BBWN Bites: Charter Promotes Finance Whizzes, Operators Rock Out in Romania
Also today, news about Telekom Romania, Orange and Vodafone Romania; CommScope's DAA family expands; Euskaltel profit and revenue are down, but hope is up; Israeli satellite provider and SpaceX return to Cape Canaveral; and operators should beware of the latest WhatsApp-themed security risk.
Charter expanded VP of Financial and Business Planning James Nuzzo's role to include oversight of Business Intelligence and Corporate Services. The MSO also promoted Charles Fisher to executive vice president, Corporate Finance & Development, adding investor relations to his duties, and Kevin Howard to EVP, chief accounting officer and controller. This all follows news of CFO Christopher Winfrey's expanded responsibilities, Charter noted.
Dissatisfied with the reportedly high cost of accessing Telekom Romania's fixed-access network, Orange Group will deploy its own fiber network across the Eastern European country, according to local newspaper Ziarul Financiar. Originally, the two providers inked a network-sharing deal: Orange used Telekom Romania's fixed network, the Romanian operator used the German provider's 4G network. But RT stopped using the French operator's network earlier this year -- due to what it called high prices.
Deep in the Heart of Europe
Telekom Romania, Orange and Vodafone were busy in Romania, merging and leaving and unveiling investment plans. (Image source: TheDigitalWay via Pixabay)
In the same country, Vodafone Romania made some changes at the top after the regulators OK'd the previously contested deal between Vodafone and Liberty Global, generating a merger with Liberty's UPC Romania subsidiary. UPC Romania CEO Mihnea Rădulescu will move on to be director of Vodafone's business unit, while Mostafa El Beltagy will continue to lead the consumer division, after taking it on in 2018. (See Vodafone Strikes €18.4B Deal to Buy Liberty Assets.)
CommScope shared news of an upcoming 2x2 Remote PHY device designed to help operators accelerate their adoption of 10G -- symmetric DOCSIS 3.1 created to compete with 5G and fiber -- and the latest in the vendor's Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) family. Slated for operator testing later this year, the R-PHY module goes into CommScope's NC4 and OM4 fiber nodes, according to the manufacturer.
Spanish operator Euskaltel reported second-quarter net profit sank 22.5%, to €11 million ($12.2 million), compared with 12 months ago; revenue was down only about 1% to €171.1 million ($190 million). CEO Jose Miguel Garcia, who took the top spot in June, wants to simplify and cut costs for the array of fixed and mobile services it offers in northern Spain, including the Basque region. Network expansion engendered 4,000 new customers in Q2, versus a loss of 10,000 in the first quarter, Euskaltel said. (See Spain's Euskaltel Unveils Expansion Plans.)
SpaceX is scheduled to launch Spacecom's Amos-17 on the evening of Aug. 3 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., wrote the Jerusalem Post. The Israeli satellite operator's broadband customers include Dish Networks in Nepal.
Hiding Behind a Link of Legitimacy
Malware-writers and hackers often use popular apps like WhatsApp to try and lure consumers into clicking an infected link. (Source: WeLiveSecurity.com)
Operators should be aware of the latest WhatsApp-themed online scam, which offers consumers "free gigabit Internet," WeLiveSecurity.com reported today. Researchers from security vendor ESET Latin America first found the fakery, which claimed to celebrate the messaging app's anniversary by giving away 1,000 gigabits of free Internet data. The non-WhatsApp URL takes victims to a survey; there, like any good scam, it demands the consumer shares the scam with at least 30 people to be eligible for the gig prize.
Related posts:
— Alison Diana, Editor, Broadband World News. Follow us on Twitter or @alisoncdiana.
|
|
Here's where you can find episode links for 'The Divide,' Light Reading's podcast series featuring conversations with broadband providers and policymakers working to close the digital divide.
As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will present our Cable Next-Gen Europe conference as a free digital symposium on June 21.
Charter has sparked RDOF work in all 24 states where it won bids. The cable op booked about $19 million in RDOF revenues in Q1, and expects to have about $9 million per month come in over the next ten years.
As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will stage the Cable Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies conference as a free digital event over two half-days in mid-March.
Launch of 2-Gig and 5-Gig FTTP tiers in 70-plus markets puts more pressure on cable ops to enhance their existing DOCSIS 3.1 network or accelerate their upgrade activity centered on the new DOCSIS 4.0 specs.
|
