Interview

We caught up with Katherine Ainley, Ericsson’s CEO of UK & Ireland, at Connected Britain 2022 to discuss the UK’s 5G progress so far and what needs to be done to make the country a world leader in mobile technology

It has been over two years since the launch of 5G in the UK and yet for many people the technology still represents little more than a boost in speed – a far cry from the myriad of new experiences promised by technology’s hype-fuelled debut.

But why is this?

Part of the answer is that it is only in recent months, with the advent of 5G standalone, that the technology can really deliver the ultralow latency and high bandwidth that will enable some of the most exciting use cases, like augmented reality and network slicing.

But for Katherine Ainley, Ericsson’s CEO of UK & Ireland, the problem is much more systematic within the UK, suggesting that the country’s lacklustre 5G rollout speed has left the country unable to maximise its full potential.

“We’ve got to go faster,” said Ainley. “We’re at roughly 50% [coverage] of the UK population right now. We’re not in that top 15 of countries globally in terms of 5G rollout and I think we’re really in danger of falling behind.”

According to Ainley, the government must go further in putting 5G – and connectivity more generally – at the heart of their agenda, particularly when it comes to economic growth.

“DCMS [Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport] is pushing really hard […] but what I’d really like to see is the other government departments really grasping hold of 5G and connectivity as a whole,” said Ainley. “It’s often that connectivity is a little bit of an afterthought, whereas if you build it in from the beginning you can get much more of a benefit.”

In particular, Ainley highlights the enormous impact that 5G can have for industry and enterprises in the UK, urging companies to be creative with how they use the technology’s capabilities.

“My plea to lots of people out there is: use your imagination for how we can use 5G. What we saw with 4G is that it only really got going when the apps and the ways you could use them began to really bite,” she explained. “We need that same revolution on the business side for 5G.”

You can watch our full interview from the link below.

Is there a 5G North-South divide emerging in the UK? Join the experts in discussion at the upcoming Connected North conference live in Manchester

Also in the news:
Understanding the telco’s role in the IoT market
Startup Stories: A new approach to telecoms consultancy
MTN Group joins the Telecom Infra Project’s Board of Directors

The post UK “in danger of falling behind” in 5G, says Ericsson’s CEO UK&I first appeared on Total Telecom.

INTERVIEW

With demands for digital connectivity at an all-time high in the UK, and so much fibre still to be deployed across the country, how do you deploy quickly with quality AND at scale? For test & measurement manufacturer VIAVI Solutions, the answer is simple – work smarter, not harder.

Tom Ronan, Director of Global Product Line Managers at VIAVI, joined us for a chat at Connected Britain to discuss the UK’s accelerated FTTH deployment, Smarter Testing technology, and how to become a Fibre Ninja!

 

VIAVI Solutions is a world leader in test & measurement technologies across fibre, 5G and more. Find out more at viavisolutions.co.uk

The post It’s Time to be Smarter with your Fibre Testing first appeared on Total Telecom.

Press Release

Ericsson has entered into a long-term strategic 5G contract with Indian communications service provider (CSP) Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. (Jio) to roll out 5G Standalone (SA) in the country

The announcement follows the allocation of 5G spectrum in the recently concluded auctions in India. This is the first partnership between Jio and Ericsson for radio access network deployment in the country.

Announcing the partnership, Akash Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio, says: “We are delighted to partner with Ericsson for Jio’s 5G SA rollout. Jio transformed the digital landscape in India with the launch of LTE services in 2016. We are confident that Jio’s 5G network will accelerate India’s digitalization and will serve as the foundation for achieving our nation’s ‘Digital India’ vision.”

Jio’s Standalone 5G network deployment represents a major technology leap since it modernizes the network infrastructure to deliver a truly transformative 5G experience to consumers and enterprises. The capabilities of 5G SA are expected to drive innovation and build a robust 5G ecosystem and deliver advanced services.

Ericsson’s energy-efficient 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) products and solutions (from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio) and E-band microwave mobile transport solutions will be deployed in the 5G network for Jio.

All products and solutions are deployed on new-build 5G SA networks, designed to maximize the benefits of 5G to CSPs and their customers – whether individual subscribers or enterprise and industry customers.

Börje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson, says: “India is building world-class digital infrastructure that will drive innovation, job creation and entrepreneurship across the country. We are happy to partner with Jio in those ambitions, through Ericsson 5G Standalone connectivity, which will be a major catalyst in meeting those digital transformation goals across society, enterprise and industry.”

Also in the news:
Understanding the telco’s role in the IoT market
Startup Stories: A new approach to telecoms consultancy
MTN Group joins the Telecom Infra Project’s Board of Directors

The post Jio selects Ericsson for 5G standalone network rollout first appeared on Total Telecom.

NEWS

The new FibreCo aims to deploy fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) to up to seven million homes over the next six years

Today, Vodafone and Altice have announced a new 50:50 joint venture (JV) for the German fibre market.

The newly formed FibreCo will invest up to €7 billion in deploying FTTH over the next six years, aiming to pass seven million homes with gigabit-capable fibre.

Around 80% of this rollout will cover large housing associations already within Vodafone’s hybrid fibre cable network footprint that are looking to upgrade to FTTH. The remaining 20% will focus on neighbouring homes outside of Vodafone’s current footprint.

The fibre company will offer wholesale access to its network to the rest of the German market, with Vodafone serving as its anchor tenant.

“This partnership builds on Vodafone’s significant next generation network with Altice’s industrial expertise and proven FTTH construction capabilities enabling us to bring gigabit connectivity to even more customers in Germany,” explained Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone Group. “We are proud of our long-standing relationships with housing associations and pleased as a trusted provider to bring more connectivity options for tenants. This significant infrastructure investment supports the country’s social, economic and digital development and the broadband ambitions of the German government as part of Europe’s Digital Decade targets.”

In forming the JV, Altice will pay Vodafone up to €1.2 billion; €120 million will be paid upfront at the deal’s closure, while €487 million will be paid incrementally as the rollout progresses past 1.4 million homes and up to €595 million will be paid as an earn-out (i.e., depending on the JV’s performance).

As always, the formation of this JV is subject to regulatory approval, with the deal expected to close in H1 2023, assuming swift approval.

The formation of this new fibre player will be a major shakeup for the German market, which has seen a surge of fibre investment in recent years, with incumbent Deutsche Telekom leading the charge.

At the end of 2021, Deutsche Telkom had passed just over 3 million homes with FTTh, with a goal of reaching 10 million homes by 2024. Smaller rival Deutsche Glasfaser has similarly ambitious targets, having passed roughly 1.2 million homes at the same milestone, aiming for 4 million passed by 2024.

The new FibreCo will clearly have some catching up to do, but its ambitious rollout plans should put it within striking distance of Deutsche Telekom’s market hegemony.

In addition, Vodafone says that the JV’s FTTH rollout will take place alongside existing network upgrades, including introducing ‘node splitting’ and DOCSIS 3.1 ‘high split’, which will give German customers access to speeds of over 3Gbps.

Vodafone as a Group has been under increasing pressure in recent years, with lacklustre financial results seeing Read and other executives call for consolidation in a number of key markets.

While some such consolidation has already begun, such as with TPG in Australia in 2020, other deals have failed to materialise. In Spain, for example, the company has long been rumoured as seeking a merger with MasMovil, but the latter ultimately struck a tie-up with Orange instead earlier this year. Reports in recent weeks have suggested that Vodafone may now be considering selling a stake in its fixed network in Spain as a means to reduce investor pressure on the troubled business unit.

However, an even bigger shift could soon be on the horizon for Vodafone, when the company announced earlier this month that it was engaged in ongoing talks to merger its UK unit with CK Hutchison’s Three UK.

In the meantime, however, Vodafone’s vulnerability has not gone unnoticed. Back in May, newly rebranded United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based telco group, e&, purchased a 9.8% stake in Vodafone for $4.4 billion as a way of enhancing its international portfolio.

More recently, back in September, French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel acquired a 2.5% stake in Vodafone, citing ‘streamlining’ opportunities for the UK-based telco group.

The German fibre market is evolving. Find out how at this year’s live Connected Germany conference

Also in the news:
Understanding the telco’s role in the IoT market
Startup Stories: A new approach to telecoms consultancy
MTN Group joins the Telecom Infra Project’s Board of Directors

The post Vodafone and Altice partner for German fibre JV first appeared on Total Telecom.

Rochdale-based UK ISP Zen Internet has today introduced a range of “price drops” across their Full Fibre (FTTP) broadband packages, as well as their SOGEA (FTTC), EveryRoom and Digital Voice offerings. The new prices are available to both new customers and existing users who have reached the end of their contract. Zen typically sells packages […]

INTERVIEW

Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and much speculation about future market consolidation, Greg Mesch, Chief Executive Officer, shares his views at #ConnectedBritain on the company’s recent £4.9bn financing, what this means for customers and what’s next for CityFibre as it accelerates towards its next milestone.

To find out more about CityFibre’s rollout to a third of the UK market by 2025, visit www.cityfibre.com

The post Delivering CityFibre’s promise of a new network for the data age first appeared on Total Telecom.

BAI Communications UK CEO, Billy D’Arcy, spoke with Total Telecom about the work they are doing in both London and Sunderland to provide the backbone of mobile and digital connectivity.

Through their 20-year partnership with Transport for London (TfL), they will deliver high-speed mobile connectivity across the capital – in what will be the most advanced and largest infrastructure project of its type in the world.

Sunderland City Council and BAI have formed a world-first, 20-year strategic partnership, to create the UK’s most advanced smart city. BAI is building a 5G-powered smart city infrastructure to deliver a broad range of socio-economic benefits, that will deliver a broad range of digital solutions across the city that transform outcomes for people and places.

Using a neutral host model provides a game changer for addressing hard to reach and under-served communities across the country, improving coverage in difficult locations, be that highly congested areas or remote, hard-to-reach environments, contributing towards levelling up connectivity across the UK.

Watch Billy D’Arcy’s interview here:

BAI Communications is a world leader in shared communications infrastructure, pioneering the future of advanced connectivity, and delivering the ubiquitous coverage that can transform lives, power business ambitions and shape the future of our cities. To find out more, head over to https://www.baicommunications.com/

The post BAI Communications Connecting Britain first appeared on Total Telecom.

Budget broadband ISP TalkTalk has today launched a new Android TV powered ‘TV Hub‘ box for UK customers seeking to take a Pay TV product alongside their “Full Fibre” (FTTP) internet connectivity packages, which will cost from just £5 a month to add to your package (plus a £25 one-off fee). At this point some […]

Alternative network provider Quickline, which operates a mix of Full Fibre (FTTP) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) networks across parts of Lincolnshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire, has announced that their partnership with Cellnex UK has enabled them to reach 53,000 extra homes and businesses in the first year of operation. Quickline is currently being supported by […]

Neos Networks, which operates a 34,000km long fibre network with 676 Points of Presence across the UK, has today launched a Managed variant of its Dedicated Internet Access (Managed DIA) service. The service will provide businesses with fully managed, enterprise-grade fibre optic internet connectivity. The service has the ability to scale bandwidth as required, with […]