Annual
report 2020
Our activities with respect to network development are driven primarily by the needs of our customers. These needs are evolving along with the growing number of mobile devices, as well as the increasing popularity of cloud services, high-resolution videos, games and streaming platforms (the latter being in the highest demand possible during spring 2020, when COVID-19 lockdown occurred).
In addition, our customers increasingly expect secure access to the digital world, with optimal quality and speed, at home, at work and on the move, regardless of technology and device (laptop, tablet, smartphone, TV). We believe that network reach and connectivity is one of the key criteria when choosing a telecom service provider.
To fulfil these needs, our network has to be widely accessible, reliable and safe. We operate by far the largest convergent network infrastructure (combined fixed and mobile networks) in the Polish market. That means we can ensure the best network connectivity.
Length of fibre access network (in ‘000 km)
As the former incumbent operator, we have the largest network infrastructure in Poland, supporting both fixed and mobile services.
It includes around 15,500 km of fibre in backbone, 91,100 km of fibre in aggregation network and more than 440,200 km of access copper network. The access network is predominantly built in copper technologies; fibre accounts for around 83,700 km at the moment, although it is growing rapidly in line with our intensive fibre investment plans.
15.5 k km
of fibre in backbone
91.1 k km
km of fibre in aggregation network
440.2 k km
km of access copper network
Fibre is also increasingly used to connect our mobile base stations, on the one hand to boost our capacity to accommodate growing data consumption, and on the other hand to ensure greater reliability of the network. In 2020 an additional 250 base stations were connected via fibre. At the end of the year, about 55% of our mobile base stations were connected to the backbone through fibre. Mobile and fixed networks share not only cable infrastructure but also higher network layers like core, control and service platforms. We will gradually transition our network to be fully IP-based in the years ahead, which will require the elimination of certain network elements (e.g. PSTN stacks).
To ensure the best connectivity and optimal resource allocation, we take the specifics of local markets into account. In cities, we are focusing on the development of Fibre to the Home (FTTH) coverage, whereas in less populous areas, copper-based technologies, supplemented by mobile ones, are the primary broadband access solution. We also roll out our fibre network in smaller towns and in suburban areas on a selective basis, within the framework of Operational Programme ’Digital Poland’ (POPC). Such a strategy stems from the very individual demand for fibre services in local markets. We are increasingly expanding our fibre network into single-family housing districts, though apartment buildings are still the primary target for our investments.
Co-operation with Third-Party Operators has also made a big contribution to the development of our fibre optic network. Thanks to this approach, whenever co-operation is possible, we avoid uneconomical duplication of fibre optic networks. If the extant network meets the standards guaranteed by Orange, we try to use such networks in the first place.
Orange Polska’s mobile network services are broadcast from nearly 12,000 base station with over 99% of them offering 4G LTE broadband data covering almost 100% of the population and 98% of the country’s territory. In response to the growing demand for high-speed Internet access, Orange Polska is also steadily increasing the number of locations supported by LTE Carrier Aggregation technology (4G+), which multiplies available bandwidth.
Network reliability and resilience requires the constant upgrade of self-healing network mechanisms and continuous quality monitoring. We are capable of monitoring service quality not only at the statistical level but also from the perspective of an individual customer. We are proactive in our approach and respond before parameters start to deteriorate, preventing network congestion, thus ensuring the same connectivity experience, whether customers use our mobile or fixed networks.
Orange Polska maintains its position that only quick allocation of frequencies in the 3400-3800 MHz spectrum band will enable the launch of full-fledged 5G services of adequate parameters for customers in Poland. Due to the auction annulment, the Company has decided to implement Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) in the 2100 MHz band, which allows dynamic allocation of spectrum resources to 4G or 5G as required. Consequently, as of 1 July 2020 Orange Polska started to offer commercial 5G services via a network of 1,600 base stations located in 370 cities and towns in Poland, to the largest extent in Warsaw, Łódź, Cracow and the Upper Silesian conurbation. In January 2021 we also enabled 5G DSS access in Trójmiasto.
We are also active in the area of building so called campus networks using 5G technology for business customers. Following a series of tests in the Orange Cities project – which started in 2019 in Warsaw and Lublin on the 3.6 GHz band and involved both journalists and our employees and customers – in December 2020 the Company signed an agreement with the Łódź Special Economic Zone for the development of an internal 5G network on the 3.6 GHz band. The network was completed at the beginning of 2021 and provides range inside their headquarters.
In March 2021 we signed a similar contract with the leading households appliances producer Miele which has its factory near city of Łódź. Network for Miele will digitise and automate quality control process for manufactured products and conduct training for employees using virtual reality. Our role is complex, starting from design, through delivery, installation to maintenance.
Number of unique users (k)
Throughout 2020, Orange Polska CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) observed unusually high activity among phishing campaigns.
Distribution channels of these campaigns were e-mail messages, SMS, and – since autumn – popular instant messaging services. ISocial media were also important sources of cybercrime campaigns. This significant increase in security incidents in the online cyberspace has led to growing customer interest in cybersecurity services. To detect phishing campaigns and collect malware samples, Orange Polska uses internal Threat Intelligence solutions based on Artificial Intelligence algorithms, as well as self-developed ‘Honey Pots’ platforms (solutions simulating customers’ equipment/systems which are exposed to cybersecurity attacks) controlled by Orange Polska. These allow for the proactive collection of malware samples, and identification of new methods of cybersecurity attacks. The chart below shows statistics on phishing and malware attacks blocked in the Orange Polska network. Each blockade represents one customer protected against phishing attack or malware. There was a significant increase over the previous year.
Orange Polska CERT operates around the clock, taking care of all cybersecurity issues that impact users who access the Internet through the Orange Polska network. Customers are protected by CyberTarcza (CyberShield), launched in 2014 as a service to answer a specific market need for the detection of threats in the network and for securing users from malicious activity.
Due to the benefit of seamless and automatic work performed in the background, the comfort of use is highly advantageous to the users. Orange Polska is still the unique ISP (Internet Service Provider) in Poland offering advanced cybersecurity services. Almost every day CyberTarcza informs various groups of customers about detected threats related to possible virus (malware) infections on their computers or mobile phones.
In October 2020 The Broadband World Forum awarded Orange Polska with the Best Secured Network Initiative Award for its CyberTarcza (CyberShield). We are very proud that this innovative, technologically advanced and widely available cybersecurity service, which protects Orange Polska customers online, has been noticed and appreciated also in the international forum.
Discussion of 5G network security, in particular in terms of the use of devices offered by Chinese suppliers, is an important factor related to the implementation of the new generation of wireless networks.
Key players in the global arena are involved – in particular the USA and China, as well as the European Commission and European Union member states.
At EU level, work was undertaken in 2019 to define a common approach to 5G network security, including a 5G risk assessment process and major risks identified in the 5G network. These works were concluded in a document published on 29 January 2020 entitled “Cybersecurity of 5G networks – EU Toolbox of risk mitigating measures”. It does not explicitly exclude or prohibit any supplier, but the dependence on one supplier – as well as risk associated with the supply chain, including the activities of other countries – were considered a significant risk.
At national level, there are on-going legislative works (currently at the government level) on the draft law for a national cybersecurity system. This draft law includes inter alia the assessment scheme of the so-called high-risk supplier. Among the assessment criteria there is control over a given supplier by a non-EU, non-NATO state.
The potential introduction of more extensive restrictions in the future would involve the risk of limiting the pool of telecommunications equipment suppliers, and thus could affect the maintenance as well as plans for the construction and development of network infrastructure (including 5G). This may affect the time schedule and/or costs of implementing the 5G network.
Orange is taking many actions in order to remove all obstacles in the rollout of the 5G system. Many of them are still present from the administrative and public-concern sides.
Active measures, with cooperation with other mobile operators, are necessary to modify national regulations concerning investment procedure and compliance assessment of the mobile base stations. This is necessary even if EMF exposure limits are international since 2020. Many other regulations still follow old limits and provide a major obstacle to 5G rollout. Orange is active in this field including work in the international standardisation bodies.
There is still a need for more work on the public-education front, to help people understand that 5G is a vital next step in the evolution of a technology that is both well-known and widely used, and that there is no basis to expect different impacts on the human health.
To increase the efficiency of our infrastructure, legacy technologies and solutions which are mainly voice-oriented are being replaced with a converged network capable of handling all types of traffic: voice, data and video.
We implement solutions that fully support IP technology, and, thanks to self-healing and dynamic reconfiguration mechanisms, provide for higher service quality while improving cost-effectiveness thanks to massive deployment of 100Gb/s technology. In our efforts to provide customers with the best network in Poland, we leverage our own investments by using third-party infrastructure and benefiting from EU funds for network construction.
On the mobile side, we are continuously cooperating with T-Mobile and Networks! (a company responsible for network construction and operation). With T-Mobile we share site infrastructure (nearly 12,000 shared sites), which enabled the fast introduction of 4G and optimisation of operating costs and capital expenditures.
In areas where we are planning to upgrade our network to high-speed, we are also using modern third-party infrastructure to supplement our own investments, if a reasonable commercial arrangement can be made. In 2020, we signed further such agreements, which extended coverage of our VHBB services by over 280,000 households. From the beginning of this process we have achieved the additional coverage to OPL’s own investment of around one million households.
We participate as a beneficiary in the national Operational Programme ’Digital Poland’ (POPC). Planned for the EU’s financial perspective 2014 – 2020, POPC is implementing the Digital Agenda objectives in Poland and providing EU funds to support network construction in areas where standalone commercial investment is not profitable. That allows us to develop our broadband network in less densely populated areas. Orange Polska is now carrying out projects won during the second and fourth POPC competition stage. These include the supply of fast Internet connections (at least 100 Mbps) to 423 municipalities. By the end of 2020 OPL connected around 3,000 schools to fibre.
At present Orange Polska continues connecting households, which constitute the major part of the contract with governmental institutions. By the end of 2020 nearly 200,000 of households gained access to the OPL broadband services as a result of the implementation of POPC1, POPC2 and POPC4 projects.
As a responsible company Orange Group has declared Carbon Neutrality by 2040, and environmental issues are very important to its Engage 2025 strategy.
As a part of this strategy we, as Orange Polska, plan to reduce our CO₂ emissions by 65% in 2025 (compared to 2015) mainly through increase of energy consumption from renewable source to at least 60%. Main CO₂ emissions are from electricity consumption (over 90%), and the majority of Orange Polska’s consumption is in Network (over 93% in 2020).
We have a long track record in implementing energy saving initiatives that are consolidated in the Energy Optimisation Program (EOP). Up until 2014, thanks to the EOP, we had energy consumption decreases despite network development and a traffic increase. Between 2015 and 2020 consumption decreased by 15%.
We plan to continue this path in the future but right now we don’t see the possibility to totally compensate consumption increases because of network development (mainly 5G).
In parallel with energy efficiency activities, Orange Polska is increasing the volume of green energy used for our needs. In 2021, delivery from our first physical PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) will start. New PPAs are planned in the coming years.
We are also installing PV on our sites using the Solar as a Service model. This installation will be launched on two Data Centres with 0.9 MWp power. Similar installations on rooftops and mobile sites are planned in the future. We see 3.6 GWh/yearly potential of green energy from this.
Because of these activities, despite a planned energy consumption increase, we will be able to decrease CO2 emissions and meet our goals.
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