be clear on the basis: what is the company’s raison d’être and the mission of the different teams?

We need to involve the teams in common goals where everyone is encouraged to take part. We need to ensure our staff continue to develop and at the same time attract new talent. We need to be clear on the values we want to promote and lead by exemple.

In very fast changing markets and complex environments, three values are very important for telcos but also for many other companies:

Team spirit, with the capacity to work transversally
Agility , with the capacity to adapt quickly
Diversity, with the capacity to have multiple different profiles and get the best from the teams

Regarding inclusion and going beyond company culture, I would even say that digital inclusion is part of a telco’s mission when providing communication services, internet access and mobile payment services.

For their incredible work on improving gender equality in thet telecoms sector, Sofrecom Tunisie was awarded the People & Culture Award at this year’s World Communication Awards.

To learn more about how your company can take part in the World Communication Awards 2023, celebrating 25 years of excellence in the telecoms industry, please contact Total Telecom MD Rob Chambers at rob.chambers@totaltele.com. 

The post Remaining competitive in an evolving telco landscape first appeared on Total Telecom.

The Greater Manchester town of Urmston, which is home to a population of around 42,000, has been announced as being the next UK location to benefit from Freedom Fibre‘s rollout of a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network. At present Freedom Fibre, which is being support by ISP TalkTalk, is already deploying across various […]

Mobile operator and broadband ISP Virgin Media (VMO2) has opened applications for 125 field engineer apprenticeship positions to help rollout their full fibre (FTTP) and 5g mobile networks across the UK. Most of the positions will be filled in London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow and Leicester. The move is part of last year’s commitment to […]

Broadband ISP TalkTalk Business appears to have joined the Black Friday discounts by giving away the first three months of service for free to new customers across all of their various Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) packages, which offer download speeds of between 80Mbps and up to 900Mbps+. All of the provider’s packages include unlimited usage, UK support […]

A new research report from investment bank Numis, which was pieced together by analyst John Karid, has revealed some useful information about Cityfibre’s £5bn project to deploy a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network across the UK and their perspective on overbuild and prices vs Openreach (BT) etc. Just to recap. Cityfibre (CF) currently […]

Customers of global ISP Starlink (SpaceX), which operates a mega constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) based ultrafast broadband satellites, have been informed that they will become subject to a 1000GB (1 TeraByte) data cap from December via a new Fair Usage Policy (FUP). But it hasn’t been confirmed for the UK.. yet. The Starlink […]

A growing number of UK broadband providers, particularly those that are building alternative Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) networks, are growing concerned that they won’t be able to meet Ofcom’s April 2023 deadline for the introduction of the new One Touch Switch (OTS) ISP migration system. Delays look inevitable. Just to recap. At present switching between Internet Service […]

NEWS

In 2020 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) agreed to open up the 1.2GHz of spectrum covering the 6GHz band (5.925–7.125GHz) for unlicensed use. This promised the potential to help improve rural connectivity, by enabling Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 standards to deliver better (gigabit-plus) speeds, more simultaneous connections, and better security.

However, this same spectrum is already used by other applications in the US, supporting utilities, public safety, and wireless backhaul services.

The FCC’s work around was to treat standard power and low power Wi-Fi differently. Standard home or office low power could use the entire 6GHz band as it was unlikely to cause interference, whilst standard power – used for example in outdoor applications – needed a way to ensure it didn’t interfere with existing microwave systems.

Now the FCC has conditionally approved thirteen automated frequency coordination (AFC) systems to manage spectrum access for unlicensed devices in the 6GHz band.

Essentially standard-power applications use an AFC system to consult a database of existing 6GHz users, their location, frequencies used, and signal coverage to ensure there is no clash with existing systems before transmitting.

The proposed suppliers are: Broadcom; Google; Comsearch; Sony Group; Kyrio; Key Bridge Wireless; Nokia Innovations; Federated Wireless; Wireless Broadband Alliance; Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA); Qualcomm; Plume Design; and RED Technologies. Each will be required to conduct lab and public testing to assess the AFC system’s functionality.

FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel commented: ‘American businesses and households rely on Wi-Fi for work, school, access to healthcare, and connecting with friends and family. We are moving forward on our plan to open doors for next generation, faster, better Wi-Fi – including Wi-Fi 6E and laying the groundwork for Wi-Fi 7. This is good news and real progress.’

The use of blended technologies for rural connectivity will be discussed at Connected America. Join us in Dallas on the 28-29 March 2023

The post Wi-fly: could AFC improve rural connectivity? first appeared on Total Telecom.

PRESS RELEASE

The global telecom solution provider Neterra built and launched a new, fast and secure fiber metro network in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It covers the entire capital, including all important business centers, central streets, and boulevards.

Through it, the company offers Internet for business, protection from DDoS attacks, other connectivity services, and media streaming. Qualified engineers are responsible for maintenance and provide technical support 24*7.

Neterra’s new network has several major advantages compared to the networks of other operators. It is the only fiber network that reaches all the data centers in Sofia, enters them, and connects them. This includes both Neterra’s data centers and those of other operators.

Another benefit is that cables are run deeper underground and in protected conduits to prevent risks of outages.
The company uses the most modern and high-quality equipment for the Sofia fibre metro network – from cables to optical distribution frames (ODF) and connectors. As a result, the connection is of exceptional quality.

In the capital of Bulgaria, Neterra maintains over 550 active business services and consciously invests in reliable components.

Thanks to the large capacities set in advance, Neterra’s metro network is expected to meet the needs of businesses in Sofia for years to come.

At the same time, it is connected to the Bulgarian core fiber network of the company, which connects all major Bulgarian cities such as Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Burgas, Plovdiv, Ruse.

The post Neterra launched a new fiber metro network in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria first appeared on Total Telecom.

PRESS RELEASE

Arelion, formerly Telia Carrier, today announced that it has added a new diverse, high-capacity transmission route connecting Boston to Secaucus, providing its customers with resilient connectivity and fast delivery that bypasses common routes going direct through Long Island and Manhattan. By providing backhaul to the Amitié sea cable system through its fifth trans-Atlantic cable route, Arelion establishes Boston as a DWDM service market and empowers companies, including financial services organizations, with diverse connection options and seamless terabit scale capability across multiple cables connecting into landing stations in the US and Europe.

With this new route, Arelion’s customers will have additional, flexible routing diversity solutions for trans-Atlantic traffic that serves their unique needs through one scalable, end-to-end solution backed by the operator’s world-class customer service and global reach.

Arelion’s project will address the need for seamless connectivity that avoids dense metropolitan centers, providing financial services companies and customers in other sectors with diverse trans-Atlantic connection options, including 400GE wavelength services, and enhanced access to Arelion’s established ecosystem of content, security and cloud providers.

The new route will offer connectivity in the US to Arelion’s 150+ Points-of-Presence (PoPs) and EU terrestrial extensions to customer end points. The Amitié cable system is expected to go live in Q2 2023 and has a trans-Atlantic capacity of over 320Tbps, connecting Boston in the US to Slough (UK) and Bordeaux (FR) in Europe.

Additional insights on Arelion’s new transmission route:

Metro connectivity in Boston will include CoreSite at 70 Innerbelt and the Markley Bldg at 1 Summer Street
Unique, direct northern routing via New Hampshire and Vermont from Boston to Albany
Heading south, the route connects via Orangeburg, NY (1547 Realty) and continues to Secaucus (Equinix NY5), completely bypassing Manhattan
Multiple additional Metro locations seamlessly accessed via metro network extensions in NJ
Open Optical Line system supporting C+L Band and multi-vendor 400G wave capability including Bright 400G-ZR+ disaggregated optics

“Our new high-capacity DWDM transmission route will provide the diverse, trans-Atlantic connectivity into Europe that is needed by the financial services sectors and other companies densely concentrated in the Northeastern US,” said Art Kazmierczak, Director Business and Network Development, Arelion. “Through this organic network expansion, Arelion further establishes itself as one of the few operators to own end-to-end network solutions and customer experiences in both the US and Europe. This new route furthers our vision of diverse, high-capacity global connectivity that boosts business growth in markets that rely on uninterrupted, long-haul transport of high traffic volumes.”

We will be talking more about connectivity between Europe and the US at Submarine Networks EMEA – 31st May – 1st June 2023, Business Design Centre, London

 

The post Arelion adds new Northeastern US route to Europe first appeared on Total Telecom.