Subscribe
Home Blog Page 12

Vodafone means business in the US market

Annie Turner
-
0
Vodafone means business in the US market

The operator group’s enterprise arm announces strategic channel agreement with Intelisys after a similar deal with Advantage Communications Group last month

Vodafone Business, the operator group’s enterprise services division is trying to crack the US market.

It has announced a strategic channel agreement with Intelisys to offer fixed and mobile services to US companies with international operations. Intelisys is a ScanSource company and provides technology services that deliver fixed and mobile solutions to businesses based in the US that have global operations.

According to the press statement from Vodafone, “This collaboration helps Vodafone Business better scale in the US to provide comprehensive cloud and connectivity solutions to businesses of all sizes and empower them to thrive in today’s digital landscape”.

Access to Vodafone Business’ global connectivity products and services will be sold by Intelisys’s “extensive network of technology advisors” who have “distribution expertise”. The partnership is intended “to drive innovation, improve service delivery and enable businesses to optimise their IT infrastructures”.

Strategy of strategic partners

“Partnering…Intelisys is a significant milestone in our strategy to leverage strategic partners to reach more international businesses, introduce them to our evolving services portfolio and build new end-to-end IT solutions,” said David Joosten, President, Vodafone US. The deal “is another step forward to provide US-based businesses with global connectivity solutions”.

Paul Constantine, Executive Vice President at Intelisys, added. “We are dedicated to empowering our partners by providing access to our education, tools, services and a comprehensive ecosystem of supplier partners. This new relationship with Vodafone reinforces our commitment to accelerating growth for our partners.

Already taking Advantage

In February Vodafone Business announced a similar deal with the a global managed service provider Advantage Communications Group. The plan there is to give US-based multinationals access to Vodafone’s global network and services, offering mobility and fixed solutions for applications that need persistent connectivity, cybersecurity, high-speed data and robust infrastructure.

Advantage partners more than 2,400 organisations with “active operations” in more than 150 countries worldwide. Advantage’s CEO, David Gardner said, “This new partnership with Vodafone Business will directly benefit our clients by expanding the range of global connectivity service options available to them.

“At Advantage, a key element of our success is the ability to partner with top-tier telecommunications providers like Vodafone Business that deliver resilient and high-performing network solutions worldwide.”

Colt connects transatlantic subsea cable to New Jersey and New York

Simon Dux
-
0
Colt connects transatlantic subsea cable to New Jersey and New York


Transatlantic subsea cable Apollo South now directly connects NJFX Premium Connectivity Hub on the Jersey Shore

Colt Technology Services (Colt), has expanded its US capabilities with the Apollo South Transatlantic route now terminating directly into New Jersey Fibre Exchange (NJFX), a Colt network Point of Presence. The new NJFX landing point for the subsea cable links businesses with operations in New Jersey and New York City to Colt’s own network, offering them Colt’s on-net experience and services.

Last November Colt expanded its services to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), along with the Options Price Reporting Authority (OPRA). To support these expanded offerings, Colt added new Points of Presence (POPs) in New York and upgraded existing backbones and infrastructure to support 100Gbps.

Apollo South links Lannion in Brittany, North West France, to New Jersey, USA and interconnects with thousands of different points in Europe. The Europe to US transatlantic subsea cable route is one of the most in-demand routes in the world, as businesses need diverse and resilient, high performance global infrastructure to manage their growth in traffic generated by AI, cloud services, IoT and other bandwidth-heavy applications.

The operator reckons the new service is ideal for NJFX tenants and Colt customers with locations, sites and branches in New Jersey and New York City which they want to connect to sites around the world including financial services customers transferring data between some of the world’s largest financial hubs; and manufacturers with facilities and offices in Europe and the US. On-net services include Wave, IP and Ethernet services with bandwidths up to 100Gbps.

“This latest strategic move for us connecting Apollo South to NJFX offers more businesses effortless access to Colt’s powerful, global, award-winning fibre infrastructure, our deep commitment to sustainability and unrivalled customer experience,” said Colt COO Buddy Bayer.

“With NJFX and Colt customers now having enhanced network access directly in New Jersey, approximately three miles from the Apollo South cable landing station, we are setting new standards for network transparency and resilience,” claimed NJFX CEO Gil Santaliz. “This strategic connection empowers businesses to scale confidently while benefiting from a secure, high-quality infrastructure that supports their global connectivity needs.”

Apollo South is around 7000km and is part of the Apollo submarine cable system which spans approximately 13,000km. It transmits data at speeds of up to 100Gbps and in the US, it lands at Manasquan/Wall Township, New Jersey. Colt said its capital market solutions cover over 80 exchanges and liquidity venues globally. 

As well as delivering data to customers’ on-premises environments, the operator’s cloud-based multicast data service, Colt Market Data in the Cloud, enables the unconverted, raw multicast market data to be delivered to companies through Amazon Web Services (AWS). It delivers data in its original format to the cloud environment of exchanges, prime brokers, trading firms and market data vendors across Europe and Asia Pacific. 

Orange says oui to multi-year Telesat LEOsat partnership

Simon Dux
-
0
Orange says oui to multi-year Telesat LEOsat partnership


A further deal with Space Norway shows that while Telesat is behind competitors, it has a big advantage in that it isn’t from the US

Orange and Telesat have signed a multi-year partnership for Telesat Lightspeed LEO satellite connectivity and terrestrial infrastructure. Under the agreement, a Telesat Lightspeed Landing Station will be hosted at Orange’s teleport in Bercenay-en-Othe, France, and benefit from ground segment connectivity with its point of presence (PoP) located in Paris over Orange Wholesale International Private Line (IPL).

Additionally, Orange signed a capacity commitment for Telesat Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) service, which will be integrated into its global portfolio of services for businesses and telecom operators. The choice of Canadian-based Telesat is interesting given that constellation is behind its competitors but recent geopolitical events has now brought into question everything European companies have previously assumed about the wider space/defence sector. 

Telesat chief executive Daniel Goldberg reckons the company is ready for big time telling audiences at a Washington satellite conference this week that: “The technology is ready, the customers are ready and my colleagues and I just couldn’t be more excited about moving forward,” he said, referring to Telesat’s anticipated Lightspeed Satellite Constellation project, which seeks to launch 198 low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites at some point in 2026.”

For its part, Orange is taking a multi-constellation approach, already backing Europe’s Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) which is intended to offer an alternative to Elon Musk’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) Starlink. The Commission intends the constellation to start offering services by 2030 to cover Europe and the whole of Africa. Orange also recently signed a deal with Eutelsat to offer satellite internet in Africa and the Middle East. 

Speaking during a roundtable event at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Orange Wholesale CEO Michael Trabbia confirmed as much, remarking on the current “political context” as a reason operators should not be relying on non-European satellite constellations for services. 

First European gateway

“I’m greatly honoured that Telesat has chosen Orange’s Bercenay-en-Othe Teleport as the first European gateway for their Telesat Lightspeed network. More than that, I’m excited by the new partnership that we’re entering into, which says much about the expertise of Orange Wholesale as a space network operator and our capacity to offer world-class ground infrastructure for the most advanced satellite constellations,” said Orange Wholesale International CEO Emmanuel Rochas. 

“We look forward to expanding our connectivity solutions with Telesat Lightspeed enhancing the resilience of our network for mobile backhauling, crisis response and remote connectivity,” he added.

“This strategic partnership highlights our commitment to delivering resilient connectivity solutions through our advanced, fully integrated space and terrestrial infrastructure. We are honoured that Telesat Lightspeed will help improve connectivity in remote areas for Orange’s customers in Europe, Africa and other locations throughout the world,” said Telesat chief commercial officer Glenn Katz. 

Telesat said its Lightspeed Carrier Ethernet services will deliver “reliable, robust connectivity” that’s backed by service level agreements. Telecom operators can configure and monitor services in real-time, redirecting capacity as needed without satellite operator intervention. As part of Orange’s connectivity network, with ground stations in 26 countries and territories worldwide, Orange’s Bercenay-en-Othe WTA Tier-4 certified Teleport acts as an asset in providing the right connectivity solution. 

Space Norway joins Telesat

Space Norway also announced a term sheet for Telesat Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) connectivity services. The satellite operator plans to integrate a multi-Gbps Telesat Lightspeed capacity pool into its services portfolio to provide secure, low-latency connectivity services for its defence, enterprise, maritime and land customers. The capacity pool, backed by Committed Information Rates (CIR) and an SLA, will deliver “maximum flexibility for Space Norway” to tailor its service offerings, according to Telesat. 

This includes prioritisation of services and data rates to each remote site, and seamless modification of online services via Space Norway’s own infrastructure. Designed from inception with a Zero-Trust Architecture, the Telesat Lightspeed network will provide “resilient communications” for “Norway and its allied partners” throughout the Arctic region. With the negotiations on the term sheet finalised, the parties expect to conclude definitive agreements by the second half of 2025.

“Space Norway found the Telesat Lightspeed network to be a natural next step in the continued evolution of our multi-orbit strategy. Its advanced architecture, including inter-satellite links and support of private landing stations, allows us to serve national requirements adhering to the strictest security and privacy standards,” said Space Norway CEO Morten Tengs.

VMO2 prepares to spend about £2m daily on improving mobile infra

Annie Turner
-
0
VMO2 prepares to spend about £2m daily on improving mobile infra

It will invest more than £700 million on new masts, small cells, 4G and 5G upgrades, underpinned by deploying additional spectrum as part of a wider £2bn upgrade programme

Virgin Media O2 says it is “to supercharge network reliability with £700 million Mobile Transformation Plan”. The programme will also boost connectivity for customers on railways, along main roads, stadia, city centres and areas of no coverage or ‘not-spots’.  

The operator’s Mobile Transformation Plan will see the operator invest around £2 million a day on its mobile network, equivalent to about £700 million this year, to improve reliability, speed and coverage. 

This investment programme is in response to the demands on the mobile network reaching an all-time high – traffic has more than doubled in the last five years – and is itself part of Virgin Media O2’s wider £2 billion investment this year in its fixed and mobile networks and services.

Investment programme

The programme includes investment in mobile infrastructure and core network upgrades. The programme will focus on expanding 4G and 5G coverage to not-spots in rural and coastal areas, rolling out small cells to boost capacity in densely populated urban areas, and addressing persistent ‘pain points’ in coverage, such as along railway lines, at airports, on motorways and in stadia and arenas.  

Virgin Media O2 will more tightly integrate its mobile and fixed infrastructure, using its own fibre network to connect mobile sites, the operator will improve the resilience and speed at which it can deploy new mobile infrastructure.

In hard-to-reach locations, it will use satellite technology to connect Virgin Media O2’s towers as a cost-effective solution to bring coverage. 

Network hotspots, like as stadia and transport hubs, will benefit from partnerships and bespoke solutions, according to the operator. They will include distributed antenna systems (DAS) to increase throughput and deliver better customer experience. 

2025 is a year of evolution

Virgin Media O2 will deploying additional spectrum, harness AI and decommission outdated parts of the network, including 3G infrastructure so it can invest in networks that are more energy efficient and have higher capacity. Apparently AI “will enable the operator to unlock efficiencies that will be reinvested to improve the network experience”.  

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer, Virgin Media O2 (pictured), said, “Our Mobile Transformation Plan combines the necessary financial investment with the latest technological innovation to make this a reality. We’re not just upgrading infrastructure; we’re creating a platform for future innovation.

“This programme ensures our customers will continue to benefit from superior reliability as new technologies and demands emerge.” 

Shared Rural Network

Last June Virgin Media O2 completed its commitments to the first phase of the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme in the UK. In a statement, the operator said it has built more shared sites than any other carrier to improve cellular coverage in 227 areas designated as partial not-spots – including Glencoe in Scotland (pictured above) where the mast is 1km above sea level.

The SRN’s target is to connect – or better connect – the UK’s most remote areas. The government has pledged to £501 million of public funding and between them the operators are stumping up £532 million. As the scheme’s name suggests, the SRN involves reciprocal sharing of existing masts in certain areas plus the construction and sharing of new masts in others, with the locations dictated by demand.

The target was to extend geographic 4G coverage to 90% of the UK by the end of 2025, although only 84% of the UK will have geographic coverage from all four operators by then. Aggregate coverage is schedule to reach 95% of the landmass by 2027, but it was reported in the The Telegraph newspaper that the government is considering withdrawing its support.

ISPReview offers a clear, concise explanation of the intricacies and progress of the SRN here.

 

Vodafone UK, Ericsson trial lowers 5G radios’ energy use by up to 33%

Annie Turner
-
0
Vodafone UK, Ericsson trial lowers 5G radios’ energy use by up to 33%

The trial was run in London using machine learning and other kinds of AI to automatically achieve the balance between energy savings and performance

Vodafone UK and Ericsson have successfully reduced daily power consumption of 5G Radio Units by up to 33% daily in trial sites across London. Ericsson’s Service Continuity AI App suite with Intelligent Energy Efficiency dynamically manages power consumption in the RAN, based on live traffic data.

The trail combined machine learning and other kinds of AI to save energy without affecting performance.  

As part of the trial, Vodafone UK implemented three use cases which work in tandem to measure, predict and optimise energy consumption across the network.

Here’s what each of the three use cases do:

  • 5G Deep Sleep uses predictive algorithms to put radios into a hibernation state, cutting energy consumption by up to 70% during off peak hours.
  • 4G Cell Sleep Mode Orchestration creates a behavioural model of network cells to automatically balance energy savings and performance.
  • A Radio Power Efficiency Map shows all the network cells, using machine learning to identify and rank underperforming sites for targeted improvements. 

Andrea Donà, Chief Network Officer & Network Director, Vodafone UK, said, “We’re able to significantly improve energy efficiency without impacting the service our customers receive. Reducing power consumption at our trial sites is a big win, both financially and environmentally, and shows we can continue to improve the efficiency of our network as we build 5G coverage across the UK.”

Katherine Ainley, CEO of Ericsson UK and Ireland, said, “It’s exciting to see how our work with Vodafone UK is making a real difference. Our ability to…reduce network energy consumption while maintaining high performance standards is a testament to the innovation and expertise of our combined teams.”

Qualcomm acquires Edge Impulse to beef up edge AI 

Simon Dux
-
0
Qualcomm acquires Edge Impulse to beef up edge AI 


Qualcomm said the deal enables more than 170,000 developers to create, deploy and monitor AI models for edge applications and hardware

Qualcomm Technologies took to Embedded World Germany to announce it has agreed to acquire EdgeImpulse, which the vendor said will complement its strategic approach to IoT transformation, which includes a comprehensive chipset roadmap, unified software architecture, a suite of services, developer resources, ecosystem partners, comprehensive solutions and a bunch of IoT blueprints. 

Widespread adoption of AI in IoT solutions is driven by the ability to augment or automate workflows through rapid data collection, AI-enabled analysis and enhanced decision-making. 

In 2019, Jan Jongboom and Zach Shelby set out to democratise machine learning on edge compute for millions of developers. Recognising that the compute capabilities of microcontrollers had grown to the point where they were able to run domain specific AI models directly onboard, the two realised there were an endless number of use cases that would benefit from moving AI from the cloud to the edge. But there was a missing piece: a way to easily build, optimise, and deploy edge and domain-specific AI models onto these devices. 

They launched Edge Impulse, an end-to-end platform that streamlines the edge AI workflow. They began developing a tool that automates data collection, simplifies model training, provides advanced optimisation tools, and offers one-click deployment to many types of hardware, from MCUs to CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs.

The universality of the platform has attracted collaborations with numerous hardware, cloud, and system integration vendors. More importantly, it has also brought together a community of 170,000 developers and growing. 

Low-code solution

Today, Edge Impulse’s end-to-end edge AI platform enables developers to easily create, deploy, and monitor AI models on a wide array of edge devices – with support for varied microcontrollers and processors featuring AI accelerators from multiple semiconductor providers. The development platform includes a comprehensive set of tools and features for data collection and preparation, model training, deployment and monitoring – all with an easy-to-use, user-friendly interface requiring little or no code at all. 

Developers can utilise Edge Impulse’s platform to build solutions for a wide range of applications such as asset tracking and monitoring, manufacturing, anomaly detection, and predictive maintenance systems – using various AI capabilities including computer vision, time-series data, audio events and speech recognition.

Edge Impulse currently supports Dragonwing QCS6490 and QCS5430 processors and is scheduled to add support for additional Dragonwing processors for industrial and embedded IoT applications.

In a blog post, Zach Shelby said that by integrating with Qualcomm, Edge Impulse developers will have the ability to target Dragonwing platforms, which feature superior AI inferencing, computer vision, graphics and processing capabilities. He added that Edge Impulse will add an important part to Qualcomm’s strategic approach to IoT. Firstly, developers can go from data preparation and AI experimentation to optimising and deploying AI models on a wide range of edge hardware, including Dragonwing processors.

Secondly, they can accelerate the creation of high-performance IoT devices for enterprise and industrial applications. Leverage the new Edge Impulse integration with the Qualcomm AI Hub to profile and improve performance of models targeting  Qualcomm Technologies’ hardware. 

Strategic approach to IoT

“We are thrilled about the opportunity to significantly enhance our IoT offerings with Edge Impulse’s advanced AI-powered end-to-end platform that will complement our strategic approach to IoT transformation,” said Qualcomm group general manager, automotive, industrial and embedded IoT, and cloud computing, Nakul Duggal (above). “We anticipate that this acquisition will strengthen our leadership in AI and developer enablement, enhancing our ability to provide comprehensive technology for critical sectors such as retail, security, energy and utilities, supply chain management, and asset management. 

“IoT opens the door for a myriad of opportunities, and success is about building real-world solutions, enabling developers and enterprises with AI capabilities to extract intelligence from data, and providing them with the tools to build the applications and services that will power the digital transformation of industries,” he said. 

Since last year, Qualcomm said it has adapted its strategy to meet the requirements of various IoT segments providing integrated solutions that combine services, software, and hardware, designed to scale across multiple verticals, including consumer, security, healthcare, retail, energy and enterprise.

Qualcomm’s IoT approach now includes application processors and connectivity chips designed for various industry needs, a unified software architecture for efficiency, security, and reduced development costs and cloud-based SaaS offerings to support industrial and embedded applications. It also now provides hardware and software development kits for IoT developers and collaborates with distributors, hardware and software vendors, design centers, system integrators, ODMs, and OEMs.

The company also develops custom-built IoT solutions with enterprise and industrial customers and offers curated blueprints that combine technologies and partnerships tailored to different industries.

stc achieves 100% compliance with GSMA’s signalling protection rules

Annie Turner
-
0
stc achieves 100% compliance with GSMA’s signalling protection rules

During development, deployment and extensive penetration testing, the two thwarted all efforts to bypass the firewall’s security controls

Saudi Arabia’s largest mobile network operator, stc, has become one of the few telecom operators worldwide to achieve 100% compliance with the signalling security controls recommended by the GSMA. stc set out to defend itself against issues from personal data leaks and unauthorised location tracking to the interception of sensitive communications through phone calls, messages and data.

The operator is a key enabler of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, including the provision of secure and reliable communications to consumer and business subscribers. Working with Enea, it designed and implemented security controls, then validated their effectiveness through penetration testing, adhering to the GSMA’s security guidelines throughout plus other measures.

The two combined stc’s proactive approach to security with Enea’s signalling firewall technology and threat intelligence to develop robust defences against cross-protocol attacks. They worked closely together through a continuous cycle of testing, threat analysis, developing use cases and improving the deployment of the signalling firewall.

Pushing secure boundaries

The press statement said that while GSMA recommendations are a valuable foundation, stc is committed to pushing the boundaries of signalling security still further “to deliver the highest level of protection for its network and subscribers”.

For example, the testing included complex cross-protocol attacks with the signaling firewall carrying out cross-protocol analysis to detect the threats. stc and Enea adopted a threat actor’s perspective then leveraged their combined expertise to ensure all attempt to bypass the firewall’s security controls failed.

100% compliance rating

Abdulaziz Alaqil, Cybersecurity & Data Governance Excellence GM at stc, stated, “Achieving a 100% compliance rate to GSMA guidelines is about much more than passing tests; it’s a testament to stc’s comprehensive security strategy and our relentless pursuit of excellence in protecting our subscribers.

He added, “As one of the few operators globally to reach this level of compliance, stc is proud to lead the industry in setting new benchmarks for telecom security. Enea’s expertise and technology have been instrumental in reaching this 100% signaling security milestone, and the accomplishment is a direct result of our strong partnership”.

John Huges, SVP and Head of the Network Security Business Group at Enea, commented, “Working closely with stc’s cybersecurity team, regarded as one of the most skillful in the industry, helps us stay on our toes and show what is possible. We are very proud of achieving this milestone together with stc.”

Broadband Forum launches three new projects

Annie Turner
-
0
Broadband Forum launches three new projects

Their aim is better experience for users, reduced latency and a wider choice of in-home applications – the Forum is inviting more parties to get involved

The Broadband Forum has announced three new open broadband projects will provide open source software blueprints for application providers and broadband service providers. The Forum says they “will deliver a foundation for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for network automation, additional tools for network latency and performance measurements, and on-demand connectivity for different applications”.

The Forum’s Technical Chair, Lincoln Lavoie, commented, “These new projects will play a key role in improving network performance measurement and monitoring and the end-user experience. Open source software is a crucial component in providing the blueprint for [broadband service providres] to follow and we invite interested companies to get involved.”

The new project do not exactly have names that trip off the tongue:

• Open Broadband-CloudCO-Application Software Development Kit (OB-CAS) aims to simplify network monitoring and maintenance for broadband providers, while offering a wider selection of applications from software vendors. Another ambition is to simplify network operations, automating them through the Forum’s established cloud standards which use AI, including machine learning, to improve end-users’ experience.

• Open Broadband – Simple Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol (OB-STAMP) will build “an easy-to-deploy component” that makes it easier to measure a network’s performance between customer premises equipment and the IP edge. Broadband service providers will be able to monitor their subscribers’ home networks proactively to measure latency and, ultimately, avoid network failures. Four vendors have already signed up to join the efforts to reduce the cost and time associated with deploying infrastructure for measuring networks’ latency.

• Open Broadband – Subscriber Session Steering (OB-STEER) builds on the Forum’s upcoming technical report WT-474. It is scheduled to create a reference implementation of the Subscriber Session Steering architecture to deliver flexible, on-demand connectivity and simpler network management. Interoperability of Subscriber Session Steering is highly important as it will be implemented in access network equipment and edge kit from various vendors..

“The development of open source software and open broadband standards are invaluable to the industry, laying the foundations for faster innovation through global collaboration,” said the Forum’s CEO, Craig Thomas (pictured above). “The Broadband Forum places the end-user experience at the forefront of all of our projects and is playing a crucial role in overcoming network issues.”

Read the full blogs on OB-CAS, OB-STAMP, and OB-STEER.

MWC: Orange’s CTO calls AI RAN “futuristic” as he outlines AI infra plans

Michelle Donegan
-
0
MWC: Orange’s CTO calls AI RAN “futuristic” as he outlines AI infra plans

In this interview with Mobile Europe, Orange’s Laurent Leboucher, explains why he is watching AI RAN’s progress with interest, and in particular, the business case for it

AI was a dominant theme at Mobile World Congress 2025 and one of the strands was the emerging concept of AI RAN. Vendors and operators are exploring how it could enhance network performance and potentially open new sources of revenue. But not everyone is ready to jump on the AI RAN bandwagon just yet, as the RAN market drops to its lowest level in two decades.

Laurent Leboucher, CTO and Executive VP for Networks at Orange Group (pictured above), said AI RAN is “still a bit futuristic”. But he is watching with interest and talking to other operators about what they are doing, notably Softbank, which has been an early proponent of the technology.

“I would like to understand the business case behind [it] because putting GPUs on every radio site is quite expensive. Is there really a business case for that? I don’t think so. Maybe in the future, but not now,” he said.

Far edge compute nodes

The AI RAN idea, which is led in large part by NVIDIA, encompasses leveraging AI to make radio network operations more efficient as well as a more radical change that could see RAN and AI workloads hosted on the same GPU-based platform. This essentially turns base stations into far edge compute nodes.

In the latter scenario, traditional RAN vendors like Ericsson and Nokia would need to overhaul their virtual RAN products so that their software can run on GPUs rather than CPU-based platforms.

“It’s quite disruptive … That sounds interesting on paper, and also the idea that we could leverage the same hardware to do at the same time the RAN [workloads] and the B2B [AI offerings]. Honestly, I’m not sure that we have today a clear business case … it’s not something that we would implement in the network right now,” he said.

Cost is crucial

But Leboucher, who has just been appointed Chair of the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance, has not written the idea off as a non-starter for Orange. He said he was “extremely interested” in it, but his main concern is that it appears to be too expensive to be viable at this point.

“I’m open to looking at it… but there will be a big question on the price points. Are we able to do it at the right price point to introduce it in the network? I don’t think it is the case today,” he said.

Orange is not alone in its wait-and-see approach to AI RAN as operators have not exactly flocked to the cause. The AI RAN Alliance was launched at MWC in 2024 by founding members that include Arm, Ericsson, Microsoft, Nokia, NVIDIA, Samsung, Softbank, and T-Mobile US. The group has grown to 75 members in its first year, but it has attracted just seven operators, none of which are European, and used MWC as an opportunity to invite more organisations to join its endeavours. 

AI for network

While it is early days for AI RAN, Orange has taken a two-pronged approach to AI that focuses on how the technology can make networks more efficient (AI for network) and how networks need to adapt to deliver AI-based services to customers (network for AI).

“AI for network and network for AI are two sides of the same coin… If we start to transform our network to make it a platform for AI workloads, we will need a lot of very smart capabilities to automate the network and to address the requirements for the new AI workloads,” explained Leboucher.

AI for the network use cases are more mature as Orange has been working on these for many years. Examples include streamlining network planning processes, reducing the time it takes to do root cause analysis for network issues, minimising energy consumption at mobile sites, and reducing the number of trips field engineers need to make to inspect sites.

The operator is now focused on scaling these use cases across its OpCos in Europe.

“Today, our programme is more like a collection of different bottom-up use cases. We try to expand and replicate each one in the different countries, but it is not easy. Part of the challenge is that the foundations are not completely homogeneous, especially in Europe,” he said.

To address this fragmentation, the operator is working to “harmonise” tools and “OSS landscape”, while leveraging its shared network operations centre (NOC ) in Europe to build a scalable platform, he explained.

Network for AI

On the flipside of the strategy, Orange is addressing the impacts that new AI applications will have on the network. The first of which is that the uplink will become “very important” because AI workloads are “multimodal” with text, voice and video.

“That means latency will matter and you will need to have stable connectivity”, according to Leboucher.

Another AI-induced network impact is deciding from what point to deliver the “inference” – that is, when trained models make decisions to deliver the AI app. “We need to do the inference somewhere. The first place where it makes sense is on the device,” he said.

But between the device and the cloud, Orange needs to be able to deliver AI-based B2B services to enterprises that meet their data protection and sovereignty requirements. For these applications, Leboucher said public cloud is not an option for many businesses and they need a private or on-premises alternative.

“The easy case is on prem. What is less easy is edge in the network. For edge in the network, more for sovereignty reasons than latency, we consider that we could use private cloud as another way to do inference … compared to doing it in the public cloud,” he said.

Read our new analysis of the AI RAN market.

Areim raises further €450m for Nordic data centres

Simon Dux
-
0
Areim raises further €450m for Nordic data centres


In the Nordics, around 200 data centres have been established over the past decade, with Sweden as a frontrunner

Swedish fund manager Areim has completed an additional capital raise for its Nordic data centre fund, Areim DC Fund, bringing total raised capital to €900 million. The capital raise was significantly oversubscribed and adds both Nordic and international institutional capital, further diversifying the investor base, according to the company. Over the past two years, Areim has raised more than €1.2 billion of capital to the platform, including equity, debt, and bond capital. Andulf Advokat provided legal counsel to the Areim in the capital raise.

Ecological concerns

Given the inexorable rise of greenhouse gas emissions due directly to data centre activity around the world, Ariem is keen to stress its approach is design and create sustainable data centres. The company acquired EcoDataCenter in 2018, which prides itself in being an industry leader in sustainable data centre solutions focused on being an integral part of the circular economy. Its data centres are spread across four sites at three strategic locations in Scandinavia. 

“The continuous strong support we have received from both existing and new investors is a testament to the strategy of our dedicated data centre fund. The substantial interest in the Areim DC Fund and EcoDataCenter underlines the demand and attractiveness of the Nordic market for data centres,” said Ariel CEO Henrik Brinck Landelius. 

“There is a lot of activity in this space, and the additional investments are important for growing the platform further,” he said. “I would also like to show my appreciation to the team for their successful fundraising. We are now well-positioned to continue to deliver value to customers, our investors, and other key stakeholders.”

EcoDataCenter has been fully owned by the Areim DC Fund since 2023. The companies said the raised capital will be used to continue expanding EcoDataCenter. “When we first decided to invest in EcoDataCenter, we saw the inherent potential in sustainable data centres to meet the rising demand for digital infrastructure, said EcoDataCenter chairman and founder of Areim Leif Andersson. 

“A lot has happened since, and data centres now form fundamental building blocks of this infrastructure, regardless of the data loads’ origins and use. We look forward to continuing to lead the development of data centres in the Nordics as the demand for digitalisation and AI keeps rising,” he added. 

Scandi growth

Geography ensures Scandinavia has sustainable energy advantages over hotter areas meaning the data centres in-region have the ability to push PUE boundaries and harness renewable energy for their operations. Last week Google Cloud launched its cloud region in Sweden – its 13th on Europe – and was quick to highlight how this might assuage data residency requirements and digital sovereignty concerns. The Swedish government’s AI Commission recently launched its AI roadmap proposing an AI factory for the public sector to collaborate on a common AI infrastructure. 

Google said current projections indicate this region will operate at or above 99% carbon-free energy (CFE) in its first full year of operation in 2026, due to the Swedish grid’s electricity mix. It estimates its Swedish operations will have one of the highest Google carbon-free energy scores among all electricity grid regions where it operates. Google also announced its first Swedish power purchase agreement (PPA) in 2013, and has since signed additional long-term agreements with clean energy developers that enabled more than 700 MW of onshore wind projects in the country.

1...111213...1,638Page 12 of 1,638
- Advertisement -

Subscribe to Our Daily Newsletter

It takes just one minute to register for the leading daily B2B newsletter for the telecoms industry, and it's free.

SIGN UP

Subscribe to Our Daily Newsletter

It takes just one minute to register for the leading daily B2B newsletter for the telecoms industry, and it's free.

SIGN UP
DOWNLOAD OUR NEW REPORT

5G Advanced

Will 5G’s second wave deliver value?

DOWNLOAD REPORT