Eurobites: Vodafone turns to Ericsson's single-antenna tech for 5G expansionEurobites: Vodafone turns to Ericsson's single-antenna tech for 5G expansion

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Tele2's Q2; Salt raises prices; AI answers the phone in Derby.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

July 18, 2023

3 Min Read
Eurobites: Vodafone turns to Ericsson's single-antenna tech for 5G expansion
(Source: Ericsson)

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Tele2's Q2; Salt raises prices; AI answers the phone in Derby.

Vodafone is to deploy Ericsson's single-antenna technology in the UK in a bid to bring greater 5G coverage and capacity without adding to the antenna footprint. The AIR 3218 antenna-integrated radio, as its name suggests, combines radio and antenna in a single unit, making it easier, says Ericsson, to add capacity yet still comply with building regulations or planning law. The AIR 3218 is expected to be deployed across 50 sites across Vodafone' UK network by the end of this year, reducing site acquisition and build time by almost a third, Ericsson predicts.

  • And in related news, Vodafone has revealed that it will receive an additional €500 million (US$562 million) from the sale of its infrastructure arm, Vantage Towers, according to Proactive Investor. The deal involves a consortium of investors led by Global Infrastructure Partners and KKR, which will increase its ownership in Oak Holdings, Vantage Towers' parent company, to 40% once the transaction is complete. (See Vodafone maintains control advantage in new tower deal and How Europe's biggest telcos lost control of their towers.)

  • Nordic operator Tele2 saw its underlying earnings remain unchanged year-over-year in the second quarter, reaching 2.5 billion Swedish kronor ($244 million), on total revenues that increased 3%, to SEK7.2 billion ($704 million). Strong service revenue growth in the Baltics and cost savings born out of Tele2's business transformation program were offset mainly by inflationary pressures. Full-year guidance for end-user service revenue was updated from low single-digit growth to low-to-mid-single digit growth.

  • Salt, the low-cost Swiss mobile operator, has bowed to the inevitable and decided to increase the cost of some of its plans by around 3%, effective September 2023. Prepaid customers and large B2B accounts are not affected. Salt will, however, absorb the cost of an upcoming VAT rate increase rather than passing it on to customers.

  • Better collaboration between local authorities would help speed up the UK rollout of 5G and fiber, according to a new report commissioned by the Digital Connectivity Forum. Among the proposed recommendations in the report is a desire for local authorities and telcos to work together to better educate planning authorities on the technical requirements of 5G and gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure. The Digital Connectivity Forum is an advisory body to the UK government on connectivity matters. The report was compiled by FarrPoint.

  • Giganet has completed the first phase of its fiber rollout in the UK counties of Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire, with residents of parts of Totton, Devizes and Wimborne, among other towns, now able to sign up for the company's broadband services.

  • Sky, the UK-based purveyor of pay-TV and more, has launched its Sky Stream service in Ireland for those who fancy Sky content without the faff of having a satellite dish installed. Sky Stream, based around a "puck" device that can plug into any TV, is similar to Sky's Now streaming service, though it offers 4K content and access to Freeview channels via broadband.

  • Heartwarming news from Derby City Council, where 43% of residents' calls have been "deflected" away from human responders following the introduction of Darcie and Ali, the council's new AI-assistant power couple. According to Andy Brammall, the council's customer engagement guru, the AI assistants "free up time for our colleagues to focus on more complex queries which require human conversation." Actual human conversation. Wow.

    — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

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About the Author

Paul Rainford

Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Paul is based on the Isle of Wight, a rocky outcrop off the English coast that is home only to a colony of technology journalists and several thousand puffins.

He has worked as a writer and copy editor since the age of William Caxton, covering the design industry, D-list celebs, tourism and much, much more.

During the noughties Paul took time out from his page proofs and marker pens to run a small hotel with his other half in the wilds of Exmoor. There he developed a range of skills including carrying cooked breakfasts, lying to unwanted guests and stopping leaks with old towels.

Now back, slightly befuddled, in the world of online journalism, Paul is thoroughly engaged with the modern world, regularly firing up his VHS video recorder and accidentally sending text messages to strangers using a chipped Nokia feature phone.

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