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American Tower cuts “emissions intensity” by 21% per African tower

Annie Turner
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American Tower cuts “emissions intensity” by 21% per African tower

Infrastructure firm has invested more than $350 million in energy reduction initiatives in Africa since 2018

American Tower Corporation (ATC) released its 2022 sustainability report which outlines its sustainability strategy with an overview of progress across its sustainability programme. It says that in 2022, American Tower decreased direct greenhouse gas emissions (scope 1) by 11% since 2019.

ATC Africa, a subsidiary of American Tower, has focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing digital connectivity to underserved communities in Africa. It has invested more than $350 million in renewable energy installations, more efficient energy storage solutions and initiatives to consumer less energy since 2018.

During that time, ATC has decreased its on-site diesel consumption by an estimated 43.5 million litres annually compared to business-as-usual operations. This equates to cutting about 117,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e). It achieved these goals by deplopying on-site solar power, lithium-ion batteries and adopted technologies to drive energy efficiency at its tower sites.

Unstable power

Marek Busfy, CEO at ATC Africa, said. “Our efforts are further geared to make an impact on our continent where connectivity is increasingly vital but power availability unstable. Additionally, improving energy efficiency at our sites is part of what we want to accomplish in Africa and is critical to achieving our targets.”



The Company also launched its Green Sites initiative to ensure that all newly built sites meet American Tower’s Green Site specifications, which require the sites to generate less than four MTCO2e per year.

In addition, through its Kenya operations, plans to substitute 30% of its diesel fuel with biodiesel, which has, through a successful proof of concept, already delivered an approximate 16% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared to diesel.



More information on American Tower’s sustainability programme and 2022 Sustainability Report here.

Vodafone to launch RFQ for 170,000 RAN sites in Europe and Africa

Annie Turner
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Vodafone to launch RFQ for 170,000 RAN sites in Europe and Africa

Operator announces Open RAN trials in Italy, onboards Arm to collaborate on Open RAN silicon  

At the Fyuz 2023 event in Madrid yesterday, Vodafone announced it would soon be issuing a request for quotation (RFQ) for its entire estate of 170,000 mobile sites, based on Open RAN specifications. 

The announcement was made by Yago Tenorio at the event’s opening keynote. He is a Vodafone Fellow and Network Architecture Director with responsibilities across Europe and Africa. Tenorio also chairs the Telecom Infra project (TIP), organiser of the Fyuz event.

The announcement is not a big surprise as Vodafone’s current RAN deals expire in early 2025 and the RFQ process is not an overnight one. As set out previously, Vodafone is to take a phased approach to swapping out its RAN equipment for Open RAN-based systems. Its first goal is to have Open RAN deployed at about 30% of sites in the initial phase, with 2030 mentioned as the deadline.

Note that Vodafone does not intend to implement Open RAN everywhere – some sites will continue as single-vendor for economic reasons.

No similar action from other operators

The Open RAN market has become sluggish as operators have struggled to deal with rising costs, especially energy, in the wake of the pandemic. It is hoped that Vodafone’s RFQ will reignite the sector for new entrants as well as the old guard – Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia.

Yet despite lots of verbal enthusiasm among operators, MoUs and so on, Vodafone remains the only one ploughing ahead with large scale commercial deployment of Open RAN.

Ready in the UK

Vodafone is readying itself to roll out Open RAN in the UK at scale. It is being forced by the UK government to replace its extensive estate of Huawei RAN equipment on national security grounds. The operator has also said it will begin 5G Open RAN trials in Italy with Nokia, Red Hat, Dell and Marvell.

Progress with chips

Tenorio also highlighted Intel’s plans to produce sample silicon for Vodafone’s R&D facility at Málaga in Spain, in the Open RAN silicon labs which was announced in February.

Today Vodafone announced it will collaborate on a new Open RAN chipset with Arm. Vodafone is already working with specialist system and silicon firms SynaXG and Ampere Computing to test and validate Arm-based Open RAN silicon, as well as with Fujitsu which will provide the RAN software.

Testing will begin this year in vendors’ laboratories to prove the compute platform and silicon integration. It will be extended to include 5G commercial Open RAN software from Fujitsu before moving to Vodafone’s test facilities at its recently expanded R&D centre in Málaga, and Newbury, in the UK, in the first quarter of 2024. Vodafone said it expects more vendors to follow.

Tenorio commented, “Vodafone’s Open RAN leadership coupled with the power efficiency of the Arm-based architecture, will widen the chip and software ecosystem. By expanding the number of competing best-in-class suppliers, we can drive greater innovation, energy efficiency and security for the benefit of our customers.”

Orange, Vodafone complete 4G call on shared Open RAN in Romania

Annie Turner
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Orange, Vodafone complete 4G call on shared Open RAN in Romania

The operators have an agreement to run a series of pilots on shared Open RAN infrastructure across Europe

Orange and Vodafone have completed a 4G call on a group of shared sites running Open RAN in a rural areas near Bucharest. The sites are integrated into the commercial network (picture of model courtesy of Vodafone).

In February the operators announced they would run pilots on shared Open RAN infrastructure in rural areas where they both have mobile networks.

Orange is drawing on its experience of Open RAN, such as with its Pikeo network based at its lab in Lannion, France, and Vodafone is pioneering the deployment of Open RAN in the UK, after successful pilots in Turkey and elsewhere.

Shared tech stack

The companies are using the same technology stack for their shared Open RAN sites which comprises a commercial, virtualised RAN solution from Samsung and implementation software from Wind River alongside Dell Poweredge servers.

As a result of the test calls on their shared infrastructure, Orange and Vodafone are to work on 2G, which has already been validated in the lab, then progress to 5G. They say this will be the first time in Europe that 2G has been fully integrated into a virtualised open environment. The idea is that this approach will simplify implementation of more operationally complex solutions.

Rural model

Bruno Zerbib, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer in Orange, said in a statement [translated from Romanian]: “This first OpenGe pilot implementation is an important stage to prove that Open RAN is now a mature technology, ready to be launched over existing networks. It sets the scene for wider scale implementations within the group and opens the way to fully automated and intelligent networks.”

Alberto Ripepi, Chief Network Officer in Vodafone, added [translated from Romanian]: “With Orange, we have developed a model that will serve as a reference for the expansion of mobile networks to rural communities in Europe. Open RAN sharing will allow us to reduce the costs by using the hardware components, [but] managing our own RAN software independently…to provide differentiated services to our customers. “

KPN to launch 4Gbps symmetrical broadband later this month

Annie Turner
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KPN to launch 4Gbps symmetrical broadband later this month

At launch, on 23 October, this will be the fastest broadband available in the Netherlands

From 23 October, KPN will launch synchronous broadband at 4Gbps. It will be first available to customers who chose its broadband service based on XGS-PON technology, which has been available since 2012.

KPN said 1Gbps is the standard people expect, no matter how many other people are doing things online in one house at the same time.

The service is offered via a dedicated modem, Box 14, which can handle speeds up to 10Gbps and is equipped with Wi-Fi 6. It will cost €67.50 per month, “complementing” KPN’s other broadband options.

XSG-PON Technology

KPN said its strategy is to ensure about 80% of Dutch households are connected to fibre by the end of 2026, through its partnership with Glaspoort. Its XSG-PON technology has passed about 1 million premises so far, but KPN offers its network on a wholesale basis, so other service providers to offer services to their customers.

When it is introduced, the 4Gbps service from by KPN will be the fastest broadband in the Netherlands. Last November, KPN trialled broadband running at 20Gbps symmetrically with Nokia.

4iG plans data centre ecosystem in Albania after Telecom Egypt link 

Simon Dux
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4iG plans data centre ecosystem in Albania after Telecom Egypt link 

The country’s importance grows for attracting international traffic and potentially, hyperscalers 

Hungary and the Western Balkans-focused telco 4iG said it will build a data centre ecosystem and deepen its terrestrial fibre footprint in Albania following its deal with Telecom Egypt to deliver a high-capacity subsea cable between the two countries.  

Deputy COO of carrier services and strategic infrastructure projects at Invitech (part of 4iG Group), Albert Kis (above), told Mobile Europe the new European cable entry point will provide a different transit passage compared to the already existing Mediterranean routes. 

The deal means the Budapest-based Group becomes the latest new player the market for intercontinental capacity services between Europe and Asia, and Europe and East Africa. The two companies want to gain a significant share of the huge and rapidly growing market of data traffic between Europe and Asia, and between Europe and East Africa. 

Kis said 4iG’s One Albania, which formed in January, has big plans for the country. “4iG Group plans to set up a data centre ecosystem in Albania, assuring multiple and diverse domestic, regional and international connectivity and attracting content,” he said. “Telecom Egypt’s “WeConnect” product will guarantee the access to this new route (sea cable and route extension) from all other landing stations and sea cables in Egypt. 

Telecom Egypt launched its WeConnect platform last month, which provides a single platform for click-to-order cross-connectivity between the 14 subsea cable systems landing in Egypt’s ten cable stations, linked via the ten terrestrial routes spanning the country. 

Prominent gateway 

Kis said Albania’s is strategic location as one of the prominent gateways and entry points to Eastern Europe – backed by secured cross-border terrestrial infrastructure – means it will facilitate onward connectivity and access to various key destinations.   

“These two networks can fully support each other,” he said. “4iG owns very robust terrestrial fibre network in Albania that will be used for [data centre] connectivity and for international land route extensions. Future development, extensions of this network will be done considering both domestic and international transit needs.” 

The plan is to extend the network to Frankfurt although Kis wouldn’t confirm what mix the solution would have between self-build and wholesale network providers like T-Systems. “4iG has assets and extensive experience in CEE region transit business,” he said. “[The] land route extension will be done using primarily the assets of the group and using the long term very good partnerships that we have in place.” 

“We plan to provide connectivity from Albania to all major cities in the region and to Frankfurt on capacity (wavelengths) and [at a] fibre level,” he added.  

Earlier this year, 4iG said it had started a review of the potential consolidation and outsourcing of its domestic and international operations as well as the fixed infrastructure, and Hungarian and Western Balkan passive mobile infrastructure owned by the Group in the first half of 2023. However, Kis remained tight-lipped about the progress on this to date.  

Nokia collaborating to integrate next-gen industrial microwave with 5G, 6G

Annie Turner
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Nokia collaborating to integrate next-gen industrial microwave with 5G, 6G

France’s Presto Engineering and the vendor are pushing the boundaries in the DIMIT 5G project

France’s Presto Engineering and Nokia are working together in the DIMIT 5G project for RF testing beyond 80GHz, which is supported by the French Public Investment Bank (BPI). The plan is to develop a new generation of microwave that are more integrated with 5G and, in future, with 6G.

The project is to study and develop new microwave transmission equipment for industrial applications. The goal is to densify and improve 5G RAN networks with a new generation of RF test equipment using the ASIC design services for which Presto is famous.

Push back performance

Pierre-Gaël Chantereau, President of Nokia France, commented, “Nokia is continually investing in the research and development of cutting-edge technologies to push back the performance limits of telecoms infrastructures.

“Thanks to the DIMIT project, supported by the French Public Bank of Investment (BPI), and our collaboration with Presto, we can accelerate our roadmap and accompany the evolution of 5G networks towards 5G+ and 6G.

“This project will enable greater integration, higher performance and lower energy consumption of new microwave equipment.”

Cédric Mayor, CEO of Presto Engineering in France, said, “We are extremely proud to pursue our collaboration with Nokia as a test technology enabler, designer and manufacturer of ASIC chips for the telecommunications market. We are continually striving to push the barriers of testing beyond the limits of standard automatic test equipment.”

Namibia’s regulator awards three 4G/5G licences

Annie Turner
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Namibia’s regulator awards three 4G/5G licences

The licences went to Loc8 Mobile, Telecom Namibia and Mobile Telecommunications

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) has awarded 5G licences to Loc8 Mobile, Telecom Namibia Limited, and Mobile Telecommunications Limited. This is after the regulator auctioned spectrum below 1GHz, generating about N$28.5 million (€1.392 million) in total.

Emilia Nghikembua, Chief Executive Officer of CRAN, said the award of these spectrum licences to roll out 4G and 5G services is twofold. First to make emerging mobile technologies available and second to promote universal access to mobile communications in rural and other areas to foster participation for all in the digital economy.

Specific areas

“To improve universal access, CRAN imposed licence conditions on successful bidders to increase 4G population coverage in the Kunene, Zambezi, Otjozondjupa, Omaheke, Hardap, and Kavango West Regions,” the regulator said.

She added that these regions were identified as their coverage of the population by 4G is below 80%. Licence conditions will require bidders to improve coverage to 80% and above.

“This award is an important milestone in CRAN’s vision to improve access to telecommunications services in Namibia and is a right step towards the attainment of the fourth industrial revolution,” she said.

The regulator approved the testing and trials of 5G services and networks for three months, until 31 December. “This authorisation is aligned to the 5G Strategy and the Broadband Policy and reaffirms our commitment to promote technological innovation and the deployment of advanced facilities to respond to the diverse needs of industry and support the social and economic growth in Namibia,” said Nghikembua.

Assigned frequencies

Licensees will use assigned frequencies 703-788MHz and 790-862MHz bands to provide international mobile services (IMT), maintaining a downlink data speed of not less than 20Mbps and in compliance with the Quality-of-Service Regulations.

The spectrum licences are valid for 10 years and will be subject to renewal for a similar period or could be cancelled or transferred in line with regulations.

MTC has already expressed its readiness to deploy 5G services.

If things go to plan, Namibia could become one of the first countries in the region to have a 5G network. Zambia recently launched 5G services. Safaricom is offering 5G services in Kenya, Vodacom in Tanzania, Telkom in South Africa, MTN in Nigeria, and Orange in Botswana.

Telefónica mulls selling stake in fast-growing Tech unit

Annie Turner
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0
Telefónica mulls selling stake in fast-growing Tech unit

The potential sale seems to value the division at more than €2 billion

Bloomberg reports that Telefónica is contemplating selling a stake in Telefónica Tech. The unit provides management of cloud operations on Microsoft Azure and AWS, and cybersecurity services.

It is far smaller than Telefónica’s core telecoms business, but is growing faster and those close to the action reckon the sale of a stake would value the unit at more than €2 billion. The entire group is valued at about €22 billion, with net debt of €31.4 billion at the end of the end of 2022.

Telefonica’s shares remain in the doldrums, so the sale of a stake in Tech would generate capital and emphasis the group’s focus on more profitable sectors.

However, Telefónica is apparently also mindful that it would benefit the group to hold onto to the whole unit until it is bigger and more valuable. Rumours of the operator’s intention to sell a stake in Telefónica Tech are not new – there was similar speculation in summer 2021.

stc recently acquired a 9.9% stake in Telefónica, and made it plain it was particuarly attracted by the Tech division. CaixaBank and BBVA, stalwarts of corporate Spain, are the next largest shareholders.

Next month, Telefónica’s Chair and CEO. Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete (pictured), is due to announce a new, three-year strategic plan for the group. A central plank of the current strategy was to reduce debt.

Government backs UAE-based ICA to acquire 60% stake in Telkom Kenya 

Simon Dux
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Government backs UAE-based ICA to acquire 60% stake in Telkom Kenya 

Experienced executive team of the little-known new investor has plenty of links to Ericsson

Kenya’s new Government has overturned the previous administration’s decision to take over control of troubled Telkom Kenya. It will instead allow a little-known UAE-based infrastructure start-up, Infrastructure Corporation of Africa (ICA), to acquire the 60% shareholding from Holdings/Helios Investment Partners. 

In July last year, the previous administration agreed to buy a 60% shareholding in Telkom Kenya from Helios Investment Partners’ investment vehicle Jamhuri Holdings. As part of the deal the government was to pay Helios just over KES6bn after its decision to exit – a move that would have left Telkom 100% government-owned. 

Failure to honour commitments

According to The Nation, Helios exited its investment in Telkom Kenya following failure by the government to honour commitments that it says would have injected commercial viability into Kenya. The collapsed bid for a joint venture between Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya in 2019 was one of the main reasons that prompted the Helios to exit its investment.  

The government is also demanding a refund from Helios for the transaction last July. It has also cleared Telkom Kenya to scout for a new strategic investor to pump in capital. 

In June, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation reported that the debt-laden telco was on the “brink of collapse” after American Towers Corporation (ATC) reportedly switched off half of its masts across the country in response to a Ksh200m (€1.3m) pending bill. At the same time Kenya Communications Workers Union (COWU) general secretary Benson Okwaro said the government should match the KES6bn paid out to Helios through investment.  

Orange originally bought a majority stake in Telkom Kenya when it was privatised in November 2007 eventually moved to offload its shares to UK-based Helios in 2015. The transaction was completed in June 2016. 

Enter the UAE 

The post-election volte-face saw the new administration seek new investors leading to a recommendation to opt for UAE-based ICA, based on the offer they put forward. According to reports, the offer included a cash injection to support the telco’s infrastructure and pay off liabilities. 

According to Khusoko, Telkom reportedly has a debt of KES7.2bn, with KES3.3bn owed to infrastructure firm ATC. Telkom Kenya also owns a 22.5% stake in TEAMS, a 5,000km undersea fibre optic cable through Fujairah, UAE, and a 10% stake in LION2, another 2,700km undersea fibre optic cable through Mauritius. 

It also owns a stake in the East African Submarine System Cable (EASSy) and manages the National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI) on behalf of the Ministry of ICT, an inland fibre optic cable network running through Kenya’s counties. Telkom is also the landing partner for the LION2, EASSy, DARE 1 and the PEACE Cables. 

Nation Media Group business editor Julians Amboko posted Telkom’s sorry saga of ownership stretching back to 1998, leading up to the latest development. For its part, ICA seems a relatively newcomer. Liquid Intelligent Technologies Group CTIO Ben Roberts tweeted: “I have not come across this company in my 21 years of experience building ICT infrastructure in Africa.  

Ericsson links 

According to its website – which social media revealed was only registered on 11 September this year – ICA has offices in UAE, Sweden and India. Although not having an office on the African continent, it targets three verticals: low-cost distributed networks, digital services platforms and planning, operation and maintenance.  

Listed executives include director and CEO Anil Raj, the ex-CEO of Hutchison India plus senior stints at Ericsson including as chairman of Symbian. The chairman of the board of directors is Sushil Jiwarajka, currently also chairman of Essjay Ericsson a joint venture company of Ericsson and the Artheon group supporting mobile operators and renewable energy companies with managed services. 

Chairman of the supervisory board is Karl-Henrik Sundström, currently the chairman European mining giant Boliden and several other companies but was a previous global CFO of Ericsson. CTO Manuel Garcia has held positions of CTO, deputy CTO and managing director for more than 20 years in various operations in North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa like Orange Morocco, Ooredoo Algeria and Moov Ivory Coast. 

Another director Arun Bansal currently services as Group CEO for the Adani Airport Business Unit within the Adani Enterprise Group but previously held the title of president – market area Europe and Latin America at Ericsson with the overall responsibility for the Group’s operations in 110 countries. 

More market restructure on the way 

As part of the Telkom announcement, the government also said it will pursue regulatory reforms: “to correct the structural imbalance in the telecommunications industry for the benefit of all stakeholders.” 

 

LotusFlare Telco Whitepaper: WholesaleGlobe GFiber Prepaid: Making Fiber Broadband Accessible to All Filipinos

Marcin Piechowski
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LotusFlare Telco Whitepaper: WholesaleGlobe GFiber Prepaid: Making Fiber Broadband Accessible to All Filipinos

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