Rural broadband ISP Gigaclear appears to have completed their state aid supported contract under the Fastershire scheme, which originally instructed the operator to extend their gigabit-capable “full fibre” (FTTP) network to 70,000 of the hardest to reach premises in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire (this was revised upwards to 110,000 in 2020 – here).

The deployment, which suffered from many significant delays and was previously due to complete in September 2022, has clearly been running a fair bit behind schedule. This may help to explain why we haven’t seen any progress updates over the past few years. At the same time, it’s also another reminder of just how challenging it can be to build FTTP into remote rural areas, where build costs can easily rise above expectations.

However, a new report on the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard states that Gigaclear has just completed a related build to 3,000 premises in the Cotswolds market down of Cirencester, which the provider’s local Delivery Director says “brings to an end our longstanding contractual relationship with Fastershire.”

Just to recap. Gigaclear’s rollout for Fastershire began in 2015 in the Cotswolds, where they extended FTTP to cover an additional 6,500 homes and businesses. But this was followed by a much larger Phase 3 deal in 2017 to reach some of the remaining properties across rural Herefordshire and Gloucestershire (several other broadband operators also won contracts with Fastershire).

Gigaclear’s Original Phase 3 Build Plan

Phase 3 – Area 2 & 3c – South Herefordshire and Gloucestershire (21,800 premises)
Phase 3 – Area 3d – North Gloucestershire (12,650)
Phase 3 – Area 3e – South Gloucestershire (12,650)
Phase 3 – Area 4 – North Herefordshire (13,900)

NOTE: We never saw what the revised plan for reaching 110,000 premises looked like.

Charlie Freed, Gigaclear Delivery Director, said:

“This work in Cirencester brings to an end our longstanding contractual relationship with Fastershire.

We’re now in the planning phase of a new £16.6m, three-year contract with Project Gigabit to deliver full-fibre broadband to more than 4,000 rural properties in east Gloucestershire, including Andoversford, Kemble, Lower Slaughter, Miserden and Woodmancote.

Once connected, these communities will join the growing number of rural towns and villages on Gigaclear’s network, many of whom would otherwise not have access to fast and reliable full-fibre broadband and the benefits that brings, such as streaming digital entertainment, working from home and utilising smart gadgets.”

The East Gloucestershire (Lot 18) Project Gigabit contract mentioned above, which is valued at £16.6m (state aid), was awarded in February 2024 (here) and the first premises under that are vagely anticipated to gain access to Gigaclear’s new network sometime in 2024.

Gigaclear’s full fibre network is currently available to 560,000 premises (RFS) across rural parts of England (inc. 120,000 customers), although we don’t currently know how many premises they ended up delivering as part of their Fastershire contract. The fact that commercial builds by rivals have accelerated over the past four years can sometimes result in state aid projects delivering fewer premises than originally planned. We’ve asked Gigaclear for an update.

The company that owns and manages most of the railway network in Great Britain, Network Rail, suffered a major service outage on their national Wi-Fi network this week, which began on Wednesday and impacted 19 stations. But it appears to have been caused by an “employee of Global Reach [who] corrupted the system“.

Commuters began noticing that something was amiss at around 5pm on Wednesday, after many of them reported seeing messages about terror attacks being displayed as they logged onto the public Wi-Fi service at Network Rail managed stations. In response, Telent, which provides the service, promptly suspended it to investigate a possible “cyber security incident” against their systems.

However, the messages, which appeared to be Islamophobic in nature and referenced the 2017 Manchester Arena bombings, had not been posted by hackers. Investigations by Telent quickly established that no other services or networks provided by Telent were directly impacted and the “incident was not a result of a network security breach or a technical failure and no personal data had been affected“, said Telent.

Instead, the defacement seems to have been introduced by an employee working within the chain of associated companies.

Statement by Telent

Telent worked together with Network Rail, Global Reach and the British Transport Police to investigate the incident.

The system that manages the connection of users to the Wi-Fi is provided by Global Reach. It was established that an employee of Global Reach corrupted the system so that messages about past terrorism attacks were displayed as users logged on to the Wi-Fi. On the evening of Thursday 26 September the employee of Global Reach was arrested on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and offences under the Malicious Communications Act 1988.

Working closely with Network Rail, Telent are now finalising plans to begin restoring the Wi-Fi service across all Network Rail managed stations.

The British Transport Police have since posted a statement of their own to confirm that a man has been arrested as part of their investigation into the abuse of access to some Network Rail Wi-Fi services. “The man is an employee of Global Reach Technology who provide some Wi-Fi services to Network Rail. He has been arrested on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and offences under the Malicious Communications Act 1988,” said the BTP.

The abuse of access is said to have been restricted to the defacement of the splash (Wi-Fi login) pages, and no personal data is known to have been affected. The event occurred in the same month as Transport for London (TfL) was hit by an actual cyber-attack, which may have breached customers’ private details. A teenager from Walsall in the West Midlands was later arrested in connection with that attack.

The annual 2024 Comms National Awards were held this week, which each year works to recognise the stand-out organisations, technologies, leaders and innovations in the communications and ICT communities. The event covers a lot of different categories, and there were several wins for alternative broadband networks / ISPs.

The winners were selected by a team of judges from the wider industry and associated sectors. But one of the standouts was MS3 being named as the ‘Best Altnet’ for the second year running, as well as ‘Best partner support programme’ in recognition of their commitment to delivering more broadband choice across the Hull and Humber region.

The caveat is of course that, with such a small judging panel and little reflection for customer feedback, industry awards like this are always best taken with a fair pinch of salt.

Comms National Awards 2024 – Winners

Best Enterprise UC Customer Solution

F one Technologies

Best SME UC Customer Solution

Global4

Best Enterprise Mobile/IoT Customer Solution

Windsor Telecom

Best SME Mobile/IoT Customer Solution

Uplands OneTelco

Best Enterprise Vertical Market Customer Solution

SCG Together

Best SME Vertical Market Customer Solution

X-on Health

Best Enterprise Managed Service Customer Solution

Uplands OneTelco

Best SME Managed Service Solution

Global 4

Best Enterprise Contact Centre Customer Solution

Onecom

Best SME Contact Centre Customer Solution

Start Communications

Best Call Management Solution

Tollring

Best Billing Solution

Inform Billing

Best ICT Distributor

Nuvias UC

Best UCaaS Vendor

Voiceflex

Best CCaaS Vendor

Intermedia Cloud Communications

Best Network Service Provider

Pangea Connected

Best Altnet

MS3 Networks

Best Wholesale Service Provider (up to £10m)

Voip Unlimited

Best Wholesale Service Provider (above £10m)

Giacom

Reseller Business Transformation Award

Core Technology Systems

Enterprise Reseller Deal of the Year

Windsor Telecom

SME Reseller Deal of the Year

Cloud Geeks

Best Partner Programme (up to £10m)

MS3 Networks

Best Partner Programme (above £10m)

Jola

Best Channel Business Service

Channel Sales Academy

Best Channel Portal

Jola

Best Reseller Innovation Award

Fidelity Group

Best Supplier Innovation Award

GoBIG Online

Diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) award

Vorboss

Sustainability Award

BT Wholesale

Comms Dealer Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Paul Bradford

Reseller of the Year Award

Uplands OneTelco

The Peterborough-based Rydal Group, which is a UK telecoms and managed IT provider, has today announced that they’ve acquired the Cambridgeshire-based data centre (they have one site in Huntingdon), phone and broadband provider Merula for an undisclosed sum.

According to the blurb, the acquisition “empowers Rydal Group to provide more comprehensive, controlled, and robust service offerings, including access to dedicated rack space and the ability to leverage multiple broadband options such as traditional broadband, mobile, and satellite services” through Merula’s own data centre.

The acquisition is said to align with the Rydal Group’s long-term strategy of growth and investment, “ensuring that both partners and customers benefit from expanded services that are directly owned and operated by the group“. The integration of Merula’s services with Rydal’s existing portfolio will also create a more unified and expanded offering for connectivity, phone systems, mobile solutions, IT MSP support, and more.

Steffan Dancy, CEO of Rydal Group, said:

“Acquiring Merula Limited is a significant step forward for Rydal Group. By bringing the data centre and ISP capabilities in-house, and with the launch of our new partner portal, we’re able to fully control our infrastructure, enhancing the quality, flexibility, and value of the services we offer both our partners and customers. This acquisition positions Rydal and those we serve at the forefront of technological advancement in an increasingly competitive industry.”

Under the deal Richard Palmer, Managing Director of Merula Limited, will transition into a new role as Group Technical Lead, focusing on infrastructure development and innovation within the newly combined entity. The Merula team will remain in place to ensure continuity of service for existing customers.

Openreach (BT) has told ISPreview they’re reviewing new options with broadband operators (CPs) for making better and more efficient use of their existing cable ducts. This occurred after a dispute was raised over one operator’s deployment of large 51.2mm optical diameter (OD) multitube cabling (the limit is normally 25mm to a single cable/subduct diameter).

Granted, cable size isn’t exactly the sexist of topics to discuss, but for network operators engaged in the national race to deploy faster full fibre (FTTP) broadband and Ethernet infrastructure across the UK, it can be a big deal. This is particularly true if one operator is allowed to do something that others believe they cannot within Openreach’s ducts, which tends to raise competition concerns.

Openreach are required by Ofcom to open their existing underground cable ducts and overhead poles for use by rival networks to help them run new fibre, which forms part of the regulated Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product. But naturally there is often only a limited amount of spare duct space available, which varies between locations and can make it tricky to balance fair and efficient use of the infrastructure.

Operators that wish to use such PIA ducts are normally required to submit a formal Notification of Intent (NOI) to Openreach, which typically recommends up to 25mm for a single cable/subduct diameter. But operators could get around this by having, for example, 2 x 25mm subduct and placing 2 NOIs on the same duct section. However, even if you pay for 2 x 25mm, you generally aren’t allowed to then do things like put in 1 x 35mm etc.

What’s the issue?

The problem is that contractors, who we believe may have been working for Zayo (they haven’t responded to our request for comment), were recently spotted deploying a “50mm multi tube” (actually 51.2mm) cable through an older part of Openreach’s PIA duct network (example) – not an easy or cheap task. This seems to be on four diverse routes between Docklands and Slough, where other operators might have tried to do the same if they thought it was allowed.

However, several rival operators, many of which expressed to ISPreview how they’d long been told that 25mm was to be considered a “maximum” limit, have raised questions over whether this is fair competition. Not to mention the potential risk of adding to duct congestion (i.e. locking out other operators through the same duct, which can be particularly galling if the cable doesn’t end up being fully utilised) or causing physical damage to the network (big cabling is often less flexible, which can sometimes cause issues).

Given the recent push by Openreach to crackdown on poor adherence to other PIA rules (e.g. the whereabouts drama), some operators feel like this is one creep that shouldn’t be allowed and may lead to widespread deployment of cabling that is “simply too large“. But Openreach seem to be keeping more of an open mind, which perhaps reflects the pressures they face from Ofcom over the need to provide an equal opportunity of access.

A spokesperson for Openreach told ISPreview:

“Having investigated – we’re confident that rules to ensure fair access by other operators to our network of ducts and poles have been adhered to.

More than 170 companies have signed up to sharing our network infrastructure, and use around a third of our duct and pole estate – so it’s important that we strike a balance between overly restricting Communication Providers (CPs) when building their networks and avoiding attempts to simply block or restrict others from using the infrastructure.

The feedback we get from alt-nets for this service is also extremely good. Our NPS (net promoter) score is +29.2 and we’re delighted with the way it’s working, but we’re always looking for ways we can further improve the service we provide to our CP customers.”

Openreach also confirmed that, in their product descriptions, they do state that CPs can install multiple cables of varying diameters, and will then be charged for multiple 25mm units per duct. But the operator appeared to indicate that, currently, they do not state the maximum size of cable or sub duct or apparatus that the CPs can use (altnets dispute this), as they do not want to inadvertently stifle CP innovation.

However, in light of the recent concerns, Openreach have told ISPreview that they will be discussing with CPs options for making better and more efficient use of their infrastructure in the near future. We understand that one option here could involve asking CPs to obtain specific prior written consent to install any cables or sub-duct which is more than 25mm in diameter.

Such consent would, says Openreach, need to take into account things like whether suitable space is available, as well as an expectation that the provider would need to use the full capacity installed (i.e. within the 12-month build period – this could be tricky as not all fibres are always lit / fully utilised right away) and whether the CP can show they will comply with the best industry practice etc.

The hope is that this might help to protect the network against inefficient or unfair future use, but much will depend upon how CPs respond. The catch here is that, strictly speaking, Openreach’s own PIA rules state that the offending operator (as well as any others that may have done this elsewhere before) “must immediately rectify or disconnect the Customer Apparatus or BT will do so, at the Customer’s cost and expense.”

Some altnets may yet push for that outcome and, if Openreach fails to comply, the issue could still end up being raised with Ofcom.

News

The airline says its planes will be upgraded gradually to support the satellite connectivity

This week, Air France has become the latest airline to strike partnership with SpaceX’s low Earth orbit satellite subsidiary Starlink for in-flight WiFi.

The deal will see Air France’s fleet of aeroplanes gradually fitted with Starlink technology, allowing them to provide customers with a “ground-like” WiFi experience, with customers able to connect numerous devices at once.

The exact connectivity speeds expected to be available were not revealed, but Starlink has previously said that it’s constellation could provide in-flight WiFi speeds of 40–120Mbps.

Starlink equipment will begin being installed on the aircraft from 2025.

Once completed, the resulting WiFi service will be free to access for customers on Air France’s ‘Flying Blue’ loyalty programme (which is itself free to join).

In-flight Wi-Fi has long been a key use case for communications satellites. Starlink itself already has similar deals in place with numerous other airlines, including United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JSX, Qatar Airways, and Air New Zealand.

The largest of these, United Airlines, says it plans to have Starlink installed on over 1,000 planes next year.

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

Also in the news:
Verizon Business signs 5G deal with teledriving company Vay
Investors waiting for the UK’s ‘fragile’ altnet ecosystem to consolidate, says Nexfibre CEO
Dell launches AI For Telecom programme

News 

The move, which could raise up to $1 billion, aims to take advantage of the global demand for data infrastructure 

Japan’s NTT Group is reportedly considering launching a billion-dollar Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in Singapore that would hold up to $3 billion-worth of data center assets, according to a Bloomberg article. 

The article states that the company is working with financial advisors to finalise the assets that will be included in this high-profile listing.  

According to reports, the listing could happen in late 2025 and would be expected to raise around $1 billion. 

If successful, listing would be the largest in Singapore since 2017, potentially revitalising the city-state’s sluggish IPO market 

NTT’s move would align with its broader strategy to optimise its assets while addressing the increasing global demand for data infrastructure.  

The company’s decision comes amidst rising global investments in data centers, driven by the need for expansive digital infrastructure to manage growing demand for storage and computing capacity. If successful, NTT’s REIT could set a precedent, encouraging other large firms to explore similar offerings in the region. 

When contracted by Bloomberg, a representative confirmed that “the company is considering a REIT,” but did not elaborate further.  

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

Also in the news:
Meta resumes use of UK user posts to train its AI models
Verizon’s 4,800 job cuts will cost over $1.9 billion
CMA questions Vodafone–Three merger after second probe

Techwave announces strategic partnership with IQGEO
~ Partnership aims to accelerate fiber network design and deployment, enhancing operational efficiency for the telecom and utility sectors~

26th September ‘24, UK: Techwave, a global leader in IT and engineering services, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with IQGeo, a provider of innovative geospatial software solutions. This collaboration aims to elevate both companies’ ability to deliver cutting-edge solutions to the telecom and utility sectors, driving advancements in network planning, deployment, and optimization.

As a Certified Design Partner, Techwave now has access to IQGeo’s Professional edition of the Network Manager Telecom software, along with a fiber dataset for training, testing, and demonstrations. This partnership will enable Techwave to design and plan fiber networks with greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness, bringing substantial value to its clients. The partnership promises to reduce fiber planning and design time by up to 90%, allowing for faster project completion and quicker network deployments. By replacing manual processes with digital workflows, Techwave will significantly reduce man-hours while optimizing productivity. The software also facilitates seamless collaboration between office and field teams, eliminating file transfers and manual updates, further accelerating the design process and improving payment schedules for contractors.

In addition, the partnership offers access to IQGeo’s global support services, ensuring swift technical issue resolution and minimizing downtime. This strategic collaboration strengthens Techwave’s ability to deliver high-performance solutions and promotes better cooperation with clients, ensuring unified efforts in expanding fiber networks and optimizing operations across the telecom and utility sectors.

Speaking on the partnership, Mr. Chris White, Vice President – Global Competency, Techwave said, “We are excited to establish a new partnership with IQGeo that will mark a significant milestone as we continue to strengthen our capabilities to deliver engineering services to our clients across the globe. We believe this partnership will provide significant value as our respective companies share a common objective to drive growth in the telecom, fiber and utility industries. IQGeo’s proven platform capabilities and global reach are closely aligned to meet our strategic objectives and provide our delivery teams with the necessary solutions to design, deploy, and maintain world class networks.”

Adding to it, Mr. Jonathan Rosen – Associate Vice President, North America Engineering said “We are excited to start a new partnership with IQGeo. From rapid design to inspections and outage restoration, this partnership will help us in our objective to transform network data into efficient digital workflows for our clients. IQGeo’ s proven platform capabilities and global reach are closely aligned to meet our strategic objectives and provide our delivery teams with the ability to engineer world class infrastructure networks resulting in improved process optimization, predictable rollouts, increased workforce efficiencies, and maximizing of network revenue.”

“Our fiber design partner program has been tremendously popular with the fiber industry.” comments Jay Cadman, Senior Vice President at IQGeo, “As IQGeo’s market share continues to grow, we are keen to build a team of skilled fiber industry professionals to help support the demand for fiber network planning and design. Fiber operators can rest assured that all IQGeo partners have full access to our latest software and have been certified in the use of our products to provide the best possible design and support services. I’m excited to welcome these new eight companies to our partner network and look forward to expanding our ecosystem in the future.”

News

The decision is expected to bring significant improvements to the digital infrastructure in Guernsey and Jersey 

The States of Guernsey has approved the temporary suspension of competition law to allow Sure – a telecommunications company operating in the Channel Islands – to acquire 100% of local rival Airtel Vodafone.  

The acquisition is part of Sure’s strategy to enhance its service offerings and expand its market presence in the region, the company said. 

Sure plans to invest up to £48 million in developing a 5G mobile network for the islands. This investment aims to provide high-speed data services, improved coverage, and better value for money for customers. 

Having reduced the number of network operators in the market from three to two, Sure has made several legally binding commitments to help maintain competition, One of including the introduction of the Channel Islands Coop as a new mobile virtual network operator (MVNO).  

The new MVNO is expected to be operational within the next year. 

Sure and Airtel Vodafone initially reached this merger agreement in October 2022. However, acquisition required approval from competition regulators in both Guernsey and Jersey. While Jersey’s competition regulator approved the deal earlier in the year, the States of Guernsey took longer to deliberate before arriving at today’s conclusion. 

“Today’s decision is great news for Sure and Airtel customers and the future of telecommunications services in Guernsey and Jersey. We are grateful that Deputies have recognised the numerous strategic, economic and social benefits of our acquisition of Airtel,” said Sure Group CEO, Alistair Beak in a statement. 

“This merger will result in significant investment being made in the Channel Islands’ digital infrastructure at a time when demand for connectivity has never been greater.” 

The acquisition is expected to be completed before Christmas, with both Sure and Airtel Vodafone continuing to operate as separate entities until then,” he continued. 

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

Also in the news:
Meta resumes use of UK user posts to train its AI models
Verizon’s 4,800 job cuts will cost over $1.9 billion
CMA questions Vodafone–Three merger after second probe

News

Meta is ending its peering relationship with Deutsche Telekom, accusing the German incumbent of “putting the open internet at risk” 

According to two statements published this week, a dispute between Meta and Deutsche Telekom over peering charges has reached an impasse, with Meta saying it will now route traffic through third-parties rather than directly with the German operator. 

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, accuses Deutsche Telekom of threatening net neutrality by imposing “unacceptable fees” for direct peering services. Meta argues that thousands of telecom providers worldwide maintain “settlement-free” peering relationships, where data transfers between both parties are free. After months of unsuccessful negotiations and a court ruling in Deutsche Telekom’s favor, Meta has chosen to reroute its data traffic via third-party providers, to avoid paying these fees. 

“Following months of discussion, we are surprised and disappointed by the breakdown in negotiations with Deutsche Telekom. Meta has taken significant steps to keep its apps available directly through Deutsche Telekom, but given the court ruling concerning the unprecedented and unacceptable fees demanded, we are now routing our network traffic through a third-party transit provider, instead of exchanging traffic directly with Deutsche Telekom,” said Meta’s statement. 

Deutsche Telekom, however, claims that Meta has “twisted the facts”. According to them, Meta was previously paying for direct data connections but stopped during the pandemic. After taking the matter to court and winning, Deutsche Telekom accuses Meta of dodging legal obligations by redirecting traffic through other networks to avoid paying. 

Meta frames this issue as a threat to net neutrality — the idea that all internet traffic should be treated equally without preferential treatment. They argue that allowing telecom providers like Deutsche Telekom to charge for direct connections could set a dangerous precedent, potentially restricting user access to certain services. 

Deutsche Telekom counters that Meta is exploiting its market power to avoid paying its fair share. They argue that this is not just a corporate dispute, but a broader debate about fairness and how the internet operates, especially in balancing the power of large tech companies and telecom providers. 

Deutsche Telekom’s initial press release also included a slew of unrelated accusations  that tried to demonstrate that Meta’s actions “follow a pattern” of exploiting their dominant market position. These include: 

“- Meta is trying to avoid taxes in Europe  

– Meta disregards European data protection (see WhatsApp) 

– Meta is trying to force its users into payment models in violation of consumer protection laws 

– Meta lies to the public about hate speech  

– Meta gave data to Cambridge Analytica and thus indirectly influenced elections” 

These accusations have since been deleted from the statement.  

Both companies have reassured German customers that their access to Meta services will not be affected. 

Meta said it is “hopeful that a future agreement can be reached so that Deutsche Telekom subscribers can continue to access our apps in the way they rightly expect.” 

More widely, this dispute highlights the broader tensions between major tech firms and telecom providers, as both sides wrestle over how to fairly share the cost of maintaining the digital infrastructure that powers the internet. 

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

Also in the news:
Verizon Business signs 5G deal with teledriving company Vay
Investors waiting for the UK’s ‘fragile’ altnet ecosystem to consolidate, says Nexfibre CEO
Dell launches AI For Telecom programme