• Ericsson lands state support for Canadian R&D investments
• Zegona & Telefónica seal FTTP JV agreement 
• AT&T splashes $1bn on UScellular spectrum licences

In today’s industry news roundup: Ericsson has been awarded Canadian government funding for its R&D investments at multiple facilities across the country; Zegona/Vodafone Spain has sealed a deal with Telefónica for the formation of a fibre broadband network joint venture; AT&T is spending more than $1bn on spectrum licences from UScellular; and much more!

Ericsson has been awarded direct funding to the tune of CAN$79.1m (US$57m) from the Canadian government to support the Swedish vendor’s CAN$634.8m (US$457m) investment in its R&D facilities and operations in Canada. The investments will underpin R&D work into cloud RAN (radio access network) systems, 5G advanced, 6G, AI, quantum computing and network APIs at Ericsson’s multiple facilities in Ottawa, Ontario and Quebec. The Canadian government noted that the investments “will bring economic benefits to the Ottawa and Montréal regions, stimulate Canada’s 5G ecosystem and drive growth in the entire tech sector. The project is also expected to create 1,200 co-op student positions and more than 190 jobs and to sustain 2,400 jobs in Canada, primarily in well-paying R&D positions.” According to the delightfully named François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, “our partnership with Ericsson solidifies Canada’s position as a leader in next-generation networks. With the increased investment, we’ll not only support the 5G networks of today, but also advance the technologies that will shape our future and continue to make Canada a leader in these areas.” Already Ericsson’s key North American R&D facility, the Ottawa site occupies 25,000 square metres, of which more than 4,300 sqm is dedicated to labs for research, hardware/software design, integration and verification of products for the vendor’s global portfolio. For further details, see this press release from the Canadian government and this announcement from Ericsson. 

Zegona Communications, the new owner of Vodafone Spain following the completion of its €5bn acquisition in late May, has finalised a binding agreement with Telefónica España for the formation of a wholesale fibre broadband access network joint venture dubbed FibreCo. The plan was initially unveiled in late July but has now been formalised, with the new company expected to be set up in early 2025, following regulatory approval. The new venture, in which Telefónica España will initially hold a 63% stake and Zegona/Vodafone Spain a 37% stake, will be formed through the combination of existing fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network assets from both shareholders, which already reach 3.6 million Spanish premises and currently deliver services to 1.4 million customers. The joint owners still plan to bring a third investor on board, at which point Zegona will reduce its stake to 10% but Telefónica España will continue to be the majority shareholder. The venture, which reportedly carries a valuation of €2bn, “will provide fibre optic services to Telefónica España and Vodafone España, both for their retail and wholesale services” and “will allow both parties to maximise the use of the current FTTH network, as well as capture efficiencies, both from the existing network and its future technological evolutions, allowing them to offer the best services to their customers,” noted Telefónica in this announcement. To complement the agreement, Zegona/Vodafone Spain and Telefónica España have signed a new five-year wholesale fibre network agreement. Eamonn O’Hare, chairman and CEO of Zegona, commented: “Entering into this FibreCo partnership with Telefónica demonstrates our commitment to transform Vodafone Spain’s fixed-line strategy. This transaction gives our business guaranteed access to a future-proof all-fibre network with attractive economic terms.” Zegona has also struck a deal with MásOrange to form another fibre access network JV that will reach 11.5 million Spanish premises: A final binding deal for that venture has yet to be agreed. 

Having already sold spectrum licences to T-Mobile US and Verizon, UScellular has now struck a deal to offload licences related to spectrum in the 3.45GHz and 700MHz bands to AT&T in a deal valued at just over $1bn. In May, the US’s fourth-largest mobile operator struck an agreement to sell most of its assets – its customer base, retail stores and some spectrum licences – to T-Mobile US in a deal valued at $4.4bn. Then in October it announced a deal to sell some of its spectrum licences to Verizon for $1bn as well as entering into agreements with “two other [unidentified] mobile network operators for the sale of other selected spectrum licences.” Laurent C. Therivel, president and CEO at UScellular, noted: “We are pleased with the significant value that will be realised in the various transactions recently announced. This agreement adds a fourth mobile network operator, in addition to T-Mobile, to the list of those whose subscribers will benefit from the sale of our spectrum licences. As with the other mobile network operators, we are confident that AT&T can put it to productive use in communities throughout the US. Furthermore, the terms of the agreement will ensure that there will be continued, uninterrupted service for UScellular customers in the interim.” According to UScellular, as a result of the AT&T deal it has reached definitive agreements to monetise about 55% of the spectrum holdings (excluding mmWave) that were excluded from the T-Mobile US deal.  

Jazz, the Pakistan operation of international operator Veon, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) and the National Information Technology Board (NITB) to collaborate on the development of “Pakistan’s first indigenous large language model (LLM) to serve under-resourced regional languages, supporting digital inclusivity in AI technologies”. The LLM will focus on Urdu and include datasets for Pashto and Punjabi. The announcement came as Veon, which serves 70 million customers in Pakistan through Jazz and Mobilink Bank, reaffirmed its commitment to the country. “Pakistan presents a massive digital growth opportunity with a population of 244 million, 64% of whom are under 30,” stated Veon group CEO Kaan Terzioglu. “With a growing population, a stabilising economy, and millions still awaiting access to opportunities in financial services, education, healthcare, and information, Pakistan has the potential to demonstrate how closing the digital divide can unlock economic growth and drive social progress. We are committed to being Pakistan’s strategic partner in accelerating the vision of digital transformation for socioeconomic growth, and to showcasing the country’s tremendous potential and investment case on the international platforms that we are a part of.” 

Dutch national operator KPN has expanded the cybersecurity services it is offering SMEs with the launch of a service called Extra Safe Mobile. The telco had previously launched Extra Safe Internet, which protects SME broadband connections and has blocked more than 200 million malicious websites and phishing links for them this year alone. Now KPN has launched Extra Safe Mobile to “provide extra protection for the business mobile internet traffic” of SME employees. Read more. 

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), the ultimate parent company of India’s largest telco, Reliance Jio, has once again urged the country’s regulatory and administrative authorities to reconsider how they plan to allocate satellite broadband licences, reports The Economic Times. The current plan is to award licences on an administrative basis rather than via an auction process, with the details of the process to be determined by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Jio, in particular, is concerned that handing out licences will provide an unfair advantage to the low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite companies, in particular Elon Musk’s Starlink. The issue was a big talking point during last month’s India Mobile Congress 2024 (IMC24) event – see India’s top telcos apply satellite, AI policy pressure at IMC24.

– The staff, TelecomTV