Broadband ISP Quickline, which is deploying a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and fixed wireless (5G FWA) network across parts of the North East and Midlands of England (mostly rural), has today secured a £125m term loan and £100m debt guarantee from the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB), alongside a £25m term loan from NatWest.

Prior to today the provider was being supported by funding of c.£500m from Northleaf Capital Partners and c.£296.4m of public subsidy from Project Gigabit (here, here and here). Quickline holds an aspiration to cove around 500,000 premises in rural and semi-rural areas across Northern England and beyond with “ultrafast broadband” – via both FTTP and wireless technologies – “by 2025” (here). Some 200,000 of those rural premises will be tackled by their wireless network, with the other half or more coming from FTTP.

The new term loans and guarantee thus form an additional £250m debt package that will help to underpin their existing coverage targets. This is particularly important for their four Project Gigabit contracts, which, on completion, will cover almost 170,000 premises with full-fibre broadband in hard-to- reach rural areas across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. As a result of that, Quickline will also expand their commercial network to a further 190,000 in these communities.

However, we haven’t had an overall progress update on their build since November 2023, which makes it difficult to assess their performance. Service take-up is also another question mark, although as a younger altnet we wouldn’t yet expect that to be very high.

Sean Royce, CEO at Quickline, said:

“This financial backing marks a significant endorsement of Quickline’s robust business model, our mission to connect the unconnected and to help regenerate our northern rural communities. Furthermore, it demonstrates UKIB’s confidence in our strategic vision and operational capabilities. It also reflects a broader investor interest in tackling the digital divide that exists today and supporting sustainable and impactful business initiatives.”

Ian Brown, Head of Banking & Investments at UKIB, said:

“We are pleased to support Quickline with their continued network expansion to bring better connectivity to homes and businesses across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Our guarantee product is perfectly placed to unlock additional investment into the market to improve digital infrastructure in harder to reach areas of the UK.”

Andrew Blincoe, MD of Corporate Banking & Structured Finance at NatWest, said:

“We are delighted to have partnered with UKIB to support Quickline on this innovative transaction that will bring full fibre broadband to rural customers across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Investing in new infrastructure is key to the UK’s economic growth and, as the UK’s leading infrastructure bank, we will continue to support in this drive. Bringing this transaction to life and enhancing connectivity to over 360,000 Quickline customers is a great example of how we are doing just that.”

Residential customers reached by their new full fibre network are typically charged from £29 per month on a 24-month term for 100Mbps (50Mbps upload) speeds with free installation, and that goes up to £49 for their top 900Mbps (450Mbps upload) tier. The first 3 months of service are also free.

Mobile operator Vodafone UK has announced that their national 4G (mobile broadband) network can now support the Long Term Evolution for Machines (LTE-M or CAT-M) standard, which is a type of Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) service that can connect Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Such networks tend to only use a tiny amount of spectrum bandwidth (often just 1.4 – 5MHz) in order to deliver fairly slow mobile data speeds (often sub-1Mbps, although they can go up to 7Mbps), albeit with wide geographic coverage. But this is largely irrelevant since the small IoT kit that LTE-M is designed to connect usually only require speeds of 0.1Mbps+ (e.g. traffic lights, environment sensors, asset tracking etc.) and are often battery powered.

The new offering is designed to sit alongside Vodafone’s existing 4G, 5G and Narrowband-IoT services (NB-IoT), as well as the wider partner ecosystem, to enable Vodafone to work with any business irrelevant of the technical requirements of the IoT use case (i.e. not all IoT devices are designed to use the same communication technologies).

Take note that NB-IoT is a separate but similar technology. Vodafone states that LTE-M and NB-IoT differ through the “typical download/upload speeds (300kbps and 20kbps respectively)“, while NB-IoT is optimised for difficult to reach locations and batch data upload (such as underground water pipes or smart meters in basements), and LTE-M for mobility (such as asset tracking and wearable devices) or event-based connectivity.  

Nick Gliddon, Business Director of Vodafone UK, said:

“When you have a data-led business, decisions are driven by insight not by assumption. IoT has the potential to revolutionise business, but we must make it accessible to all.

The power of LTE-M is the ability to choose the right tools for the right job. 5G might be the right choice for some IoT use cases, whereas LTE-M might be better for others. By enabling LTE-M to sit alongside 4G, 5G and NB-IoT, we are providing a technology-agnostic solution for customers. This is about picking the right solution, at the right price point.”

However, it’s worth noting that Vodafone are a little late to the LTE-M party, since other network operators (e.g. O2) have been supporting it for several years.

Edinburgh-based UK business ISP Commsworld has this morning announced that they’ve secured a new contract worth £35m+ over 5-years to provide network services to Glasgow City Council (GCC) in Scotland, which forms part of an effort to upgrade from the council’s “ageing legacy networks” to fibre optic and 5G services.

The internet provider has already delivered a strong range of services, such as a new Wide Area Network (WAN) of “ultra-fast, pure-fibre connectivity that transformed the city’s schools, libraries and other council buildings“. But under the new deal they now have responsibility for the City’s Local Area Networks, Wi-Fi, firewall and security and remote access, to add to its delivery of a robust WAN solution and IP telephony.

In total, it previously provided 525 WAN connections, connectivity to a 500-seat contact centre, and linked up all the council’s 18,000 phones on one unified network, delivering resilient, high-speed internet connections of up to 10Gbps to all sites, while completing the project four months ahead of schedule.

Commsworld also secured a £5.8m digital single supplier contract until 2030 to install, manage and support a scalable and flexible full fibre network to support the delivery of CCTV and traffic control services across Glasgow. This network is said to be “on track to be delivered this year.”

The company has also provided connectivity for a number of high-profile Glasgow events. These include fan zones for Euro 2020, TRNSMT and the World Pipe Band Championships, as well as seamless WAN, LAN and Wi-Fi connectivity for the UCI Cycling World Championships, an 11-day super-event held for the very first time in the city as well as throughout Scotland.

Cllr Paul Leinster, Chair of the Digital Glasgow Board, said:

“Digital technology underpins every part of the city’s Strategic Plan – and our new Digital Glasgow Strategy will be hugely important in supporting us to reduce poverty and inequality in our communities, increase opportunity and prosperity for citizens, secure a just transition to net zero and deliver innovative and sustainable public services.

The next few years will also see major changes in how the council’s own ICT needs are met. The signing of this contract is a really significant step on that journey – and I’m pleased Glasgow is partnering with a leading Scottish company like Commsworld.”

Steve Langmead, CEO of Commsworld, said:

“We are delighted that Glasgow City Council has awarded Commsworld this contract, one of the largest in our history. It comes at a significant moment for Commsworld, as it is the 30th anniversary since the company was founded.

By awarding us this new contract, Glasgow City Council has voiced a real vote of confidence not only in the work we have delivered for many years, but in the high-quality service which we provide with our key partners.

We look forward to continuing this relationship so that more than ever before, the citizens who live and work in this great city can benefit from the best cutting-edge technology available today, technology that leads to better data-driven decision making and more targeted, quality services.”

The new contract adds to Commsworld’s existing reputation for supplying network services and school connectivity to local authorities throughout both Scotland and England, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, the Scottish Borders, Dundee and Northumberland.

Customers of SpaceX’s ultrafast and low-latency Starlink broadband service may like to know that the ISP has finally launched their new WiFi (only 802.11ac / Wi-Fi 5) integrated Mini Dish (terminal) hardware and Mini Roaming service add-on in the United Kingdom, which ends up being a little more expensive than its counterpart in the USA.

The operator currently has 6,281 LEO satellites (c.2,000 are GEN 2A) in Low Earth Orbit (LEO altitudes of c.500-600km) and they’re in the process of adding thousands more by the end of 2027. Customers in the UK typically pay from £75 a month for a 30-day term, plus £299 for hardware on the ‘Standard’ plan, which promises internet latency times of 25-60ms, downloads of c. 25-100Mbps and uploads of c. 5-10Mbps.

However, last month saw Starlink invite some of their early adopters in the USA to purchase their new Mini Kit (Dish) for $599 (here), which came bundled alongside a new Mini Roam service for an additional $30 per month. Just to be clear, this is on top of an existing residential subscription and the Mini Roam service gave customers 50GB (GigaBytes) of “mobile data” that can be used anywhere in the country – rising to $1 (£0.80p) per GigaByte thereafter.

The good news today is that Starlink last night began sending out emails to confirm that this same service has now been made available in the UK, which confirms that the kit will cost £399 and the roaming service is much more expensive than in the USA at £50 per month.

Copy of Starlink’s Email

Starlink Mini Now Available

Starlink Mini is a compact, portable kit that can easily fit in a backpack, designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet on the go.

Starlink Mini includes a built-in WiFi router, lower power consumption, DC power input, and max download speeds over 100 Mbps*. See Starlink Mini specifications here.

The Starlink Mini Kit can be purchased for £399 with either the Mini Roam 50GB service plan for £50/mo or the unlimited Mobile Regional plan for £85/mo. Learn more on starlink.com/roam.

Available Service Plans

Mini Roam 50GB | £50/mo
Best for weekend travelers, backup internet, and in-motion use

Includes 50GB of Mobile data (£1/GB for additional data), coverage throughout Europe, and in-motion use on land. See our Terms of Service regarding in-motion use.

Mobile Regional | £85/mo
Best for caravans, motorhomes, campers, and travelers throughout a continent

Includes unlimited Mobile data on land and coverage throughout Europe. Ocean and global travel available for an additional £1.98/GB.

Just to recap. The new dish – sized 298.5mm x 259mm x 38.5mm – is 63% lighter than the standard Starlink dish, has an operating temperature range of -30°C to 50°C (-22°F to 122°F), draws around 25-40 Watts on average and can run directly off 12-48V DC (it comes with a small 110V power supply with 15 metres of cable).

The kit is also IP67 Type 4 rated with their DC Power Cable and Starlink Plug/Cable installed (using the Ethernet port drops this rating). The dish has a Field of View (FoV) of 110 degrees (slightly better than ‘Standard’) and a single Ethernet (LAN) port.

The Sky-owned broadband ISP and UK video streaming provider, NOW TV, has finally put right one of its biggest weaknesses by introducing support for 4K (UltraHD – 3840 x 2160 pixels) and HDR (High Dynamic Range) video quality via the launch of their new Ultra Boost. But this is a Sky company, so it’s not cheap, and device support may be an issue for some.

Gripes about the video quality of NOW TV’s streaming service are nothing new, particularly since their standard Entertainment Plan only comes with a piddling resolution of 720p to view a single stream, and that’s after already stumping up £9.99 per month. But they then require you to pay an extra £6 per month for the regular ‘Boost’ add-on just to get the now common 1080p HD (High Definition) standard.

By comparison, the new ‘Ultra Boost‘ will set you back an extra £9 per month and, when compared with the regular ‘Boost’, it adds support for Up to 4K Ultra HD HDR, Dolby Atmos sound, and you can also watch three streams at the same time. Both Boost and Ultra Boost will also allow all the Sky Sports channels to stream at 50fps (frames per second). But take note that not all of NOW TV’s channels are available in 4K.

Core NOW TV Plans Compared

 
Standard
Boost
Ultra Boost

Streaming quality
720p
Full HD 1080p
Up to 4K Ultra HD HDR

Sound quality
Stereo
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dolby Atmos

Ad-free streaming
No
Yes*
Yes*

Number of streams
1 person can stream at a time
2 people can stream at a time
3 people can stream at a time

* Cinema, Entertainment and Sports Members can watch on-demand shows, movies and sport without ads. (You’ll still get ads on live channels, and see promotional trailers for shows, movies and events you can access.)

However, customers that opt to pay for the 4K boost instead of the regular boost will need an HD or 4K UHD TV that supports HLG, HDR10 or HDR10+, with an HDMI port that supports HDCP 2.2 (not all HDMI 2.0 ports support this).

Some devices will support this, but a lot of others won’t (more details), including some relatively modern devices and TVs. For example, most games consoles aren’t compatible, except Sony’s PS5. Similarly, PCs, MACs and mobile devices aren’t supported either. Credits to two of our readers (Reece and Mike) for the news tip.

Startup Stories

Showcasing the most exciting startups exhibiting at this year’s Connected Britain conference

4Fibre is a startup focused on providing innovative fibre installation solutions catering to the needs of freeholders, residents, and Communication Service Providers (CSPs). Our company is dedicated to delivering high-quality installations and building a strong reputation within the industry. 

Our primary goal is to offer a seamless fibre infrastructure that protects the properties of freeholders while ensuring residents have access to a choice of multiple CSPs through a single, neutral-hosted installation. This setup not only simplifies the process for freeholders by requiring only one wayleave agreement but also alleviates the burden of wayleave acquisition for CSPs. This approach is particularly beneficial for high risk and difficult-to-wire buildings, such as listed buildings and tower blocks, where traditional installation methods might face resistance from freeholders. 

4Fibre’s solution significantly reduces installation disruptions, presents a cleaner and tidier aesthetic, and minimises management time for property owners. Additionally, our services are designed to be environmentally sustainable, reducing the overall carbon footprint associated with multiple installations. 

By streamlining the wayleave process and offering a platform-neutral infrastructure, 4Fibre supports CSPs in delivering high-speed internet services efficiently and effectively, even in challenging installation scenarios. 

What inspired you to start this company? 

Our parent company, SCCI, has been a cornerstone in the industry for many years, specialising in the installation of security, media, and fibre infrastructure in to Multi Dwelling Units. This extensive experience revealed a growing problem as the industry began receiving significant investments: properties were becoming over-wired, with multiple service providers leaving behind unsightly and redundant cables. This issue was particularly noticeable in urban areas like London, where it was not uncommon to see three or four coil looms left outside each window of some buildings. 

Our Operations Director has over 35 years of experience in the industry. His engineering background and keen eye for detail made him acutely aware of the negative impact this over-wiring had on the aesthetic and structural integrity of buildings. His firsthand observations of the clutter and inefficiency left behind by multiple providers inspired the creation of 4Fibre. He realised that a more streamlined, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing solution was necessary to protect freeholders’ properties and improve the overall installation process. 

His vision and commitment to improving industry standards have been the driving force behind 4Fibre. His extensive experience and dedication to innovation are at the heart of our mission. 

What impact do you hope your startup will have on the industry or society? 

We aim to make a substantial impact on the industry and society by simplifying infrastructure, promoting sustainability, and enhancing digital access. Our neutral-hosted infrastructure reduces the need for multiple installations, preserving building aesthetics, and reducing disruption for residents, making maintenance easier and more cost-effective. By minimising the physical infrastructure required, we help reduce the environmental impact and carbon footprint of fibre installations, contributing to a more sustainable future and aligning with global efforts towards eco-friendly solutions. Our solutions make high-speed internet more accessible, even in challenging installation scenarios like listed buildings and tower blocks, ensuring that more people can benefit from reliable internet access, essential for activities like remote work and online education. 

What makes your product or service unique? 

What makes 4Fibre’s service unique is its neutral-hosted infrastructure, which supports multiple CSPs with a single installation, reducing physical clutter and providing residents with more choices. Additionally, the simplified wayleave process requires only one agreement for freeholders, easing administrative burdens for both property owners and CSPs. Our approach also minimises visual impact and reduces the environmental footprint. 

Can you share some key milestones or achievements? 

We are extremely proud that 4Fibre has won three awards over the last two years at the UK Fibre Awards. It means a lot to us that the industry is recognising that the work we are doing is making a difference. 

Recently, we completed our largest single scheme at Park West on Edgeware Road. The site, which includes 530 apartments, required the installation of 2,120 fibre connections distributed across 19 cabinets, all linked to a single meet-me point. This efficient setup allows CSPs to deliver their services to all apartments immediately upon activation, ensuring residents have seamless access to high-speed internet from day one. 

What are you most looking forward to at Connected Britain? 

We are looking forward to the opportunity to connect with both freeholders and service providers. Our goal is to demonstrate the numerous advantages of integrating 4Fibre into their operations. 4Fibre offers a range of benefits designed to enhance efficiency, improve connectivity, and support future growth. We believe that through direct engagement, freeholders and service providers will gain a comprehensive understanding of how 4Fibre can meet their specific needs and contribute to their success. We look forward to discussing how our innovative solutions can help streamline processes. 

Find 4Fibre at booth S131 at this year’s Connected Britain conference, the UK’s largest digital economy event

Also in the news:
AST SpaceMobile prepares to launch first commercial satellites
nexfibre passes almost 1.3m homes with full fibre
Telstra joins UNESCO’s Business Council to promote ethical AI

News

The operator says incorporating 5G tech could generate huge cost and energy savings for the public sector

According to a new ‘Connected Spaces’ report, written by WPI Strategy on behalf of Vodafone UK, installing 5G-enabled technology like digital twins, IoT, and smart sensors to public buildings could save the UK £580 million.

The report models the current energy spend of various public sector buildings and estimates how much money could be saved via the integration of new technology. These technologies, says the report, provide a wealth of additional information about the buildings’ energy consumption, helping to drive efficiencies and limit energy use.

In total, the report found that digital twins, IoT, and smart sensors could generate an average 17% reduction in public building energy consumption, saving the average 40,000-person town up to £350,000 a year. Extrapolating this data across the UK leads us to the figure of £580 million per year.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest savings could be made my incorporating these technologies in council/civil service buildings and hospitals, which could save on average £85,000 and £153,612, respectively.

Of course, installing these new technologies in the buildings in question would not be cheap, but the study estimates that their deployment would pay for themselves in 2–3 years.

Beyond pure cost savings, the new technology would also save roughly 1.43 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, helping the UK meet it sustainability goals.

Vodafone’s argument is that all of these new technologies will need standalone 5G (SA 5G) to function effectively.

“We believe that a best-in-class 5G network would provide a much-needed economic boost to the public purse, saving £580 million of taxpayer money, while also helping to decarbonise the public estate,” said Andrea Dona, Chief Network Officer of Vodafone UK.

“Public buildings are critical to communities, and we want to propel them into the future – which is why, as part of our proposed combination with Three UK, we have committed to rolling out 5G Standalone to every school and hospital across the nation by 2030.”

That these technologies can only be delivered with SA 5G is not strictly true – 4G and other alternative wireless technologies would likely be suitable for at least some of these deployments. Nonetheless, SA 5G would undoubtedly provide the best performance, delivering faster speeds and far greater capacities, able to handle thousands of devices and sensors operating simultaneously.

As has become tradition for Vodafone publications over the past year, the company took this announcement as an opportunity to promote the company’s planned merger with Three UK, with the report concluding that the tie-up would “create necessary market conditions to secure a nationwide standalone 5G network”.

It also reiterated that the combined company would invest £11 billion into its network over the next decade, if the merger is allowed to proceed.

“The combined network will reach more than 99% population coverage with 5G standalone by 2034, and over 95% population coverage by 2030, as well as ensuring coverage in every school and hospital across the country helping to deliver on Labour’s manifesto commitment to reach national 5G coverage by 2030,” reads the report. “The combined business will invest over £6 billion in the first five years, and more than £11 billion for the overall ten-year plan, to create the UK’s biggest 5G network, bringing significant emissions and productivity savings to businesses and buildings across the country; safeguarding the lifeblood of communities for future generations.”

The merger is currently under investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is exploring if the deal will result in a significant loss of competition and drive-up prices for consumers.

It is surely no coincidence that the timing of this study’s publication coincides with an article in The Guardian this week, in which Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle argues that the new Labour government must approve the company’s merger with Three for the good of the nation.

The CMA is set to announce its decision on October 12.

How is the UK telecoms landscape changing in 2024? Join the discussion at Connected Britain 2024, the UK’s largest digital economy event

Also in the news:
AST SpaceMobile prepares to launch first commercial satellites
nexfibre passes almost 1.3m homes with full fibre
Telstra joins UNESCO’s Business Council to promote ethical AI

Press Release

Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, and Vodafone Business, a leading telecommunications company providing a wide range of telephony services, broadband internet and digital television, today announced the extension of their relationship to enhance security and resiliency services for Vodafone’s financial industry customers. This agreement marks a significant milestone in the ongoing collaboration between the two industry leaders.

Under the extended agreement, Kyndryl will enable new security measures to support Vodafone customers in meeting their regulatory compliance requirements. These measures include endpoint protection services for servers, workstations, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), vulnerability services, proxy management and web internet protection services. Kyndryl will scan and identify vulnerabilities of end customer servers, virtual machines, network devices, firewalls and endpoint devices. These measures aim to fortify the Vodafone customers’ digital infrastructure against emerging threats and mitigate interrupted business operations.

Today’s announcement builds on the relationship of these teams, which was established in 2018. Since then, the two companies have evolved their work to meet the unique requirements of various industries, focusing on infrastructure, cloud and security services.

“We are thrilled to strengthen our partnership with Kyndryl and further enhance the security posture of our financial industry clients,” said Sascha Roeber, Head of Sales, Finance and Insurance, Vodafone Business. “By combining our respective strengths and resources, we are well-positioned to deliver comprehensive security services to our customers.”

Alexander Steineck, Vice President of Industrial and Consumer, Kyndryl Germany, said, “At Kyndryl, we are dedicated to helping our customers navigate within the ever-growing cybersecurity challenges. We are excited to collaborate with Vodafone in Germany to provide advanced security and resiliency services that address the evolving threat landscape and empower our customers to achieve their business objectives.”

The extended relationship underscores the companies’ shared commitment to innovation, excellence and delivering tangible value to their customers. By harnessing their collective expertise, the companies aim to set new benchmarks in the realm of cybersecurity and strengthen the foundation for sustainable growth and success.

Keep up to date with all of the latest telecoms news from around th world with Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

Also in the news:
AST SpaceMobile prepares to launch first commercial satellites
nexfibre passes almost 1.3m homes with full fibre
Telstra joins UNESCO’s Business Council to promote ethical AI

Customers of Sky’s broadband-based Sky Glass and Sky Stream pay TV platforms may like to know that the provider has just added the new Xumo Play app to their platform, which offers an additional 70+ “free” streaming channels including Dateline, Reuters and American Classics.

In addition, Sky TV has also added six new Sky FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming Television) channels at no extra cost, including Pick Paranormal, Emergency 24/7, Sky Artist of The Year, Sky Sports Stories, Sky Sports Classics and Sky Sports Vault – all will be home to a range of previously aired shows.

The new FAST channels will also be available on Sky Q “later this year” and integrated into the TV guide on Sky Glass and Sky Stream for seamless discovery.

Telecoms analyst firm Point Topic has posted an interesting new analysis of broadband affordability in the UK, which identifies the cheapest and most expensive ISPs for “entry level” packages by nationwide “small areas“. Suffice to say that alternative networks dominate the table of cheapest providers.

The study starts off by noting that 22.3 million premises (67.6% of the UK) now have access to a full fibre (FTTP) broadband network, which rises to 82.3% for gigabit-capable broadband (includes FTTP and HFC / DOCSIS 3.1 networks). In addition, some 7.7m premises were found to have access to 2 or more FTTP networks, and 1m were covered by 3+.

The definition of ‘Small Areas’ in this research is sadly a bit of a technical word soup: “Every LSOA (England and Wales), Data Zone (Scotland) and Super Data Zone (Northern Ireland), irrespective of broadband technology, were the basis of our comparison.” We could write a separate article on this, but suffice to say that they usually break geographic areas down into smaller populations – making it easier to analyse (e.g. standard populations of 500 to 1,000 household residents per ‘Data Zone’ in Scotland).

In any case, the results reveal that the lowest priced ISPs are all alternative networks (altnets) and the table is correctly topped by CommunityFibre’s ultra cheap £12.50 per month 35Mbps package in London, which is often promoted as a social tariff but is actually available to everybody (i.e. you don’t need to be on state benefits). But it also includes a few tiny providers (e.g. community projects like Tove Valley) and the odd wireless provider, like Zoom, albeit without mentioning the existence of data caps (Zoom’s £17 package has a 40GB cap). So there may be other caveats to consider.

On the flip side, when we look at the most expensive entry-level packages, the table is much more dominated by established providers.

Naturally, what’s available to you as individuals will of course vary depending upon your own specific location, which is why tables like this are often a bit of a moot point for many consumers.