Eurobites: UK government clamps down on broadband pole proliferation

The UK government is clamping down on what it sees as unnecessary pole deployment in broadband rollouts. In an open letter to the broadband industry, Chris Bryant, the minister of state with responsibility for telecoms infrastructure, told companies that the government "must look to address the concerns that people across this country have expressed and recognise that unnecessary pole deployment is immensely frustrating for them." As things stand, the deployment of such poles falls under "permitted development rights," which means they do not require special planning permission; Bryant says that he does not believe the removal of this is the "right move" and would prefer a more negotiated solution. He hopes that a revised Code of Practice for pole deployment currently being drawn up by the industry will set out "examples of considerations that should be taken into account before new poles are deployed." A roundtable with the industry has been set up for September 12 to discuss the matter further.

South Africa's MTN has reported a loss of 7.39 billion rand (US$414 million) in the first six months of the year, largely as a result, it says, of the devaluation of the Nigerian currency and the ongoing conflict in Sudan. Group service revenue was down 20.8% year-over year, to ZAR85.3 billion ($4.78 billion), while EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) decreased by 41.2% to ZAR29.0 billion ($1.62 billion). Ralph Mupita, MTN's group president and CEO, put a brave face on things, maintaining that "commercial momentum and strategy execution were solid" during the period, despite the "macro headwinds" blowing his company off course. In constant currency terms, data service revenue increased by 21% and fintech service revenue was up 27% in H1. Looking ahead, MTN reconfirmed its medium-term guidance and said that it anticipated paying a full-year dividend for FY24 of 330 cents per share.

Ericsson has agreed to sell Iconectiv, a US subsidiary that provides various communications services including numbering and fraud prevention, to Koch Equity Development for around 10.6 billion Swedish kroner ($1 billion). Iconectiv became part of the Ericsson stable in 2012 as a result of the Swedish vendor's Telcordia acquisition. Since 2017, Ericsson has co-owned Iconectiv with private equity firm Francisco Partners. Completion of the deal is expected to take place during the first half of 2025. (See Iconectiv's number might be up at Ericsson.)

Liquid Intelligent Technologies is teaming up with US connectivity company Globalstar to supply 5G private networks technology across Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf. Under the terms of the deal, Liquid will be granted the exclusive rights to sell Globalstar's XCOM RAN private networks offering in those regions.

Nokia has landed another 5G RAN gig, this time in Brazil, with Telecom Italia's Brazilian subsidiary. TIM Brasil plans to expand its 5G coverage across 15 states from January 2025, using Nokia's AirScale gear as well as its MantaRay Networks Management system and various support services.

UK converged operator Virgin Media O2 has introduced a new "social" mobile tariff for people on low incomes. The O2 Essential Plan offers unlimited calls and texts and 10GB of data for £10 ($12.95) per month, and is available to people who receive any of a range of UK government support payments, including Income-based Employment Support Allowance (I-ESA) and Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (I-JSA).