New kid on the block Yelco Group targets EUR14 billion opportunity

Yelco Group – a new Portuguese one-stop shop for consultancy, customised and tailored network equipment – has announced its offer. It says its aim is to ease the pain of expanding telecommunications networks by providing the equipment CSPs need, where they need it, when they need it, in the quantity they want, and at competitive prices.

André Manteigas, co-founder and CEO Yelco Group

Yelco’s co-founder and CEO André Manteigas explained: “Yelco Group represents the coming together of two decades of success in the telco industry, bringing experience and knowledge of EMEA markets. Our Portugal-located laboratory for telecom solutions and team of highly knowledgeable telecoms and datacoms professionals create a holistic service to consult on, design, and supply the products to meet Europe’s growing connectivity needs.”

Yelco Group is composed of:

  • Yelco which offers customised telecoms equipment through Yelco Technologies and specialist advice and expertise through Yelco Consulting. This was formed from the consolidation of C3T Technologies, Globalwire and FirstApproach Consulting
  • Twoosk, a B2B telecom and datacom marketplace
  • GW Fiber Optics, a manufacturer of customisable fibre-optic connections.

Most EU27+UK countries have less than 50% FTTH/P take up. The UK, Germany and Italy together represent 60% of homes left to be passed in Europe. But funding for gigabit-capable networks and investment in alternative network providers has never been higher, with the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) allocating €12 billion (US$14.5 billion) to its digital infrastructure fund, and the UK’s Project Gigabit allocating £5billion to improving broadband connections in the UK. Collectively, UK altnets will invest £12 billion (EUR14 billion) over the next 4 years, according to research by INCA-Point Topic.

Explaining how Yelco Group will help deliver the broadband capacity Europe needs, Manteigas says: “Yelco Consulting helps our customers define their network architecture and assess the best components to build it. If the equipment you need exists, you’ll find it at Yelco Technologies. If it doesn’t, we’ll design and produce it for them. The Yelco Group aims to become a byword in the telecoms industry for A to Z solutions that help grow networks more efficiently.”