iTWire - Telecoms & NBN

Waveconn to acquire 100% of American Tower’s Australian properties

2024-09-11T10:28:13+10:00

Australian digital infrastructure owner and operator Waveconn has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of global telecoms infrastructure giant American Tower's assets in Australia.

The assets include the wholly owned subsidiaries of American Tower Corporation - AT Australia Pty Ltd and AT Australia Operations Pty Ltd (together AT Australia).

The acquisition expands Waveconn’s portfolio by around 170 sites across Australia, comprising land under mobile towers and building rooftops.

While financial details were not disclosed, the average minimum cost to construct a communications tower has been widely estimated to be US$100,000 (A$$150,000), which would value the deal at somewhere upwards of A$25 million.

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American Tower is one of the largest global developers of multi-tenant communications real estate with a portfolio of over 224,000 communications sites and data centre facilities.

Waveconn owns and operates around 1,400 tower and rooftop sites nationwide with hundreds more actively under development.

The Australian infrastructure owner specialises in building, owning and managing digital infrastructure for a range of clients, including the three national MNOs, government radio networks, and wireless internet service providers.

The transaction, subject to customary conditions precedent, including  Foreign Investment Review Board approval, is expected to close in the 4th quarter of 2024.

Singtel achieves 5G coverage across Singapore’s MRT network

2024-09-09T09:14:27+10:00

Singaporean telecommunications company Singtel claimed it has achieved full 5G coverage throughout Singapore’s mass rapid transit (MRT) network.

The coverage includes all six underground lines as well as 27 stations of the newly-completed Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL).

Singtel implemented the 5G coverage in early 2022, deploying a team of specialised engineers carrying out the network upgrades.

Singtel engineers had to work within constraints such as conducting testing and installation works during stations’ non-operational hours to avoid disruption to train services.

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They had to work within confined spaces, which require specific tools and precise and safe execution.

In keeping with Singtel’s goal of achieving net zero by 2045, its engineers reconfigured existing hardware that originally served the 3G and 4G spectrums within the MRT tunnels to 5G.

“Whether traveling above or below ground, our customers can rely on our strong connectivity to work on-the-go, keep in touch with their loved ones, surf the internet, stream videos or game on their mobile devices,” stated Singtel CEO Ng Tian Chong.

“We’re proud to have achieved this new milestone, demonstrating our commitment to delivering the best connectivity in Singapore.”

The 5G implementation across MRT lines brings Singtel’s 5G coverage to over 1,700 outdoor and 1,000 indoor locations including all shopping malls and transport hubs along the MRT.

Singtel has been deploying 5G network for consumers since 2020.

Singtel deployed 5G to support connectivity in VivoCity. In 2021, it achieved two-thirds nationwide coverage in 2021.

In 2022, it reached 95% network coverage ahead of the IMDA regulatory requirements of 5G coverage by the end of 2025, Hardware Zone reported.

Half a million premises in WA eligible for fibre upgrades: NBN Co

2024-09-04T19:32:40+10:00

More than 500,000 premises across Western Australia (WA) are eligible for fibre upgrades on the NBN network, wholesale broadband operator NBN Co claimed.

More than 63,000 homes and businesses are ordering NBN full fibre, NBN Co said in a statement.

According to NBN data, in the past 10 years, data consumption across the state has grown by more than 700%.

The average household in WA uses around 433GB of data per month which is the equivalent of streaming 43 hours of 4K Netflix and refreshing Facebook more than 50,000 times.

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The spike in consumption is attributed to demand for HD streaming, online gaming, and the number of connected devices using data-intensive applications.

The average Australian home now has around 22 connected devices. It is expected to increase to 30 by 2030.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said in a statement that the local government areas of Stirling, Wanneroo, Gosnells, Rockingham, Bayswater, and Canning lead the highest number of fibre connections.

"The upgrades are available right across the state, including homes and businesses outside the Perth metropolitan region, which means that more people than ever in our regional areas can also access the benefits of a nbn full fibre connection,” said NBN Co chief customer officer Anna Perrin.

“Access to this technology is a game-changer for families who have struggled with dropouts and slow speeds over copper. I strongly encourage households to check the NBN Co website to see if you are eligible for a full fibre upgrade,” said Rowland.

Speed Upgrade: Vodafone is giving away NBN Speed Upgrades at no extra cost

2024-09-03T12:04:03+10:00

As Australians feel the need for internet speed, Vodafone is giving away NBN Speed Upgrades at no extra cost for customers who bundle their postpaid mobile and nbn service.

The Speed Upgrade means eligible customers will automatically be bumped up to the speeds of the next highest nbn speed tier (eg. from 25Mbps to 50Mbps, or nbn® Home Fast to nbn Home Superfast) at no extra cost! Eligibility is subject to technology and line speed capability at the customer’s address.

With video streaming and streamed gaming on the rise in Australia – particularly in higher resolution formats such as on 4K and 8K-enabled TVs – so too is demand for data and higher speeds. The Bureau of Communications, Arts and Regional Research estimates the average monthly data downloads from Australian households will rise from 199 gigabytes in 2018 to 767 gigabytes in 2028.

A Vodafone spokesperson said: “We know fast, reliable internet is essential for Australians who are increasingly dependent on online connection for work, socialising and entertainment.

“Our new Speed Upgrade offer has been designed to put speed and value in the hands of our customers. We’re committed to delivering the network performance our customers need to stay connected, productive, and entertained.”

To receive the Speed Upgrade, eligible customers’ postpaid mobile plan and nbn plan must be on the same account and have the same billing name and billing address. This offer is also available to business customers with an active ABN/ACN. The offer applies to customers who from 27 August 2024 add a new nbn® service to their existing Postpaid Mobile service, change their nbn plan when combined with an existing Postpaid Mobile service, or add a Postpaid Mobile service to an existing nbn service which was connected or changed plan from 27 August 2024.

For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com.au

Claro Argentina picks Nokia for 5G deployment

2024-08-29T09:41:13+10:00

Finnish telecoms provider Nokia signed a 5G deal with Claro Argentina (Claro) to deploy 5G infrastructure across the country.

Nokia will be the sole supplier of Claro Argentina. The agreement will cover the first phase of 5G implementation in the country, reaching Argentina’s largest cities.

Nokia will deploy equipment from its 5G AirScale portfolio, powered by its ReefShark System-on-Chip technology. This includes base stations, baseband units, and massive MIMO radios.

Nokia will also offer planning, deployment, integration, and network optimisation services.

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Claro will deploy Nokia’s Interleaved Passive Active Antenna (IPAA+) across its entire footprint, which will accelerate the deployment of 5G.

Its modular design supports a wide range of frequencies, from 700MHz to 2.6GHz, and the 3.5GHz 5G band with a compact antenna solution.

“The investment in our 5G network with our partner, Nokia, confirms our technology leadership and commitment to innovation. It will continue to digitize society by bringing high-speed connectivity, increased capacity, and seamless connectivity to densely populated areas supporting citizens and enterprises alike,” states Claro Argentina CEO Julio Carlos Porras.

“Our industry-leading 5G portfolio will establish the foundation for digital transformation, opening exciting new opportunities for people and businesses to experience enhanced mobile connectivity,” concludes Nokia president of mobile networks Tommi Uitto.

Major telcos' market share slightly dip while smaller telcos inch up: NBN Co report

2024-08-27T10:02:31+10:00

The market share of major Australian telcos slightly declined while smaller telcos saw a slight increase, according to the NBN Wholesale Market Indicators Report, prepared quarterly for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) by wholesale broadband operator NBN Co.

The June quarter of 2024 report, published recently, focuses on residential broadband access services and highlights latest trends and statistics in the market.

Telstra's market share declined to 39.4%, down from 39.9% a quarter (March) earlier. TPG Telecom slightly dipped to 20.5%, down from 20.7%. Optus remained the same at 12.6%.

Smaller telco Aussie Broadband's market share rose to 8.9% from 8.5% in the March quarter. Vocus' remained steady at 8.5%. The others category reported a 10.2% market share.

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All key quarterly indicators also saw an increase. Total services are at 8.8 million, up by 0.05%. Total CVC capacity acquired rose to 53.9Tbps, up by 14.5%. Average CVC per user is at 6.1Mbps, increased by 14.5%. Number of >50Mbps services is at 6.2 million, up by 0.25%.

The report also highlighted a rise in fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) connections at 2,221,803 from 2,104,451 in the March quarter. It remains to be the most dominant services in operation by technology type.

The total number of services in operation also increased to 8,799,664 from 8,794,904.

The 50Mbps speed tier, one of the most popular NBN speed tier, decreased. Last March quarter, it posted 4,303,867 and declined to 4,116,917 in June.

However, the 100Mbps rose to 1,691,904 connections from 1,552,869. Speeds greater than 100MBps also rose to 418,493 from 354,922 in the March quarter.

NBN Co slashes power consumption across fixed wireless network by 5%

2024-08-20T08:45:57+10:00

Wholesale broadband operator NBN Co claimed it reduced power consumption across its fixed wireless network by 5%, estimated to deliver a reduction of 850 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Based on data collected since its “energy-saving” feature embedded in its hardware was introduced in November 2023, NBN Co expects to save 1.3GWh of power annually, which may bring energy to 200 Australian homes.

NBN Co credits its energy-saving consumption to Ericsson’s equipment supported by Microsleep Tx software on its 2,400 fixed wireless towers across rural and regional areas.

Aside from reducing environmental impact, Ericsson head of ANZ Emilio Romeo says the software will “create operational cost savings, enabling NBN Co to focus on meeting the growing needs of homes and businesses in regional Australia.”

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NBN Co chief technology officer wireless networks Jason Ashton says the company reduces the power consumption of the fixed wireless network in the middle of the night when customer usage is low.

This allows the company to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Radio unit transmitters on the fixed wireless towers are flipped into sleep mode when they are not active, reducing network energy consumption,” NBN Co said in a statement.

“As the radio components can switch on again in microseconds, network performance is not compromised.”

ZTE hits 30.8Gbps mobile speeds in Malaysia

2024-08-19T09:20:07+10:00

The Malaysian Book of Records has recognised ICT provider ZTE for achieving the “fastest mobile speeds” at 30.8Gbps with 5G-Advanced (5G-A) during a live trial conducted in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.

ZTE partnered with CelcomDigi Berhad and U Mobile to accomplish this feat.

In addition to this new benchmark, the partners recorded individual users experiencing speeds of up to 8.5Gbps.

"ZTE's dedication to innovation is reflected through our 5G and 5G-A use cases, where, together with our partners Celcomdigi and U Mobile, we have achieved the milestone performances,” says ZTE Malaysia CEO Steven Ge.

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“We are excited to bring more exciting use cases as we tailor our solutions to meet the unique demands of Malaysia's 5G strategy and beyond."

Aside from this achievement, people visiting the CelcomDigi, U Mobile, and ZTE 5G-A Pavilion located outside Stadium Sarawak will also have the opportunity to experience 5G-A enhanced XR (extended reality) firsthand.

By using the 5G-A powered 360° cameras installed at various locations inside the stadium, visitors can immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the stadium's action by simply putting on a pair of VR goggles.

NBN Co boosts total revenue to $5 billion-plus for FY24

2024-08-13T11:59:29+10:00

Broadband operator NBN Co generated total revenue of $5.5 billion in FY24, an increase of 4 per cent year-on-year, and Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA)1 of $3.93 billion -a 9 per cent improvement on FY23.

NBN Co rreports that both revenue and EBITDA were in line with guidance and the revenue result was based on the growth in telecommunications revenue driven by increased activations and growth in business customer revenue, including Business Fibre and Enterprise Ethernet services.

And, other revenue significantly increased, which NBN Co says follows the roll out of fibre to newly developed communities and network deployment and upgrade activity under state and territory co-investment projects.

The results in FY24, residential Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) remained stable at $47 as previously signalled to the industry post acceptance and implementation of the SAU Variation during the year.

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NBN Co reports that it closed the full year with more than 8.6 million homes and businesses connected to the nbn network, and the company’s network investment strategy is “designed to keep ahead of national data demand by rolling out new fibre deeper into communities and providing availability to increased speeds, while replacing and ultimately retiring copper infrastructure”.

Capital expenditure in the 12 months to 30 June 2024 was $3.76 billion. The company received $771 million as an equity injection from the Commonwealth Government as part of its commitment to provide additional funding of up to $2.4 billion towards full fibre upgrades.

In FY24, NBN Co raised just under $6.5 billion from debt capital markets and bank facilities.

The company also refinanced the remaining balance of $5.5 billion relating to the $19.5 billion Commonwealth Government loan in full by 30 June 2024, and NBN Co’s capital strategy “remains focused on funding network investments and maintaining a strong liquidity position”.

Here’s further information reported by NBN Co:

NBN Co’s network upgrade program continues to unlock social and economic benefits for the nation.

The company is on target with its commitment to enable over 10 million premises, or up to 90 per cent of the nbn® Fixed Line network, to access the nbn® Home Ultrafast wholesale speed tier2,3 by the end of 2025.

To date, more than 70,000 kilometres of new fibre has been rolled out, which will ultimately extend full fibre access to 3.5 million premises served by Fibre to the Node (FTTN) and 1.5 million premises originally served by Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) technology. Around 78 per cent of the total nbn® Fixed Line network can now access the nbn® Home Ultrafast wholesale speed tier.

In FY24, the company reached a milestone by enabling more than 2 million premises across Victoria and New South Wales, combined, to be eligible for full fibre upgrades on the nbn® network. As at 30 June 2024, around 375,000 premises nationwide had upgraded from FTTN or FTTC to a full fibre service.

In March 2024, the company launched a consultation with Retail Service Providers on a proposal to accelerate speeds to customers connected to the nbn® network via Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) and Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) technologies. In May 2024, the company also announced a proposal to develop three new ‘hyper-fast’ wholesale products for residential and business customers connected to the nbn® network via FTTP or HFC technology.

This initiative supports Retail Service Providers to prepare their products and customer services to help meet the growing desire for speed amongst residential, business and enterprise customers.

NBN Co has also significantly invested in its Fixed Wireless network to improve customer experience, speeds and meet evolving data capacity requirements.

During FY24, NBN Co boosted speed capability on the popular Fixed Wireless Plus plan4,5. The company also introduced two new Fixed Wireless higher speed tier wholesale products4,5 to Retail Service Providers intended to enable more homes and businesses in regional Australia to access higher nbn® network speeds on their nbn® Fixed Wireless connection.

The upgrades aimed at supporting more homes and businesses in regional Australia are part of a $750 million investment made up of $480 million from the Commonwealth Government and an additional $270 million from NBN Co.

By the end of the Fixed Wireless and Satellite Upgrade Program, approximately 120,000 premises within the company’s Satellite areas will be eligible to access nbn Fixed Wireless.

As at 30 June 2024, more than 50,000 premises previously served by satellite technology could access nbn® Fixed Wireless for the first time.

The company also now provides customers in regional and remote Australia access to uncapped internet data use6 via the new nbn® Sky Muster® Plus Premium satellite plans7. This includes entry, mid and high tier levels. Sky Muster® Plus Premium was the first nbn® Satellite plan to offer residential and small business customers uncapped data use to cover all their internet activities6.

Measures to support digital inclusion
The company remains committed to helping drive digital inclusion across the nation and is collaborating with communities and government with the aim of improving digital inclusion and availability of high-speed broadband to areas of society most in need.

Following $20 million grant funding from the Australian Government, announced in February 2024, the company is expanding its existing Community Wi-Fi program to a further 23 remote First Nations communities. Central to this initiative is the use of NBN Co’s Sky Muster® Plus Premium services to provide internet access, which will be supported by the installation of wireless access equipment throughout each community.

The company is also proud to be supporting the delivery of the Australian Government’s School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI). The program has been established to provide free home internet over the nbn® network via a participating internet provider until 31 December 2025 for unconnected families with school-aged students.

The company continues to work with numerous organisations across Australia to raise awareness and reach even more eligible families who stand to benefit from the SSBI program. Approximately 15,000 families have now connected to the nbn® network through the initiative.

“NBN Co has achieved the key performance targets and full year guidance as set out in the Corporate Plan 2024,” said Philip Knox, Interim Chief Executive Officer at NBN Co.

“The investments we continue to make in fibre, higher speeds and greater network operational capacity is making a difference by helping more people reap the benefits of a more connected and productive Australia.

“Looking ahead, our proposed acceleration of nbn speed tiers and the nation’s multi-gigabit future is aimed at ensuring Australia is equipped with the critical infrastructure it will need to support the explosion of data that’s coming in the years ahead.

“Economic research from Accenture8 estimates that a faster, higher capacity nbn® network will increase Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by about $400 billion over the eight years from 2023 to 2030. These benefits are expected to be even more profound in regional and rural parts of Australia.

“The work we do today to advance the responsible and sustainable financial growth of the company, alongside our prudent and well-considered investments, will help to generate more jobs and educational opportunities, promote community connectedness and social inclusion, and give Australia an economic boost.”

Footnotes

1 EBITDA includes Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Other non-operating income, Depreciation and Amortisation and Gains/(Losses) on derivatives measured at fair value through profit/(loss).

2 An end customer's experience, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn^® network, depends on some factors outside NBN Co's control (like equipment quality, software, and how a retail service provider designs its network) and the NBN Co technology used for the connection.

3 Regardless of the retail service an end customer purchases, the actual wholesale speeds delivered by nbn^® highest residential wholesale speed tier of 500 to close to 1000 Mbps will be less than 1 Gbps due to equipment and network limitations and the peak information rate may fall anywhere in this range. References to speeds are not customer speeds; they are wholesale layer 2 peak information rate bandwidth provided to retail providers. NBN Co provides wholesale services to phone and internet providers. nbn^® wholesale speed tiers available to providers vary depending on the access technology in an end user's area.

4 These are nbn^® wholesale speed tiers, which NBN Co provides to retail phone and internet providers. Attainable wholesale speeds are subject to the rollout of network upgrades and some premises will require NBN Co to complete upgrades to the equipment at the premises.

5 See footnote 2; and speeds may be impacted by the number of concurrent users on nbn's Fixed Wireless network (including during busy periods).

6 Fair Use Policy and shaping apply. To proactively protect and ensure the fair access to the nbn network for all users, NBN Co may from time to time, at its discretion, shape the following activities to maximum wholesale upload and download speeds of 256 kbps: uploads and downloads via peer to peer; uploads and downloads to cloud storage platforms; PC and smartphone operating system updates; software/application updates; gaming software updates; any other traffic related to applications which nbn cannot identify. Other activity that NBN Co considers may cause adverse network impacts may also be added to the above list to be shaped, including streaming video and VPN.

7 See footnote 2; and Satellite users may experience latency.

8 The economic and social impact of investment in the nbn^® network Methodology Report, January 2024.

NRTC taps Ericsson to bring 4G and 5G networks to co-ops in the US

2024-08-09T09:43:04+10:00

The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) has partnered with Swedish telco vendor Ericsson to offer 4G and 5G networks to small- and mid-sized electronic cooperatives (co-ops) across the US.

NRTC led a consortium and collaborated with telecoms and energy utility provider Linc to offer core hosting solutions and specialist private network provider Anterix to provide sub-licensed spectrum at 900MHz.

NRTC also collaborated with a roster of solution providers working in the smart grid space.

RCR Wireless News reported NRTC is selling to utilities of “all sizes and terrains.”

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“The partnership will also allow NRTC members to construct, own, secure, and physically maintain LTE/5G-ready sites as needed to provide wireless coverage and capacity for legacy system retirement and grid modernization objectives,” Ericsson said in a statement.

Southern Linc’s core hosting solution delivers Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core solution, built on Ericsson’s Cloud Native Infrastructure to NRTC member cooperatives and will provide the core connectivity for the private Radio Access Network.

Combined with Ericsson Router 6000 and Mini-Link 6000 offerings, this will provide a framework for utilities to enhance their network capabilities while maintaining the highest standards of security and reliability.