News

The new regulations introduced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also include new Bluetooth coupling requirements

The FCC has adopted new rules that require all mobile phones available in the US to be compatible with hearing aids.

The new rules include new stipulations for devices’ Bluetooth connections, requiring manufacturers to move away from proprietary coupling standards and instead ensure “universal connectivity” between handsets and hearing aids.

This measure will mean that the 48 million US citizens with hearing loss will no longer be limited in their choice of handset, allowing them to access any device on the market.

“Under the new rules, after a transition period, Americans with hearing loss will no longer be limited in their choice of technologies, features, and prices available in the mobile handset marketplace,” said the FCC in a statement.

Alongside improved connectivity, the new rules also include stricter audio quality controls, mandating all handsets meet volume control benchmarks. This ensures that customers can increase the audio volume on their device to a mandated level before beginning to lose audio quality.

This measure is intended to not only ensure quality of service for customs with hearing loss that do not use hearing aids.

These rule changes come as the result of years of study and campaigning by the Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) Task Force, a group featuring mobile operators, handset manufacturers, researchers, and other hearing loss stakeholders. Work from the HAC Task Force culminated in a final report submitted with recommendations to the FCC in March last year, which has been in discussion ever since.

With the new rules in place, handset manufactures will be required to clearly label their devices, showing whether they meet these new requirements.

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

Also in the news:
Singtel becomes latest telco to launch AI cloud services
South Korean telcos accused of collusion, may face fines of $4bn
Hexatronic: Innovation will be needed to reach rural customers

Interview

At Connected Britain 2024, we sat down with Vimal Pindoria, IP Business Development Director EMEA at Ciena, to discuss the importance of open access, what that means for competition in the UK market, and his advice for those looking to adopt the strategy. Watch the full interview here!

Customers of Virgin Media and O2’s various broadband, mobile, phone and TV packages may like to know that the provider’s ‘Priority’ app, which is a way of rewarding existing subscribers with various special offers and discounts, has begun offering a cheaper Railcard for £10 instead of the usual £30.

A Railcard can normally provide users with a discount worth a third off most train ticket prices and sometimes more, depending upon which category of commuter you fall into. People who make regular use of train services will probably have one of these already, but if you don’t then now might be a good opportunity to reconsider, given the extra £20 saving.

Lisa Johnstone, Director of VMO2 Priority, said: “Priority is focused on helping our Virgin Media O2 customers get the most out of life while saving money where it matters the most. That’s why we’re thrilled to offer our Priority members a Railcard for just £10, saving up to 1/3 on train travel for the next 12 months. This exclusive reward will ease the cost of travel, giving our members access to meaningful experiences and the chance to share more special moments with loves ones.”

However, VMO2’s customers will only be able to benefit from this offer until 9th November, after that it won’t be available any more.

Internet provider UltraNetworks has used vouchers from the Scottish Government to help it upgrade and deploy a new 5G Standalone (SA) based fixed wireless (FWA) network from Mormond Hill. The site will be able to serve homes and businesses in rural parts of North East Aberdeenshire (Scotland) with 1Gbps+ broadband speeds.

Just to recap. 5G SA represents a pure end-to-end 5G wireless network technology that can deliver ultra-low latency times, greater energy efficiency, better upload speeds, network slicing, improved support for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, increased reliability and security when compared with older 4G or mixed 4G + 5G based networks. The technology is more familiar to mobile users, but it can also be used in fixed wireless networks.

In this case, UltraNetworks were able to harness the Scottish Government’s R100 SBVS voucher scheme (here) to deploy their new 5G SA broadband solution at the Mormond Hill site, which is a former NATO telecoms base that was used during the Cold War. The kit was deployed on top of an existing 40m high mast and should provide coverage across 600 square kilometres, which includes more than 1,000 SBVS eligible premises.

The project will initially provide 5G SA broadband to 31 premises on the outskirts of Fraserburgh (9 of these have already been reached), but others will follow. The official announcement claims that customers “could experience speeds of up to 1.2 Gigabits per second (Gbps)“, although the provider’s website is only promoting packages going up to 300Mbps.

Jerry Briant, Managing Director at UltraNetworks, said:

“One of the challenges of 5G is that it’s still very new, a lot of research is required and it’s a steep learning curve to really get to grips with the full architecture of a 5G network.

It requires multiple systems to be working together to deliver the network and troubleshooting can be complex, but we’re delighted to see this service go live, thanks to SBVS.”

So far as we can tell, there are currently only two 5G SA broadband packages available via their Ultra 5G service, one costs £44.99 per month for an unlimited 50Mbps connection, while the other costs £54.99 and will give you speeds of up to 300Mbps. The standard home equipment usually costs £469, but this and the installation is usually free with the voucher scheme.

The main community of Fraserburgh is already quite well covered by Openreach’s FTTP network, so this new service is focused more on the surrounding rural premises that have yet to be reached by such a network.

A new survey of 5,083 UK adult consumers, which was conducted by Which?, has claimed that the average broadband-only ISP customer could save £105 per year by switching to a new provider and those switching from BT, Sky Broadband or Virgin Media saved even more – up to £165 on average for a Virgin customer. It’s a similar story for mobile and TV users.

The estimated average saving increases to £160 for out-of-contract consumers who bundled both a pay TV and broadband service (Sky customers saved the most, some £235, by switching away). On the other hand, consumers who tried to save money by haggling and staying with their existing TV and broadband provider saved an average of just £117, dropping to £55 for broadband-only customers (Virgin’s customers saw the biggest saving of £81).

The difference in savings between mobile customers that switched and those that haggled was less stark. Mobile customers at the end of their contract saved £67 on average by switching, while those that haggled saved a slightly lower £61. Vodafone’s mobile customers saved £146 by switching, more than twice the average, while EE and O2 customers also saved on average £122 and £132 respectively.

Summary of Survey Findings

➤ Some 75% of broadband-only consumers found the switching process easy, falling to 73% for mobile customers and just 55% for broadband and TV customers.

➤ Price was found to be the “most common reason for switching“, although oddly Which? didn’t include a % figure for this.

➤ 31% of broadband switchers said customer service got better after switching, while 6% said it got worse. As for mobile customers, some 35% said it got better after switching and 3% said it got worse.

➤ 37% of broadband customers said their download speeds got faster after switching (most likely a line or package upgrade), while 12% said it got slower. As for mobile customers, some 24% found improved mobile broadband speeds after switching, while 9% said it got slower.

➤ 44% said their broadband connection was more reliable after switching (again, this is likely due to an upgrade, such as going from ADSL or FTTC to FTTP), but 12% said it got worse. Similarly, mobile network reception improved for half (48%) of switchers, but got worse for one in seven (14%).

Take note that haggling is more likely to work with providers, particularly the biggest players (they often have dedicated retentions departments), where discounting is a routine practice for attracting new and retaining existing customers. But a lot of smaller providers don’t traditionally offer big discounts to new customers and their prices may be more stable, thus haggling is less likely to return a positive result. Nevertheless, it’s always worth a try, and the worst thing they can do is say “no”.

All of this is particularly relevant as we approach the annual price hikes season, where all of the largest players tend to hike their prices and often above the already surging level of national inflation. But this year will be a bit different after Ofcom begins enforcing a ban on providers doing mid-contract price hikes that are linked to confusing inflation and percentage-based changes (here), which is due to be enforced from 17th January 2025.

The catch is that this doesn’t ban mid-contract hikes themselves, and will merely require ISPs to adopt a clearer policy that expressed such hikes in “pounds and pence” (the new approach cause even bigger hikes for some customers this year). At the same time, Ofcom have also introduced their One Touch Switching (OTS) system, which aims to make it even easier for consumers to change broadband and phone providers that are on physically separate networks.

Alternative network operator Grain (Grain Connect), which has already built their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cover 220,000 UK premises RFS (21st May 2024) and connected 30,000 customers, has confirmed that their next expansion target is the industrial Cheshire town of Widnes.

The local roll-out is due to start this month and the first customers could then be connected by “early 2025“, although it’s currently unclear precisely how many premises in the town will be reached by this deployment or how long the build will take to complete. Interested customers can pre-register for the service, which will also offer a discounted 1Gbps package with 9 months half price (no payment will be taken until the service is fully set-up).

The operators full fibre network can currently also 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 areas like Leicester, Liverpool, Accrington, Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Scarborough, Carlisle, Barrow-in-Furness, Hartlepool, Newport, Sunderland, Blackburn and so forth.

Richard Cameron, CEO at Grain Broadband, said:

“We’re excited to offer Widnes residents an internet service that can keep up with their digital lives. We’re not just delivering faster internet; we are also saving customers a significant amount on their monthly broadband bill. Whether you’re streaming your favourite shows, working from home or gaming, we’re helping to build a more connected Widnes.”

Naturally, Grain won’t be the only gigabit-capable broadband network in a town the size of Widnes, which is already heavily covered by rival services from Virgin Media (nexfibre) and Openreach (BT).

Eutelsat has confirmed that they’ve launched an additional 20 satellites, on the back of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, to join their global network of OneWeb broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is a constellation that has been partly supported by the UK government. This is despite the network supposedly being completed last year.

OneWeb (aka – Eutelsat OneWeb) previously had 634 small (c.150kg) first generation (GEN1) Low Earth Orbit (LEO) platforms in space – orbiting at an altitude of 1,200km above the Earth (588 of them for coverage and the rest for redundancy). The network was technically completed in March 2023 (here), promising both ultrafast broadband speeds and fast latency times, but a further 15 satellites (plus one GEN2 prototype) were then added in May 2023 to add “resiliency and redundancy to the network” (here).

The May 2023 launch was heralded as the last one needed to “deliver global coverage“, so it came as a bit of a surprise when we noticed (X) – without any press releases being issued (either directly to us or via OneWeb’s website) – that the operator had suddenly lofted an additional 20 GEN1 satellites into low earth orbit on Saturday (19th Oct 2024). But to be fair they did mention it on their launch page, albeit without giving much context.

The move takes their total satellite count to 654, which is slightly more than the 648 that was originally proposed some years earlier. We assume this is needed to ensure proper and reliable global coverage and capacity, without needing to compromise on any gaps due to previously having delivered slightly less than originally planned.

Meanwhile, a tentative ambition still exists for OneWeb to deploy a total of 2,000 satellites (although they could go beyond that) and 1,280 of those will be the future GEN2 model that could sit in a higher Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) of 8,500km, which are widely expected to have more data capacity, support 5G mobile and may, possibly, introduce enhanced navigation and positioning features (something the UK government wants).

The upside of being placed into a higher orbit is that each satellite will be able to cover a much wider area of the Earth’s surface, although the downside is that performance (mainly latency) will suffer. But it is possible to balance this by using LEOs for latency intensive applications (e.g. multiplayer video games, voice calls) and MEOs to help with more data transfer intensive activities (e.g. file downloads and video streaming).

The catch is that the Eutelsat Group isn’t exactly flush with spare cash at the moment (there’s quite a big debt issue) and thus much may depend upon what approach the EU takes to growing their own IRIS 2 LEO constellation, which may or may not choose to link that with Eutelsat – assuming it even goes ahead in the first place.

National UK broadband and phone operator Openreach, which are already under pressure from having to help tackle a long-running underground petrol leak in the Surrey village of Bramley, have confirmed that they’ve had to pause work in the area again after Southern Gas Network (SGN) reported a “suspected gas leak” too.

Just to recap our last report in early June 2024 (here). Openreach is currently dealing with the “significant and ongoing impact” of the incident, which technically began 2 year ago after fuel started leaking from the local ASDA Petrol Station (this wasn’t owned by ASDA at the time). But over the course of that time the leak has begun to cause fuel smells in the area, harming local businesses, and has also spread into the groundwater (i.e. no drinking of tap water in certain areas) and even local utility services.

At least 300 metres of their underground cable ducts in the area have been affected and cleaning it up will involve specialist equipment, processes and lots of detailed coordination amongst the affected organisations and relevant authorities. For example, they’ve already begun to work alongside Thames Water and others to extract vapour and fuel from their network, and the surrounding groundwater.

Openreach has previously notified ISPs and phone providers on their network that the dangers involved meant that the problem was likely to affect their local work and services (i.e. certain service repairs and new installs may not be possible). Naturally, it’s unsafe for their engineers to fully access the network until the risk is eliminated, and they’re “proceeding with extreme caution“. But in July 2024 they warned that “making [this] network safe and accessible” could now take “at least 12 months“ (here).

The situation has just been made worse after local MP and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, yesterday confirmed that there was also a “gas leak in the vicinity of the petrol station close to Bramley roundabout“, which has forced Openreach to pause their work in the area “until assessment [of the gas leak] is complete.”

Jeremy Hunt MP said:

“I have been alerted that there is now a confirmed gas leak in the vicinity of the petrol station close to Bramley roundabout. Cllr Austin alerted the Waverley recovery group earlier this week. The manholes in the locality are currently being vented until the leak can be fixed. Residents have raised with me understandable concerns about the potential implications of the interaction of gas with any petrol/petrol vapour in the ground and so I have also raised this directly with Waverley Borough Council on their behalf so we can all be reassured on this front.

However, this does also raise a wider question of whether the gas leak is connected to the petrol station leak because based on recent evidence we know both Thames Water and Openreach’s pipes have been impacted by the leak in recent months – with very significant consequences. So, I have made contact with the CEO of Scottish Gas Networks and also with Asda directly to ensure they are onto this.

We need to urgently understand a risk and also if we need that dreaded word required to fix it…..more roadworks.”

Once again, it’s very important to stress just how serious and dangerous this situation is, both for local residents and the engineers who are trying extremely hard to resolve an incredibly challenging problem. We have asked Openreach for an official comment, although it would not be at all surprising if this ends up meaning that resolving the petrol leak issue takes longer than currently forecast.

The picture at the top of this article was posted by Jeremy Hunt on 18th October 2024.

The UK Government has launched a new British Infrastructure Taskforce (BIT), which is intended to attract more private investment by encouraging businesses to help design future infrastructure policy. In theory, this could be of some benefit to broadband and mobile (digital infrastructure), although the announcement doesn’t give specifics.

According to the blurb, the new Taskforce will explore different options to support the Government’s infrastructure goals to drive growth for the whole of the nation. Some of the UK’s biggest financial companies including LLoyds, HSBC, and M&G were at yesterday’s inaugural meeting of the new group.

Naturally, there are the usual sound bites about how “this marks a significant shift in approach” and will “turbocharge infrastructure investment across the width and breadth of the UK“. But the idea of bringing businesses, banks and investors together to help shape future Government policy is by no means a new approach for politicians to explore.

The move should at least complement the Government’s efforts to “unblock” key infrastructure projects through planning reform (here and here), which may in turn help to support their plan for making a “renewed push to fulfil the ambition of full gigabit [broadband] and national 5G [mobile] coverage by 2030” (here).

Rachel Reeves MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:

“Increasing investment in infrastructure is a vital part of delivering on our number one mission to grow the economy and create jobs. Just days after our International Investment Summit, we are delivering on our promise to work with business to drive growth across the country, and the expertise of this Taskforce will be invaluable in the weeks and months ahead.”

The move comes shortly after the Government announced the formation of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) to support their 10-year investment strategy, which aims to bring oversight of related infrastructure strategy and delivery under one roof. All of this sounds good, but judging the actual effectiveness and output of such groups can be very difficult for the public.

The following attendees of the first Taskforce meeting discussed investment opportunities, financial mechanisms, and strategies to maximise economic value. The taskforce aims to “meet regularly” in order to help it deliver “long-lasting solutions for job creation, growth, and environmental goals“:

Tracy Blackwell, CEO, Pension Insurance Corporation;
Anne Richards, Vice Chair, Fidelity International;
Charlie Nunn, CEO, Lloyds Banking;
Vivian Nicoli, Managing Director, CDPQ;
Andy Briggs, CEO, Phoenix Group;
Ian Stuart, CEO, HSBC UK;
Andrea Rossi, CEO, M&G;
Stephen Cohen, Chief Product Officer, BlackRock (represented by Helen Lees-Jones Global Head of Sustainable & Transition Solutions);
Deepa Bharadwaj, Head of Infrastructure Europe, IFM Investors;  
Mike Regnier CEO, Santander UK;
Sir Douglas Flint, Chairman, ABRDN;
Nick Smallwood, CEO, Infrastructure and Projects Authority;
James Heath, CEO, National Infrastructure Commission;
John Flint, CEO, National Wealth Fund.

News

The latest clash revolves around whether the government should auction off satellite spectrum or simply allocate it arbitrarily

Recent months have seen tensions flare between Elon Musk and Indian telecoms moguls Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal continue, with the trio clashing over the nation’s satellite spectrum policy.

Back in 2021, India’s Department of Telecoms (DoT) announced that it was considering auctioning spectrum for satellite broadband players, going against the industry standard of simply allocating the frequencies.

This week, however, the issue appears to be resolved, with the Indian communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia confirming that the government has no plans to auction satellite spectrum, as feared by Musk.

The idea of auctioning satellite spectrum was controversial from the beginning. Detractors argued that the heavy price tags likely to be attached to the spectrum would dissuade smaller players from participating in the auction and provide the deep-pocketed mobile giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel with an unfair advantage.

Both Jio and Airtel have major satellite ambitions for India, with the market estimated to be worth $1.9 billion by 2030. Reliance’s Jio Platforms formed a joint venture with satellite operator SES back in 2022, aiming to launch their own satellite broadband services as Reliance Jio Satellite Communications. Airtel, meanwhile, is partnered with Eutelsat to use its OneWeb constellation, in which Airtel has been an investor since 2021.

As such, it should come as little surprise that the owners of Jio and Airtel – Mukesh Ambani Sunil Mittal, respectively – have been vocal proponents for the auction strategy. They argue that commercial satellite broadband players serving urban customers should be forced to pay for spectrum in the same way that traditional wireless operators do.

There is also an element of speed to market here. Both Jio and Airtel’s commercial satellite offerings are far less mature than Musk’s Starlink, hence there is a risk of Starlink capturing the lion’s share of the market before its rivals can adequately react. With the Indian government increasingly insistent on keeping control of the telecoms and tech industries in the hands of domestic companies, this outcome would likely be unacceptable.

Nonetheless, the comments from the Indian communications minister this week suggest it is unlikely that the government will eschew the conventional wisdom of the International Telecommunication Union and will stick with the typical allocation method.

Musk was quick to praise the decision earlier this week, saying thank you in a Tweet:

Much appreciated! We will do our best to serve the people of India with Starlink.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2024

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

Also in the news:
Singtel becomes latest telco to launch AI cloud services
South Korean telcos accused of collusion, may face fines of $4bn
Hexatronic: Innovation will be needed to reach rural customers