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    Soracom announces new low-cost IoT plans for Europe 

    Simon Dux
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    Soracom announces new low-cost IoT plans for Europe 

    The IoT giant’s Plan X3-EU hopes to put a lid on data costs escalating quickly as IoT deployments scale

    Global IoT provider Soracom announced a new cellular data plan called Plan X3-EU, designed to provide low-cost coverage across Europe for high data consumption use cases. Plan X3-EU includes access to Soracom’s cloud-native platform services for managing SIMs, reducing data costs, transmitting to public cloud platforms, and accessing deployed devices remotely. 

    The IoT provider – that has been ramping up its activities globally since listing on the Tokyo exchange in March – has the backers to make a significant impact in the otherwise fragmented world of IoT. After joining Japan’s KDDI Group through M&A in August 2017, in June 2021 Soracom announced a further capital alliance including Hitachi, Nippon Gas, Sony Group, Sourcenext, SECOM CO and World Innovation Lab (WiL).   

    Plan X3-EU offers a range of bundle options to accommodate diverse data consumption requirements. Starting from an annual fee of €4.50, customers can access 25MB of data transmission per SIM per month, with subsequent monthly charges of €0.38 after the first year. Additional options include 100MB, 500MB, 1GB, and 3GB plans, each offering competitive pricing structures, according to the company. 

    High-use sweet spot 

    Soracom believes the sweet spot for the new service is where large telemetry data sets are sent to the cloud, major firmware updates are carried out over the air, devices transmit image and video data, substantial data points are needed for AI training and gateways and routers are used to backhaul aggregated device data. 

    “We know that data costs can escalate dramatically as IoT deployments scale,” said Soracom director of business development and head of carrier relations Ken Otsuki. “By delivering what we believe are some of the best IoT connectivity rates in Europe for high data use cases, Plan X3-EU accelerates IoT projects and supports success at scale.” 

    Plan X3-EU also includes bundled access to platform services designed to solve common challenges in IoT. Customers can further reduce data costs with Soracom’s innovative protocol conversion called Beam, transmit data directly to cloud functions, manage IoT devices remotely, and apply advanced security features. Beam reduces data and power needs related to encryption, allows connection to the cloud without relay servers or SDKs, and supports certificate management for a company’s entire IoT/M2M fleet. Even if a user’s low-power device supports only HTTP, Beam still lets them deliver HTTPS to cloud services as required. 

    In a region known for intense competition across a bewildering assortment of providers and plans, Soracom’s Plan X3-EU offers a simple, affordable solution for M2M devices and sensors. Plan X3-EU brings low-cost IoT together with reliable connectivity across Europe covering LTE-M, 4G and NB-IoT where available. 

    T-Mobile US to acquire most of UScellular in $4.4 billion deal 

    Simon Dux
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    T-Mobile US to acquire most of UScellular in $4.4 billion deal 

    Deal includes wireless operations and almost one-third of its spectrum assets across several frequency bands

    T-Mobile US has agreed to acquire the bulk of regional mobile operator UScellular in a $4.4bn deal that will see it gaining the wireless operations and around 30% of the much-prized spectrum assets across several frequency bands. The purchase price of $4.4 billion, includes a combination of cash and up to approximately $2 billion of assumed debt. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2025. 

    UScellular will retain its nearly 4,400 owned towers, its equity method investments, and approximately 70% of spectrum assets. As part of the deal, T-Mobile has entered into a new master licence agreement (MLA) and be a long-term tenant on at least 2,600 of UScellular’s towers. 

    T-Mobile gains access to 4.5 million retail customers in 21 states. The Chicago-based UScellular had 4,300 full- and part-time associates as of 31 March 2024. At the end of the first quarter of 2024, Telephone and Data Systems owned approximately 83 percent of UScellular. According to the two companies T-Mobile will use its greater resources to deliver benefits including “lower prices, more robust plans, superior network experiences, and more added benefits”. 

    T-Mobile customers will also get access to UScellular’s network in areas that previously had limited coverage and the benefit of enhanced performance throughout UScellular’s footprint from the addition of the acquired UScellular spectrum to T-Mobile’s network. 

    UScellular customers will have the option to stay on their current plans or move to an unlimited T-Mobile plan of their choosing with no switching costs, which include  “Un-carrier” benefits such as streaming and free international data roaming. Some will also have access to plans with increased savings previously not available to them, including T-Mobile’s 5G Unlimited 55+ plans.  

    Strategic review 

    The agreement follows a “thorough strategic review process” announced in August 2023 and has been unanimously recommended by the independent directors of UScellular, and approved by its board.  

    “This deal will create opportunity for T-Mobile to bring millions of UScellular customers lower prices and the Un-carrier’s superior value on our best-in-class nationwide 5G network, offering much needed choice and more real competition across the wireless industry,” said T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert. “Bringing together UScellular’s network resources with ours will enable us to fill gaps in connectivity that will create a better experience for all of our customers with more coverage and more capacity. And this is just some of the goodness this deal will bring.” 

    “The decisions we announced today are in the best interests of our customers and our shareholders. T-Mobile is the right partner for our wireless operations and will ensure that customers have access to best-in-class wireless speeds and performance, including 5G and a nationwide network, at compelling prices,” said UScellular CEO Laurent Therivel. “We are committed to serving the needs of our customers and supporting our associates as we work to complete the transaction.” 

    Tower continuity 

    In connection with the agreement, T-Mobile will enter into a new long-term MLA on a minimum of 2,015 incremental towers owned by UScellular and extend the lease term for the approximately 600 towers where T-Mobile is already a tenant. This will ensure continued, uninterrupted service for UScellular customers following the transaction and create a long-term contracted revenue stream from a strong anchor tenant for at least 15 years after the close of the transaction.  

    With the inclusion of the towers occupied by other existing third-party tenants, UScellular said its tower assets will represent one of “the largest and most attractive tower businesses in the United States”. 

    UScellular retains about 70% of its spectrum portfolio across several spectrum bands and will seek to monetise them. The operator also keeps substantial “equity method investment interests”, primarily from its wireless partnerships, which generated $158 million of equity method income and $150 million in distributions in 2023. 

    Jesús Romo, Americas Research Director, Telecoms Market Data & Intelligence at GlobalData, commented in a statement: “An important aspect of this announcement is what UScellular intends to keep in terms of assets. The company will retain 70% of its spectrum portfolio – a trove of assets that is most likely to be negotiated in the spectrum secondary market. UScellular aims to keep strategic mid-band frequencies, including licenses from the 3.45 GHz and C-Band, as well as mmWave capacity that could receive interest from FWA operators, a market now projected to exceed 20 million accesses by 2028, according to GlobalData’s estimates.”

    He added, “UScellular is also keeping its wireless towers and retaining T-Mobile as the main tenant for 15 years in over 2,600 sites, making UScellular a more prominent ‘towerco’ player in the US, a strategic sector to allow 5G network and densification across the country.”

     Other transaction details 

    T-Mobile expects to finance the transaction with existing cash on hand, and the consummation of the transaction is not subject to any financing contingencies. In connection with the transaction, T-Mobile expects to conduct an exchange offer under which holders of certain UScellular debt with a face value of approximately $2 billion will be offered the opportunity to participate in an exchange offer of their UScellular debt for T-Mobile debt.  

    T-Mobile does not expect the transaction to impact the company’s 2024 guidance or 2024 authorised shareholder return program. The operator said it expects this transaction will yield approximately $1 billion in effective total opex and capex annual run rate cost synergies upon integration, with total cost to achieve the integration currently estimated at between $2.2 billion to $2.6 billion. 

    The amount of any debt exchanged will serve to reduce the cash payable to UScellular. Up to $100 million of the cash purchase price is contingent on achieving certain financial and operational metrics between signing and closing. The purchase price is also subject to other potential adjustments, as specified in the purchase agreement. 

    Regulatory hurdles 

    The transaction is expected to close in mid-2025, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Given that it took T-Mobile 13 months to complete the Mint Mobile acquisition – which involved no spectrum assets or infrastructure – the regulators are going to be scrutinising this one very closely.  

    Needless to say, T-Mobile is extolling the competivie advantages of the deal from the outset. “This transaction will create a much-needed choice for wireless in areas with expensive and limited plans from AT&T and Verizon, and for those that have been limited to one or no options for home broadband connectivity,” the operator said in a statement.

    “By tapping into the additional capacity and coverage created through the combined spectrum and wireless assets, T-Mobile will spur competition and expand its fast-growing home broadband offering and fixed wireless products to communities without competitive broadband options.” 

    Ghana’s wholesale 5G network strategy springs surprises

    Annie Turner
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    Ghana’s wholesale 5G network strategy springs surprises

    A consortium of local of entities, plus the government, two major Indian companies, Nokia, Microsoft and others are providing the tech and know-how

    Last August, Ghana’s Minister of Communications and Digitalization announced the country would build a single 5G wholesale national network instead of auctioning spectrum to the country’s mobile operators. The plan is to make the network available to service provides using a Network-as-a-Service model in six months’ time, which looks mighty ambitious.

    At last year’s announcement, the Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful (pictured) said the “neutral shared infrastructure company” would deliver 4G and 5G services nationwide – fixed wireless access as well as mobile – to consumers and businesses, urban and rural. Ghana’s population is about 33 million. The services will be available to the three public network operators, but also to private companies. The Ministry said only about 15% of Ghanaians have signed up for 4G so far.

    Speed up, costs down

    The plan is to speed up deployment while keeping costs down. A version of this model was pioneered in Malaysia, with similar motivations. Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) was set up in March 2021 to build the network. It is a special-purpose vehicle company, owned by the country’s Ministry of Finance, working with the country’s six mobile operators. After months of strife, including accusations that DNB was secretive and rows about budget, the scheme ground to a halt in April.

    In Ghana, the authorities have awarded a consortium of local firms, the Next-Gen Infrastructure Company (NGIC), a licence to deploy and run the shared 5G infrastructure. It will reportedly invest $145 billion over the next three years.

    Telecel Ghana (formerly Vodafone Ghana is the second biggest operator with about 18% market share) and AT Ghana are both NGIC partners. AT Ghana (formerly Airtel Tigo) is the country’s third largest operator with a market share of about 13%. They will also be anchor tenants once the infrastructure is live.

    There is no indication that the country’s dominant operator, MTN Ghana (with a market share of about 67%) will be involved in the NGIC at this stage, but it looks like it will be obliged to use the infrastructure as no other 5G spectrum is to be released.

    Avoiding friction?

    This may or may not prove to be a good move, given the considerable friction between parties inside the Malaysian experience. Clearly the government is keen to avoid further ructions. MTN gained much of its superior market power that the others claim inhibits competition when it ended up with the lion’s share of the 4G market.

    The other NGIC partners include Ghana’s government. The African systems integrator Ascend Digital Solutions will own 55%. Its CEO, Harkirit Singh, who is also Executive Director at NGIC, commented, “We intend to gradually expand to other parts of Africa as well. We will tap the capital markets and bring in strategic investors as and when required.”

    Replicate, replicate

    While there is not a great deal of clarity around who is doing what exactly, there is mention of Microsoft and Nokia’s involvement, along with the local operator of teleport facilities for satellite, K-Net, plus Radisys which is part of the Indian Jio Platforms portfolio – and Jio knows a thing or two about rolling out infrastructure in record time.

    Its sister company, operator Jio clocked up 50 million subscribers in less than three months  after launching its 4G network in India in 2016, shattering all previous records. Furthermore, as Jio Platforms said in a press statement, like Ascend Digital, “the goal is to replicate this high-speed mobile data model across Africa, beginning with Ghana.” 

    This will be one to watch for its progress in Ghana itself, but also if the partnerships and model can translate easily to other African markets.

    Google invests in terrestrial-subsea cable linking Kenya to Australia

    Annie Turner
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    0
    Google invests in terrestrial-subsea cable linking Kenya to Australia

    The company announces additional cybersecurity collaboration with the government of Kenya

    Google continues its investment in Africa with the undersea cable, Umoja, to directly connect Africa and Australia. Umoja is Swahili for unity.

    The cable will start on a terrestrial route, starting in Kenya, then crossing Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa before traversing the bed of the Indian Ocean and landing in Australia (see graphic provided by Google).

    Google opened its first sub-Saharan African office in Nairobi in 2007. From that base, it has partnered many African governments on various digital initiatives. In 2021, Google pledged to invest $1 billion in Africa over five years on initiatives to improve connectivity, invest in startups and help the continent’s digital transformation.

    The company has invested more than $900 million so far and says it expects to achieve its investment target by 2026.

    Power of partnerships

    Umoja’s overland route was constructed in partnership with Liquid Intelligent Technologies (LIT), a subsidiary of Cassava Technologies. The pan-African network operator and techco has a presence in 21 countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Its fibre broadband infrastructure spans more than 110,000 km.

    It also provides wholesale cloud and cyber security solutions to public and private enterprises and SMEs via strategic partnerships with global players.

    Strive Masiyiwa, Chairman and Founder of LIT, was quoted in a blog by Google’s Brian Quigley, VP, Global Network Infrastructure, Google Cloud, stating” “Africa’s major cities including Nairobi, Kampala, Kigali, Lubumbashi, Lusaka, and Harare will no longer be hard-to-reach endpoints remote from the coastal landing sites that connect Africa to the world.

    “They are now stations on a data superhighway that can carry thousands of times more traffic than currently reaches here. I am proud that this project helps us deliver a digitally connected future that leaves no African behind, regardless of how far they are from the technology centres of the world.”

    Agreement with Kenya

    Google has announced a second major project: it will sign a Statement of Collaboration with Kenya’s Ministry of Information Communications and The Digital Economy. The plan is to accelerate joint efforts in cybersecurity, data-driven innovation, digital upskilling and “responsibly and safely deploying AI for societal benefits”.

    As part of the collaboration, Kenya’s Department of Immigration & Citizen Services is evaluating Google Cloud’s CyberShield solution and Mandiant expertise to strengthen itseCitizen platform. CyberShield is designed to help governments build cyberthreat capabilities, protect web-facing infrastructure and help teams develop skills and processes for security operations.

    According to a report by the International Finance Corporation of Washington DC, cited by Google, between 2021 and the end of 2023, the company’s products and services provided more than $30 billion in economic activity across sub-Saharan Africa.

    Africa’s internet economy has the potential to grow to $180 billion by 2025, equivalent to 5.2% of the continent’s GDP, according to the same analysis.

    open eir opts for Comarch’s field service management to augment OSS

    Annie Turner
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    open eir opts for Comarch’s field service management to augment OSS

    Ireland’s biggest wholesale operator is looking to become end users’ network of choice

    open eir is upgrading customer experience in a bid to establish itself as users’ preferred network. The operator is Ireland’s largest supplier of wholesale broadband, data facilities, voice, international and managed communication services.

    It supplies products and services to more than 60 national and international wholesale customers across a range of regulated and unregulated markets.

    Better management of its 1,000 strong workforce in the field is at the centre of the operator’s modernisation. Open eir’s 1, field technicians provision and repair on all the networks, including copper, FTTC and FTTH infrastructure.

    Field force

    It opted for Comarch Field Service Management (FSM) platform to work with the OSS which handles thousands of orders daily. The new platform is designed to assign and manage the field force more efficiently.  It should also help reduce lead times to meet customers and allow users to track field technicians in real time and reschedule appointments themselves.

    The Comarch solution includes mobile apps, a geographic information system, augmented reality and secure data that ultimately are expected to boost end users’ end-user satisfaction.

    Brian Chapman, CIO at eir Ireland, said, “Our general strategy is to develop bespoke software solutions tailored to meet our unique business needs. We engage with partners only when they offer a compelling, industry-leading product that aligns perfectly with our business requirements.

    “Comarch has proven their capability to meet these criteria through our thorough RFP process. We are eager to collaborate on implementing their solution, which promises to enhance FSM capabilities at open eir and improve the customer experience we provide.”

    Polish Open Fiber (PŚO) launches bitstream access to its HFC network 

    Simon Dux
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    Polish Open Fiber (PŚO) launches bitstream access to its HFC network 

    By doing so, the wholesale carrier adds 3.8m households to its current addressable market of 400,000 FTTH customers

    Wholesale fibre network operator Polski Światłowód Otwarty (PŚO) has rolled out bitstream access (BSA) across its HFC network and has confirmed the first retail subscribers are already using the network. 

    While the operator has been offering BSA on its fibre network, which reaches 400,000 households, the HFC BSA service increases the telco’s reach but around 3.4 million households. By introducing BSA, it means retail operators can gain access to both networks making the technical integration far easier given they will be able to connect to the HFC network in the same way and with the same equipment as to PŚO’s FTTH network. 

    Last July, PŚO – part-owned by Iliad’s Polish mobile operator Play – raised PLN5.13bn (US$1.25bn) to upgrade from HFC to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and expand its network footprint. The investment programme is aiming to increase the current footprint to more than six million – and remain open access. The existing PŚO network covers households in 14 provinces and almost 200 municipalities in Poland. 

    The new BSA service solves the conundrum of what to do on the HFC network in the meantime. Now, retail providers can manage their own IP addresses meaning they can roll out IPTV and VoIP services with PŚO.  

    “We started work on implementing the BSA model on the HFC network almost a year ago,” said PŚO CTO Krzysztof Sidor. “The biggest challenge was to develop a way to efficiently serve consumer lines in a standard specific to the HFC network. This meant not only preparing a network solution, but also appropriate IT tools that automate the delivery and maintenance of such services.”  

    He added: “The tests we conducted showed that the solution works flawlessly and is of high quality. The operators we cooperate with will soon start using it.”  

    PŚO chief commercial officer, Michal Banasiuk said the operator wanted partners partners to feel no difference between using HFC and FTTH technology. “The launch of BSA simplifies access and service provisioning on the PŚO network. It allows the operator to use one API and the same points of contact for both technologies,” he said. “Order placement and processing also look identical, so the operator doesn’t even have to wonder whether it is activating the service on the FTTH or HFC network.” 

    He added: “At the same time, we are intensively upgrading our HFC infrastructure to the FTTH standard. At present, few subscribers need Internet access at speeds of up to 5Gbps, but we know this will change in the future. We will be ready for that future.” 

    Currently, most of PŚO’s HFC network allows subscribers to reach speeds of up to 1Gbps. On the FTTH network, thanks to XGS-PON, PŚO offers access speeds of up to 5Gbps. Last month PŚO added 12,811 new households from 29 localities to its FTTH network. The operator also upgraded its HFC network to FTTH in 48,601 households. By 2028, it plans to expand by two million new households to eventually cover more than six million. Currently, there are already more than 3.8 million households in its footprint.  

    Belgian consumers are seeing cheaper mobile prices 

    Simon Dux
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    Belgian consumers are seeing cheaper mobile prices 

    Belgium is the latest market to demonstrate that in stark contrast to other sectors like energy, telecoms pricing has not increased and in many cases has fallen

    The Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT) is the latest regulator to produce a report showing that consumers in the telecom sector have benefitted from lower pricing over the past five years despite inflation-driven price rises in most countries last year.  

    The telecoms sector is now one of the few sectors that can clearly demonstrate favourable market conditions for consumers, in contrast to energy, food and transportation to name a few. This comes at a time when the ROCE (return on capital employed) of ETNO members has almost halved in the recent past: in 2017 ROCE was 9.1%, while in 2022 it was 5.8%, signalling that it is increasingly difficult for European telcos to generate adequate returns on their investment. 

    The BIPT examined the price evolution of mobile subscriptions between January 2019 and January 2024 on the basis of ten consumer profiles differentiated in terms of their mobile data needs. 

    From 2021 to 2024, the price of the cheapest subscription for consumers with data needs of 1, 2 or 5GB remained stable at €15 per month. For users with data needs of at least 10GB per month, cheaper subscriptions will be available in 2024 than in 2019. For 10GB per month, consumers had to pay at least €27 five years ago, while the cheapest subscription for this cost only €15 euro in January 2024. 

    The minimum price for a subscription with at least 20GB per month has dropped significantly from €39 in 2019 to €15 in 2024. For a 100GB data requirement, the minimum price fell from €50 per month in 2021 to €39 in 2024. 

    Similar story in the UK 

    In January UK regulator Ofcom pointed out that inflation-plus price formulas led to some customers experiencing large price rises in 2023. However, it added that average broadband and mobile prices have fallen in real terms in the last five years. Ultrafast promoted prices reduced by 15% and superfast list prices reduced by 13%. Average list and promoted prices for standard broadband dual-play bundles decreased by 5% and 9% respectively. 

    The average monthly price of mobile phone services, excluding handset costs, fell by 33% in real terms the five years to 2023, despite average data use having increased by 249% over this period. 

    Belgium’s increasing competition 

    BIPT found that virtually all brands offer subscriptions with significantly more mobile data than five years ago. However, prices still vary considerably from brand to brand, with a clear gap between secondary and premium brands. 

    In 2021, subscriptions for consumers with very high data requirements (from 100GB) have appeared on the market, with prices falling in recent years. For data requirements of around 10GB and 200 GB, the minimum amount has fallen from €50 per month in 2021 to €39 and €47 respectively in 2024. However, the choice remains due to the limited number of brands offering such data volumes.  

    Secondary brands – the low-cost brands launched by the larger telcos – are not present in this segment. In January 2024, consumers needing at least 200GB could choose between only two brands. 

    Digi arrival is anticipated 

    The major operators have already anticipated the arrival of the fourth network operator Digi by launching secondary brands such as Scarlet, Mobile Vikings and hey! Although price indexations are still happening, they are often part of a “more for more” strategy, with an increase in data volumes.  

    Despite the favourable evolution for Belgian consumers, BIPT concludes there is still room for improvement. The regulator’s international price study in December 2023 showed that Belgium is still significantly more expensive than its neighbours in terms of both limited (up to 10GB) and very high data packages (from 100GB).  

    Xavier Niel mulls acquiring LatAm mobile operator Millicom for $4.1bn

    Annie Turner
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    0
    Xavier Niel mulls acquiring LatAm mobile operator Millicom for $4.1bn

    French billionaire’s group is the operators biggest shareholder but a rise of 33% in Millicom’s share price this year also ups the ante in financing the deal

    French telecom billionaire Xavier Niel is considering the acquisition of Millicom International Cellular. Niel’s group is already Millicom’s biggest shareholder with a 29% stake, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group, cited by a Reuters report. Millicom provides telecom services in Latin America through its TIGO brand (see graphic below).

    The report says Neil is investigating finance options for an offer price of $24 per common share which would value Millicom at $4.1 billion (€3.788 billion). The transaction would be through Atlas Investissement, which is a wholly-owned unit of Neil’s NJJ Holding which, in turn, owns the stake in Millicom.

    Niel’s possible move was reported originally by Bloomberg News which suggested that rises in Millicom’s share price could make it harder for Niel to finance the deal: Millicom’s shares have gained about 33% this year.

    Official confirmation

    After reports in the media, Atlas issued a statement saying, “In light of media reports, Atlas Investissement announces that it is exploring a potential all cash tender offer for Millicom securities. In connection with such preliminary efforts, Atlas is exploring financing options to support an offer price of 24.0 USD per common share, and its SEK equivalent per SDR.”

    Millicom, which has its headquarters in Luxembourg, also put out an official statement: “The Board of Directors of Millicom International Cellular confirms that it received today a non-binding expression of interest from one of its shareholders, Atlas Luxco… The Board of Directors will carefully review any offer, should one be made. There is no certainty that a transaction will materialize nor as to the terms, timing or form of any potential transaction.”

    Long term goal

    Niel’s Luxembourg-based telecom firm was said to be in talks with Apollo Global Management and Claure Group about a potential bid for Millicom last year. During the discussion, Niel upped his stake in Millicom.

    The talks ended in June 2023.

    Niel has telecoms investments in nine countries in Europe with nearly 50 million active subscribers combined and more than 10 billion euros of revenues, Atlas said.

    Atlas Investissement said it was independent of Iliad Group and Iliad Holding.

    The billionaire is the founder and owner of Iliad, which has opcos in Poland (through the Play brand), France and Italy (under the Free brand).

    Telefónica, Vodafone and Masorange to share 700MHz for rural 5G

    Annie Turner
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    0
    Telefónica, Vodafone and Masorange to share 700MHz for rural 5G

    This first such agreement between the major players will deliver greater spectral efficiency and speed, as well as keep costs down

    Telefónica, Vodafone and Masorange have reached a milestone agreement to improve 5G rural coverage by sharing their collective 30MHz in the 700MHz band. This frequency is best suited to wide coverage from a single antenna and indoor coverage.

    This is according to the Spanish newspaper Expansión [subscription needed]. Their intention is to make network deployment more efficient and less costly. It is also a reflection of the recent and ongoing shifts in the Spanish market.

    Masorange is the merger of MasMovil and Orange, while Vodafone is in the throes of exiting the market, selling its business and assets to Zegona Capital.

    The newspaper article notes that agreements to share resources are common in offering services across fibre infrastructure. Sharing has been agreed previously in mobile, but never by the three main players.

    The three will act on this agreement in areas covered by the government’s Unique Active Networks (Unico Redes Activas) programme, backed by the European Union. It subsidises the high cost of rolling out coverage to populations of 10,000 or fewer.

    The operator that rolls out the network within such an area can exploit the spectrum of all three players to guarantee throughput of at least 100Mbps, as stipulated by the government. The maximum speed, in theory, from combing the spectrum is 450Mbps.

    Europe’s smartphone shipments finally grow again 

    Simon Dux
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    0
    Europe’s smartphone shipments finally grow again 

    Samsung regained top spot from Apple in Q1 2024 after the S24 launch but low-cost handsets are also taking market share

    Europe’s smartphone shipments finally returned to growth in Q1 2024, increasing by 10% YoY, according to Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor Service. This marked the region’s first YoY increase in shipments since Q3 2021, suggesting the worst is over – for handsets at least, but 5G core equipment makers are still facing “an ominous downward trend”.  

    However, handset shipments were still well below pre-pandemic levels, and given that Q1 2023 witnessed the lowest shipments in Europe for over a decade, market growth should be treated with caution for the year ahead. 

    “The European market is showing signs of a recovery and consumer confidence is improving, helped by some interesting innovations around on-device AI,” said Counterpoint associate director Jan Stryjak. “But we are not out of the woods yet. Although we expect the market to grow by low single digits for the rest of 2024, this is still off the back of an extremely poor 2023, and we do not expect to return to pre-pandemic levels anytime soon.” 

    Stryjak said it was “heartening” to see the European market finally return to growth, although one should not get too excited given how poor 2023 was. “Nevertheless, macroeconomic conditions in the region are improving, and some impressive new devices, especially from the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi and Honor, have brought renewed optimism to the market,” he said.  

    “In particular, Samsung saw a return to form in Q1 2024, with its popular Galaxy S24 series helping it register YoY growth in shipments for the first time since Q4 2021. Elsewhere, Honor’s relentless march saw it overtake Oppo to capture the fifth position for the first time, while Transsion’s sub-brand Tecno grew significantly in Eastern Europe.” Transsion has in fact overtook Apple in the process.  

    Market in detail 

    Counterpoint found that Samsung’s 7% YoY in Q1 2024, ending a run of declines going back to Q4 2021. Samsung’s AI-powered S24 series was very well received, and the brand’s new A35 and A55 smartphones launched towards the end of the quarter should carry momentum into Q2. In Central and Eastern Europe, Samsung regained the number one spot from Xiaomi for the first time since Q1 2022. 

    Apple’s shipments declined by 1% YoY as iPhone 15 sales continued to tail off due to seasonality. With no iPhone SE expected in 2024, shipments should continue to drop until the launch of the iPhone 16 later in the year. 

    Xiaomi’s shipments grew by 11% YoY, continuing its recovery following a “difficult few years”. Xiaomi did especially well in Western Europe, particularly in Spain and Italy, largely due to the new Redmi Note 13 series. However, Xiaomi struggled in Central and Eastern Europe, where the growth of Samsung and Tecno led to the brand’s share dropping to its lowest since Q1 2022. 

    Realme’s shipments rose 59% YoY, driven by growth in Western Europe and a sharp rebound in some of its key markets such as Italy and Spain. realme also registered growth in Central and Eastern Europe, especially in Turkey, Ukraine and Hungary – essentially recovering much of the share it lost in early 2023. Its C series smartphones continued as bestsellers, although the new realme 12 also had an impact. 

    Honor registered a 67% YoY growth in shipments, overtaking Oppo to take fifth position in Europe for the first time. This was driven by Western Europe where its shipments more than doubled over the year thanks to some impressive new devices including the Magic V2, Magic 6 and Honor 90. This was Oppo’s first time outside the top 5 since Q2 2020 and Counterpoint put this down to its legal struggle with Nokia and the ongoing rise of Honor. 

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