Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

by Bas Burger, CEO, International, BT

Today, we launch BT International, serving our multinational customers as a dedicated operation within BT Group with its own people, products and platforms.

It comes as our customers face unprecedented disruption across their markets driven by geopolitics, regulation and technology — with AI catalysing change faster than ever. We have designed BT International specifically to help our customers meet these challenges head on and anticipate future opportunities to thrive.

The way we do this centres on two highly scalable telco platforms designed for the age of multi-cloud and AI: Global Voice and Global Fabric, with security built in by design. We’ve channelled our investments into these cloud-centric global platforms and concentrated our expert teams where customers need them most.

From asset-light to platform-rich

We have evolved our ‘asset-light’ strategy for several years, designing our platforms to reflect the trends we see in customer traffic crossing our networks — from data flows to and between the big cloud providers to the emergence of hybrid cloud as a preferred model for many businesses. We see that AI has unpredictable impacts on our customers’ networks — from the lumpy, bulky training workloads of large language models (LLMs) powering GenAI to the low latency demands of conversational AI and augmented reality. These trends are set against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving cyber security threat landscape and a fast-moving regulatory environment.

Telecoms gets its voice back

Our Global Voice platform enables businesses, governments and the people they engage with to communicate with each other effortlessly. We’re already world leading in the global voice services market, managing over 16 billion calls to customer call centres in over 70 countries every year. We’ve migrated these services onto a new SIP-powered, cloud focussed platform enabling voice to be carried across data networks. SIP has been around for a while but the fact that Global Managed Voice is both SIP-powered and cloud-focused means that it’s perfectly poised to unlock the full potential of integrating voice with AI.

Indeed, Gartner predicts that 30 per cent of Fortune 500 companies will offer customer service through only a single, AI-enabled channel by 2028. I believe our Global Voice platform is strongly positioned to enable this, backed by our experts who have delivered over 5,000 contact centres to over 2,000 customers around the world.

Wrapping the world in Global Fabric

Next, we have Global Fabric, our brand-new, AI-ready, cloud-centric network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform. This offers customers instant, secure and resilient connectivity to practically every app or digital service they want, including the world’s top cloud and software-as-a-service  (SaaS) providers. It launched to live customer traffic earlier this year and it is the platform that will help us achieve our goal to be the world’s number one provider of secure multi-cloud connectivity.

Global Fabric could have hardly arrived at a better time. We were one of the first telcos off the starting blocks with a truly greenfield international platform to eliminate the drag that the previous generation of networks had on customer innovation. With traditional networks, setting up or making changes to connectivity for a new or existing app, including AI, could take days or weeks. With Global Fabric, it happens in an instant.

Now think of the increasingly complex international regulatory environment. Technology and data have become geopolitical pawns. That means customers must double down on sovereignty, ensuring the right data stays within the right jurisdiction while enabling them to unlock its value to the business. With Global Fabric, customers can choose both the cloud destinations their data goes to and the route it takes along the way. This means regulated data never leaves the designated national borders and helps customers stay compliant.

Sharing a platform for success

Looking to the future of our industry, we believe international networks will gravitate towards fewer, larger, telco platforms able to manage the demand generated by increased cloud and AI services. We invite other service providers to work with BT International, as we build out our ecosystem of partners, including our recently announced partnership with Google Cloud, and scale fast so we can, as an industry, offer the best value to customers across the globe.

We’re at a pivotal moment as an industry. It is an opportunity to move away from fragmented legacy international networks to a platform designed with the reality of AI, cyber and cloud at its core, reflecting customers’ expectations of speed, security, sustainability, sovereignty and naturally the skills to support future growth and prosperity.

Join us at Connected Britain, 24-25 September in London. Tickets available here  

Also in the news:
SWR deploys Europe’s first ’Rail-5G’ Wi-Fi  
BT accelerates fibre rollout amid cost cuts
AT&T agrees $5.75 billion deal for Lumen’s consumer fibre assets

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Angola Cables is proud to announce that it is now a Premium Wholesale Reseller Partner of DE-CIX, the world’s leading Internet Exchange (IX) operator. As a Premium Wholesale Reseller Partner, Angola Cables will leverage DE-CIX’s extensive interconnection ecosystem to enhance its service offerings, providing businesses and enterprises with seamless access to one of the largest and most advanced IX platforms globally. This collaboration underscores Angola Cables’ commitment to driving digital transformation and expanding its reach in the international connectivity market. According to Executive Board Member, Rui Faria, Angola Cables has been in strategic partnership with DE-CIX since 2014. “Over the past decade this partnership has been strengthened by a mutual intent to improve global interconnectivity and providing the most efficient premium connectivity access and seamless peering experience for the customers we serve in Africa and Brazil,” notes Faria.

“Angola Cables and DE-CIX have been working together successfully for many years, which is now also reflected in their Premium-Partner status,” says Mareike Jacobshagen, Head of Global Business Partner Programme at DE-CIX. “Together, we are driving forward the business and thus the solutions that companies need to network, peer and interconnect.” In addition, Angola Cables is one of around 1,100 networks that are directly connected to DE-CIX Frankfurt, one of the largest Internet Exchanges in the world with a data volume of over 45 Exabytes per year, as of 2024.

Today, Angola Cables is more than a leading Angolan operator, being internationally recognized as a major player operating in the ICT sector and providing customized connectivity solutions. With over 6.000 peering agreements, Angola Cables now ranks among the top 23 Internet Service Providers in the world and the #1 interconnected operator in Africa. Its IP network has proven to be robust, resilient and offers a value proposition in terms of low latency routings and directs interconnections with the major Tier 1 operators across the world.

“Integration with DE-CIX strengthens the value proposition of Angola Cables’ and our TelCables subsidiaries by enabling interconnection with Tier 1 carriers, cloud providers, and OTT platforms, ensuring the lowest latency and the high resilience of our IP network,’’ says Faria.

“Together with DE-CIX, we continue to reduce digital barriers and promote a more efficient and accessible internet, connecting businesses and users to the world’s leading content sources,” concluded Faria.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

Colt Technology Services, Honeywell, and Nokia have announced a strategic partnership to trial quantum-safe networking using satellite technology. This collaboration aims to address the security risks posed by quantum computing, which could compromise traditional encryption systems. The project will test quantum key distribution (QKD) via low earth orbit satellites to support secure data transmission over long distances, overcoming the geographic limitations of terrestrial networks.

As quantum computing advances, it threatens to render conventional cryptographic algorithms obsolete by solving complex mathematical problems at unprecedented speeds. QKD offers a potential solution by enabling the secure sharing of encryption keys. However, current implementations are limited to around 100 kilometers due to fiber optic constraints. By deploying satellite-based QKD, the companies aim to extend secure communication globally, including across transatlantic networks.

This initiative is expected to benefit sectors that manage highly sensitive data, including finance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and government. The partnership builds on Colt’s recent pilot of terrestrial quantum-secure networking and demonstrates a proactive approach to future-proofing cybersecurity infrastructure.

Each company brings a unique strength to the project. Colt focuses on customer-centric digital infrastructure, Honeywell leverages over 50 years of aerospace innovation, and Nokia offers deep expertise in optical networks. Together, they aim to enable secure digital transformation in a quantum computing era.

A white paper titled The Journey to Quantum-Safe Networking has been released, detailing the trial’s scope and the broader implications of quantum cryptography. The trial marks a significant step toward resilient, secure global communications.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Struggling internet service provider TalkTalk is reportedly withholding millions of pounds from Sky (Sky TV, Sky Broadband etc.) due to a contractual dispute, which relates to fees owed for use of the media giant’s NOW TV video streaming service. The budget ISP had been offering this to customers until relatively recently (part of a bundle via a single bill).

The Salford-based group has certainly had a rough few years and in September 2024 secured a crucial refinancing package worth c. £400m (here and here), which saved it from the immediate risk of a default on its debts. But it’s still in a difficult position and recently suffered another round of redundancies (here), as well as the continued shrinking of its customer base from 3.6 to 3.2 million customers over the past year (here).

Suffice to say that saving money is also a key focus for the embattled internet provider as it tries to get its finances under control, at the same time as fending off against a highly competitive market. This might give some context to the new dispute with Sky over TalkTalk’s prior bundling of the NOW TV streaming service.

According to The Telegraph (paywall), the dispute over volumes is said to have been going on for some months, with sources within TalkTalk allegedly indicating that it reflects changing viewing habits. A source at one supplier also claimed there was “significant concern” about the company’s ability to pay its bills, although TalkTalk says it does not recognise that description of its finances.

Meanwhile, the ISP is still said to be planning a consumer-focused product refresh in the near future, which it’s hoped could help to turn around their fortunes. Time will tell.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

In a subtle but interesting development, ISPreview has spotted that mobile operators Vodafone and Three UK have launched a new website – VodafoneThree – that sets out their plans ahead of the official completion of their c.£16bn mega-merger. This replaces their previous site (i.e. vodafoneandthree.uk has been retired in favour of vodafonethree.com).

Just to recap. The deal will see Vodafone retain a 51% slice of the business and CK Hutchison (Three UK) hold 49%. Both operators have previously promoted the deal as being “great for customers, great for the country and great for competition,” while also promoting a major £11bn investment to upgrade the UK’s 5G mobile (broadband) infrastructure and coverage.

The new website largely reiterates their prior commitments, albeit now re-packaged around the singular ‘VodafoneThree‘ branding. But the language of the website also indicates that the announcement of their final deal completion must be imminent, possibly even occurring this week. For example, there’s this extract:

Tomorrow starts today

Better yet, customers don’t have to wait to feel the benefits. Within just six months, around 27 million Vodafone and Three customers will automatically be using each other’s networks – connecting them to the best coverage available, at no extra cost.

Meanwhile, the UK’s largest full-fibre footprint will be further supported by Fixed Wireless Access offers and site upgrades. All of which means a faster, more reliable service for every single customer, without having to lift a finger.

But we did notice the odd slight error or contradiction. For example, at the bottom of the front page of the new website it states that they’ll be “#1 for network … with full, nationwide 5G Standalone coverage by 2032“, which contradicts the 2034 date given elsewhere on the same site for achieving this (probably a typo).

However, it’s worth remembering that the hard part, which involves integrating teams, networks and offices (it’s also unclear what will happen to the ‘Three’ brand long-term) – as well as launching new products, often takes several years to be fully realised. Just ask BT and EE or O2 and Virgin Media, although they also had the complexity of fixed line networks to consider.

UPDATE 8:44am

Well that didn’t take long, the official announcement of merger completion dropped into our inbox right as we posted this article. We’ve covered that here.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The huge £16bn+ merger between mobile network operators Vodafone and Three UK (CK Hutchison) officially completed today, which will change the competitive dynamic of the UK market. The deal is also expected to help improve the national coverage of the latest 5G Standalone (mobile broadband) technologies, but concerns remain over jobs and consumer pricing.

Just to recap. The merger, which was first announced in June 2023 (here) and finally approved by the competition authority in December 2024 (here), will see Vodafone retain a 51% slice of the business and CKH hold 49%. Both operators have previously promoted the deal as being “great for customers, great for the country and great for competition,” while also resulting in a major £11bn investment to upgrade the UK’s 5G mobile infrastructure and coverage over the next ten years.

The move to create a single company (VodafoneThree) will, however, require the parties to follow several legally binding commitments. The goal of this, as expressed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is to ensure that the new company delivers on its planned improvements to network coverage and caps the prices of “selected” mobile tariffs and data plans for the next 3 years. The CMA also required some changes to ensure effective wholesale (MVNO) competition.

The move should help the Government to deliver on their “renewed push to fulfil the ambition of full gigabit and national 5G coverage by 2030,” which is something that Ofcom will now need to ensure is delivered. The operators have also launched a new website to highlight their plans – VodafoneThree, which is something we covered earlier and only a few minutes before the official announcement (here).

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group CEO, said:

“The merger will create a new force in UK mobile, transform the country’s digital infrastructure and propel the UK to the forefront of European connectivity. We are now eager to kick-off our network build and rapidly bring customers greater coverage and superior network quality. The transaction completes the reshaping of Vodafone in Europe, and following this period of transition we are now well-positioned for growth ahead.”

Canning Fok, Deputy Chairman of CKH and Executive Chairman of CKHGT, said:

“As we have demonstrated in other European markets, scale enables the significant investment needed to deliver the world-beating mobile networks our customers expect, and the Vodafone and Three merger provides that scale. In addition, this transaction unlocks significant shareholder value, returning approximately £1.3 billion in net cash to the Group.”

However, despite all of today’s soundbites of optimism, many consumers remain unconvinced by the agreement and are still concerned about what will happen to cheaper mobile plans once the three-year period of price protection has elapsed. The fears of future price hikes and the gradual removal of cheap plans from the UK market, either directly or via MVNO providers (e.g. iD Mobile, Smarty etc.), seem unlikely to go away anytime soon.

In addition, many of the merged company’s workers will now be going through a period of some uncertainty, which reflects the fact that the new company will be looking for cost efficiencies and such things often get reflected through the removal of duplication (i.e. duplication of both roles and network infrastructure). Inevitably, such deals tend to result in job losses, which may hit in the near future.

At the same time, it’s worth remembering that today’s completion only refers to the legal agreement and its details. The hard part, which involves integrating teams, networks and offices (it’s also unclear what will happen to the ‘Three’ brand long-term) – as well as launching new products, often takes several years to fully realise. Just ask BT and EE or O2 and Virgin Media, although they also had the complexity of fixed line networks to consider.

According to today’s announcement, in its first year, VodafoneThree plans to invest £1.3 billion in capex. This will enable the company to accelerate its network deployment. Consistent with previously communicated expectations, the combined business is expected to deliver cost and capex synergies of £700m per annum by the fifth year after completion and the transaction is expected to be accretive to Vodafone’s Adjusted free cash flow from FY29 onwards. Full alignment to Vodafone’s accounting policies is ongoing and pro forma financials will be provided in due course.

Finally, O2 (Virgin Media) and EE (BT) will now naturally face competition from a much larger player in the UK mobile market. At the same time, Ofcom’s staff may quietly relish the greater simplification of only having three mobile operators to herd instead of four, even if that outcome may have some negatives.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The UK government has today hailed the start of a new national campaign, funded by broadband giants BT and Virgin Media, which aims to help support and encourage vulnerable people in their efforts to switch from legacy phone lines to new digital (IP / VoIP based) networks before the deadline.

In case anybody has forgotten, the big analogue phone switch-off was recently delayed to 31st January 2027 in order to give broadband ISPs, phone, telecare providers, councils and consumers more time to adapt (details). The main focus of this was the 1.8 million UK people who use vital home telecare systems (e.g. elderly, disabled, and vulnerable users), which aren’t always compatible with digital phone services (i.e. telecare providers were slow to adapt). For everybody else, the switchover deadline is still technically Dec 2025.

The industry-led shift is being driven by the looming retirement of copper lines in favour of full fibre (FTTP), as well as future exchange closures and the declining reliability of the old phone network (Ofcom states that related fault rates substantially increased by 45% in 2024). Not to mention that it is not economically feasible to maintain both the old and new networks side-by-side long term.

The government has already responded to these concerns by encouraging the industry to adopt various changes and work more closely together (here and here). For example, operators must now ensure that no vulnerable customers are migrated by the major providers (e.g. BT, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Sky Broadband) until their telecare systems have been confirmed to work with the new digital phone service. The latter may involve engineer visits to homes, as well as the offer of a free battery back-up device (protection during power outages) and more.

However, the new national awareness campaign (National Telecare Campaign) recognises that some problems remain, such as with the fact that not all elderly and disabled people may be aware of this change or how to solve it. In addition, not all internet and phone providers will have accurate knowledge of exactly which customers could be defined as “vulnerable” in the first place.

The new campaign thus seeks to encourage vulnerable users to identify themselves and contact their provider, assuming they haven’t already done so. Many local authorities and private telecare operators have already signed data sharing agreements with phone providers to ensure that as many telecare users have been identified as possible, but even these are not perfect.

Telecoms Minister, Sir Chris Bryant, said:

“We cannot afford to leave anyone behind during the vital transition to digital landlines. I have personally set a strict checklist of safeguards for industry to comply with before they migrate any telecare user.

This industry-led campaign marks a further step towards keeping people safe as we boost the resilience of our networks for the digital age.

I urge anyone with a telecare alarm – or anyone close to a user of a telecare alarm – to pick up the phone and contact their provider to access the help that’s available.”

From today, adverts will appear across TV, newspapers, social media and select radio stations around the country running over the next few months to ensure widespread reach (digitalphoneswitchover.com). This is coupled with newly created posters which will be on display in GP surgeries, hospitals, pharmacies and post offices.

The advertising campaign is expected to be seen by 95% of all adults in the UK, including 98% of those over 65. BT and Virgin Media landline customers can also call on 150 from their home phone to get more information (both have the highest population of landline-only users).

Claire Gillies, BT Group’s Consumer CEO, said:

“Moving customers onto newer digital services is a necessary step as the reliability of the 40-year-old analogue landline technology is increasingly fragile – therefore the time to act is now.

The Digital Switchover project requires team collaboration, so we’ve been working hard with industry partners and are really pleased to have the support of Government in helping us raise awareness and drive action.”

Rob Orr, COO at Virgin Media O2, said:

“With traditional analogue landlines becoming less and less reliable, the programme is essential step to safeguard services for the future. Inaction would mean putting services at risk.

Our message is clear: if you or someone you know use a telecare alarm, pick up the phone and talk to your provider. Let us know, and we’ll support you every step of the way.”

Since 2017, UK operators have been carrying out work to retire the decades old copper home phone network, which is reaching the end of its service life (in some ways it’s already gone past that), and move customers to digital landline services ahead of the analogue switch-off. “With over two thirds of landlines already migrated, the campaign is the final layer of protection to identify any additional users,” said today’s announcement.

Admittedly, the current effort should really have happened several years ago, but better late than never. Most of those who migrate today will already have a broadband line, which is needed for IP based digital phone services. But for those without broadband, BT will provide a special dedicated landline service, requiring no new equipment or engineer visit. This will ensure these customers can continue using their landline in the same way they do today, until 2030 (this is when the old exchanges start to be retired at scale).

The above reflects BT and Openreach’s launch of a new Pre-Digital Phone Line (PDPL) product (aka – SOTAP for Analogue). This essentially replicates how the old phone service worked, albeit over a more modern network (i.e. it does NOT require broadband or battery back-up to function). But this is only available to vulnerable and edge use case (inc. CNI) users on existing lines (not new customers) who would otherwise “face challenges” in migrating to IP based voice solutions by the deadline.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Broadband ISP Brsk, which currently covers 2.4 million UK premises (RFS) via Netomnia’s national full fibre (FTTP) network, will today introduce a “permanent price change for the foreseeable future” on their BetterNet1000 (900Mbps average speed) package – reducing it from £37 to just £35 per month for both new and renewing (existing) customers.

The package itself typically attracts an 18-month minimum contract term and includes various other features, such as free installation (said to be worth £150), an included wireless router, unlimited usage, symmetric speeds and a pledge of “no mid-contract price rises“. A monthly (30-day) contract option is also available, albeit for a significantly higher price.

Brsk also offers new customers the option of up to £300 to help cover cancellation or early termination fees (ETC) charged to you by your current broadband ISP, which may occur if you attempt to switch before your existing contract term has ended. Otherwise, the decision to reduce their standard pricing on BetterNet1000 appears to bring Brsk’s retail pricing more into line with sister provider YouFibre on the same network.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Interview 

BT’s Head of Environmental Sustainability Gabrielle Ginér explains how the Joint Alliance for Corporate Social Responsibility (JAC) is helping telcos tackle sustainability issues collectively 

As the telecoms sector sets its sights on net zero, it faces a major challenge to reduce emissions from the global supply chain. For most operators, Scope 3 emissions (those generated outside of their direct operations) account for much of their carbon footprint, and it is a problem they cannot solve in isolation. 

This is where the Joint Alliance for Corporate Social Responsibility (JAC) comes in. 

“JAC is a not-for-profit association of telecom operators dedicated to developing Corporate Social Responsibility across the Information and Communication Technology supply chain,” explains Gabrielle Ginér, Head of Environmental Sustainability at BT and a board member of JAC. “JAC verifies, assesses and implements CSR while sharing resources and best practice to develop long-term supply chain sustainability.” 

With over 30 members and growing, including industry giants like AT&T, BT, Vodafone, and Singtel, the JAC represents a large portion of the telecoms market, and its influence is expanding in both scope and ambition. 

A shifting focus 

The JAC was founded in 2010 by Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and Telecom Italia to promote basic CSR principles, but members’ priorities have quickly evolved. The alliance has expanded to also focused on three emerging areas: climate change, supply chain due diligence, and circularity. 

To support these goals, JAC has created dedicated working groups. One is focused on accelerating progress toward net zero by helping members reduce Scope 3 emissions. Another is addressing human rights risks across global supply chains through collaborative due diligence. A third, more recently established, group is working on circularity, exploring how telcos can reduce waste by reusing components from network equipment and consumer devices. 

“Most of JAC’s members either have circularity targets in place or plan to set them in the next three years,” Ginér explains. “The top three motivations for pursuing re-use and recycling are carbon reduction, waste reduction, and regulatory compliance.” 

Sustainability down the supply chain 

While collaboration between telcos is important, JAC’s impact depends on execution, and that means working directly with suppliers. The body’s Supplier Engagement Programme (SEP) uses data to assess more than 900 suppliers on their environmental maturity, offering tailored support to help them improve. 

In parallel, the Carbon Reduction Programme (CRP) focuses on around 50 high-impact suppliers. These are the companies whose products and services contribute most significantly to telecom operators’ Scope 3 emissions. Suppliers are asked to disclose product-level carbon footprints and to provide clear, time-bound reduction plans. 

A standout example of this work involves BT, Ericsson and the electronics manufacturer Flex.  

“Ericsson worked with one of its suppliers, Flex, that switched to 100% renewable electricity for its factory in Tczew, Poland,” Ginér explains. “Of the 1.1 million products Flex produced for Ericsson in Poland, 1,401 baseband units were shipped by Ericsson to BT Group. As Flex switched to renewable energy at its Tczew site, Flex and Ericsson estimated an 11k-tonne reduction in Flex’s Scope 2 carbon emissions dedicated to Ericsson for 2022, which translates to a 14-tonne reduction in embodied carbon emissions for the 1,401 baseband units shipped to BT Group.” 

“It may seem like a small improvement,” she adds, “but these types of actions are necessary in the journey towards net zero and set a precedent for how these types of collaborations can be scaled in value chains.” 

Sustainability at BT 

BT is also progressing with its own sustainability agenda, both operationally and within its supply chain. It aims to get to net zero by 2031 within its own operations, and in its wider supply chain by 2041. The company is rolling out more energy-efficient fixed and mobile networks, phasing out legacy infrastructure, and consolidating real estate to reduce emissions from buildings. Last year, it recovered 1,750 tonnes of network equipment and reused 1,548 items in its network. 

“We switch off the energy-intensive 3G network in 2024 which saved over 60 GWh,” Ginér notes. “When older networks are switched off, we recover the network equipment so it can be reused or recycled.” In October last year, it secured £105m from recycler EMR (European Metal Recycling) for its surplus copper networks. The income stream is significant, even after the costs of extracting and processing the cabling. 

The company is also transitioning its fleet to electric and zero-emission vehicles, with over 5,500 electric vehicles already in use. It placed its largest ever order of 3,500 EVs in January this year. “We’re working hard and investing to convert the majority of this fleet to electric or zero-emission vehicles by the end of FY31 – where that’s the best technical or economic solution.” 

Supplier expectations have also been formalised. ESG-related topics now carry a 20% weighting in BT’s supplier assessments, and environmental criteria are embedded into onboarding.  

“Today, suppliers representing more than 65% of our supply chain emissions are reporting to CDP,” says Ginér. CDP stands for the Carbon Disclosure Project, a platform where companies report environmental data such as carbon emissions, to promote transparency and accountability. 

The next steps 

As telecom operators face mounting pressure to decarbonise, improve transparency, and reduce waste, the need for collective action only intensifies. 

“The sector is doing quite well,” says Ginér, “but of course there is always more to be done, especially in tackling Scope 3 emissions.” 

With most JAC members now committed to science-based or net zero targets, and an increasing number taking action on circularity and due diligence, the foundations are in place. The next challenge is scale, ensuring that pilot programmes and successful supplier partnerships become standard practice across the global telecom ecosystem. 

Also in Feature Week:

UK data centre expansion sparks net zero concerns 

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Published by The Sunday Times in partnership with workplace engagement platform WorkL, the annual list acknowledges businesses in the UK that exhibit exemplary inclusion, wellbeing support, and satisfaction among staff members. With more than 500 companies evaluated, Altnets is unique not just for its industry but also for its scale, values, and culture.

Founded in 2020 with just three employees and no permanent workplace, Altnets today employs 17 individuals and runs from a state-of-the-art office overlooking Brighton Marina. In addition to being an established leader in telecommunications, the business is regarded by its staff as one of the most fulfilling and content workplaces.

Co-Founder and Director Sam Bangle commented, “This award reflects the outstanding team spirit we’ve built at Altnets.

“What makes us unique is the passion, creativity, and focus our employees bring to their jobs. Without them, Altnets wouldn’t be the business it is today.”

From servicing 33 clients in 2021 to over 100 by 2024, Altnets has expanded rapidly, but its ultimate objective remains unchanged: to connect communities digitally across the country, while cultivating a thriving, people-first culture within its team.

With its comprehensive healthcare plans and insurance benefits, annual team-building excursions for the team, monthly social gatherings, and flexible work schedule designed to encourage a healthy work-life balance, Altnets is creating a working experience where staff members feel appreciated, encouraged, and seen.

“We’re more than a company that serves customers – we’re powered by our people,” Bangle added. “Our success demonstrates that, alongside our efforts to build digital connections throughout the UK, we are equally committed to maintaining a thriving and encouraging community here in Brighton.”

Altnets is one of only two Brighton-based companies to be named in the ‘Small Organisation’ category of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025 – and the only telecoms business of its size to be featured nationwide. This distinction demonstrates Altnets’ commitment to its employees and solidifies its standing as a leader in a field that isn’t frequently recognised for having an impressive workplace culture. While men largely dominate the telecoms sector, Altnets actively strives to diversify its workforce by recruiting more women than the industry average. Altnets strives to be regarded as one of Brighton’s best places to work, establishing a benchmark for small businesses across the UK.

The Sunday Times commented: “Recognition is the watchword at this Brighton telecoms company. Its 17 staff enjoy structured rewards, team-building and social events, including pizza days and charity skydives. There is also a commitment to personal development, with professional certifications and leadership coaching, and a wellness programme to ensure they care for themselves. They enjoy private healthcare, mental-health support and David Lloyd gym membership. Volunteering days allow people to give back to a cause they care about.”

Open communication, respect, and enjoyment are the foundations of the Altnets culture, reflected in schedule flexibility, opportunities for professional development, and regular after-work socials. The outcome is an unrivalled staff community and a place of employment staff genuinely enjoy being part of.

This recognition from The Sunday Times is more than simply an award – it’s an endorsement of the uplifting, collaborative culture that each team member works to develop and sustain.

A Company to Watch in UK Telecoms

With demand for high-quality telecoms solutions continuing to grow, Altnets is proving that investing in people is not just the right thing to do — it’s a powerful business strategy. From driving digital infrastructure forward to setting a new cultural benchmark in the sector, Altnets is one to watch.

Whether you’re starting out or looking for your next step in the industry, Altnets is always keen to connect with passionate, driven individuals who want to be part of something special. To find your next career opportunity with an award-winning company, email: info@altnets.co.uk