According to internet service monitor NetBlocks, the occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine experienced a “near-total internet blackout” on Saturday (30 April).

NetBlocks said the connection was partially restored on 1 May by the regional provider Skynet, but the traffic had been rerouted to Russia’s Rostelecom instead of Ukrainian infrastructure.

“Connectivity on the network has been routed via Russia’s internet instead of Ukrainian telecoms infrastructure and is hence likely now subject to Russian internet regulations, surveillance and censorship,” NetBlocks said in an update on its website.

Ukrainian officials said yesterday (4 May) that a communications blackout began in the region due to shelling, which damaged the fibre optic network in Kherson.

The head of Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection, Yurii Shchyhol, said in a briefing that service operators restored communication in the Kherson region using backup lines.

Netblocks also said on Twitter yesterday that the region had been reconnected to Ukrainian infrastructure.

Update: Network data show internet connectivity is returning to Kherson, south Ukraine, across multiple providers; Vice PM Fedorov has praised the outstanding work of authorities and telcos in regaining access in the occupied region

Background: https://t.co/S0qJQ7CbNv pic.twitter.com/YzSkKQySd5

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) May 4, 2022

Shchyhol said Russia’s attempts to connect Ukrainian internet users to the Russian network was a violation of international law.

At the briefing, Shchyhol also said Russian forces have been targeting TV and radio broadcasting infrastructure, potentially impacting the ability of people in Ukraine to get reliable information on the conflict.

Multiple internet providers in Ukraine have reported damage to their infrastructure and a drop in their coverage in other occupied regions such as Donbas, the Financial Times reported. Broadband and mobile provider Kyivstar said it can only provide connectivity to around 25pc of the people in Donetsk that it could prior to the Russian invasion and 10pc in Luhansk.

Ukraine has been facing various forms of digital attacks amid the Russian invasion. Last month, the Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine said it managed to prevent a cyberattack from Russian hackers that targeted the country’s electrical grid.

There have also been growing fears of attacks spilling out to other countries. Cybersecurity authorities from nations in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance issued a warning last month about the threat of Russian state-sponsored cyberattacks on critical infrastructure systems.

The organisations said there is “evolving intelligence” that the Russian government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks, and made reference to the warning issued by US president Joe Biden in March about the threat to US critical infrastructure.

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As part of a €1bn five-year capital investment programme launched in 2018, Eir planned to invest €500m in a fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network expansion in Ireland.

The telco said its expansion work has continued at pace during the pandemic, with 400,000 homes added during that time.

Last April, Eir said its gigabit fibre network was available in 79 towns and villages. The company announced plans to add a further 200,000 premises to the network last August.

By 2026, it expects 1.9m homes and businesses, or 84pc of premises in the country, to be connected to its gigabit fibre network.

“Our purpose is to connect for a better Ireland, and we do this by building world-class fibre networks for the people of Ireland,” Open Eir Wholesale managing director Eavann Murphy said.

“Gigabit connectivity is enabling a truly connected country, opening up opportunities for people to live, work and connect wherever they choose in Ireland, and I am very proud that we are building this wholesale fibre network for all of Ireland,” Murphy added.

Eir said that its network, combined with the National Broadband Plan (NBP), would help Ireland become one of the most fibre connected countries in the world.

The multibillion-euro NBP aims to connect more than 1.1m people across 544,000 homes, businesses, farms and schools in Ireland. The first premises was connected to the network at the start of 2021, but the roll-out has faced delays and criticism.

Meanwhile, Eir has also been expanding its 5G network. The telco announced this month that 5G roaming is now available for customers travelling in 34 countries around the world, and that its 5G network at home now extends across 1,250 sites in 450 towns and cities in Ireland.

A report last month by network intelligence company Ookla said Eir is the “clear winner” in 5G availability in Ireland compared to other providers.

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Other countries that have been added to the high-speed roaming network include France, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Portugal, Malta and Thailand. Last November, there were 22 countries where Eir customers could use 5G roaming.

“Travel demand has increased dramatically in recent weeks and so I am pleased to announce the expansion of Eir’s 5G roaming network to include the UK and other highly popular travel destinations within Europe and Asia,” said Eir’s new CEO, Oliver Loomes.

“Our 5G customers who plan to travel this year will have access to the fastest and strongest technology available, ensuring they can stay in touch with family and friends while travelling the world,” Loomes added.

Eir customers can now avail of 5G roaming across Europe, Asia, Canada and the Middle East in countries including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates.

Eir plans to add more countries to its 5G roaming list later in the year, including the US.

The telecoms company’s 5G network, which it says is up to 10 times faster than its 4G predecessor, now extends across 1,250 sites in 450 towns and cities in Ireland.

A report last month by network intelligence company Ookla said Eir is the “clear winner” in 5G availability in Ireland compared to other providers.

This time last year, Eir said its 5G network was available across more than 900 sites in the country, reaching more than half of the population. By October, the telecoms provider said it hit a “significant milestone” by making its 5G network available to more than 70pc of people in Ireland across 336 towns and cities. Ookla said Eir increased this number to 430 towns and cities during the last quarter of 2021.

Last November, Eir announced free 5G upgrades to customers with mobile plans. The company enabled 5G for in-market mobile plans at no extra cost, giving prepay and contract customers access to its growing 5G network.

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In a progress update yesterday (7 April), the company said it is on track to have 221,000 homes in the ‘under construction’ phase of the project by the end of the year, with 128,000 ‘available to order’.

NBI also said it expects the number of premises passed by the network to be 102,000 homes, an increase of 102pc.

“Our ability to move premises from the construction phases to the order phase is seriously ramping up, which means users can reap the benefits of the transformational network sooner,” NBI chair David McCourt said.

However, years of delays have led to concerns about the project’s deadlines. A report by the Committee of Public Accounts (PAC) published earlier this week was critical of NBI missing contractual deadlines last year.

The report noted the agreed target with NBI was to have 115,000 premises passed by the end of January 2022. An interim remedial plan was submitted by NBI, which had a revised target of 60,000 premises.

“However, the actual number of premises passed by the network by 31 January 2022 was 34,454,” the PAC report said.

A low take-up rate

In its recent progress update, NBI said there are take-up rates of 30pc in deployment areas that have been live for a period of six months or more. NBI’s CEO, Peter Hendrick, said this is “growing all the time” and is a “strong indicator of future demand”.

“Ultimately, we are confident of an overall take-up of approximately 85pc and already have some 50 broadband providers signed up to sell services on the NBI network,” Hendrick said.

Speaking to an Oireachtas Joint Committee at the end of January, Hendrick said only 6,000 homes had actually signed up and were receiving broadband from the plan.

The PAC report published this week said that by 10 February, 7,000 properties were connected to the network, which represents an 18.4pc take-up rate. It added that it is “not satisfied” that the NBI’s take-up target of 85pc is realistic.

At that stage, NBI said that high-speed fibre broadband was available in 22 counties and that 55,000 premises across could order and pre-order a connection to the fibre network.

“Given that NBI has received approximately €132.3m in subsidies to the end of quarter three 2021, the committee is concerned that the progress achieved to date does not represent value for money for the taxpayer,” the PAC report said.

It recommended that the Department of Communications take a “strong oversight role” to ensure the NBI meets its 2022 targets, once they are agreed.

The National Broadband Plan aims to connect more than 1.1m people across 544,000 homes, businesses, farms and schools in Ireland where commercial operators do not currently provide high-speed connectivity.

The full deployment of the contract, which was signed in November 2019, is expected to be complete by 2027 but delays have raised concerns about that deadline being met. The Business Post reported at the end of January that serious questions also remain about the financing, ownership, control and progress of the deal.

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Host Ireland owns and operates a broadband network in the greater Dublin area, providing high-speed wireless broadband to around 1,600 enterprise customers including multinational corporates, government bodies and technology companies.

The company says its millimetre wave network can provide higher speeds than traditional fibre networks.

Investment trust Digital 9 Infrastructure was formed last year and is overseen by London-based Triple Point Investment Management. It invests in critical digital infrastructure assets.

Digital 9 said this is its first investment into wireless infrastructure, which is one of the company’s four target digital subsectors. The company aims to have a portfolio comprising scalable technologies such as subsea fibre, data centres, terrestrial fibre and wireless networks.

Triple Point Investment Management’s head of digital infrastructure, Thor Johnsen, said: “We are very pleased to have completed the acquisition of Host Ireland, D9’s first wireless networks investment. The Host Ireland team has built a strong business and we look forward to working with them to accelerate the company’s expansion plans.”

Digital 9 Infrastructure’s first acquisition was Aqua Comms, a Dublin-based company that specialises in subsea fibre-optic cable networks, which it purchased last year for $215m. It also owns Verne Global, a UK-headquartered company that operates a data centre campus in Iceland.

Last January, Eir revealed plans to sell its majority stake in secure communications provider Tetra Ireland to Digital 9 for €76m. However, the deal was dependent on an agreement with other shareholders Sigma Networks and Motorola. In the end, Motorola acquired a 100pc stake in Tetra Ireland last month for an undisclosed figure.

Digital 9 Infrastructure said the number in its name is based on the ninth UN Sustainable Development Goal, which is about building resilient infrastructure. The investment trust is focusing on investments that increase connectivity globally and improve the sustainability of digital infrastructure.

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On Friday (25 March), the FCC also added China Telecom (Americas) Corp and China Mobile International USA to its list of providers deemed threats to US national security.

FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said the decision is part of “ongoing efforts” to strengthen US communication networks against national security threats. She added that the commission has been “working closely with our national security partners” to keep the security threat list updated.

This is the first time a Russian company has been added to the list, which already includes other Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE.

In November 2019, the FCC voted unanimously to bar companies it deemed threatening from receiving money from the Universal Service Fund, which provides subsidies aimed at expanding internet access to underserved areas in the US.

This means the FCC now prevents US businesses from using federal funding to purchase products or services from those featured on its list of entities.

“I am pleased that our national security agencies agreed with my assessment that China Mobile and China Telecom appeared to meet the threshold necessary to add these entities to our list,” FCC commissioner Brendan Carr said.

“Their addition, as well as Kaspersky Labs, will help secure our networks from threats posed by Chinese and Russian state-backed entities seeking to engage in espionage and otherwise harm America’s interests,” Carr added.

Kaspersky said it is “disappointed” with the FCC’s decision to prohibit certain telecommunications-related federal subsidies from being used on Kaspersky services and products.

“This decision is not based on any technical assessment of Kaspersky products – that the company continuously advocates for – but instead is being made on political grounds,” the company said in a statement.

The FCC did not reference Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or US president Joe Biden’s recent warnings of the threat of Russian cyberattacks as reasons for its decision.

In September 2017, US federal agencies and branches were issued a directive by the country’s Homeland Security to stop using any Kaspersky Lab products within 90 days. This was due to concerns that the Kremlin was using the firm’s products to gain entry into US networks, a claim which Kaspersky denied.

“Kaspersky maintains that the US government’s 2017 prohibitions on federal entities and federal contractors from using Kaspersky products and services were unconstitutional, based on unsubstantiated allegations, and lacked any public evidence of wrongdoing by the company,” Kaspersky said in its statement on Friday.

“Kaspersky believes today’s expansion of such prohibition on entities that receive FCC telecommunication-related subsidies is similarly unsubstantiated and is a response to the geopolitical climate rather than a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of Kaspersky’s products and services.”

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Announced yesterday (24 March), the now-constructed Havhingsten cable system was co-developed and funded by fibre networks builder Bulk, telecom company Aqua Comms, and Facebook parent company Meta.

The new subsea route avoids “congested paths” around the English Channel and offers a low-latency network architecture for enterprises, carriers and hyperscalers in Ireland and the Nordics.

Aqua Comms is a Dublin-based company that specialises in subsea fibre-optic cable networks for the global content, cloud and carrier markets. It owns and operates the AEC-1 network, which connects New York, Dublin and London via a low-latency fibre-optic network.

Founded in 2014, the company was acquired last year by Digital 9 Infrastructure at a valuation of $215m.

What is the Havhingsten cable system?

The Havhingsten cable connects Ireland with the Nordics and UK using a novel aluminium-powered cable that allows for a higher number of fibre pairs per cable and increased reliability when compared to traditional copper cables.

The choice of aluminium also helps with manufacturing efficiency and cost reduction because of the variable availability and higher price of copper. It also has improved resistance to hydrogen penetration, an element which is unfavourable to the operation of optical fibre in ocean water.

Havhingsten was constructed by Alcatel Submarine Networks, and it was installed using a jet-assisted burial plough in the Irish and North Seas that helped bury the cable deep enough for increased protection in a challenging seabed environment.

New connections

As part of its ownership of Havhingsten, Aqua Comms also launched its CeltixConnect-2 (CC-2) and North Sea Connect (NSC) systems today. CC-2 will connect key data hubs in Ireland and the UK, including the Isle of Man, and boosts the connection between the two countries.

Meanwhile, NSC is a new route connecting the UK and the Nordics, including the Stellium data centre at Digital 9’s SeaEdge-1 in Newcastle and Blaabjerg in Denmark – which also hosts Aqua Comms’ AEC-2 transatlantic cable system.

Together, the two systems will combine to provide regional connectivity to Aqua Comms’ AEC-1 and AEC-2 transatlantic cables to improve connectivity between the US, Ireland, the UK and the Nordics.

The 5,536km AEC-1 cable runs from Shirley in Long Island to Killala in Co Mayo and was readied for service in 2016. It has dual diverse backhauls to Dublin to reach the Irish Sea and across the UK to London.

Chris Bayly, CCO of Aqua Comms, said that the addition of the new systems marks “an important milestone” for Aqua Comms.

“By connecting Ireland, the UK and the Nordics, Aqua Comms is bringing its industry-leading connectivity services to these key growth markets whilst also enhancing its transatlantic footprint and connectivity between the US and Europe,” he said.

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The European Parliament officially renewed the ‘roam like at home’ scheme for another 10 years in a landslide vote on Thursday (24 March). It follows an agreement reached between the European Parliament and European Council in December.

This scheme ensures users get their mobile services at the same price, quality and speed wherever they may be in the EU, at no additional cost.

“‘Roam like at home’ is an unprecedented European success story,” said lead MEP Angelika Winzig. “It shows how we all directly benefit from the EU single market.”

The regulation that first abolished mobile roaming surcharges in 2017 was due to expire this summer.

The extended roaming law will come into force once formally endorsed by the European Council.

What ‘roam like at home’ means

The legislation obliges telecoms operators to ensure quality is consistent when customers are in another EU country, provided the same network conditions are available in countries visited by their users. This includes rules that prohibit practices that would reduce the quality of roaming services, such as switching from a 4G to a 3G connection.

The price operators can charge others for using their network will be capped at €2 per gigabyte from 2022. This will be progressively reduced to reach a cap of €1 per gigabyte by 2027.

Should customers’ use extend beyond their contract limits while roaming, charges from their operator cannot exceed these wholesale roaming caps.

“Deliberately slowing down data speed will not be allowed any more,” said Winzig. “At the same time, by significantly cutting the wholesale caps, we create more fairness and competition on the telecommunications market.”

The rules also ensure that travellers in the EU can access emergency services by call or text for free, including the transmission of caller location data.

The question of the price of calls from one EU country to another, however, remains. MEPs have pushed for an end to surcharges on these intra-EU calls due to confusion among customers around the cost difference. Intra-EU calls are currently capped at 19c per minute and the European Commission has committed to assessing whether further reductions are necessary.

Meanwhile, since Brexit, UK telecom operators Three, Vodafone and EE have all started reintroducing EU roaming charges for their customers.

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The deal follows Eir’s decision in January to sell its majority stake in Tetra to Digital 9 Infrastructure, a recently established investment trust.

Digital 9 agreed to acquire a 56pc stake in Tetra Ireland from Eir and hinted at plans to take full control of Tetra for a total consideration of €135.7m. However, this was dependent on an agreement with other shareholders Sigma Networks and Motorola, which respectively had stakes of 25pc and 19pc in the company.

Rising from a minority shareholder to the full owner of Tetra Ireland, Motorola said this acquisition demonstrates a commitment to growing its worldwide managed and support services business.

“Delivering, managing and operating critical [land mobile radio] networks is foundational to what we do,” Motorola Solutions CEO and chair Greg Brown said. “As a trusted technology partner in Ireland for over 40 years, we look forward to continuing to provide the interoperable mission-critical communications that Ireland’s emergency and public service agencies rely on every day.”

Motorola Solutions owns networks and security operations centres around the globe, supporting a wide range of industries including public safety, mining, oil and gas and public transportation.

Tetra Ireland

Tetra operates Ireland’s National Digital Radio Service (NDRS) and has been the exclusive operator of public safety communication networks in the country since it won a Government contract in 2006. The company bid for a renewal of this contract in 2020.

It promises 98pc geographic coverage including mountainous and remote rural locations, making it a useful communication network for Ireland’s emergency services. Around 97pc of Tetra’s customer base is public bodies, comprising around 70 agencies with 24,000 active subscribers.

Tetra network users include An Garda Siochána, the National Ambulance Service, Dublin Fire Brigade, the Irish Coast Guard, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Irish Prison Service, EirGrid, the Irish Naval Service, Inland Fisheries Ireland, the Office of Public Works, Irish Water and ESB Networks.

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The report analysed 5G speeds in Ireland for the second half of 2021. It found that Cork city had a median 5G download speed of nearly 340Mbps, representing a 14pc year-on-year increase for all operators combined. The city also had a median upload speed of 32.82Mbps.

This was far ahead of other Irish cities, with Dublin reaching a median download speed of nearly 247Mbps, while Galway and Limerick had speeds of around 264Mbps.

“Cork was ahead of the rest of the cities, which partially can be explained by being home to pharmaceutical and IT companies such as Apple, Amazon and IBM,” Ookla said. “Cork also benefited from connectivity with the EXA Express undersea cable.”

The report said that 5G availability across Ireland was 11.7pc during this time. Eir was the “clear winner” compared to other providers, with an availability of 26.6pc. Three Ireland was next at 8.2pc, while Vodafone had 6.4pc.

Last April, Eir said its 5G network was available across more than 900 sites in Ireland, reaching more than half of the population. By October, the telecoms provider claimed it hit a “significant milestone” by making its 5G network available to more than 70pc of people in Ireland across 336 towns and cities. Ookla said Eir increased this number to 430 towns and cities during the last quarter of 2021.

While Three was the last major operator in the country to “jump on the 5G bandwagon” in September 2020, Ookla said it has managed to leap ahead of the competition in terms of 5G speeds.

The report indicates that Three’s 5G network had a median 5G download speed of nearly 239Mbps in the second half of last year, a 20pc increase compared to the same period in 2020. The median download speeds for Eir and Vodafone declined during this period when compared to 2020.

Ookla’s report also noted the rise of private networks in Ireland, as Three partnered with Ericsson and Glanbia last July to install an indoor 5G network to increase the manufacturing efficiency of Glanbia’s cheese plant in Kilkenny.

Vodafone, meanwhile, rolled out a private 5G standalone network in Mullingar last March, utilising Ericsson’s equipment in a partnership with Irish Manufacturing Research.

“These demonstrations of 5G capabilities in the manufacturing context are important to showcase the value digital transformation can bring to the sector by deploying private networks and creating bespoke use cases that enable greater latency and security,” Ookla said.

When compared to other EU countries, Ireland’s median 5G download speeds were ahead of Germany and the Netherlands, coming in at 162.46Mbps. France topped the list at 190.17Mbps, followed by Switzerland and the UK.

Ireland recently launched the ambitious National Digital Strategy, which includes the goal of having all populated areas covered by 5G by 2030 and having all Irish households and businesses covered by a gigabit network no later than 2028.

Earlier this week, researchers at Trinity College Dublin and Connect were awarded a 5G test licence by ComReg to experiment on the next generation of communication networks.

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