PRESS RELEASE

In response to growing demand for digital services from service providers (SPs) and their customers alike, telecom software provider and eSIM as a Service pioneer, Mobilise, has launched its eSIM software development kit — SDK. The SDK allows SPs to offer global connectivity to customers from within their existing application, including an in-app eSIM activation capability.

Supporting both iOS and Android applications, SDK allows SPs to offer connectivity services via their existing app in an instant, including 4G data connectivity and automatic Access Point Name (APN) settings, with 5G connectivity in development for launch. The kit also features account management tools that give customers full transparency and control of their mobile subscription, with instant visibility of bundle usage, payment and auto-renewal features.

There’s no customisation required — SDK grants SPs access to APIs that support on-device telephony service management, authentication and provisioning, enabling a plug and play solution, reducing the integration effort from months to days. The SDK comes with ongoing support and development from Mobilise’s team of telecoms and software experts, whenever required.

One of SDK’s flagship modules is for eSIM, which allows SPs to launch an in-app eSIM activation capability without the overhead of eSIM integration. Many existing eSIM solutions require QR code activation. While these solutions work, they are clunky and require customers to have two devices available to activate their SIM profile. Opting for in-app activation offers a great and seamless customer experience (CX).

Delivering a digital-first CX has never been more crucial. EY’s report Digital transformation for 2020 and beyond revealed that the three strategic focus areas that most telecoms players were prioritising that year were digital business models, customer experience, and control of cost and business efficiencies.

However, implementing new technology to ensure focus remains on these areas is challenging. With SDK, the headache of development, maintenance and compliance is taken care of, and SPs are able to channel their efforts into ensuring a positive impact from digitalisation, rather than just trying to ensure successful implementation.

“While consumer eSIM technology has been around for a while, it’s recently gained more traction, thanks to announcements like Apple’s decision to make the new iPhone 14 eSIM only in the US,” explained Hamish White, CEO of Mobilise. “As such, SPs are left with no choice but to add eSIM capabilities to their roster if they’re to keep up with the digital switchover. With SDK, SPs can integrate eSIM capabilities into their existing application instantly.

“SDK isn’t just suitable for telecoms SPs in the original sense, however. There’s also scope for use cases across finance, where SPs can embed connectivity within an existing app to enable their customers to access financial services at any time from anywhere, and in the travel sector, where it enables companies to offer data bundles as part of their core service package to keep customers connected wherever they go.

“Regardless of the industry, customers and their expectations are getting more and more demanding, and challenging, to meet. SDK’s modular architecture and ability to drop new features into existing apps allows SPs to add new service offerings simply and quickly, constantly improving CX without the lengthy and costly challenge of developing new features in house.”

The post Mobilise launches its “drop-in” eSIM solution for service providers first appeared on Total Telecom.

BT has re-entered negotiations with the Communications Workers Union (CWU) to hopefully settle the ongoing pay dispute with up to 38,000 employees, which has so far resulted in 8 days worth of national UK strikes. The move comes only a day after the operator’s CEO, Philip Jansen, described the matter as “closed” and seemed to […]

NEWS

BT blames 18% fall in profits on need for additional savings after large increase in energy bills and soaring inflation

BT has warned of further job cuts after it was forced to find an additional £500m in additional savings due to rapidly rising inflation and energy bills. The telecoms giant, which has reported an 18% slump on pre-tax profits from £1bn to £831m year-on-year in the six months to the end of September, has stated that its energy bill will be £200m higher this year. The company’s last official plan for job cuts under previous CEO Gavin Patterson, saw 13,000 jobs cut over three years from 2018.

As a result, BT has said that it has been forced to raise its cost-savings target from £2.5bn to £3bn by the end of its financial year in 2025, in response to inflation hitting a 40-year high and the surge in energy costs.

As reported in The Guardian, “We are leaving no stone unturned to make sure BT can be the most-efficient organisation it can be,” said Philip Jansen, the chief executive at BT.

“Inevitably it means some jobs will not exist in the future but that has been true of the last few years too. We will use natural attrition as much as we can. In these difficult conditions we know we have to double down on our costs. There are no specific numbers in mind. This [cost-cutting programme] is up until the end of 2025. Everyone has to share the pain – all 100,000 people at BT – to get to this £3bn on cost savings.”

Jansen also reiterated plans to push-through higher than inflation price rises, which could see bills rise by 14% for customers, a move which has seen BT and other operators criticised, as Ofcom has indicated that nearly 8 million households have experienced difficulty paying their bills, having told operators to “think hard” about making further price hikes in the current climate.

BT indicated that the slump was due to higher costs across its business as well as costs incurred in the £15bn rollout of next-gen full-fibre broadband across the UK. BT, which has been hit by ongoing strike action by tens of thousands of its near 60,000 frontline workforce, said that the industrial action had affected the rollout of broadband to new customers, with 40,000 homes missing out on new connections due to the strike action.

Openreach, BT’s broadband network subsidiary, has also stated that its customer base fell by 89,000 in the company’s second quarter compared with a 29,000 increase in the same period last year.

With strike action set to continue, and energy prices likely to remain high, BT’s difficult year looks set to continue into the next.

Related content:
The sky’s the limit for BT
TIM looking to cut 2,200 more jobs by 2024

The post BT warns of further job losses as soaring bills force bigger cost-cutting drive first appeared on Total Telecom.

NEWS

A new wholesale operator is being formed with the objective of deploying local fibre-optic networks in underserved areas across Germany, with ISP’s novanetz and YplaY responsible for marketing the fibre-optic network to customers.

The initial aim is to give access to full fibre to at least 150,000 homes in Hessen and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Open German Fiber is a join venture between MEAG – the asset manager of insurers Munich Re and ERGO – pension fund Arzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe (AVWL) and investment firm Primevest Capital Partners.

This is the first investment for MEAG’s new infrastructure equity fund MEAG European Infrastructure One. The head of infrastructure equity at MEAG, Dominik Damaschke, said “We see a huge market potential for the FTTH market in Germany. Despite its position as Europe’s largest economy, Germany significantly lags behind in FTTH coverage.

Markus Altenhoff, CIO at ÄVWL said they were “proud to be able to support the nationwide expansion of the fibre-optics network in Germany.”

The most recent data from the FTTH Council Europe, their Fiber to the Home / Building (FTTH/B) Global Ranking published in May 2022, shows that seven European countries have passed the 50% penetration rate mark (Iceland, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Norway, Romania, Latvia). Germany lags far behind with 6.3% penetration – marginally above the UK on 5.9% (although the UK has more FTTH subscribers).

To keep up with the latest on Germany’s broadband progress join Total Telecom in Mainz on the 6 – 7 December 2022 for Connected Germany

The post New JV Open German Fiber seeks to boost FTTH coverage first appeared on Total Telecom.

Broadband ISP and network builder Grain (Grain Connect) has today added four new locations to their ongoing UK rollout of a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network, which will see them expand across parts of Whitley Bay and Thornaby in the North East, Blackpool in the North West and Tonypandy in Wales. The provider, which is being […]

The South Western Railway and telecoms firm Evo-rail (FirstGroup) recently announced the people travelling on a 70km long stretch of their Main Line into London – between Basingstoke and Earlsfield – would be the first to benefit from the rollout of new rail-side 5G poles (masts) that will be used to deliver “superfast” onboard WiFi. […]

The latest H1 2022 report into the broadband coverage of new build UK homes reveals that 99.03% of houses constructed during the first half of 2022 were connected to a gigabit-capable network (using full fibre FTTP and Hybrid Fibre Coax), which falls slightly to 98.03% when only looking at FTTP. The data, which flows from […]

Broadband and Cloud Gaming ISP ZYBRE, which offers services to UK homes over a number of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) networks (Openreach, MS3, FullFibre etc.), has this morning announced the acquisition of rival provider Air Broadband that adopts a similar approach to network aggregation. Air Broadband is one of several in the market, like ZYBRE, that has […]

Scottish ISP Lothian Broadband, which is building a gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) network to cover 70,000 premises across rural parts of the Highlands and East to Mid Lothian, has become the latest provider to introduce a Netgem powered Pay TV service and they’ve also launched a VoIP based home phone solution from Netsapiens. Netgem has […]

INTERVIEW

At #ConnectedBritain 2022, Vitruvi Software, an industry leader for end-to-end Build Management Software announced their newest game changing Roll-Out Feature for UK Altnets: A55 Management.

Vitruvi’s award winning build management solution is empowering Altnets to rollout fibre at record speeds – enabling them to build smarter & faster. With GIS at the core, altnets can manage a variety of OpenReach PIA and design data, while maintaining full project controls for production costs and schedules. This enables streamlined Openreach reporting from A55s, NOIs, to SPO Evidence, and Whereabouts. Reducing overhead, expediting survey, and getting fibre in the ground faster. Teams are able to make real-time, data-driven decisions, cut inefficiencies – ensuring fast and efficient project rollout across all of the UK. 

Vitruvi was a finalist for Enterprise Solution of the Year Award at #ConnectedBritain 2022. We spoke to Bryan McIver, CEO of Vitruvi Software to find out how they are helping Altnets to deploy smarter.  

 

About Vitruvi™ Software

Vitruvi is an innovative construction management software that allows you to efficiently manage every aspect of your telecommunications or utility infrastructure construction project. It’s a single, end-to-end, GIS-based platform that connects everyone, seamlessly, for unmatched project control and collaboration. Vitruvi’s best-in-class functionality spans the entire project build: from scoping & planning through to reporting & close-out. Build smarter & deploy faster with Vitruvi™. To learn more, visit www.vitruvisoftware.com.

 

The post Vitruvi Software announces game changing roll-out feature for UK altnets: A55 Management first appeared on Total Telecom.