Alternative network operator and ISP Brsk has today announced that their 2Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network, which already covers “over” 700,000 UK homes and is in the process of being merged with Netomnia (here), is being expanded to cover a further 10,000 “rural” premises in 5 new locations across West Yorkshire (England).

The operator has already built their network to pass 130,000 premises across West Yorkshire, while the next batch of 10,000 premises due to join that figure will include deployments across the following five villages and towns: Denholme, Haworth, Crossroads, Wilsden, and Cullingworth. But it should be noted that some of these locations already have a degree of FTTP coverage from rivals, such as Openreach and Virgin Media etc.

Residents and businesses in Cullingworth have in fact already become the first to enjoy access to Brsk’s new network as the operator’s work has just completed, while the project is currently underway to connect Haworth, Crossflatts, Denholme and Wilsden, which should be completed by December this year.

Darryl Nieuwenhuizen, Brsk’s Regional Head, said:

“We have spent the last 3 years rolling out our full fibre network to a large proportion of the Bradford District and the take up of services has been fantastic. We have built a great reputation for ourselves throughout the region, with brsk becoming a household name in the area; we already have over 30% take up in our older cohorts. This success has given us the confidence to extend our network to more rural communities across West Yorkshire and ensure they are not left behind.

Brsk was piloted in the village of Cottingley back in 2021 and has seen significant growth across North, West, and South of the Bradford district since inception, with the network now spanning from Keighley to Calderdale, providing 130,000 homes and businesses with access to full fibre broadband across West Yorkshire.”

New customers of the service currently pay from just £19 per month on a 24-month term for symmetric speeds of 150Mbps, then £25 for 500Mbps, £30 for 900Mbps and £55 for their top 2Gbps (2000Mbps) tier. The packages all include free installation, a router and a pledge of no mid-contract price rises. Options also exist for Pay TV, phone, a WiFi mesh product, and static IP addresses.

The latest Q3 2024 results from Virgin Media (O2) have been published, which shows that they’re home to 5,726,900 fixed broadband customers (up by 16.2k in Q3 vs -12.2k in Q2) and expanded their full fibre (FTTP) network to 281,100 premises – primarily via nexfibre (down from 295k in Q2). VMO2 has also sold a minority 8.3% stake in Cornerstone (worth £186m).

According to the latest results, the combined VMO2 and nexfibre fixed broadband network currently reaches 17,770,100 Homes Serviceable (up from 17,489,000 in Q2) and the vast majority of that new build is from nexfibre. The nexfibre network alone now accounts for over 1.5 million UK premises passed of this total.

The results reveal that a total of around 5.3 million Virgin Media and nexfibre premises (footprint) are now covered by FTTP (XGS-PON and RFOG), which is up from 5m in Q2 2024. But a tiny portion of the nexfibre figures will include a bit of infill build for Virgin Media itself (e.g. existing new build homes sites).

The c.175,000 premises passed by Upp, which was acquired by nexfibre last year, have also yet to be fully integrated into VMO2’s totals, which is despite this update stating that Virgin has now completed the integration work (i.e. it sounds a bit contradictory when they talk about “successful completion of integration work“, yet for some reason the majority of the 175,000 acquired premises are “still to be transferred“).

Nexfibre Rollout Progress
Q3 2024 = 281,100 Premises
Q2 2024 = 295,300 Premises
Q1 2024 = 194,000 Premises
Q4 2023 = c.299,000 Premises
Q3 2023 = 250,800 Premises
Q2 2023 = 175,500 Premises
Q1 2023 = 107,800 Premises
Q4 2022 = 24,000 Premises

Just for context. Telefónica, Liberty Global and InfraVia Capital Partners setup a new £4.5bn joint venture called nexfibre in 2022 (here), which aims to deploy an open access full fibre (FTTP) network to reach “up to” 7 million UK homes (starting with 5m by 2026) in areas NOT served by Virgin Media’s own network of 16m+ premises. But Virgin Media, which shares some of the same parentage, is currently the only ISP on this network (here).

At the same time, Virgin Media’s Project Mustang programme is also upgrading their older Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) and FTTP based Radio Frequency over Glass (RFoG) network – covering over 16 million premises – to harness the same XGS-PON based FTTP technology as nexfibre. But this process isn’t due to complete until 2028, although it will eventually mean that VMO2 and nexfibre cover up to 23 million premises with full fibre.

The operator’s (O2) mobile base has also grown during Q1, while sadly Virgin Media has stopped giving any solid figures for their Pay TV (video) base (this often happens when a base is in decline).

VMO2 Q3 2024 UK Customer (Connection) Figures
5,726,900 Fixed Broadband – (up from 5,710,700 in Q2)
45,412,100 Mobile inc. Wholesale – (down from 45,486,400)

The total mobile base reduced by 74,300 connections in the quarter, include a small portion of contract users. But the main fall came from a reduction of 221,300 in IoT connections, which is attributable to the “expected loss of very low value connections following the introduction of a minimum charge pricing mechanism“. The latest results also state that outdoor 5G coverage is now available to 68% of the UK population (up from 65% in Q2).

On the financial front, VMO2 reported total revenue of £2,701.8m in Q3 2024, which is up from £2,673.7m last quarter.

Lutz Schüler, CEO of VMO2, said:

“During Q3 we have continued to make progress against our core strategy as we invest in the foundations for future growth.

We delivered on both volume and value in consumer fixed, with a return to customer growth coupled with an increase in fixed-line ARPU. In mobile, we saw a quarterly trend improvement in key metrics, supported by a reduction in O2 churn during a summer of key campaigns for our loyalty programme Priority and inclusive EU roaming.

Our 5G and fibre rollout continues at pace, and we have invested more than £1.5 billion so far this year as we focus on delivering a great customer experience with fast, reliable connectivity in more areas, increased loyalty benefits and improvements in our customer service performance.

In the first nine months we are tracking well against EBITDA guidance, enabling us to reiterate all guidance metrics with confidence, as we keep our foot on the gas with targeted investments in the salient final quarter.”

The latest results didn’t include any useful updates on Virgin Media’s plans for going wholesale via NetCo in 2025, but we might hear more about that in the near future. But VMO2 did finally confirm the sale of a minority 8.33% stake in mobile tower joint venture CTIL (Cornerstone), to funds managed by Equitix.

The above move follows on from, and is along equivalent terms to, a previous minority stake sale in CTIL by VMO2 in Q4 2023. The deal, which will see the company receive £186m in cash upon final completion, is structured through a 16.66% sale in a holding company which indirectly owns 50% of Cornerstone. Under the ownership structure, Virgin Media O2 will continue to proportionately consolidate Cornerstone as a joint operation.

Cornerstone is the UK’s largest mobile towers business, which owns and manages a nationwide network of around 20,000 sites used by O2 and Vodafone UK, providing critical services for approximately 60% of UK mobile subscribers. The money may help with investment in other areas, such as the £1.5bn+ that has already been spent this year on 5G and fibre roll-outs.

News  

Backed by £93 million from UKRI funding, the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) is envisaged as a centrepiece of the UK’s quantum strategy 

The UK’s NQCC officially opened last week by Science Minister Lord Vallance. Located at the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire, the 4,000-square-meter facility will house 12 quantum computers used for further research into quantum technology.  

Unlike similar facilities worldwide, the NQCC offers open access to researchers, industry, and students across the UK. With over 70 staff members, the centre aims to close skill gaps through the UK’s first dedicated quantum apprenticeship programme, as well as PhD placements.  

The initiative aligns with the UK’s goal of using quantum technology to drive advancements in sectors like healthcare, energy, and artificial intelligence. 

The NQCC is also set to play a major role in the UK’s ten-year quantum strategy, which will invest £2.5 billion on quantum research, innovation, and skills. Key projects within this strategy include optimising energy grids to reduce power loss, accelerating drug discovery, and improving climate predictions.  

Quantum computing is expected to be orders of magnitude more powerful than traditional supercomputers, allowing for calculations that would normally take years to be completed in minutes’  

The National Quantum Computing Centre marks a vital step forward in the UK’s efforts to advance quantum technologies,” said Science Minister Lord Vallance in a statement. 

“By making its facilities available to users from across industry and academia, and with its focus on making quantum computers practically useable at scale, this Centre will help them solve some of the biggest challenges we face, w 

hether it’s delivering advances in healthcare, enhancing energy efficiency, tackling climate change, or inventing new materials,” he continued. 

Join us at next year’s Connected North, 23-24 April in Manchester. Get your discounted tickets here! 

Also in the news:
Nokia and Lenovo forge partnership to drive AI and automation in data centers
UK govt announces £22m investment in ‘smart data’
“We’re on track to close the loop”: Adtran talks data, AI, and network automation at Connected Britain

The tediously named telecoms procurement specialist, Altnets (the company, not the sector), has launched a new system that attempts to address some of the complex engineering and compliance challenges that UK broadband ISPs face when installing in large residential buildings (MDUs / blocks of flats etc.), while also making those deployments more efficient.

The FTTXcellence B2ca MDU system claims to be the “only product of its kind” and one that features B2ca-rated cables, the highest Euroclass compliance rating available for fibre optic data cables. This rating, indicating minimal flame spread and heat release, is said to support ISPs in prioritising safety and “helping prevent risks associated with events like the Grenfell Tower disaster“.

Additionally, the system, which has been developed through industry collaboration to be quick and fully compliant with safety standards, also includes installation fixings, through-wall kits, and a variety of adapters to ensure easier installation and approvals from property owners.

Tackling MDUs can be a slow and expensive business, not least because each building is usually very different from the last one and will often require a bespoke solution. So anything that can be done to resolve that is usually a good thing. At least one FTTP broadband ISP, the London-focused G.Network, has already adopted the new system and have been calling it a fairly priced “game changer for us as an ISP and network provider“.

Leigh Buckwell, Technical Director at Altnets, said:

“Our FTTXcellence B2ca MDU System is revolutionary because it directly addresses the challenges faced by ISPs. We’ve developed a fully compliant, standardised solution that simplifies installation while ensuring ISPs meet stringent safety regulations. This includes CPR compliance as required by the BS6701 and BS7671 standards, which mandate the fire performance of telecommunications cables.

The FTTXcellence B2ca MDU System not only meets minimum safety requirements but surpasses them, making it the most compliant cabling solution in the industry. This ensures easier approval from private or local authority property owners, enhances the success of MDU builds, and improves the return on investment for ISPs.”

The announcement is a little bit heavy on the marketing speak and moves into an area that we don’t usually cover, although it would be interesting to know what other network providers think about this system? We should say that there are a number of fibre systems for tackling MDUs already on the market (e.g. InvisiLight, as used by Hyperoptic, Openreach etc.), although comparing them moves a bit too far outside our comfort zone of familiarity.

News 

The deal will make SBA Communications “the leading tower company across all of Central America”, according to CEO Brendan Cavanagh 

Florida-based tower infrastructure company SBA communications has purchased 7,000 telecoms towers situated across South America from Millicom, in a deal worth $795 million. 

The sites are located in Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, and are expected to bring SBA an annual revenue of $129 million, with $89 million projected in cash flow in their first full year, according to the company. 

Millicom will continue to be served by the sold sites, with signing a leaseback agreement with SBA for 15 years. The agreements will also extend the current leases on 1,500 sites with SBA for another 15 years. 

“As a result of this transaction and the strength of our existing portfolio, SBA Communications will be the leading tower company across all of Central America,” said Brendan Cavanagh, President & CEO of SBA Communications in a press release. 

“By monetizing non-core assets, we are optimizing our operational and capital efficiency, positioning the company for sustainable growth and long-term value creation,” added Marcelo Benitez, CEP of Millicom in a statement. 

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, expecting to close in mid-2025. 

Currently, SBA either owns or operates 39,762 communication sites, with over 17,000 located in the US and 22,200 internationally. 

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter   

Also in the news:
Nokia and Lenovo forge partnership to drive AI and automation in data centers
UK govt announces £22m investment in ‘smart data’
“We’re on track to close the loop”: Adtran talks data, AI, and network automation at Connected Britain 

Mobile network operator Vodafone has today announced that they’ve teamed-up with wireless infrastructure provider Freshwave to provide “improved high-speed” 4G and 5G (mobile broadband) connectivity at Haven’s many holiday parks across Yorkshire, Norfolk and Kent in England, as well as Scotland, North Wales and various coastal communities.

The Primrose Valley Holiday Park, located in Filey, Yorkshire, was the first park to undergo 4G and 5G enhancements earlier this year as part of the new multi-million-pound deal, which was then followed by Kent Coast in Kent, Craig Tara in Scotland, Caister-on-Sea in Norfolk, and Hafan y Mor in North Wales.

The CEO of Freshwave, Simon Frumkin, added that he was “delighted” to be working on the project and that the coverage enhancements they were delivering with Vodafone would also extend mobile connectivity to the communities around the parks. Previously, many of the parks could only access 4G services.

Andrea Donà, Network Director at Vodafone UK, said:

“Our partnership with Haven and Freshwave means our customers are starting to enjoy some of the fastest mobile data speeds in the UK as well as a stronger and more reliable voice signal while enjoying their holiday. Vodafone customers will automatically benefit from superfast access via their mobile phones and devices around the park and inside holiday homes – whether that’s checking emails, streaming their favourite show or staying in touch with loved ones.

At the same time, Haven has the connectivity it needs to support its business applications. We now look forward to working together with Haven to see how the improved coverage can continue supporting both their guests and their business.”

Sadly, the press release doesn’t elaborate on precisely what sort of network setup and upgrades are being delivered, other than to reference general support for 4G and 5G connectivity. But Freshwave are well-known for their use of small cells and neutral host networks, which could mean that these upgrades might not only benefit Vodafone. But for now that’s the only operator being named by Haven itself.

Rome/Dallas, 28 October 2024

Sparkle, the first international service provider in Italy and among the top global operators, announces the pre-order launch of its Quantum Safe over Internet (QSI) service, the first product in its Network as a Service (NaaS) suite which soon will include additional use cases. The announcement is made during the Global NaaS Event (GNE) organized by MEF and currently underway in Dallas, where Sparkle is showcasing the service’s capabilities to the industry through live demos.

Establishing quantum-secure connections represents a crucial step forward in communications security. This solution, already tested on an international VPN between Italy and Germany and on Sparkle’s metropolitan fiber-optic network in Athens, allows companies to benefit from MEF-compliant on-demand Internet access protected by post-quantum encryption.

With the Network as a Service approach, customers will have the opportunity to use the service through a dedicated portal or via API, in an agile, flexible and fully automated way. The QSI service, currently available for pre-order at points of presence in Paris, London and Athens, will enable customers to access Sparkle’s network, establish secure connections between their offices, and utilize cloud resources with assurance against quantum attacks.

“In a rapidly evolving world, increasingly interconnected and supported by artificial intelligence, digital experience, data certification and security are continuously challenged,” said Daniele Mancuso, Chief Marketing & Product Management at Sparkle. “Quantum-Safe over Internet combines NaaS experience with post-quantum encryption, positioning Sparkle at the forefront of protecting communications against the risks associated with the advent of quantum computing.”

About Sparkle

Sparkle is TIM Group’s Global Operator, first international service provider in Italy and among the top worldwide, offering a full range of infrastructure and global connectivity services – capacity, IP, SD-WAN, colocation, IoT connectivity, roaming and voice – to national and international Carriers, OTTs, ISPs, Media/Content Providers, and multinational enterprises. A major player in the submarine cable industry, Sparkle owns and manages a network of more than 600,000 km of fiber spanning from Europe to Africa and the Middle East, the Americas and Asia. Its sales force is active worldwide and distributed over 33 countries.

Find out more about Sparkle following its X and LinkedIn profiles or visiting the website tisparkle.com

Media Contacts

sp*******************@*******le.com

X: @TISparkle

Podcast

Two Lumen representatives joined Beyond the Cable to discuss challenges that make California’s middle-mile build unique and how the state is doing their part assist with timely network builds.

Large-scale infrastructure projects can be challenging but, according to Scott Pohlman, of Lumen Technologies, the state of California has worked hard to help providers build networks in a timely fashion.

Pohlman, who joined his colleague Michelle Watson, also of Lumen, on a recent episode of the BBCMag.com podcast Beyond the Cable, discussed some of the ways California has changed the game for broadband infrastructure builds.

“It’s very difficult to do things in the state of California,” Pohlman said.

He added that sometimes up to seven different agencies, at the local, federal, and state level, are involved in permitting processes for broadband builds.

“One of the nice things the state did was they sort of greased the skid,” he said. “I wouldn’t call them concessions but getting understanding from all these different regulatory agencies about the speed with which the network has to proceed.”

As a result, Pohlman said permits were issued faster and priority was placed on broadband builds.

‘Everyone has a voice’

“California has done a phenomenal job ensuring that everyone has a voice,” Watson added.

Watson said Lumen is there to provide the technology and share lessons learned, which has earned Lumen the status of a trusted business partner with the state.

Pohlman and Watson also discussed the prospect of proposed cuts to middle-mile broadband in California’s state budget.

“There may be hiccups along the way,” Pohlman said, but he said the scale of California’s broadband buildout signifies a massive investment from the state and a belief in broadband.

Pohlman said he feels confident that state, local, and federal initiatives will continue to support broadband builds.

Click here to subscribe to Beyond the Cable and get notified about episodes as they release on Spotify.

How is the US connectivity landscape shifting in 2024? Join the operators and their communities in discussion at Broadband Communities Summit West live in San Diego.

Alternative network operator and ISP Grain (Grain Connect), which has already built their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cover 220,000 UK premises RFS and 30,000 customers (21st May 2024), recently published their annual results and made some positive financial predictions. A further £18m of equity funding was also secured.

The operator’s full fibre network can currently be found in parts of 59 UK locations (plus over 150 new build housing developments), which includes a lot of small-to-modest sized patches of various urban cities and towns like Leicester, Liverpool, Accrington, Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Scarborough, Carlisle, Barrow-in-Furness, Hartlepool, Hull, Newport, Sunderland, Blackburn and so forth.

As part of this, Grain recently published their annual accounts for the year ended 31st March 2024 (here), which among other things revealed that “the business passed the point of peak EBITDA investment [in May 2023], and finished the year with a monthly profitability on a trajectory to EBITDA positive” – this is forecast to be achieved in the “second half of the next financial year” (ended 31st March 2025).

The ability to achieve a positive EBITDA (i.e. earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) usually indicates that a company’s core operations are profitable and likely generating positive cash flow. The same results also revealed that, in September 2024, Grain had secured a further £18m of equity funding from existing shareholders to help continue its network expansion (we’ve not previously seen that being mentioned).

Summary of Key Points from Grain’s Results (31st March 2024)

➤ 237,000 homes passed (204,000 Ready for Service / RFS)

➤ £435 spent of capital expenditure per home passed (covers end-to-end build, including everything required to deliver a live connection – from the boundary of every premises)

➤ Grain has full ownership of its end-to-end access network (the majority of many other altnets don’t own their access network, but rather rent access via Openreach’s PIA)

➤ Grain says they had low net debt per home passed, relative to others, at £147 by the end of the year

➤ Revenue up by 191% to £4.5m (2023: £1.55m)

➤ EBITDA of (£7.583m) vs 2023: (£7.401m)

➤ Gross profit of £2.063m (2023: £133k)

➤ Operating loss of £15.04m (2023: £10.61m)

➤ Customer base of over 27,000 (May 2023: c.14,000)

➤ Average operating cost per customer per month of £54.24, which is down 72% from £198 in the previous year and should continue to fall.

➤ Loss for the year, after tax, of £19.31m (2023: £5.21m)

As usual, network operators that are still in their build phase often have to spend huge sums of money on the deployment of a new network, which may then need 10–15 years before full payback is achieved. Keeping costs down is thus very important, but so too is the ability to generate a strong and durable level of take-up for payback, which normally takes a few years to mature after the completion of a new network.