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Virgin Media O2 to offload up to 50% of its stake in Cornerstone

Annie Turner
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Virgin Media O2 to offload up to 50% of its stake in Cornerstone

Divesting itself of towers could raise up to £750 million to invest in mobile and fibre infra

The Financial Times reports that Virgin Media O2 is looking to sell of its towers to raise funds to expand its fibre broadband and mobile infrastructure. The operator is jointly owned by Telefonica and Liberty Global, and in turn owns half of Cornerstone.

The other half was originally owned by Vodafone, and now belongs to Vantage Towers, in which Vodafone has a controlling interest.

Cornerstone was set up in 2012 and designed to more efficiently own and manage the tower infrastructure of both Vodafone and O2.  The two operators remain the anchor tenants.

It is thought Cornerstone is now worth about £3 billion: adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation after leases were £111 million in 2020.

Wheels in motion

Virgin Media O2 reportedly has put wheels in motion to sell half of its stake, so 25% of Cornerstone. Unnamed sources say anyone party wishing to acquire the whole of that 25% will be expected to pay a premium.

Cornerstone is the UK’s largest towerco with about 14,200 masts and about 1,400 other sites, with commitments to build further 1,200 new sites by 2025.

Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are to handle the sale.

Virgin Media O2 is the UK’s second largest network operator after BT and has pledged to spend some £2 billion on upgrading to fibre its network that covers 15.5 million premises by 2028. It was a £4.5 billion joint venture with its parent companies plus infrastructure investor InfraVia Capital to pass a further 7 million premises.

Health offered Private 5G op by specialist Baicells-JACS

Nick Booth
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Health offered Private 5G op by specialist Baicells-JACS

Turnkey operation

Radio access network (RAN) equipment maker Baicells and Internet of Things (IoT) device designer JACS are to create a special private 5G network for the health sector. As hospitals and research labs accumulate legions of critical sensors, cameras and other intelligence gatherers and environment controllers private networks offer the most practical option for maintain standards of availability, performance and security.

As applications like augmented reality put ever more strain on networks the only way to keep the body of the hospital responsive is to prescribe LTE and 5G private networks. In addition, these 5G private networks offer far greater protection against infection from cyber-attacks and stem the bleeding of personal information. in response Baicells and JACS have created a ready-made (turnkey) omnipresent network using the former’s experience in citizen’s band radio systems, which it has long been a vocal advocate of.

Baicell’s CBRS-based networks now support 500 commercial networks across the US, serving both public operators and private enterprises. The paths of CBRS and private 5G networks have converged and the knowledge of of how signalling navigates the unique structures of big and small enterprises can be applied to health services. Hospitals have their own unique challenges given the high concentration of a diversity of equipment ranging from MRI scanners to robotic surgeons. The former creates gargantuan data files, while the latter needs microsecond response times.

Health services must push beyond their legacy Wi-Fi networks with new use cases and better performance, to help transform their business, according to Tony Eigen, VP of Marketing at Baicells. Augmented reality is a fantasy outside of LTE and 5G private networks. “JACS really does highlight that not all wireless platforms are created equal, and sometimes you need a custom solution to meet the specific needs of your business,” said Eigen, VP of Marketing at Baicells.

JACS is like a good hospital consultant, who listens to the patient, assesses their needs and prescribes a solution to improve their circulation in ways that no other OEM can, according to Chang-Gang Zhang, technology VP at JACS Solutions. “Baicells shares that customer-first approach to building their private network solutions so combining our platforms into a turnkey package ensures that our mutual clients will be successful in their deployments.”  

Orange marshals French industry to fortify EuroQCI against quantum creeps

Nick Booth
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Orange marshals French industry to fortify EuroQCI against quantum creeps

Quantize des bataillons

Orange is to lead an army of computing startups, academia and business institutions to fortify the European comms infrastructure (EuroQCI) against the worst aspects of the quantum computing era. Luminaries including Airbus, CNRS, Cryptonext Security, Orange, Telecom Paris, Thales, Thales Alenia Space, Veriqloud and Welinq will help to develop new quantum computing security options. Academic and civil servants at Sorbonne Université, Direction Générale de l’Aviation Civile and Université Côte d’Azur will advise on securing communications and data for critical infrastructures and government institutions.

As the only telco, France’s flagship operator Orange, owner of integrator and service provider Orange Business Services, has been appointed co-ordinator of the entire FranceQCI consortium. “The FranceQCI consortium’s objective is to drive a significant impulse towards a European quantum communication infrastructure that can safeguard sensitive data and critical communications for governmental institutions, data centres, hospitals and energy grids. We are delighted to benefit from fundings from the European Union through the Digital Europe Program to contribute to one of the main pillars of the EU’s cybersecurity strategy,” said Michaël Trabbia, pictured, the CEO of Orange Wholesale and interim Orange Group Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, representing all members of the France QCI consortium.

France QCI represents a first step towards a European quantum comms infrastructure that could be implemented with cross-border links to connect similar networks in other countries, either through terrestrial fibre links or space connectivity. It’s hoped the project will pave the way towards the future European Quantum Information Network (QIN).

FranceQCI’s objective is to deploy advanced national quantum systems and networks to test quantum communication technologies and integrate them into existing communication networks in France. Orange said FranceQCI will capitalise on existing infrastructures in the Paris (ParisRegionQCI) and Nice (Quantum@UCA/Nice) areas to progress towards operational Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) services and contribute to the development of the European technological autonomy. A quantum network will also be implemented in Toulouse DGAC/DSNA/DTI lab to test an end-user service for the French Civil Aviation Authority. It will consist of exchanging simulated operational air traffic control data secured by QKD.

FranceQCI is composed of Airbus Defense and Space, Orange, Thales and Thales Alenia Space as leading industrial partners. Start ups Cryptonext Security, VeriQloud and WeLinQ are expected to provide the dynamism and creativity. The French civil aviation authority’s air traffic control service, Direction des Services de la Navigation Aérienne – DSNA, joins the project as a public institution to allow the consortium to test realistic use-cases. Researchers at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Sorbonne University, Université Côte d’Azur and Télécom Paris will build a training environment for all stakeholders in France including research staff, engineers, end-users from public and private entities.

G.Network, Xantaro and Nokia to prosecute PON in London trial

Nick Booth
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G.Network, Xantaro and Nokia to prosecute PON in London trial

Doing 25 Gbps in built up area

Broadband network builder G.Network and technology provider Xantaro are testing fibre broadband using Nokia 25G PON equipment in a bid to help the UK match more technically advanced countries such as Slovakia, Panama and Moldova, whose infrastructure is ranked higher by Speedtest data by Ookla. The pact between the two idealistic technology providers raises hopes that UK will one day have a genuinely high speed Internet. Though London is one of the most influential cities in the world its broadband speeds lag embarrassingly behind many countries in the developed world, with its data being outpaced by that traversing countries such as Liechtenstein, Malta and Latvia. Citizens of Romania can download data at an average 214 Mbps, while in parts of London such as Kingston Upon Thames, BT is charging for a 7Mbps service that regulator Ofcom allows it to market as high-speed broadband (see pic below).

Broadband supplier G.Network is hoping to change this through its role in the UK government’s Project Gigabit, claimed its CEO Kevin Murphy. By rolling out its full fibre network across 13 central London boroughs it says it can help ‘future-proof’ the capital. The Ookla figures suggest that the UK’s future has already materialised in the 46 countries ranked higher in the Speedtest league table. Some critics, including several former executives at former monopoly BT, say that the UK’s broadband market mechanism is broken and real network speeds have a long way to go to catch up with countries such as Romania. However, Murphy is optimistic for the future of UK broadband. “This test shows that our network can provide speeds that future generations of business will demand,” said Murphy.

Now G.Network is conspiring with Xantaro a specialist in planning and proofing high-performance networks. Together they’re testing whether Nokia’s 25G PON technology can satisfy the need for bandwidth among London’s businesses without service providers needing to resort to leased lines for special bandwidth intensive customers. The 25G test, carried out last month in central London demonstrated symmetrical speeds (both download and upload speeds) more than double those currently delivered on the same fibre using XGS-PON technology, said a Xantaro release.

Xantaro CTO Steve Kingdom said Nokia’s 25G technology is perfect for high-bandwidth consuming businesses in London and across the UK and this trial has proven that forward-looking network operators can bring next generation technology to companies across the country.

Nokia’s 25G PON service is a new optical module within the existing FWLT-C Multi-PON cards within the existing OLT (fibre access node), along with Nokia’s 25G PON ONU (fibre modem) at the end user.

“[This technology] provides key benefits over and above those provided by current networks,” said Nokia’s UK CEO Phil Siveter, “It has huge capacity and is simple to install into existing access technology used in exchanges, data centres, businesses and campuses.”  The UK’s broadband service providers would have no excuse not to boost the capacity of their existing fibre assets, seize high bandwidth opportunities and provide the scale needed for the future, Siveter argued.

“I’m pleased we’ve been able to demonstrate even higher symmetrical speeds on our FTTP network,” said G.Network’s CTO Paul Weir, “these high-bandwidth, symmetrical technologies are the smart alternative to expensive fibre leased-lines for London’s businesses, and prove that our existing network is future proof”.

This network speed was measured on April 21st, 2023 in Kingston, a London borough. BT claims this is broadband.

Meanwhile Xantaro said will continue to work with the more competitive alternative fibre providers across the UK, it said, because  25GS-PON technology can improve current services and deliver new service opportunities to both consumers and business markets.

Virgin Media O2 picks Mavenir for Open RAN

Annie Turner
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Virgin Media O2 picks Mavenir for Open RAN

The plan is to leverage existing assets with standardised tech

Virgin Media O2 has selected Mavenir to supply its Open RAN. The operator will work with Mavenir to roll out a scalable Open vRAN solution as part of its network evolution.

Mavenir will also be prime integrator, providing its Open virtualised RAN (Open vRAN) solution for sites on Virgin Media O2’s network.

Mavenir’s Open vRAN solution is cloud-native tech with containerised microservices for ease of deployment on any cloud, working on open interfaces supporting O-RAN Split 7.2x and Split 2.

Disaggregated COTS

It disaggregates into distributed and centralised units (DU and CU) which operate as containerised network functions running on commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware based on Intel processors.

The Mavenir solution supports multiple fronthaul splits simultaneously. It will consist of virtualised L1, L2 vRAN SW and will operate on Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, along with Intel vRAN Accelerator ACC100 and Intel 800 series Ethernet adapters.

It will feature Mavenir’s OpenBeam Radios including massive MIMO, third-party O-RAN based radio units (O-RU) for open fronthaul, network monitoring and optimisation.

Network digitalisation

Jeanie York, CTO at Virgin Media O2 (pictured), said, “Through digitalising our networks, we’re seamlessly integrating our infrastructure to get more value from our existing assets.

“Extending our collaboration with Mavenir to the RAN for the first time will help us establish a future-proof Open vRAN architecture, unlocking the benefits of a multi-vendor open interface while allowing us to rapidly benefit from an end-to-end network solution.”

Pardeep Kohli, President and CEO at Mavenir, added, “Mavenir OpenBeam radio portfolio fully complements Virgin Media O2’s full spectrum requirements and we look forward to playing an active role in unlocking network automation and openness in the RAN.”

Vodafone completes Alpine expansion phase for 4G and 5G early

Annie Turner
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Vodafone completes Alpine expansion phase for 4G and 5G early

99% of all homes and holiday properties are covered and 99.7% of populated areas

Vodafone says it completed its expansion in the German Alpine region faster than planned. In July 2022, Vodafone announced 115 construction projects in eight districts in the Alps to expand its network.

Now, nine months after the start, the projects complete, although in the end, 121 construction measures were implemented to make emergency calls easier and to send summit messages faster to enable selfies.

Mobile communications are important in the Alps for safety reasons and traffic in the region is growing by 35% annually, primarily driven by smartphone use.

Upgrades and new sites

Vodafone has now eliminated 22 4G dead spots, mainly through constructing new radio sites, and deployed 78 5G stations at existing sites. Overall, Vodafone has 416 cell sites in the Alpine region, providing coverage of 99.7% of the populated areas in the districts of Oberallgäu, Ostallgäu, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bad Tölz- Wolfratshausen, Miesbach, Rosenheim, Traunstein and Berchtesgadener Land.

Vodafone reaches more than 99% of households and holiday homes in the Alps but will continue its expansion “offensive” [translated from the German]. By the end of 2023, Vodafone will build 15 more “mobile data highways” including in Tittmoning (Traunstein District), Marktschellenberg and Teisendorf (Berchtesgadener Land District) and Pforzen (Ostallgäu District).

Expansion continues

Expanding the network in the Alps is a particular challenge due to the landscape and so a balance must be struck between nature conservation and mobile phone coverage. The stations are designed to blend into the landscape as harmoniously as possible with the Funkturm-Gesellschaft Vantage Towers working with municipalities, landlords and lessors.

Nagarro-Matrixx perform key-hole monetising operation for telcos

Nick Booth
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Nagarro-Matrixx perform key-hole monetising operation for telcos

Non-invasive BSS bypass

Merchandising expert Matrixx Software has formed a pact with digital engineering specialist  Nagarro to help comms service providers (CSPs) with customer lifecycle management, so they have a more mutually profitable relationship. The logic is that by digitising what they call ‘the entire customer journey’ more thoroughly, from the network to the users’ mobile app, there will be less chance of customers falling through the cracks, becoming disgruntled and being spirited away by avaricious competitors

The solution to this age-old customer loyalty problem is powered by Matrixx’s Digital Commerce Platform (DCP), a convergent charging and commerce system and Nagarro’s Telco Digital Platform (TDP) accelerator. The TDP as a pre-built digital customer journey all mapped out with an adjustable business workflow which Nagarro claims has had demonstrable success for two top Middle East operators. 

The digital customer lifecycle management solution can set up less than five months, which is a very short time in mobile network operator time and a huge achievement considering the fact that it involves fine tuning the digital business support system (BSS), albeit that of a new or existing telco brands.  This operation involves some very critical processes, such as for ‘subscriber onboarding’ (adding customers), meeting Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance requirements, SIM fulfilment and activation, service ordering, self-service, gifting and the instant imposition of usage and non-usage charges.

The framework of the system is modular and highly customisable, claims Matrixx, which is why it can integrate with olde worlde telco BSS applications through industry-standard application programming interfaces. This is the magic ingredient in the solution that cutsthe time and money needed for installation effort by half.

Digital telcos, brands and virtual network operators are starting realise they must bite the bullet and subject themselves to a major operation, according to Matrixx Software CEO Glo Gordon. However the Matrixx/Nagarro procedure is more akin to keyhole surgery rather than a invasive procedure that would put the telco into the operating theatre under general anaesthetic followed by a long period of recovery.

“Integrated solutions like [ours] reduce the risk for clients and expedite the installation,” said Gordon. Before you know it the patient is back on their feet adding new services to be and meeting their customers needs, Gordon said. “Telcos planning or pursuing their digital transformation initiatives need comprehensive solutions, which is why we partnered with Nagarro to help deliver a best-in-class customer experience.”

The clinical services of Nagarro’s TDP accelerator framework made the operation safer and more efficient. The design of TDP now embodies the Matrrixx DCP. Another important tool is the Nagarro mobile user app platform, which allows the telco’s customers to self-service easily, which is a major factor in improving the telco’s recovery time  so that it can back on the market talking to customers, finding out what they want  and offering them new services.

“By providing this framework to bring BSS applications together and integrate more easily, Nagarro and Matrixx are smoothing the path for digital CSPs to build stronger relationships with their customers,” said Nagarro MD Ananda Sen Gupta, “In this interconnected world, being able to rapidly bring stronger solutions helps CSPs stand out in a competitive landscape. Matrixx and Nagarro make that a reality.” 

T-Systems partners to demo manufacturing data ecosystem

Annie Turner
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T-Systems partners to demo manufacturing data ecosystem

Pulling together standardised elements for Industrie 4.0

T-Systems and the German Mechanical and Plant Engineering Association (VDMA in German) are linking their data spaces to show what a data ecosystem from the Manufacturing-X initiative could look like.

Manufacturing-X runs under the auspices of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the Ministry for Education and Research as part of the move towards Industrie 4.0.

The VDMA is contributing its universal machine technology interface (umati) initiative data space and T-Systems its Living Labs data space. T-Systems is responsible for the data exchange technology. Umati provides standardised production information from VDMA’s 300 or so partner companies.

T-Systems’ Living Lab hosts the development and testing of applications to analyse and evaluate this data.

Keeping control

The idea is to give companies transparency regarding production information along their supply chains and help generate added value, while the data’s owners retain data sovereignty at all times.


The collaboration is intended to further the implementation of data spaces and the implementation of the OPC Unified Architecture and associated industry-specific standards (OPC UA Companion Specifications).

Henrik Schunk Vice President, VDMA e.V. and Managing Partner at SCHUNK, said, “We want to get Manufacturing-X beating in the hearts of our companies: On the factory floor.

“With umati, we have already created a data space for standardised production data – our global language for production. This enables machines to directly exchange their data in Manufacturing-X across company boundaries without storing it centrally.”

Start a revolution

“Data spaces are revolutionising industry. Our initiative is among the first, and the market will really take off in 2023,” said Adel Al-Saleh, Deutsche Telekom Board of Management member and CEO of T-Systems.

He added, “T-Systems and VDMA are bringing together production data and applications on a large scale for the first time. Data spaces are both marketplace and factory. Data is exchanged and processed here. Apps independently obtain information, work with it and offer it again in marketplaces. In this way, we are opening the door to the industrialisation of data.”

Lumen tackles massive traffic growth with 400G IP transit ports 

Annie Turner
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Lumen tackles massive traffic growth with 400G IP transit ports 

Operator says the ports are launching on world’s most peered network which is more efficient, requiring fewer hops

Lumen Technologies continues to invest heavily in its network. First was the expansion of its US intercity dark fibre network, then the build out of its 400G wavelength network in the US and Europe.

Now it is one of the first global providers to launch 400G IP transit ports across its internet backbone network in the US and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Last November, Lumen announced it intended to divest its EMEA business to Colt for $1.8 billion. The transaction is still in the throes of gaining approvals from the relevant authorities.

Andrew Dugan, CTO at Lumen, commented, “Businesses that need IP transit are looking for efficient global internet routes connecting where data is and where it needs to go. Lumen’s highly peered AS3356 network can connect internet traffic sources and destinations with minimal network hops. Combining Lumen’s 400G transit ports with our 400G wavelengths well positions us in the IP transit market for delivering ultra-high bandwidth connections.” 

Lumen claims its AS3356 network is the number one peered network in the world based on data from CAIDA.org. Traffic on this network grew 38% year-over-year (YoY) in 2021 and 16% YoY in 2022. 

Expanding Lumen High Speed IP (HSIP) Service with 400G ports is designed to provide a more efficient way for content providers, hyperscalers, ISPs, as well as wholesale and gaming companies to support the growing bandwidth demands of their customers. 

In part, this is because it simplifies and reduces the need to bundle and manage multiple lower bandwidth ports. 

Lumen HSIP Service with 400G ports is available in eight markets now, with plans to roll it out “aggressively” in at least 12 more major throughout the US.and EMEA in 2023, and continue expansions in 2024. 

Cellcom trials ‘first of a kind’ 5G Standalone with RIC demo

Annie Turner
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0
Cellcom trials ‘first of a kind’ 5G Standalone with RIC demo

The pilot will deploy at five sites in Israel and conclude by the end of the year

Israeli mobile operator Cellcom Telecommunications and Parallel Wireless are to the launch what they claim will be the “first-of-a-kind” pilot of autonomous 5G standalone (SA) core sites in Israel.

Based on 5G SA tech, the trial comprises end-to-end Open RAN solution and will demonstrate a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) in action. The pilot is expected to finish before the end of this year.

If successful, the pilot will provide Cellnex with an open network architecture with the primary benefits of flexible network deployments and smoother upgrades.

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