• NTT Docomo has picked Ericsson to upgrade its RAN compute platform
• Liberty Global has completed a deal to buy Vodafone’s stake in its Dutch JV
• TIM has unveiled plans to invest more than €500m into ESG

In today’s industry news roundup: NTT Docomo has turned to Ericsson to deploy AI-ready RAN infrastructure across its network; Liberty Global has completed a deal to buy Vodafone’s stake in Dutch joint venture VodafoneZiggo; TIM has unveiled a new climate transition plan as it plots its route to net zero; and much more!

NTT Docomo has partnered with Ericsson to upgrade its RAN compute platform across its 4G and 5G networks in Japan.

The Japanese operator will deploy Ericsson’s next-generation RAN Compute platform, which is designed for AI-native and programmable networks, and is optimised for 4G, 5G and 5G Advanced workloads.

Deployment is already underway and the project is expected to boost network quality, while also providing the underlying architecture for longer-term software evolutions.

Ericsson said the platform can handle up to two times the capacity while using less than half the energy of previous baseband products.

Masafumi Masuda, Senior Vice President, General Manager of Radio Access Network Design Department, NTT Docomo, said: "Docomo is promoting the enhancement of network processing capacity to maintain and improve communication quality while meeting the growing traffic demand. 

“Ericsson’s RAN Compute platform will strongly support our infrastructure strategy thanks to its high processing performance. We will continue to deepen our partnership with Ericsson to build a flexible network platform that anticipates the future use of AI and deliver the best communication experience to our customers."

It is the latest project between the Swedish vendor and Docomo. Last year, Docomo partnered with Ericsson for the commercial deployment of its 4.5GHz Massive MIMO radio infrastructure.

Liberty Global has completed the buyout of joint venture partner Vodafone’s stake in Dutch operation VodafoneZiggo.

The transaction consists of €1 billion in cash plus a 10% shareholding in a new Benelux-based holding company called Ziggo Group, which will own both VodafoneZiggo and Liberty’s Belgian arm Telenet Group.

The deal was announced in February and Vodafone will continue to provide a number of long-term services to VodafoneZiggo, which will also continue to operate under its current branding, in a deal worth €625m over the next 10 years.

Liberty Global has already said it plans to list Ziggo Group on the Amsterdam-based Euronext exchange in 2027 and to spin off the 90% held by Liberty Global to its shareholders in a move similar to the one Liberty Group made with its Sunrise business in Switzerland.

Vodafone Group has had a very busy few weeks in the mergers and acquisitions space, having last week completed the buyout of its UK JV, VodafoneThree, from CK Hutchison. The exit from the Netherlands is part of the UK’s operator’s plans to streamline its focus on core operations, and proceeds from the sale will go into paying off its net debt, the operator said in a statement.

Telecom Italia (TIM) has set out a new climate transition plan which outlines its roadmap on how it will invest €500 million to help reduce carbon emissions over the coming decades.

TIM said a key focus of its plan will be to reduce emissions across its supply chain, which accounts for over 90% of TIM’s overall carbon footprint.

Key areas of focus include improving the energy efficiency of its infrastructure, adopting technologies with a lower environmental impact, maintaining energy supply from renewable sources, and aligning its supply chain.

The Italian operator has already put in place a number of planned measures, including accelerating migration to 5G, which helps reduce energy consumed per unit of traffic carried; and modernising datacentres with more efficient cooling and energy management systems.

“Cloud computing and artificial intelligence are driving demand for connectivity and computing power at an unprecedented rate. We cannot ignore this. With our Climate Transition Plan, we have set out a path to reduce our emissions whilst supporting digital growth. We will make our processes and infrastructure more efficient to reduce consumption and adopt technologies with a lower environmental impact. The more the system is able to create the economic conditions to support this challenge, the more ambitious the results we will be able to achieve”, said Pietro Labriola, TIM Chief Executive Officer.

The plan has already been rubber stamped by TIM’s board, though the operator is currently subject to a takeover by Poste Italiane. However, Italy’s state-owned postal service is already the biggest shareholder in the company, so it is unlikely these plans would shift once the deal is completed.

Liberty Networks has partnered with Compañía Anónima Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela (CANTV) to launch a new subsea cable system linking Caracas in Venezuela with Willemstad in Curacao.

The 378km Fenix cable will support a minimum of 14Tbps of capacity and will be integrated into Liberty’s regional submarine cable ecosystem which spans Latin America and the Caribbean through the carrier’s IP hub in Curaçao, which is linked to the Arcos, EC-Link, Jerry Newton and PCCS cable systems. The integration also includes IP Transit capabilities from Curaçao, which in turn connects to the NAP of the Americas in Miami.

For Venezuelan telco CANTV, the new cable will connect to its Festoon cable system, and will provide a new interconnection point for the country’s capital.

Globe Telecom, PLDT and Converge have sent a joint proposal to the Philippines Department of Information and Communications Technology over plans to build a new $500 million subsea cable system linking Batanes and Palawan, with branches to Visayas and Mindanao.

According to reports from local news site BusinessWorld, DICT secretary Henry Rhoel R Aguda discussed the proposal during a roundtable discussion last week, saying it would provide additional capacity and connectivity. He also revealed the proposed cable would be equipped with technology used to detect seismic activity, enabling real-time data collection on earthquakes and tsunamis that could boost disaster preparedness.

DICT is reportedly evaluating the proposals and, if approved, the project would take at least two years to complete.

Scottish altnet GoFibre has expanded its fibre footprint to include more rural towns around Angus, Perth, Kinross, and Aberdeenshire.

The telco, which provides full-fibre broadband connections of up to 1Gbps, said it has expanded to more North Scotland locations as part of the £105 million contract it signed with the UK government’s Project Gigabit last year. Project Gigabit is the UK’s programme to deploy more fibre connectivity in hard-to-reach and rural locations.

The contract originally aimed to cover “around” 63,000 premises in hard-to-reach rural areas across parts of seven local authorities – Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City, Angus, Dundee, Highland, Moray and Perth & Kinross. Following early connections taking place in Edzell, Inverbervie and Longforgan, residents and businesses in Montrose, Dunkeld, Bankfoot, Newtonhill, Portlethen, Alyth and Coupar Angus are now next in line to access speeds of up to 1Gbps.

GoFibre is also adding additional premises beyond its obligations, it said, meaning at least 100,000 premises across the North East will be added to its full-fibre footprint.