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Orange completes quantum key test on existing fibre 

Simon Dux
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Orange completes quantum key test on existing fibre 

The trial paves the way for secure quantum communications based on existing fibre network infrastructure 

The ParisRegion Quantum Communication Infrastructure (QCI) consortium, led by Orange has successfully implemented its first quantum communication network in existing fibre optic infrastructure. The trial underlined how the consortium’s hybrid approach is meaningful for future large-scale multi-user networks, to provide an ultra-secure connection for governmental institutions and companies that need to manage sensitive data. 

The ParisRegionQCI project, a consortium of industrialists, university researchers and start-ups set out to demonstrate the feasibility of quantum key distribution (QKD) based on existing terrestrial fibre networks. One of the biggest deployment issues is the sheer cost of a large-scale implementation so it was important for the partners to prove it can be done on existing fibre networks. 

Equipment related to quantum communications is expensive. “To secure a link of less than 100km on a dedicated fibre, it takes approximately €180 to €250k just for a QKD system and the financial equation quickly becomes insoluble,” said Orange researcher and doctor in optics and photonics Thomas Rivera in a blog post.  

“As part of the project, we took the gamble of banking on existing installations. We started with classic fibres already deployed by Orange France, some active and others dark, waiting to be awakened when customer needs require it.” 

The partners carried out measurements of optical losses by sending packets of photons into the fibre and characterising their round trips. Then they deployed a quantum communication system, developed by ID Quantique (IDQ) in the field, defined a “seamless” network architecture, added a service layer and implemented an encryption system that Thales adapted so that it accepted these new keys. 

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) was implemented on the infrastructure backbone with relays secured by post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to cover an extended distance range in Orange’s fibre optic network. The installed solution combines IDQ’s commercial Cerberis XG QKD system with embedded Clarion KX software suite (Key Management System), CryptoNext’s Quantum Safe Library (C-QSL) and classical symmetric cryptography. 

PQC is the next generation of public key cryptography designed to be resistant to quantum computer attacks. In this setup, QKD provides unbreakable key exchange between remote encryption systems, while PQC guarantees relays security in large scale QKD network deployment. 

Results of the trial 

The project was finalised in 2023 and the quantum fibre network that the partners built has a range of around 80km. It interconnects several quantum nodes which are represented by the project partners, from the Saclay plateau (Thales, Institut d’Optique, Télécom Paris) to the LIP6 Sorbonne Université laboratory in the center of Paris, via the Orange Gardens site in Châtillon.  

What ParisRegionQCI demonstrates is that quantum communication – for the application of a QKD technology here – using or reusing already deployed commercial fibre infrastructures is possible, and this is a major step forward for the launch of a QKD service in France. 

“The project also illustrates the dynamism of research in the field of quantum and the synergy of different ecosystems,” said Rivera. “Our consortium brought together large groups (Orange, Thales, Nokia), quantum references in the academic world such as LIP6 led by Eleni Diamanti, the LTCI of Télécom Paris represented by Romain Alléaume and the Institut d’Optique by Phillipe Grangier, as well as start-ups, whose expertise and solutions have been valuable – Quellela, VeriQloud, KETS Quantum and CryptoNext.” 

FranceQCI consortium 

He added that the infrastructure is intended to be sustainable and to be part of a broader framework than the region. Through the initiative EuroQCI, the member states of the European Union are engaged in the design and construction of national quantum communications networks. “Orange is piloting the work at the French level with the FranceQCI project, launched in 2023: the experimental network that we have set up will be a component and has already expanded by 14km in this context to connect the CNRS (Materials and Materials laboratory),” he said.  

“Furthermore, it is also partly reused by the ENS (Kastler Brossel Laboratory), LIP6 and the Parisian start-up Welinq in the form of a quantum LAN, in order to experiment with quantum memory concepts, an essential component of quantum communications of the future,” he added.  

The FranceQCI consortium brings together actors with diverse and complementary expertise and resources. As a leading academic institution, University Côte d’Azur is one of the partners of the project, alongside Airbus, CNRS, Cryptonext Security, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Orange, Sorbonne University, Télécom Paris, Thales, Thales Alenia Space, Veriqloud and Welinq. 

Existing infrastructures in the Paris region (ParisRegionQCI) and Nice (Quantum@UCA/Nice) were used to evolve towards operational quantum key distribution (QKD) services. A quantum network was also set for Toulouse (in the DGAC/DSNA/DTI laboratory) to perform a realistic end-user service test for the French Directorate General of Civil Aviation. 

Orange’s use of co-propagation  

Rivera said that when it comes to implementing QKD technologies, an alternative and complementary approach to that adopted as part of the ParisRegionQCI project coexists, based on a common goal: using network infrastructures already deployed rather than dedicated fibres. 

“Co-propagation, explored by Orange Research teams in Lannion, aims to use a single fibre to carry both the quantum signal dedicated to the key and the ‘classical’ signal associated with the message data (i.e. the WDM data stream),” he said. “The quantum channel can thus be added to existing infrastructures, at a different wavelength from the WDM channels already deployed, avoiding excessively heavy investments (in addition to those linked to QKD equipment).” 

Corning’s Roshene McCool is new President of FTTH Council Europe

Annie Turner
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Corning’s Roshene McCool is new President of FTTH Council Europe

The refreshed agenda is facilitating fibre deployment; more incentives to invest in it; fostering a competitive environment and a green shift from copper to fibre

The FTTH Council Europe has elected a new President, Treasurer and Board of Directors at the organisation’s 2024 Spring General Assembly.

Roshene McCool (pictured above) takes over from outgoing President Raf Meersman and will begin a one-year term at the head of the organisation. She will support the Board of Directors, Committees and Working Group in pressing for an “optimal regulatory environment” in Europe.

The FTTH Council Europe’s new executive has put the digitalisation of European economies at the top of its agenda.

Regulatory framework

McCool notes, “The current regulatory framework has been very effective in incentivising investment in fibre in Europe, but improvements can always be made.

“Following the General Assembly, our focus will be on our four key objectives: facilitating the deployment of fibre networks, increasing incentives to invest in the sector, maintaining a competitive environment and supporting a green transition from copper to fibre.”

The new Board of Directors will also strive to further cooperation and coordination between vendors and other stakeholders within the organisation, and liaise with policymakers, investors and operators to gain the best outcome for a digital Europe.

McCool continued, “[F]ibre remains the best option for transforming and enhancing the way we do business, interact and connect with everything, everywhere. To be successful, everyone from vendors and operators to investors and regulators have a part to play. This is why the FTTH Council Europe is so valuable, providing guidance and education to ensure everyone remains aligned.” 

At the Council’s 2024 Spring General Assembly, ADTRAN’s Principal Sales Engineer, Barbara Tonarelli became the first winner of the new Member Engagement Individual Award.

She was chosen by the Board of Directors, from a shortlist of nominations made by Committee Chairs, for her outstanding performance, service, hard work and dedication to the activities of the association and committee contribution in the past several years.

New Board of Directors

• Roshene McCool, Senior Market & Technology Development Manager at Corning Optical Communications – President

• Hans Lötzer, Director for Project Finance Analysis at Hamburg Commercial Bank – Treasurer

• Francesco Nonno, Director of Regulatory and European Affairs at Open Fiber

• Christian Priess, Head of Central Europe, Africa, Middle East & Submarine Cable at Hexatronic Group

• Andreas Waber, CEO at Swiss Fibre Net

• Stefano Fogli, Business Development Director EMEA at Adtran

• Xavier Renard, Marketing Director at ACOME

• Carl Pertry, Director of Business Development at Nokia

• Suzanne Tracy, CTO at SIRO

New Committee and Working Group Chairs

• Market Intelligence – Domenico Dichiarante, Head of Operational Marketing at Open Fiber

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – Barbara Tonarelli, Principal Sales Engineer at ADTRAN

• In-Home Broadband Excellence – Maarten Egmond, CTO at Genexis

• Deployment & Operations – Patrick Faraj, Senior Product Manager – Centralized Fiber Test Systems at VIAVI Solutions

• Sustainability – Jeroen Kanselaar, Manager ESG at Eurofiber

• Investors – Thomas Miller, Executive Director at Hamburg Commercial Bank

• Policy & Regulation – Arturs Alksnis, Public Affairs Director at FTTH Council Europe

• Open Access – Niall Halpenny, Commercial Director at Sonalake

Global Telco AI Alliance in JV to develop multilingual LLM

Annie Turner
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Global Telco AI Alliance in JV to develop multilingual LLM

The large language model will be created and launched specifically to meet the telcos’ needs

The founding partners of the Global Telco AI Alliance have announced a joint venture (JV) agreement to develop and launch a multi-lingual large language model (LLM) for telcos.

The announcement was made at the DTW24-Ignite event which is taking place in Copenhagen. It was signed by representatives from the founding partners – SK Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, e&, Singtel and SoftBank Corp.

The parties committed to jointly developing a Telco LLM at MWC Barcelona 2024 earlier this year.

The parties are to invest equally in the JV to provide the initial working capital required. The aim of the Telco LLM is to help operators improve customer interactions via digital assistants and other AI solutions.

It will look at deploying innovative AI applications tailored to the needs of the founding parties in their respective markets, enabling them to reach a global customer base of approximately 1.3 billion across 50 countries.

The Telco LLM will be multilingual including; Korean, English, German, Arabic, Bahasa and other languages. The launch of the JV is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
 
The second Global Telco AI Roundtable was also held at DTW24, reaffirming its dedication to driving innovation and collaboration in the telecoms industry. Founding parties showcased potential applications of an LLM for telco, focusing on contact centre and infrastructure use cases.

They demonstrated how a fine-tuned LLM can improve contact centre operations by generating real-time reference answers for agents during calls and automatically handling post-call tasks. They also illustrated the model’s ability to provide answers to infrastructure operators’ questions, streamlining workflows.

The photograph above shows, from right to left: Suk-geun Chung, Chief AI Global Officer at SKT; Harrison Lung, Group Chief Strategy Officer at e&; William Woo, Group Chief Information Officer and Group Chief Digital Officer at Singtel; and Jan Hofmann, Top Program Lead for Artificial Intelligence at Deutsche Telekom.

Vodafone sells 18% stake in Indus Towers for €1.7 bn

Annie Turner
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Vodafone sells 18% stake in Indus Towers for €1.7 bn

The operator group will pay off some debt with the proceeds and retains a stake of more than 3.1% in the towerco

Earlier this week we reported that Vodafone Group was looking to offload a stake in Indus Towers to pay off debt. Although no details of the purchaser have been made public, it reportedly has sold 484.7 million shares in Indus Towers, India’s largest towerco, representing an 18% stake, for INR 153 billion (€1.7 billion) in gross proceeds.

Vodafone is to use the money to pay off some a substantial chunk of 1.8 billion in outstanding bank loans against Vodafone’s Indian assets. However, its net debt stands at INR2.2 trillion.

After the transaction, Vodafone will hold 82.5 million shares in Indus representing a stake of more than 3.1%.

Earlier this week Vodafone swapped equity in Vi with Ericsson and Nokia, the equipment providers, to pay off money owing to them.

Consolidation

Indus Towers was set up as a joint venture in 2007 between operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. The latter two merged in 2018 and became Vodafone Idea, under the brand Vi, in an attempt to improve the parties’ fortunes in the face of the onslaught from Reliant Jio, a new operator, and ongoing struggles with the Indian authorities over hotly contested fees, taxes, penalties and interest the authorities insisted were owed to them.

The Indian government became the majority stakeholder in Vi in February 2023, exchanging equity in the company for some of the outstanding debt. Since the merger, the operator has lost almost 200 million customers. At the end of 2023, its mobile customer base was 215.2 million.

Vodafone has been selling off its Indus Towers stake since early 2022, under pressure from Indus Towers whose infrastructure it relies on and to whom it reportedly owes almost INR100bn. Vi accounts for about 40% of Indus’s revenue.

Margherita Della Valle, CEO of Vodafone Group, has said paying off debt and extricating the company from non-profitable markets is a key plan of her recovery strategy.

Managing Lawful & Location Intercept Costs in a Data-driven World | White paper by SS8

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Managing Lawful & Location Intercept Costs in a Data-driven World | White paper by SS8

TM Forum launches Open Digital Architecture certification programme 

Simon Dux
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TM Forum launches Open Digital Architecture certification programme 

DTW24-Ignite sees further movement in the quest to use Open Digital Architecture (ODA) to create plug-and-play OSS/BSS components

Inch by inch the telco standardisation train has been trying to flatten the OSS/BSS/service delivery siloes. TM Forum, arguably more than most standards groups, has been seen as the organisation that is intent on unifying disparate standards across the industry – from API work with CAMARA, GSMA and MEF, through to championing Open Digital Architecture (ODA). At DTW-24 Copenhagen, it announced the latest incremental shift – a conformance certification programme for ODA.

ODA aims to create a standardised, open, modular digital architecture that helps telcos accelerate towards a more agile and customer-centric operational model. It is intended to promote a shift from traditional monolithic systems to a component-based architecture. The thinking is that this modular approach enables telcos to integrate and replace components more easily. Central to ODA are standardised Open APIs that ensure interoperability between different components.

Steady as she goes

However, in telcoland, things move slowly. Case in point, TM Forum’s Open API programme turned 10 in December, and the Open Digital Architecture (ODA) was announced two and a half years later in July 2016.

However, members at DTW24-Ignite are nothing if not persistent and the end goal of creating an OSS marketplace that supports ordering, fulfilling, provisioning, managing and assuring telco services via cloud native software applications has moved from being a want to a need in the current economic climate. So the arrival of conformance testing to validate ODA components, plus the improvement of the reference Canvas – an execution environment where components can be deployed – for wide-scale use has been welcomed by members. Both will be available from January 2025.

Developed in collaboration with members, the programme will enable software suppliers to certify their commercial products for conformance against TM Forum’s ODA Component specifications. 23 TM Forum member companies – Accenture, Alvatross, AWS, Axiata Digital Labs, Bell Canada, Blue Planet, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Etiya, Globetom, Google Cloud, Hansen, Huawei, Infosys, Jio, Marand, Matrixx, Microsoft, Oracle, Red Hat, Vodafone and Whale Cloud – have publicly committed to the programme, with software vendors building conformance into their product roadmaps and service providers committing to provide a conformant operating environment for ODA Components built on the ODA Canvas.

“Today’s announcement marks another important step in our mission to deliver fully composable IT and ecosystems through ODA.” said TMF CTO George Glass. “ODA provides the blueprint for a cloud native telco by simplifying design, modernising software, and automating operations.”

Operators’ endorsement

“Vodafone has been at the forefront of utilising TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture and Open APIs to enhance the customer experience across multiple channels and unlock new revenue streams,” said Vodafone Group CTO Scott Petty. “ODA Components and Canvas certification will further drive end-to-end automation and remove complexity, which in turn, will lower costs for application developers, allowing them to introduce new features and services more quickly at scale.”

“Achieving ‘Running on ODA’ status has empowered Axiata to leverage cloud-native, vendor-agnostic solutions using TM Forum’s Open APIs,” said Axiata Group CIO Antony Rodrigo. “The ODA Component and Canvas Certification program will further accelerate our AI-driven service creation, enabling us to achieve our growth ambitions through simplification of product design, high velocity go-to-market, and enhanced IT and network capabilities.”

“We believe in technology that creates real value for people, but is developed frugally. That’s why we drive ODA compliance to accelerate delivery, reduce time to market, and leverage telco developments,” said Deutsche Telekom Board member for technology and innovation Claudia Nemat. “Standardisation requires a shared commitment. Therefore, we participate in developing ODA standards and work with CSPs, hyperscalers and technology providers on ODA certification.”

Formal certification will be available in January 2025 through a Conformance Test Kit (CTK) launched later this year. Members can prepare for certification by joining the ODA Components & Canvas program, where they can contribute to the development of the ODA standards and gain early access to the prototype Component CTK.

Amdocs deepens relationship with Google Cloud 

Simon Dux
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Amdocs deepens relationship with Google Cloud 

The fallout from the Azure for Operators implosion continues as Amdocs follows Nokia with a Google Cloud tie-up

Microsoft’s decision to retrench Azure for Operators is causing some interesting realignments in previous partners. Amdocs, which already has deep relationships with operators around the world, has joined Nokia in announcing a deeper partnership with Google Cloud that will see Amdocs’ AI and Data Platform (previously DataOne) now use Google Cloud’s unified AI-ready data platform to provide business decision support for telcos.  

While Nokia’s tie-up was more about API development, Amdocs wants is incorporating the Google Cloud Architecture Framework to create a layered and service-based architecture to provide telcos with a unified real-time data source that integrates information from various systems across the business.  

The talk of telco operating systems is no more although it is hardly surprising. Implementing cloud-based solutions in telcos is tough. Operators often have legacy systems that require extensive integration efforts, which can be costly and time-consuming. In addition, concerns around data privacy, control and dependency on a single vendor would have had operators baulking at signing up. Microsoft sealed Azure for Operators’ fate when it made its broader strategic shift towards AI which led to reallocating resources away from less successful ventures.  

Google’s gain 

Google’s strength has always been analytics and the Amdocs tie-up gives this a turbo-boost. Amdocs already provides a standardised business model but now, the combined scale of the Amdocs platform and Google BigQuery allows customers to process large volumes of data without manual scaling operations. 

The platform allows telcos to integrate Amdocs Logical Data Model on BigQuery. This, says Google, maximises existing investments in tools and processes, ensuring a “cohesive and cost-effective data management strategy that enhances overall productivity”.  

Amdocs, which already had deep relationships with Google [and the other hyperscalers] gets a way to continue operator cloud migration discussions with customers. Amdocs’s cloud-based platform uses a data mesh architecture to provide a unified and continuously updated view of customer data and related transactions. It also utilises the Amdocs Logical Data Model (aLDM) to standardise data taxonomy, thereby simplifying data governance and enhancing security. This approach, says Amdocs, helps enterprises efficiently manage their data assets while ensuring compliance and protecting sensitive information. 

The standardisation brought by aLDM enhances application flexibility as well. The platform supports real-time and non-real-time data requirements, enabling seamless data streaming from any Business Support Systems (BSS), Operational Support Systems (OSS), or network sources. It also is SaaS-based and cloud native which helps scalability. Additionally, the platform’s standardised business taxonomy facilitates efficient data representation and usage, improving both operational and analytical data layers.  

“Our collaboration streamlines the integration of diverse data sources, enabling real-time decision-making and personalised customer experiences,” said Google Cloud telco industry director Vivek Gupta. “This joint approach empowers CSPs to accelerate new revenue possibilities aligned with significant insights coming from their business.”   

“Data is the foundation of any AI-powered experience, including the burgeoning world of generative AI experiences,” said Amdocs group president of technology and head of strategy Anthony Goonetilleke (above). “Yet, data is complex, and accessing it in a scalable, performant way that enables high-value insights is challenging.  We are therefore excited about our collaboration with Google Cloud to simplify the process for service providers, helping them develop a competitive edge and deliver real-time, AI-driven outcomes based on enterprise-scale data readiness.” 

Nokia, Google Cloud to help developers create 5G apps with telco APIs 

Annie Turner
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Nokia, Google Cloud to help developers create 5G apps with telco APIs 

They plan to provide developers anywhere in the world with software tools to accelerate the adoption of the APIs, starting with healthcare use cases

The Finnish equipment vendor has announced the Nokia Network as Code platform with developer portal will run on Google Cloud. The aim is to “[enrich] the developer experience via Google Cloud data and generative AI solutions and capabilities, including Vertex AI and Gemini 1.5 Pro”.

The companies are to promote specific use cases to the Google Cloud developer community, starting with healthcare. Google Cloud stresses it developers cover “all major industries and geographies”.

The cloudco also says that its developer community will gain access to standardised 5G network capabilities around the world, exposed through Nokia’s Network as Code platform with developer portal, giving them the technical tools required to quickly create new applications for their customers.

Network as Code

Nokia states that its platform provides developers with software development kits (SDKs); network API documentation, a sandbox in which to create software code and simulate its deployment for particular use case and testing. It also provides code snippets that can be included in new applications to speed the process.

The platform shares revenue between developers, operators and Nokia. Since its launch in September 2023, the vendor has signed collaboration agreements with 13 network operators and ecosystem partners in Europe, North and South America.

Ankur Jain, VP, Google Distributed Cloud and Global Telco Industry at Google Cloud, noted, “Through this important collaboration with Nokia, we are enabling our global developer community to tap into the greenfield opportunity that 5G networks provide. Our developer community is a strong innovation driver globally, and we believe the telecom space offers significant value creation opportunities through new applications.”

Raghav Sahgal, President of Cloud and Network Services at Nokia, added, “We are excited to expand our collaboration with Google Cloud, enabling thousands of Google Cloud developers to tap into our network capabilities so that they can create value for their customers faster.”

du contracts Comarch to update OSS

Annie Turner
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du contracts Comarch to update OSS

Greater automation and standardisation are two of the main goals in the drive to improve operational costs and agility

A contract between Comarch and du covers resource inventory and catalogue, OSS auto-discovery and reconciliation, and OSS mediation. du is part of the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) and says the system is now operational, acting as its network’s core inventory.

The partnership aims to modernise the OSS to gain more agility and flexibility, incorporating infrastructure automation, asset management, and dynamic topology stitching of infrastructure and refresh in near real-time.

The Comarch solution consists of commercial off-the-shelf modules from Comarch’s OSS portfolio, part of its Resource Management designed to manage all kinds of logical and physical resources in the network environment.

Multi-vendor, multi-tech

Comarch’s multi-vendor, multi-technology inventory for du covers the RAN for 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G, plus transport (SDM, WDM, IP), mobile and fixed core, fixed access (GPON, Ethernet) and passive components. Comarch recently added data centre management and virtualisation to the products.

The Resource Management is intended to improve operations by providing an overview of all the network elements and their configuration, the use of wizards, and the data collected during the migration and reconciliation process.

All this is enabled by reliable, dynamic datafrom live network elements and vendor-specific network management systems. The system will stay up to date because of annual improvements, Comarch says, to ensure the most recent vendor releases in the du ecosystem are supported and usable.

Expected benefits from the OSS overhaul include: saving money in network inventory and operation; synergy in tracking new assets; simplified planning processes and tools; shorter time to market; automating new network technology; better use of network resources; and streamlining the IT environment.  

Power of data

However, according to Comarch, the main advantage is the reporting and analytical Business Intelligence (BI) Point. It enables the use of network resources, site development, and data quality to be measured and monitored, and past data from these areas to be reviewed,

“The successful implementation of this solution brings us closer to achieving du’s strategic vision of digital agility, reduces our time to market, and empowers us to deploy emerging technologies faster than ever before,” said Saleem Alblooshi, CTO at du.

Paweł Workiewicz, Head of Business Development Division APAC & MEA, commented, “Our comprehensive OSS portfolio allows us to provide du with modules that enable increased automation and standardization, and will support the customer in rolling out new technologies such as 5G and NFV, enhance their data synchronization and integrity, and reduce the costs of creating and operating the transport network.”

Telenor, iliad beef up cybersecurity operations 

Simon Dux
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Telenor, iliad beef up cybersecurity operations 

Telenor launches new unit with Nordic ambitions, while iliad announces cyber centre of expertise in Toulouse

The head of the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) Juhan Lepassaar recently said that cyber-attacks have doubled in the European Union in recent months with many of these linked to Russian-backed groups. And cyber warfare is not only virtual. At the end of last year, Estonia’s prosecutor general confirmed that the Hong Kong-registered NewNew Polar Bear container vessel was the primary suspect in an investigation of damage to two subsea telecoms cables linking Estonia to Finland and Sweden. 

This week, the European Commission, ENISA and EU countries are meeting to discuss the proposed cybersecurity certification scheme (EUCS) for cloud services which will decide among other things, whether US cloud giants will have unfettered access to European data so the stakes are high, and increasing. 

No time to wait 

Europe’s telcos are not hanging around given they are on the front line of the cyber-attacks. A range of initiatives have been announced with the latest being Telenor. The operator announced plans to cybersecurity company Telenor Cyberdefence to protect Norwegian businesses and public sector organisations. According to a survey conducted by Norstat, 1 in 5 business leaders reported having experienced cyberattacks in the past year – that’s 130,000 Norwegian companies. 

“We have never experienced cyber threats as frequent and severe as we do today. The business digital landscape is under constant attack, making robust cybersecurity more critical than ever. Telenor has decided to build on its experience and expertise as one of the Norway’s strongest security players and is establishing a new cybersecurity company with Nordic ambitions,” says Telenor CEO and president Sigve Brekke. 

The newly formed company will become part of Telenor Amp. Today, Telenor Amp’s portfolio is comprised of 15 fully- or partially-owned companies with a combined value of NOK 10-12 billion. Thomas Kronen (above) has been appointed CEO of the new company. 

“The exponential growth of data and the increasing digitalisation of society are providing criminals with a larger digital landscape to attack. This is a challenge we are taking seriously by establishing Telenor Cyberdefence, and purposely focusing on digital security,” said Telenor Amp head and EVP Dan Ouchterlony. “This will enable us to develop advanced security products for the business market more rapidly and more effectively meet market needs.” 

Specialist expertise 

Telenor Cyberdefence will offer businesses a Security Operations Centre (SOC) for 24/7 monitoring, prevention, detection, and response to all types of cyber threats and incidents. The company will also provide specialist expertise through consultancy services and testing of IT systems and infrastructure. 

“The Norwegian SOC market is worth around NOK 3 billion annually, according to our own analysis. Telenor Cyberdefence has ambitions to expand its operations across all Nordic markets, presenting a significant opportunity for rapid growth and establishing a strong market position,” said Kronen. He added that the new company has ambitions to build a position across the Nordic region. 

The establishment of Telenor Cyberdefence involves the transfer of approximately 50 security personnel from Telenor Norway to the new company. The company will also assume responsibility for Telenor Norway’s existing SOC customers, resulting in Telenor Cyberdefence commencing operations with a customer base of around 70 Norwegian businesses. 

This Nordic expansion follows a recent strengthening of the internal security environment within Telenor Norway. The incumbent owns and operates critical infrastructure, and as a result, it has over the years established a robust security environment. 

Considering the evolving security landscape and the increasing prevalence of cyber-attacks, Telenor has further strengthened this environment through the establishment of a new and dedicated internal Cyber Security Operation Centre (CSOC). This center will focus on Telenor Norway’s extensive and intricate IT and telecom infrastructure. 

iliad opens ITrust’s new head office in Toulouse 

iliad Group’s B2B subsidiary specialising in cybersecurity ITrust inaugurated its new head office in Labège, on the outskirts of Toulouse, at the heart of the new Enova innovation hub. In opening this new head office, the Group has installed its cyber center of expertise in Occitanie, in a move that it said demonstrates its aim of building a major industrial group specialised in data to serve businesses and public authorities.  

Acquired by the iliad Group in April 2023, ITrust has been working since then with Free Pro on bringing cybersecurity within the reach of all businesses and organizations through an offer dedicated to SMEs. This work led to the creation of Cyber XPR, a solution which is currently being taken up by two SMEs every day and has won 650 new customers over the past year. ITrust now has a total of 1,200 customers. 

The inauguration of ITrust’s new head office in Labège means that the Group’s cyber HQ is now firmly rooted in the Occitanie/Midi-Pyrénées region. This cyber centre of expertise brings together the wide range of – often long-standing – IT security skills from the Group’s various B2B and B2C entities. More than 100 people from Free Pro, Scaleway and ITrust are now working together daily in Labège, and around 40 new hires are in the pipeline for between now and the end of the year. 

The Group wants to draw on the capabilities of ITrust and ifuse with expertise from Free in France and Play in Poland to secure its cloud services, backed by a platform of data centers based throughout Europe in its Opcore subsidiary. 

 

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