Simon Wort joined TXO as its group chief commercial officer (CCO) in March and is focused on capitalising on the burgeoning circular economy market. Wort warned that while big strides had already been made in driving sustainability, there remained areas where the IT and telecoms industry is still falling short.
Wort started his career in finance before leading commercial teams, first at Verizon and then at Vodafone. From there, he took on the role of chief commercial officer of Intercity Technology Group.
He then became CEO of its Netherlands subsidiary, leading it to a business exit to the private equity-backed Enreach Group in 2018. He stayed on to lead its M&A activities in the UK. Since then, he has served as CCO and CRO for various technology specialists before joining TXO Group.
In his new role, Wort will oversee TXO’s growth, particularly in expanding into new global markets, developing its offerings and capitalising on new commercial opportunities.
“With private equity backing from TowerBrook Delta, TXO has made several key acquisitions in MMX, Lynx, and TEQPORT,” said Wort. “As a result, TXO’s global scale and capabilities have grown massively in just over a year. The demand for circular economy services is also particularly strong currently.
“With these acquisitions, TXO faces the challenge of unifying the various capabilities and presenting a cohesive set of solutions and services. The goal is to establish TXO as a one-stop shop for circular economy solutions and services, positioning it as an alternative to OEMs.”
Full circle efforts
Wort said that while the circular economy has been growing globally, there’s significant variation in how ingrained it is across different markets, even between individual operators.
He said that some major operators are leading the way on implementation, for example, BT Group, which is committed to achieving a circular economy by March 2030 as part of its net zero roadmap. He cautioned that while some operators were buying second-hand equipment, they weren’t reselling or recycling it.
“More broadly, we’re seeing more operators consume from the circular economy than are contributing to it,” said Wort. “In other words, the market for second-hand network equipment is booming, but some operators purchasing this second-user equipment aren’t yet reselling or recycling their old equipment. While this strategy is only ‘semi-circular’ it’s a significant improvement over always buying brand-new equipment, and moving to a circular economy model is a gradual process.”
Of the biggest sustainability challenges facing the Channel, Wort said that e-waste was the most significant, with the UK generating the second-highest amount of e-waste per capita in the world (23.9 kg) according to the Environment Agency.
Despite advancements in software and cloud services over the last decade, he added that telecoms remains a predominantly hardware-driven industry, meaning that manufacturers have to mitigate waste as much as possible by extending their equipment’s life through maintenance, reuse, resale and recycling.
“Several things make this difficult: upfront financial and labour costs, regulations demanding the removal of hardware, the need to sunset 2G and 3G networks, and aggressively short support terms from OEMs,” said Wort.
From an OEM perspective, Wort said that in order to keep selling new equipment, they often provide relatively short support terms (two to five years) compared to the potential lifespan of equipment with proper maintenance, which can extend for a far greater timespan. Those short support terms, he said, often prompt operators to replace equipment on a much shorter timescale than needed to avoid risk of equipment failure.
“That’s where TXO comes in, providing a more sustainable and cost-effective way to maintain networks in the long term,” said Wort. “By extending the life of existing equipment through maintenance, reuse and resale, TXO helps operators avoid premature replacements and reduce e-waste, contributing to a more circular economy.”
Increasing momentum
In terms of opportunity, Wort said that the biggest one for fixed telecom operators is recycling old copper phone lines.
“The exact worth of this copper will fluctuate, particularly as the market gradually saturates, but currently, 1kg of copper is worth £6 to £7,” said Wort. “Considering the quantities some operators have, there are millions of pounds to be reclaimed.
“Extracting this material isn’t a small undertaking, but it is feasible. If we look at BT as an example, it extracted 200 tonnes of UK copper cable in 2023, showing the huge potential for revenue recovery through copper recycling.”
As far as TXO is concerned, Wort said that it’s currently transitioning from being a second-hand equipment buyer and seller to an end-to-end circular economy solutions and services partner. The target, he said, is to be the go-to for operators needing to maintain or upgrade network hardware.
“The ambition is to provide support to operators, including audits, repairs, supply, resale, recycling, and reporting,” said Wort. “TXO will ensure that all aspects of network hardware management are covered by sustainable practices.”
Moving forward, Wort said that TXO will look to extend the lifespan of networks, with a focus on sustainability and financial efficiency.
He added, “Through our comprehensive services and global capabilities, we aim to attract customers looking for reliable, sustainable and cost-effective solutions for their telecom needs. Our goal is to become the preferred partner for maintaining, evolving and managing network hardware, in the most efficient and eco-friendly manner possible.”
Looking ahead, Wort expects to see a gradual increase in the circular economy’s momentum. He said that while there will be some new entrants, most companies are further along in their journey, transitioning from semi- to full-circle practices.
However, he added that while they might already have initiatives in place, such as reselling old equipment, they may not yet be procuring second-hand gear themselves, or vice versa.
“For the UK specifically, several operators are due to complete their 3G shutdowns over the next 12 months,” said Wort. “This will be a challenge and an opportunity for the telco circular economy, as it means lots of hardware will need to be either retrofitted, recycled or resold to markets where there is still a demand for 3G equipment.”
This interview appeared in our July 2024 print issue. You can read the magazine in full here.