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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. 

 

Africa Data Centres secures $109.6m to expand  

Simon Dux
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Africa Data Centres secures $109.6m to expand  

The Cassava Technologies group will use the funds to increase its capacity in South Africa

Cassava Technologies subsidiary Africa Data Centres (ADC) has secured ZAR 2 billion ($109.6 million) funding, arranged by RMB, o expand data centre capacity and meet the growing demand for cloud computing services in South Africa. The operator already has nine data centres in six countries – South Africa, Kenya, Togo, Rwanda, Ghana and Nigeria – and an IT capacity of 54 MW. 

“This funding is a significant milestone in the growth of Africa Data Centres,” said Cassava Technologies president and Group CEO Hardy Pemhiwa. “It underscores our commitment to growth and our confidence in the future of the South African data centre market. The additional funding will allow us to support the digital transformation journeys of our customers. Data Centres are key to delivering on our vision of a digitally connected future that leaves no African behind”. 

The financing will enable Africa Data Centres to accelerate expand its hyperscale data centre capacity by an additional 20 MW. RMB acted as the coordinator, initial mandated lead arranger and bookrunner on the ZAR 2 billion facility.  

“The data centre space presents a significant digital infrastructure opportunity, as there is currently a large deficit of supply versus demand. With the exponential growth in demand for data centre capacity in Africa, we are proud to partner with Africa Data Centres as they facilitate digital transformation across the continent,” said RMB head of corporate client group Nana Phiri. “We see this funding as part of RMB’s mandate of financing the development of a sustainable digital economy in South Africa.” 

Building the channel 

In April Africa Data Centres launched its channel partner programme, ADC Channel to establish colocation and ecosystem partnerships with service providers and even the hyperscalers.  

“Our facilities are designed with the needs of hyperscale, wholesale & enterprise clients in mind, catering to their technical, operational and commercial requirements,” said ADC CFO Finhai Munzara. “Whether it’s greenfield projects, built-to-suit facilities, powered shells, dedicated halls, or hybrid colocation, we offer flexible, scalable and sustainable solutions that suit partners of every kind.” 

Partners will also enjoy seamless access to data centre experts, continuous commercial and technical support, and regular, complimentary training for their sales and product teams. ADC emphasised that partners face no financial risk, as participation in the channel programme requires no investment and entails no capex for building data centres. The data centre operator has also developed ADC Marketplace for partners to showcase their services and for customers to explore offerings, fostering collaboration and visibility within the African tech community.  

Neutral colo facilities will attract the attention of hyperscalers with AWS, Google and most recently Microsoft all announcing big investments in South Africa and the wider African continent. Resilient connectivity has also come into focus after several recent subsea cable failures that impacted many sub-Saharan nations’ nascent cloud services. ADC’s sister company Liquid Intelligent Technologies has already teamed up with Google to build an Africa-Australia cable for example in the quest to boost the continent’s resilience.  

Vi to issue $294m in shares to Nokia and Ericsson, sell towerco stake

Annie Turner
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Vi to issue $294m in shares to Nokia and Ericsson, sell towerco stake

The Indian operator, in which has Vodafone has an almost 23% holding, is under increasing pressure as it strives to pay off $42.17bn debt

Vodafone Idea (Vi) is to issue shares worth INR24.58 billion (€294.2 million) to network equipment vendors Ericsson and Nokia. In a statement, the Indian telco said it’s part of its strategy to clear net debt which stands at $42.17 billion. This includes INR2.03 trillion to the Indian government, INR 40.4 billion rupees to financial institutions and INR135 billion to equipment vendors and Indus Towers.

Vi said it will issue 1.66 billion shares to the two vendors. Nokia Solutions will receive 1.03 billion shares worth INR15.20 billion and 633 million shares to Ericsson India worth INR9.38 billion

This will give Nokia a 1.5% stake in Vi and Ericsson a 0.9% holding.

Efforts to steady the ship

Vodafone and Idea Cellular formed Vodafone Idea (Vi) in August 2018. Both were struggling after the huge and rapid success of Reliance Jio in the market, and with the Indian authorities’ apparently abrupt changes in the way they calculated tax, interest, penalties and shifted parameters.

In July 2020, Vi reported the biggest loss ever by an Indian firm and Vodafone threatened to shut up shop in India. As the stand-off between Vodafone and the authorities continued, the government took a majority shareholding of 35.8% in Vi in February 2023, converting outstanding liabilities into equity. The value of its holding had risen almost a third in the last year, as of May.

A follow-on public offer in April 2024 reduced the government’s shareholding to just under 25%, as Vi raised $2.16 billion through offering new shares. Vodafone Group is the second largest stakeholder with 22.87%.

Outstanding debt

Despite this, the financial fallout has continued for Vi, which is behind on payments to its tower and equipment vendors, owing them a total of INR135 billion.

Vi owes Indus Towers $1.2 billion. It is India’s biggest towerco and one of the largest in the world. Indus has almost 220,000 towers and offers power, space and green solutions for tower equipment.

Earlier this month, Indus’ Chair, Sunil Bharti Mittal, told Vi to pay up or lose access to the towers and lag even further on 5G deployment. India’s second biggest telecom firm, Bharti Airtel, is also a shareholder in Indus. Airtel is the flagship company within Bharti Enterprises, of which Mittal is founder and chair.

Vi is yet to launch a 5G network, but both its rivals, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are in the throes of implementation.

Hard to sell Indus stake?

This is not the first time Mittal has threatened action if Vi didn’t pay what it owes. Vi first announced it would sell off its holding in Indus Towers in 2022 in response to Mittal’s demands for payment. Since then, it has reduced its stake from 28% to 21.5%, finding limited appetite among investors, including other operators, to buy its shares.

Vodafone’s owns its stake in Indus via various entities within the group, which was valued at $2.3 billion at the end of last week.

For the quarter that ended in March 2024, Indus’ net profit rose 20% to $221 million although revenue stayed flat at $860 million, according to regulatory filings.

The Reuters story cites unnamed stories and when it became public caused the share price of Vodafone Idea (Vi) in which Vodafone has a minority share to rise almost 5%, but it had little effect on Indus Towers.

Private equity giant KKR and Canadian fund CPPIB were investors in Indus, but sold their entire stakes in February.

INWIT looks to purchase 51% of Boldyn Networks Smart City Roma

Annie Turner
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INWIT looks to purchase 51% of Boldyn Networks Smart City Roma

Italy’s biggest towerco has options to buy the other 49% of Boldyn Networks unit that won the contract to build wholesale 5G infra across Italy’s capital just six months ago

INWIT has formalised an agreement giving it the option to buy an exclusive, controlling share (51%) of Boldyn Networks Smart City Roma. INWIT is Italy’s largest towerco, which also builds and operates infrastructure for distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells, aka neutral host networks.

Boldyn Networks Smart City Roma was awarded the concession for the Roma #5G project at the end of last year. The project was a joint venture between the neutral host infrastructure specialist, and Roma Capitale, the city’s administrative authority and provider of public services.

Scale and scope

The project’s scope is to build 5G infrastructure in the city, available to all mobile operators on a wholesale basis. The public-private partnership comes with a 25-year concession for the construction, management, operation and maintenance of an infrastructure. Overall, the envisages more than €€90 million investment in the infrastructure over the next five years, part of which will come from the public sector.

The project includes: coverage of all metro lines; installation of more than 2200 small-cells; public Wi-Fi with 850 access points in 100 squares; installation of 1800 IoT sensors; and 2000 5G CCTV cameras.

The plan is to provide connectivity in all of Rome’s busiest locations, increase public safety and enable smart services for the city’s 3 million residents and more than 15 million tourists annually. This number of visitors is expected to rise to 32 million next year due to Jubilee 2025.

The infrastructure is intended to enable a range of digital services offered by Roma Capitale.

Importance of the Italian market

Boldyn Networks said at the time it entered into the arrangement for Networks Smart City Roma that it would be working “with all industry players for the benefit of all citizens and visitors to Rome” and that the project “represents the importance of the Italian market for the expansion of Boldyn’s presence in Europe”.

So why is it bailing out six months later? We’ve asked the question and will update if and when we receive a response.

The new agreement with Boldyn includes an option in favour of INWIT to acquire the remaining shares, under certain conditions, and a right of sale in favour of Boldyn Networks Italia, subject to certain conditions.

These options for the purchase of the other 49% of Boldyn Networks Smart City Roma could be acted on after the official test (or ‘collaudo’) of the project.

Consistent with strategy

INWIT said the agreement is consistent with its 2024-2026 business plan and strategy which envisages investments in neutral host infrastructure to support the network plans of telecommunications operators. It expects growing demand from its operator customers for integrated digital infrastructure, macro-grid and micro-grid, outdoor and indoor. The latter is particularly in significant smart city projects.

If INWIT actions all the options, the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024. This is subject to approvals from the relevant authorities and “to termination and suspensive conditions in line with market practices”.

Rivals urge CMA to block merger of Vodafone and Three UK

Annie Turner
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Rivals urge CMA to block merger of Vodafone and Three UK

The competition authority has published the responses it solicited from third parties, including a 40-pager from BT arguing against it

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been urged by a number of parties with vested interests to block the proposed merger of Three UK and Vodafone. The two announced they were in talks to merge in 2022 then announced they had agreed terms for the deal in June 2023.

A major motivation is to achieve the greater scale they say they need to invest sufficiently in infrastructure, an argument that they also hope will find favour with regulators.

At the time of that announcement, they pledged that the merged entity would reach 99% of the UK’s population with its 5G standalone network. Also, that the combined business will invest £11 billion in the UK over 10 years which is expected to give customers up to a six-fold increase in average data speeds by 2034.

Third parties have their say

The proposed merger is in the second, deeper phase of the investigation by the CMA which includes wider consultation with the industry. It has just published the submissions it has received. The regulator is concerned that allowing the two to merge will ultimately raise prices for consumers and businesses, and reduce competition and choice.

The former state-owned incumbent BT is arguing in its submission that the merged entity would have a “disproportionate share of capacity and spectrum, unprecedented in UK and Western European mobile markets, which will substantially lessen competition and deter investment.”

Further, that it will inhibit BT’s ability to compete.

Emphasis in the wrong place?

Many critics of competition policy for telecoms in the UK and Europe, including Strand Consult, would argue that the focus on choice and prices to end users is wrongheaded. Rather the policy makers should also take into account operators being able to run sufficiently profitable businesses to invest in infrastructure for national and regional economies to compete better.

And adjacent to that, some national treasuries should not extract huge amounts of money from mobile operators off for spectrum licences.

The CMA is schedule to publish an initial ruling by 12 October.

United Internet hits pause on Tele Columbus investment 

Simon Dux
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United Internet hits pause on Tele Columbus investment 

United Internet has opted out of further investments in the cableco following a significant dilution of its stake in March

Germany’s United Internet – which owns 1&1 – announced it has decided not to make further investments in Kublai GmbH, which holds around 95% of second-largest cable network operator Tele Columbus – which sells services under the PŸUR brand. In November, Tele Columbus looked set to gain a new €200m cash injection, plus a debt maturity extension until 2028, initially from United and Morgan Stanley, which added to around €100m of funds previously committed. 

In its interim statement Q1 2024, United Internet reported that Kublai had conducted a capital increase in the first quarter of 2024 to provide Tele Columbus with equity, in which United Internet did not participate in the end. Hilbert Management, an indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Infrastructure (MSI), subscribed to the full amount of the capital increase totaling €300 million. This resulted in a dilution of United Internet’s stake in Kublai to around 5% (previously 40%) and a subsequent non-cash impairment loss of approximately €185 million for United. 

United Internet had the option until today, to increase its stake back to 40% by acquiring shares from MSI for €120 million. However, United instead released a market statement claiming it is convinced that the valuation of Tele Columbus AG on which the capital increase is based is significantly too low and that the dilution of the shares held by United Internet is therefore too far-reaching. 

“However, its majority of votes at the shareholders’ meeting enabled MSI to conduct the capital increase on the basis of a valuation determined by MSI,” the company stated. “United Internet will now initiate the contractually stipulated anti-dilution proceedings and arrange for an arbitration court to review MSI’s valuation. If the court follows United Internet’s opinion based on a valuation commissioned prior to the capital increase, United Internet is entitled to a compensation amount of approximately €300 million. 

“The decision not to invest further in Kublai is due to a disagreement between MSI and United Internet regarding Kublai’s future financing,” added the company.  

Tele Columbus had to raise 

Without that raise, ratings agency Fitch had already warned last year that Tele Columbus’s fibre strategy to spend €2bn over 2021-2030 to upgrade its HFC infrastructure to fibre “significantly exceeds” the operator’s current organic EBITDA generation. In March, Fitch downgraded Tele Columbus and announced it would no longer cover the company. 

In its parting research note, Fitch said amendments to the German telecommunication law are likely to put pressure on bulk TV revenue from mass provision of basic TV programming. Under the amended law, which will come into effect in mid-2024, housing associations will no longer be able to pass on TV fees to end-users. Revenue from analogue TV accounted for 37% of Tele Columbus’s total revenue in 2022.  

Earlier this month, Tele Columbus began disconnecting TV households with collective housing association contracts ahead of the change in the country’s law that will see this practice banned. The operator said it would deactivate homes that fail to switch to individual contracts to avoid unauthorized use of the signal when the contracts become null and void on 1 July – risking a large churn event. 

As a result, Fitch believes the execution risk for the company remains high. “In contrast to many of its larger cable peers, Tele Columbus’s footprint extends to only a few regions in Germany, with access to around 9% of German households. It has a significantly smaller operational scale than most nationwide cable peers who benefit from larger footprints and sustained strong FCF,” stated Fitch.  

UK altnet Netomnia to merge with Brsk 

Simon Dux
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UK altnet Netomnia to merge with Brsk 

UK fibre altnet market takes continues consolidating as the merged entity is set to become one of the largest challengers to Openreach

Two of the UK’s largest fibre altnets Netomnia (Youfibre) and Brsk have announced plans to merge – a long awaited move first being speculated on in April this year. The consolidation of the fibre market is widely expected given that analysts have found that two or more FTTP networks now covered 7m UK premises in Q1 2024 and the overbuild only results in one outcome.  

The mergers follows similar moves by CityFibre announcing it would acquire Lit Fibre and Virgin Media O2 doing the same to Upp last September. According to the FT (subscription), the deal will involve Brsk moving under the umbrella of Netomnia’s parent holding company, Substantial Group, but it will be run as a separate entity with Giorgio Iovino, Brsk’s chief executive, staying put for now.  

Importantly the announcement revealed the merged company will form a new wholesale arm that will be tasked with acquiring other altnets. Last month, consultancy firm Eight Advisory highlighted the problem for UK altnets which are shifting from building networks to filling them with end customers and a key part of the problem to why altnets lag Openreach in takeup is that the UK wholesale model is broken.  

 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. Netomnia/Brsk will improve its ability to be more effective in doing wholesale deals. Timing also comes into this because Virgin Media O2 has promised to open up its network to wholesale in 2025 so the altnets are already jockeying for survival.  

Jeremy Chelot, chief executive of Substantial, Netomnia and ISP  YouFibre will lead the merged entity. “By merging our network expertise and resources, we are creating a powerhouse to deliver an unparalleled internet experience for our customers, driving innovation and further consolidation among altnets,” he said. “The additional capital from our investors and support from our lenders is a powerful endorsement of our vision and ability to execute at the highest level… Today we become the second largest altnet in the UK with 1.5m premises ready for service and a plan to deliver 3m by the end of 2025.” 

Brsk CEO Giorgio Iovino said: “The merger is a testament to our shared entrepreneurial spirit and experienced teams that can deliver even more. Together, we are set to deliver a fibre network that is not only fast and reliable but also futureproof, ensuring our customers benefit today and tomorrow. Our joint platform will be where the most powerful internet lives.” 

The full-fibre services provided by the two companies will be available to 1.5m premises with 140,000 customers connected already. The group plans to use up to £900m of debt to reach 3m premises and about 500,000 customers by the end of 2025. 

In March, Netomnia successfully completed its latest fundraise of £230 million in committed debt financing from a group of six bank lenders, comprised of HSBC UK, ING, NIBC, RBC, Standard Chartered, and UKIB. Its current backers include DigitalBridge and Soho Capital, plus Advencap which is also an investor in Brsk. Happily for investors, the two have not overbuilt each other’s network.  

Deutsche Telekom offers 5G mmWave for industrial customers

Simon Dux
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Deutsche Telekom offers 5G mmWave for industrial customers

First mmWave services for businesses and the operator also announces free 5G upgrades for LTE users

Deutsche Telekom said it has successfully trialled 5G 26GHz mmWave for the first time with industrial use cases and is now offering the band commercially to industrial customers. The operator said the first customer, Ger4tech Mechatronik Center, was getting latencies of three to four milliseconds RTT (round trip time) and a data rate of over 4Gbps in download and 2Gbps in upload.  

The company is using mmWave to network autonomous industrial machines and robots with a router in the 5G campus environment of the Werner-von-Siemens Centre for Industry and Science in Berlin. In addition to 5G standalone in the industrial spectrum at 3.7Ghz, this router also supports the so-called mmWave spectrum for the first time, according to Telekom. 

Ericsson provided the private 5G network at the site, from the antennas and active system technology to the core network. IoT solutions company Telit Cinterion provided a dual-band 3.7GHz and 26GHz router. 

“It is important for our industrial customers in the age of artificial intelligence to be able to upload data from machines and thus make it available and analyzable in real time,” said Telekom Deutschland managing director business customers Klaus Werner. “This is the only way for companies to introduce AI applications sensibly and efficiently and derive great benefits for their business.” 

“We’re enabling customers to access unparalleled levels of efficiency, productivity and innovation. Through the seamless integration of 5G mmWave into their operations, every device and process can achieve connectivity at an unprecedented scale,” said Telit Cinterion VP of product management, mobile broadband Marco Contento.  

What’s good for the robots 

The 5G standalone campus network of the Werner-von-Siemens Centre operates separately from Telekom’s public mobile network. Based on this network, a fleet of autonomously driving and operating robots works on activities at the centre. The 5G standalone network is often sufficient to control the robots.  

However, the 5G millimetre waves come into play when the requirements for communication and data transmission increase, and therefore also when solving more complex tasks. For example, in a computer vision application: the robot picks up an order and checks whether the ordered goods are complete on the way to the next destination. If there is a discrepancy, it immediately reorders the goods.  

In addition to these, many other scenarios are mapped in the Werner-von-Siemens Centre. Here, industry, research institutions (including TU Berlin and Fraunhofer), small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups work on practical solutions for companies – including for autonomous production logistics and other challenges in industrial manufacturing. 

Why mmWave?  

Telekom said that while customers are already deploying 5G campus network in mid-band for many industry applications, they can now leverage the potential by using 5G mmWave for additional applications. Machines collect terabytes of data, which can be uploaded to the cloud and analysed to enable a variety of new use cases including AI. The operator said 5G mmWave is playing an increasingly important role in wireless communication technology and imaging, among others.  

It is characterized by short coverage range and high bandwidth and speeds. The special ability of mmWave lies in its ability to transmit large amounts of data in real time. The frequency spectrum around 26GHz is allocated exclusively to interested parties in Germany by the Federal Network Agency. It can currently only be used for local applications.  

Free 5G for all 

Telekom also announced all tariffs for private customers and many business customer tariffs that previously only included the LTE mobile communications standard will automatically be activated for its 5G network. This impacts more than four million customers on 4G usage and is further proof operators can’t charge a premium for 5G services. Why? Because conditions of existing contracts remain in place. 

“Our networks stand for high speed and the experience of seamless connectivity. After the unlimited data volume, more than four million customers are receiving another gift from us,” said Telekom managing director of private customers Wolfgang Metze.  

Standard Bank announces MVNO collaboration with MTN 

Simon Dux
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Standard Bank announces MVNO collaboration with MTN 

The South African bank drops Cell C relationship and changes name from Standard Bank Mobile to Standard Bank Connect

Standard Bank has announced a new MVNO collaboration with telco MTN and has launched new voice and data packages. The bank originally introduced its MVNO offering in 2018 and has over 300,000 mobile customers, who benefit from bank fees being offered back in Airtime based on the products and services customers have with the bank. 

In addition to ending its relationship with Cell C, the bank announced it was changing its telecom service name from Standard Bank Mobile to Standard Bank Connect and will introduce a new set of data and voice packages. 

“We are excited to collaborate with MTN and the opportunity to provide our customers with a range of newly differentiated mobile plans. The transition will be gradual, where we invite our customers to join us on our pilot program, helping us to build meaningful services together and experiencing Standard Bank on MTN’s wide network,” said Standard Bank MVNO executive head Kartik Mistry (above). 

“Consistently voted SA’s Best Network, MTN is delighted to partner with Standard Bank, a trusted brand in South Africa and across the African continent. Our aim is to create shared value by placing our partners at the centre of all we do whilst fulfilling our vision that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern, connected life. To this end we are committed to providing a proven, quality digital network and affordable mobile and network solutions,” said MTN South Africa chief wholesale officer Quintus de Beer.   

Two packages to be offered 

Standard Bank offers two main types of connectivity packages: the Connected Circle and the Connected Gigs Plans. The Connected Circle Plans cater to customers seeking both voice and data connectivity with options like Connected Circle Starter, Lite, Plus and Pro. These plans provide access to unlimited calls to selected numbers within a subscriber’s community and include inclusive data, promoting flexibility and changing the way we connect. 

 For data-centric customers, the Connected Gigs Plans offer high-value data bundles at competitive prices. Customers can also purchase airtime bundles for voice and SMS usage on these plans. 

The bank added that qualifying Connected Circle and Connected Gigs plans also include monthly discounts on tech accessories of up-to 50% with Standard Bank’s partnership with Dress Your Tech. 

All plans are monthly. However, customers can choose to commit to their plan for 3, 6 or 12 months for added incentives. They feature auto top up which ensures continuous data access only when needed, with no expiry on topped-up data.   

For a limited time, Standard Bank said customers can take up any plan for R1 and enjoy the full inclusive value of their plans till the first billing date. Plans can only be ordered online at this stage but will be available in selected branches soon. 

Billionaire Slim buys into BT recovery plan with 3% stake costing £400m

Annie Turner
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Billionaire Slim buys into BT recovery plan with 3% stake costing £400m

The deal was done via financial holding company Inbursa and its subsidiaries, which are owned by Mexico’s Carlos Slim and his family

The Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim as invested #400 million in BT shares, which equates to a stake of about 3%. The transaction was carried out via a financial holding company, Inbursa, that Slim and his family own.

Slim became and remained the world’s richest man through telecoms businesses, most notably building up and controlling  América Móvil, which has headquarters in Mexico and operates across Latin America.

Other noteworthy investors include the beleaguered French tycoon Patrick Drahi, who controls the Altice Group Altice UK has held a 24.5% stake in BT since May 2023. Previously Slim acquired stakes in the Dutch telco KPN and Telekom Austria.

Deutsche Telekom is the second largest shareholder after Altice, with a stake less than half the size. The German group’s CEO, Tim Hoettges, has publicly rued not selling off the stake after BT acquired EE in 2016. EE was created by merging Orange’s UK opco and DT’s British operation. Orange gradually divested itself of the stake while DT held on.

Last year Hoettges was quoted describing the BT stake as the “biggest mistake” as in effect, his company paid £4 per share. They are now trading at about £1.33 – about a third of the effective purchase price eight years later.

Such was Hoettges’ frustration that it sparked rumours of a reverse takeover by DT of BT: DT is the only European telecoms group to have broken the ceiling of €100 billion market cap

BT’s new CEO, Allison Kirkby, appears to have inspired confidence in Slim at least. In May she set out her strategic plan for BT’s recovery which included slashing a further €3 billion from BT’s cost base over the next five years. The last £3 billion target, set by her predecessor Philip Jansen, was achieved ahead of schedule and BT Openreach is arguably past its peak investment in fibre buildout.

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