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    UK fibre overbuild now reaches 7 million premises 

    Simon Dux
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    UK fibre overbuild now reaches 7 million premises 

    As BT’s Openreach accelerates its FTTP to 946k homes in Q1, fixed broadband overbuild in the UK is almost getting like Spain

    In its latest UK fixed broadband availability numbers, analysts Point Topic has found that two or more FTTP networks now covered 7m UK premises in Q1 2024. At the same time, 0.8m were covered by three or more fibre networks. The inevitable risk to altnet business models is palpable given that the incumbent Openreach has actually accelerated its full fibre rollout in Q1 hitting 946,000 additional FTTP premises, compared to 917,000 added in Q4 2023, which resulted in Point Topic’s total recorded Openreach FTTP footprint of 12.9 million premises, up 7.9% quarter-on-quarter. 

    A new report from strategic consultancy firm Eight Advisory highlights the problem for UK altnets which are shifting from building networks to filling them with end customers – otherwise known as penetration and expressed as a “take-up” percentage KPI. Growing penetration over time is a key contributor to achieving profitability. 

    Eight Advisory found that Altnet networks have, apart from CityFibre with TalkTalk and Vodafone and a couple of altnets which supply TalkTalk, been unable to break into this significant route to market. The result of this is that FTTP take-up of the different altnets in the UK market is on average 16% (roughly half of BT Openreach) with ranges from 5 to 30% based on network maturity. 

    Wholesale model isn’t healthy 

    The UK consumer broadband market is highly concentrated on five big ISPs, four of which buy wholesale broadband from Openreach. One of the issues identified by the consultancy is that the proliferation of multiple small networks makes it costly and complex for the larger ISPs to work with altnets. The much-anticipated consolidation and the integration of networks and IT systems may provide a clearer route for larger ISPs. 

    As a result they conclude that the combination of significant capital expenditure to build networks , highly competitive “overbuild” in specific geographical areas and low take-up in the UK is unlike other European countries – although Spain would beg to differ here. “The situation is unsustainable and will be resolved by M&A and restructuring,” said Eight Advisory.  

    Point Topic estimates the total Altnet combined footprint to be 11.5m premises so not far behind BT Openreach but with around half the penetration. CityFibre covers 3.2m homes and of the top five ISPs serves only Vodafone and TalkTalk which represents up to 25% of the total retail market (including altnets). 

    One light at the end of the tunnel will be the arrival of Virgin Media O2 in the wholesale market. The operator is not an open access network yet although it has announced plans to do so in 2025. This is a significant change from operating a closed cable network serving only Virgin Media retail. With a total of 4m full fibre homes to date and rapid growth Eight Advisory believes this could in time have quite a significant impact on the UK wholesale market, especially if some of the larger ISPs also join their network. 

    No stopping Openreach 

    In the meantime, with access to 80% of the consumer broadband market by base size compared to c25% of its next nearest competitor, Openreach leads with 32% average take-up across its network. Eight Advisory point out that BT also stated that its earliest FTTP cohorts are now at 50% penetration and rising, while newer cohorts are following a similar trend. It is likely that many other altnets will see a similar mixed take-up view across their footprint. 

    All upgrades, migrations, speed regrades, and new customers should end up on a fibre service. BT claim 62% migration of lines to FTTP within 3 years of the new network going live (a faster take-up rate than they expected) or 50% within just 20 months.  

    Contrast that with the longer established altnets which report average take-up across their networks of around 30% with fluctuations impacted by changes in rollout speed and some churn. “Hyperoptic and Gigaclear show that convincing people to move to a full fibre service takes a long time and consistent marketing effort,” states Eight Advisory. “As with the longer established altnets, in established footprint take-up can be much higher. In Stirling, CityFibre state their penetration has exceeded 23% and in Milton Keynes, its most mature network footprint, penetration has now passed 27%. As with any average, some areas will be lower.”  

    Helpfully, Eight Advisory will soon publish a Part 2 document on what altnets can do about the creeping doom some must be feeling.  

    Point Topic said Openreach full fibre now covers 40.3% of all UK premises, up from 37.4% three months earlier. In turn, the decline in the number of Openreach ADSL, FTTC and G.fast only premises has speeded up – their number went down by 944,000, compared to 915,000 in Q4 2023. Once again, the largest decline (-799,000 premises) was in FTTC only coverage, as this technology is being replaced by FTTP. Non-fibre platforms still covered 18.7 million premises in the UK, with this number having decreased by 4.8% in Q1 2024. 

    UK market has been transformed 

    According to Point Topic, at the end of Q1 2024, the overall FTTP coverage in the UK was 20.7m premises (64.7% of the UK total). This metric was up by 6.5% compared to Q4 2023. 

    In Q1 2024, the largest number of FTTP premises added was in Glasgow (+24.5k), Birmingham (+24k), Buckinghamshire (+20k), and Pembrokeshire (+20k). Among the FTTP altnets with at least 100,000 premises, Point Topic recorded the highest quarterly growth in premises passed FW Networks (+90%), Grain Connect (+59%) and nexfibre (+54%). Across the UK, 19% of premises still lacked gigabit access, down from 21% three months earlier. 

    Government plans to stop cryptocurrency mining in Norway

    Annie Turner
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    Government plans to stop cryptocurrency mining in Norway

    Ministers believe crypto-mining is not socially beneficial, regulated or green – and this is the first such step by a government in Europe

    Norway’s Digitisation Minister, Karianne Tung, and Energy Minister Terje Aasland are introducing a law that will regulate the data centre industry, making it the first country in Europe to pass such legislation.

    A report on the Norwegian news website VG explains the intention is to separate data centres that are “socially beneficial from climate-damaging crypto-mining projects”.

    The Ministers are aware that data centers are increasingly important to Norwegian infrastructure and digitalisation, but the government wants more control over them.

    The law will oblige data centres to submit information including identifying the person who is managing each centre and which services the centre offers. Minister Aasland said that this information should enable local politicians in municipalities to make better decisions about whether to allow data centres to set up in their areas.

    Minister Tung reportedly said, “The purpose is to regulate the industry in such a way that we can close the door on the projects we do not want,” adding “The government does not want such cryptocentres” because they are associated with large emissions of greenhouse gas and bring little social benefit. Also, while the industry is not regulated, but it should be possible control the data centres they rely on for mining.

    In 2023, the Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen wrote that ‘crypto-processing centres in the north of the country use almost as much electricity as the famous Lofoten archipelago (pictured), also in the north.

    Tung said Norway needs data centres for digitalisation and data storage on Norwegian soil, particularly in the light of the current security situation. But insists the government needs more accurate information regarding the amount of cryptocurrency mining that takes place in Norway’s data centres.

    Automation in telco, media, and entertainment – Document by Red Hat

    admin
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    IoTco Pairpoint and Sensos run pilot to address supply chain fraud

    Annie Turner
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    IoTco Pairpoint and Sensos run pilot to address supply chain fraud

    Pairpoint is a global platform for the “Economy of Things (EoT)”, owned by Vodafone and Sumitomo – supply chain fraud is a growing problem

    Pairpoint is partnering Sensos, which was founded by Sony Semiconductors and specialises in solutions for supply chains, to combat the growing problem of supply chain fraud. Pairpoint is a global IoT platform – or as the marketing would have it, Economy of Things (EoT) platform – owned by Vodafone and Sumitomo Corporation.

    Sensos’ management solution working with Pairpoint’s EoT platform will enable logistics companies to track their goods securely at every stage of the supply chain.

    Pairpoint’s secure technology overlays Sensos’ real-time supply chain management solution through the Pairpoint-enabled iSIM and device agent software embedded into a smart label.

    Every logistical transaction, from port of departure to final deliveries – is then verifiable, transparent and resistant to tampering, helping to combat fraud and improve trust across the supply chain ecosystem.

    Goods are then authorised to make automated payments using blockchain technology and smart contract capabilities.

    The approach is designed to enhance security and reliability, as well as driving operational efficiency and cost savings for businesses across multiple industries.

    Unilog pilot

    The combined solution is being piloted in cooperation with the global logistics operator Unilog, part of the ICL Group, at several sites in US and Europe. It is automating logistic transactions, streamlining proof-of-delivery processes and facilitating asset sharing through smart contracts.

    Jorge Bento, CEO of Pairpoint, said, “There are billions of parcels and pallets operating across supply chains, and this partnership has huge potential to make them intelligent and equipped for e-commerce through globally connected cellular labels and the Pairpoint platform.”

    Aviv Castro, CEO of Sensos, said: “This collaboration represents a major step towards a more resilient and trustworthy supply chain ecosystem. By integrating Pairpoint’s blockchain technology with our AI-powered control tower, we are empowering businesses with unprecedented security over their supply chains, and by proxy granting them more business agility that translates into bottom line savings.”

    Telefonica Germany moving 5G subscribers onto AWS-based core this month

    Annie Turner
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    Telefonica Germany moving 5G subscribers onto AWS-based core this month

    It is the first time an established mobile operator has moved its core network to the public cloud – and a breakthrough for AWS in Europe

    Reuters reports that Telefonica Germany will move 1 million 5G customers onto AWS’ cloud later this month. It describes AWS’ action as “a bold move by the US online retailer to break into the global telecoms market”. No financial details about the arrangement have been disclosed.

    The report adds, “While some telecom networks have moved IT and other non-core operations to the public cloud, the move by the subsidiary of Spanish group Telefonica is a global first where an existing mobile operator is switching its core network to a public cloud”.

    Telefonica Germany has 45 million customers.

    Rao’s roadmap

    Mallik Rao, CTIO at Telefonica Germany (which operates under the O2 Telefonica brand), is quoted by Reuters saying, “I want to see it working for at least one to two quarters and have a roadmap to move at least 30-40% of my customer base by 2025-2026”.

    An interview with FutureNet World earlier this year shows how Rao has always seen cloud as the way to compete against the incumbent Deutsche Telekom and other rivals in Germany since he took up his post in 2019.

    AWS and O2 Telefonica did not disclose financial details of the deal. The move to public cloud is intended to reduce operating costs, make scaling easier and enable repairs and maintenance without disrupting services.

    Role for Nokia

    The US’ DISH Networks is unique in that it built its core mobile network from scratch on AWS in 2021. Nokia worked with DISH and AWS on that implementation, and will provide software to help Telefonica Germany with its core network deployment on AWS’ cloud.

    This is a salve for Nokia which lost out to Ericsson when AT&T awarded the Swedish vendor a contract worth up to $14 billion at the end of last year, replacing Nokia. Telefonica Germany originally worked with Ericsson and AWS before switching to Nokia to work with the cloudco.

    Evidence grows that consumers are warming to AI in their handsets 

    Simon Dux
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    Evidence grows that consumers are warming to AI in their handsets 

    ‘AI-less’ Apple still holding its own as consumers warm to AI hype, but for how long?

    Smartphone sales in Europe, the US, and Australia experienced significant growth in Q1 2024, indicating robust demand across all markets, according to analyst firm Kantar. In Europe’s top 5 markets, France, Germany, and Great Britain all experienced double digit % growth. Apple’s iPhone15 remains the top selling model, accounting for 5% of all smartphones sold.  

    Meanwhile, Samsung remains the top selling Android brand, with the Galaxy S24 series accounting for 6% of all sales. Honor experienced strong growth in France and Spain. Xiaomi was number 1 in Spain, up +4% share YoY. Overall, for Europe, the top 5 handsets were iPhone 15, Galaxy A14 5G, Galaxy A54, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 13.  

    Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series, featuring artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, resonated well with consumers, contributing to Samsung’s continued dominance in the Android market. Kantar, with its ComTech consumer mobile phone tracking panel, has already started tracking the trend of how consumers are becoming more receptive to AI messages from their suppliers and it looks like although consumers don’t really understand what is and isn’t AI-based on their handsets, they are willing to give operators and handset manufacturers the benefit of the doubt on AI-based features.  

    What impact has AI had on consumer behaviour? 

    Samsung announced that ‘Galaxy AI is here’ alongside the launch of the Galaxy S24 Series in January. Apple is rumoured to be partnering with Google to embed Gemini AI into iPhones – or is imminently signing up OpenAI as a partner, depending on who is spinning the stories. Kantar said it already sees AI contributing to brand loyalty and improved ASPs. 

    Across the European 5 and USA, 24% of Galaxy S24 series buyers cite ‘AI’ as a key reason why they chose their phone. Amongst consumers that are driven to purchase by AI, 27% are Gen Z; hardly surprising, say Kantar, as current AI use cases largely align with this highly sought after demographic, from circling a desired product in a TikTok video, to condensing notes scribed in a university class. 

    It looks like convincing consumers of the benefits that AI can bring will help manufacturers and operators acquire more valuable consumers, too. Kantar’s research indicates that Galaxy S24 buyers who identified AI as a key reason for their choice were more likely to have owned a previous Samsung device vs those that were not influenced by AI, (93% vs 87%). As smartphone sales growth remains restricted, installed base retention is more important than ever. AI is also driving higher ASPs, with 70% of AI-interested consumers spending €800+ on their device, versus 55% of those for whom AI was not relevant. 

    “Following a sustained period of stalled hardware innovation, AI will be the next differentiator for smartphone manufacturers,” said Kantar ComTech global consumer insights director Jack Hamlin. “The technology presents two distinct growth opportunities. Firstly, driving greater volume and value of smartphone sales. Secondly, through monetising the installed base via subscriptions to access unique capabilities.”  

    All eyes on Apple at WWDC 

    While Apple indicated the smartphone market had stabilised in its recent Q3 results, CEO Tim Cook was name-dropping AI into his commentary raising expectations that something may be announced at the company’s WWDC in June. He told investors the company wasn’t planning to build new data centres to run or train AI models and would instead stick to a “hybrid” approach similar to how it manages clouds services.  

    He was also at pains to emphasise AI will impact all of Apple’s products, not just iPhones. “I think AI – generative AI and AI – both are big opportunities for us across our products, and we’ll talk more about it in the coming weeks,” he said. Apple obviously already utilises AI in the background to improve user experience – from smart battery utilisation to image stabilisation – but they no doubt want to avoid the mobile sales shop manager saying “That Samsung has AI, the iPhone doesn’t” given how receptive younger consumers are to such messaging.  

    On the digital personal assistant front, Siri trails alternatives and AI will only make this worse. Now, all big ecosystems are pressured to offer gen AI to their consumers or face them deserting to another brand. In addition, most bots are cloud-based as well in contrast to Siri. 

    4iG Group and REMRED begin work on satellite manufacturing centre 

    Simon Dux
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    4iG Group and REMRED begin work on satellite manufacturing centre 

    The 4,000 sqm facility in Martonvásár, Hungary, will design, manufacture, and test satellites and advanced space systems from 2026

    4iG Group and its subsidiary REMRED have laid the foundation stone of Hungary’s first space industry manufacturing centre that will manufacture, assemble, integrate and test satellites weighing up to 400kg, with modular technology.  

    Designed to meet the needs of domestic and international markets, 4iG said the space technology centre creates a centre of innovation, international cooperation and domestic knowledge base, with multiple links to education and R&D activities. It will also create 85 new, high value jobs. 

    In February, the telecom group established 4iG Space and Technology Zrt as a subsidiary, transferring its space and technology interests into the new company. The new unit was made responsible for managing all 4iG’s space and satellite manufacturing, autonomous aircraft development and manufacturing, drone defence, defence industry digitalisation services and business strategy of the companies. At the same time, 4iG acquired a 45% stake in Hungarian aerospace company REMRED.   

    The process transformed 4iG S&T Zrt. into a holding company, which directly owns the shares of 4iG Plc technology and aerospace companies, including Rotors and Cams, RAC Antidrone., Hungaro DigiTel., Spacecom, CarpathiaSat and REMRED.  4iG acquired Israeli company Spacecom in 2021 and in doing so, gained a satellite operator and service provider with a global coverage, consisting of four geosynchronous satellites, which provides its services in Hungary and the Central and Eastern European region via the AMOS 3 satellite. 

    The final frontier 

    The greenfield project will be supplied by an independent photovoltaic power station and will include a 1,500 sqm special laboratory with ISO8 and ISO5 certified clean-room technology. The facility also has a place for vibration, shock, mechanical, thermo-vacuum, climatic, EMC/EMI and acoustic testing systems. 

     “With the joint investment of 4iG Group and REMRED, we gain unique capabilities and infrastructure in Central Eastern Europe. As part of our technology and defence holding, space has the greatest growth potential, alongside 4iG Group’s traditional businesses, IT, and telecommunications,” said 4iG Group chairman Gellért Jászai.  

    “The services and satellite manufacturing capacity of the space technology center further strengthens the international presence of 4iG Group and develops new domestic and international partnerships. We can enter a manufacturing market that combines state-of-the-art equipment with the latest knowledge to produce cutting edge technologies.” he added.  

    “Our goal in the space industry is to build on our own engineering capabilities to develop new and unique space equipment and satellites, and to become strategic partners of the biggest satellite and space companies, as well as national and international space agencies,” said Dr István Sárhegyi, founder of REMRED, and CEO of the space industry and technology holding company of 4iG Group. 

    OSS – slotting in the last piece of operators’ digital transformation puzzle?

    Annie Turner
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    OSS – slotting in the last piece of operators’ digital transformation puzzle?

    Gabriele Di Piazza of Blue Planet talked to Annie Turner about addressing the challenges of OSS with a cloud native, multi-cloud solution

    The headline is a slight misquotation of a sentiment expressed by Enrique Blanco, Group CTIO of Telefonica. His opinion that OSS has been an exceedingly tough nut to crack has been echoed by Blanco’s counterparts and contemporaries at many other operators.

    In April, Blue Planet, a division of Ciena, launched an intelligent automation software portfolio, claiming its multi-cloud native OSS platform was the first-of-its-kind. With it, the company is claiming to have found the solution to resolve the many issues around established OSSs.

    The Blue Planet Cloud Native Platform uses Kubernetes (K8s) to support multiple, OSS applications, designed to allow operators to simplify and automate their OSS environments – a long-held aim that has proved highly elusive with many hugely expensive and time-consuming failures.

    As Francis Haysom, Principal Analyst at Appledore Research, put it, “…legacy OSS is a complex environment of highly customised, siloed systems that represent a constraint on growth and greater agility. The new Blue Planet Cloud Native Platform consolidates Blue Planet’s unique capabilities, telecom experience, and cloud-native vision, giving [communication service providers] CSPs a foundation for simplifying and modernizing their operations.”

    Why did it take so long to launch a multi-cloud, cloud native OSS platform?

    Gabriele Di Piazza, Vice President, Product Management, Alliances and Architectures at Blue Planet, said, “For the most part, the challenges of legacy OSS aren’t new, but are becoming more urgent as CSPs look to play a more central role in this cloud, AI-focused era. We want to deliver a common cloud native platform to CSPs and be this catalyst of transformation at this opportune moment.”

    To achieve this, Di Piazza explained that Blue Planet has consolidated multiple products, gained from acquisitions over the years including Cyan, PacketDesign, DonRiver and Centina. The new cloud-native platform is “a major enhancement to Blue Planet’s intelligent automation software portfolio that converges inventory, orchestration, and assurance applications on a single Kubernetes-based architecture,” he said.

    He stressed that this is not limited to the underlying K8s platform, also introducing cloud native elements like common user interface and user experience, and an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for low-code/no-code programmability and extensions.

    Other attributes are an “AI Studio” that allows CSPs to create or connect to existing AI models and pipelines. “We transitioned Blue Planet to a cloud-native platform in order to provide customers with a more powerful, reliable and thoroughly modern OSS solution that is…suited for their increasingly dynamic, complex, and cloudified networks and services,” he stated. “As CSP needs evolve, we are a step ahead of the competition, who are still aspiring to offer the cohesive cloud-native solution that Blue Planet can already deliver.”

    He claims that other, current OSS offerings don’t offer the same degree of integration, and most especially lack a common data model, and a unified user experience across inventory, orchestration and assurance.

    “They also aren’t as far along on the Kubernetes journey, which enables the Blue Planet Cloud Native Platform to be deployed in any cloud environment, including public, private and hybrid clouds, to reduce vendor lock-in, scale elastically and significantly improve operational scale, flexibility, and resilience,” Di Piazza continues. 

    How big does Blue Planet think this market is – who is it aimed at? 

    Blue Planet has big ambitions: “We want to change the OSS from being an inhibitor to a competitive advantage for CSPs and we see this as a key opportunity for Blue Planet,” he said.

    The platform is aimed at CSPs looking to, or in the process of, modernising their OSS. He thinks that over the past decade, part of the reason that CSPs’ revenue growth has stagnated is due to their legacy OSS.

    Di Piazza notes, “Adding services to these closed systems – which are built on outdated software architectures – requires expensive vendor-led development and integration, and creates new operational silos. Legacy OSS also relies on manual intervention for end-to-end service design, activation and assurance, which increases opex, limits scale and prevents CSPs from offering high value on-demand services.

    “Now, they need a modern OSS to overcome these limitations, delivery dynamic services, improve customer experience, generate new revenues, speed [return on investment] ROI on their significant 5G investments, and reduce opex.”

    In an era of disaggregation, isn’t this platform going against the tide by being tightly integrated?

    This is not an issue, Di Piazza reckons: “While the Cloud Native Platform converges inventory, orchestration and assurance, it is also open and modular, meaning that the products applications can be deployed independently. CSPs can address their most critical needs at their own pace, and…adopt additional Blue Planet applications in future.

    “In fact, it would not be really possible to talk about disaggregation without a cloud-native foundation that powers different microservices or individual components.” 

    He points out that cloud-native design supports the elasticity, portability and scale of the cloud, “and simplifies [CSPs’] evolution towards intent-driven automation from end-to-end. For us, convergence is a critical competitive differentiator,” he added.

    Network APIs are centre stage in telecoms. How are they being used here?

    The platform leverages northbound Open APIs, such as those from TM Forum and CAMARA the operator-led, Linux Foundation project, “for integrating with BSS and customer portals,” Di Piazza explained. “It also leverages Open APIs southbound, such as those from the Open Networking Forum, 3GPP, MEF, NETCONF and others to communicate with different network domains and layers. 

    Can we have some examples of new business models that the platform could enable, please?

    While he stresses that the platform can be used for automating any service, its open and modern design “makes it optimised for CSPs looking to embrace new ecosystem-based business models and deliver cloud-like, on-demand services to their customers,” he said.

    “We demonstrated that approach with Microsoft Azure at MWC in Barcelona and with Amazon Web Services (AWS) at re:Invent in Las Vegas last year. The demonstrations showcased how an end-customer request can be used to automate the creation of a dynamic network slice, as well as the instantiation of an edge-based application for a defined period of time.”

    He concluded, “In addition to accelerating innovation, and deliver a better customer experience, the Blue Planet Cloud Native Platform helps CSPs better monetise promising technologies like network slicing.”

    Proximus gains controlling stake in CPaaS firm Route Mobile

    Annie Turner
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    0
    Proximus gains controlling stake in CPaaS firm Route Mobile

    Communications Platform-as-a-Service is hitting its second wave, powered by network APIs, AI and other capabilities, moving away from its reliance on SMS and email

    Belgium’s Proximus Group completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Route Mobile, a global Communications Platform as a Service CPaaS company. Route Mobile is listed on the National Stock Exchange of India, one of the country’s largest, and the Bombay Stock Exchange, which is the oldest stock exchange in Asia.

    Proximus describes the acquisition as “a transformational step forward in the Group’s International strategy to become a worldwide leader in digital communications and digital identity”.

    CPaaS gets its second wind

    The CPaaS sector was overhyped then had a bumpy ride, not helped last October by Ericsson devaluing its acquisition Vonage by 50% (see market analysis in that piece) after less than two years after its purchase. It paid €6.2 billion for CPaaS firm in November 2021, to widespread surprise.

    As CPaaS moves away from its first generation that relied heavily on bulk emails and SMS, it appears to be increasingly in vogue: in October last year, Fazil Balkaya, Principal Analyst of Synergy Research Group, said, “We are at a pivotal point of the CPaaS market where usage and API-based interactions can prove further value during the current macroeconomic conditions. The CPaaS market maintains a strong double-digit growth and the market is poised to exceed $10 billion run rate in 2025.”

    This was underlined earlier this month when Infobip and Nokia announced they are partnering to enable the global developer community to leverage both companies’ API platforms. The aim is to build a wider array of telco applications faster for consumer, wholesale and enterprise customers, powered by the network.

    Major enabler

    The operator group says that the Route Mobile transaction is “a major enabler for Proximus Group’s international strategy, expected to generate substantial value, improve the overall risk profile of the Group and drive profitable growth and cash generation”.

    It points out that its US-based affiliate Telesign, acquired in 2017, has already enabled it to build up “a significant presence in the CPaaS and digital identity markets”.

    Now, “the complementary expertise, in combination with the global reach of Route Mobile and Telesign, will allow [Proximus] to reap the benefits of scale, accelerate growth as a truly worldwide group and generate shareholder value,” according to a press statement.

    Proximus Group will provide in-depth information on the transaction and its potential in a dedicated webcast in early June.

    It started last year…

    Proximus signed a definitive agreement in July 2023 with the founding Route Mobile shareholders to acquire 57.56% of the CPaaS through Proximus Opal, a Proximus Group subsidiary that holds 100% of Telesign for INR 59.224 million (€643 million). Some of the founding shareholders committed to reinvest €299.6 million in Proximus Opal, which translates into a shareholding of 12.72% in the subsidiary.

    After this reinvestment, the total net cash-out amounts to €636.3 million. The finance for the acquisition is covered by the €700 million bond transaction issued on 20 March 2024.

    Chinese network of thousands of fake shops accused of massive scam

    Annie Turner
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    0
    Chinese network of thousands of fake shops accused of massive scam

    German cybersecurity Lab triggers joint investigation into “vast web of fake shops” that apparently “took money and personal details from 800,000 people in Europe and US”

    A joint investigation by the Guardian newspaper in the UK, Le Monde in France and Die Zeit in Germany unearthed a network of some 76,000 fake websites offering designer goods. This was after the German Security Research Labs (SR Labs), a cybersecurity consultancy, obtained gigabytes of data which it shared it with Die Zeit

    The fake shops appear to have tricked more than 800,000 people in Europe and the US into handing over card details and other personal data such as names, phone numbers, email and postal addresses.

    The fake store fronts claim to offer discounted goods from brands including Dior, Nike, Lacoste, Hugo Boss, Versace and Prada.

    The Guardian stated, “A trove of data examined by reporters and IT experts indicates the operation is highly organised, technically savvy – and ongoing”. The websites are published in multiple European languages and it seems the first ones appeared online in 2015.

    The newspapers estimate that although many are now inactive, about 22,000 are still live.

    The report says more than 1 million ‘orders’ have been processed in the last three years alone. Not all the payments went through, according to analysis of the data, but the fraudsters attempted to process up to €50 million in the three-year period.

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