All Rural Connectivity articles
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People
Safaricom melds IT and network leadership under new boss Maitai
James Maitai heads back from Ethiopia to run Safaricom’s Kenyan network and IT department.
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Interview
UK altnet Quickline pitches ‘patchwork’ solution to rural full-fibre challenge
Quickline CEO Sean Royce tells TelcoTitans not everyone needs a gigabit right now and full fibre is not the only way to improve broadband services in the most remote parts of the UK.
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: Openreach simplifies, MAUD levels up, EE adds parental guidance
Latest from BT and its ecosystem, including: content delivery network level-up with Edgio trials; Openreach restructures for complex fibre builds; SWAN passes migration milestone; EE warns of smartphone risks for kids…
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Network & Infrastructure
Spain launches second 5G SA funding call
Spain opens bidding for second edition of UNICO-5G Redes Activas programme, providing €87.69m initially to accelerate 5G standalone rollout in additional rural areas of the country.
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People
Openreach simplifies exec team to navigate ‘very complex’ fibre build
Chief Engineer Andy Whale takes on leadership of new Complex Engineering department, bringing together complex fibre and Ethernet build teams.
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Weekly Briefings
Telefónicawatch Weekly: O2 Germany reinforces wholesale defences with Freenet deal
German operator confirms extended wholesale agreement with MVNO as it seeks to fill in future free cash flow hole left by loss of 1&1 deal.
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: UK fibre competition heats up amongst other headaches
Latest from BT and its ecosystem, including: Sky inks CityFibre wholesale deal, pushing BT share price off a cliff; Etc. targets role in BT platform strategy, fintech product among the routes in; Business exec changes see new focus for some, as Global options reviewed; more on PSTN, SRN, and full-fibre rollout headaches…
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Network & Infrastructure
CityFibre adds ‘kingmaker’ Sky in fibre wholesale offensive
UK’s largest altnet signs wholesale deal with Sky, making a dent in Openreach dominance and pushing further the claim of genuine competition to the incumbent. Sky commits to rental economics, while CityFibre leverages Project Gigabit fame to help ISPs to new full-fibre markets…
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Network & Infrastructure
Trooli CEO: UK’s Project Gigabit scheme will ‘come into its own’
Talking to Zen’s Richard Tang, Trooli CEO Andy Conibere praised the work of the government’s BDUK in stimulating an altnet industry.
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Network & Infrastructure
Openreach enters Project Gigabit fray at near-£1bn scale
Openreach handed its first Project Gigabit contracts, more in discussion. UK government ‘redoubles’ rural infill efforts, including first few in Wales…
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Venturing & Investments
UK Infrastructure Bank gives fibre sector another financial leg-up
National infra financing organisation backs another rural fibre altnet as Quickline secures a £250m debt package to support rollout in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
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Network & Infrastructure
Project Gigabit future: UK FibreCos say yes to expansion, but with caveats
Mooted bundling of Project Gigabit mega-contracts gets firm ‘no’ from altnet INCA gathering, but most on board for programme extension. New Labour government urged to protect and evolve rural fibre build to reach final few per cent of rural premises, learn from ‘zany’ Scotland, or risk missing FTTP targets. And then there’s that Type C elephant (not) in the room, Openreach…
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Weekly Briefings
Infrawatch Weekly: Europe aims for SatCo breakthrough, Hyperoptic joins £1bn club, DT ponders more TowerCos
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK and beyond, including: EU efforts to support connectivity on Earth and above the skies; UK public sector stoking the fire of fibre investment; musings on the merits of more TowerCos; and plenty more…
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Weekly Briefings
Telefónicawatch Weekly: UK mobile coverage expanded with net-sharing, rural rollout
Virgin Media O2 extends network-sharing deal with Vodafone UK, and meets first-phase Shared Rural Network coverage commitments.
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Network & Infrastructure
Virgin Media O2 scrapes past Shared Rural Network waymark… hard work begins now
VM O2 manages to reach interim 4G rural coverage target on deadline day. BT already ahead, Vodafone UK on track, but Three UK yet to confirm progress, with potential penalties from Ofcom looming. Read more…
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Weekly Briefings
Infrawatch Weekly: Netomnia climbs UK altnet table, Poland drives on fibre, UK politicians play it safe
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK and beyond, including the emergence of a new £1bn challenger in the UK fibre scene, collab-driven network advances in Poland, connectivity promises in the UK General Election; people moves, and plenty more…
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M&A
UK fibre altnet Voneus gets £18m funding boost
Existing investors plough another £18m into Voneus after the recently expanded group is said to be on a roll with increased build rate and sales.
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Network & Infrastructure
Telefónica takes bulk of Spain’s rural 5G SA funding
Group receives more than half of €508m funding available through UNICO-5G Redes Activas programme, despite alterations to tender to reduce perceived competitive advantage.
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Network & Infrastructure
British parliamentarians depart with last swing at ‘unconvincing’ 5G plans
The outgoing Public Accounts Committee’s final report on mobile connectivity portrays government efforts to improve mobile coverage as lacking focus, data, and clear evidence of value.
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Network & Infrastructure
Spanish telco trio to share spectrum on rural 5G rollout: report
MásOrange, Telefónica, and Vodafone reportedly planning to pool spectrum assets for UNICO-5G Redes Activas initiative. Suggested move holds potential to reduce costs of meeting government rural coverage targets.