FRANKFURT, June 10.  Leading internet infrastructure company, Telegraph42 today announces the unveiling of an alternative data transit route between Frankfurt and Hong Kong which passes through the Balkan regions, the Middle East and Central Asia. The new ‘Southern Route,’ the first part of the larger of Digital Silk Way Project, is based on high-speed data transfer infrastructure, replacing reliance on existing subsea cable, and resulting in fast and secure, data transfer between Hong Kong and Europe with an initial throughput of up to 1Tbps, but with the guaranteed possibility of very fast channel expansion. 

The alternative route provides an extra layer of resilience and protection from physical damage, whether environmental or man-made. The Southern Route lays the foundations of the Digital Silk Road project which Telegraph42 is leading, to create and establish a new connectivity route between Asia and Europe. The Digital Silk Road project is high speed data transfer infrastructure, designed to increase regional connectivity potential and penetration, contributing to economic growth and supporting efforts to build a digital ecosystem in the region. The project will serve to speed up data transfer between Central Asia and Europe. 

Waldemar Sterz, CEO of Telegraph42 comments: “The Southern Route offers an extra layer of resilience for all global organisations which rely on the global internet to do business and our company is the only one in the world that has managed to establish an alternative transit route from Frankfurt to Hong Kong.” Sterz continues; “The launch of the commercial operation of this route is one of the elements of our strategy for connecting the Asian markets to the global internet. Over the next two years we will be investing in this route to deliver speeds of several Tbps with a longer term aim of achieving up to dozens of Tbps.”

The Southern Route is the product of highly complex negotiations initiated by Telegraph42 over the last 2.5 years, with a consortium of partners in the countries through which the route passes. 

Any company that relies on an uninterrupted internet connection to do business, such as financial companies, payments systems, stock exchanges, governments, crypto companies and global MNOs, should plan for contingencies with alternative routes.

-ends-

About Telegraph42 Management GmbH

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Frankfurt, Telegraph42 provides global IP transit and capacity technology that unlocks market growth by connecting corporations, nations and governments around the world to the global internet. 

Telegraph42 today has a proven track record in building highly scalable, Next Generation, high-speed fiber optic networks to increase internet transmission capacity, connect continents and close the digital divide. 

As one of the largest providers of communications services for operators, Telegraph42 has agreements in place with the world’s largest Tier 1 telecom operators as well as global data centres. With offices in Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Almaty, Telegraph42’s highly experienced and agile global team fosters partnerships and the collaborative approach required to overcome the many obstacles of connecting the world to the internet, whilst striving to create a healthier environment for telecom industry players.

Telegraph42 is at the heart of some of the world’s most strategic internet infrastructure projects, with a proven track record in leading the delivery of complex IP transit and global connectivity initiatives Telegraph42 has worked on over 200 projects with 150+ clients, partnering with service partners, and regional operators on big-scale projects to connect continents, countries, regions and multinational businesses to the global internet. 

https://tele-graph.de/

GeoLinks, an enterprise-level telecommunications company, announced today that Christine Morris has joined the company as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Morris will lead strategic market activities to enhance enterprise-wide efficiencies and optimize revenue and profitability.

“GeoLinks is pleased to welcome Christine to this crucial role. Her deep telecommunications industry expertise, broad sales experience, and proven leadership in strategic development will be invaluable as we expand our network and product offerings to deliver greater connectivity options, enhanced reliability, and richer capabilities to our customers and across our markets,” said Skyler Ditchfield, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of GeoLinks’ Board. I am confident her expertise and strategic vision will drive even greater sales and marketing success.”

Bringing more than 25 years of experience, Morris is recognized industry-wide for her acumen in operational infrastructure excellence and ability to produce high-performing sales environments that drive smart, profitable business. Morris will be responsible for optimizing and formalizing processes that align with the company’s growth plans and leading the sales and marketing departments to develop and execute effective market penetration strategies.

Prior to joining GeoLinks, Ms. Morris held a variety of strategic enterprise sales, business development, and strategic marketing telecommunications executive roles. Previously, she served as vice president of sales for Integra Telecom (now Zayo), vice president of national commercial sales for Frontier Communications, and led regional enterprise sales for CenturyLink (now Lumen.)

A multiple-time President’s Club Award honoree and Osprey Award recipient for leadership, Morris brings valuable insight and leadership to GeoLinks, further enhancing the company’s position as a telecommunications industry leader.

In response to the growing uptake of GlobalPlatform’s Security Evaluation Standard for IoT Platforms (SESIP) methodology, the organization has introduced several initiatives to further accelerate adoption. These include the launch of new certification stamps, expanding the number of labs and certification bodies (CB), new partnerships and the creation of an adopter program. Together, this raises the bar for IoT security by enabling the adoption of the methodology across new sectors, use cases and markets.

“We are at an inflection point in SESIP adoption,” commented Gil Bernabeu, CTO of GlobalPlatform. “SESIP is getting recognized for eliminating the complexity and fragmentation surrounding security evaluation, making IoT device security economically viable for the entire value chain. It helps the market identify and align relevant security requirements, implement appropriate security in devices, and demonstrate compliancy across markets, while minimizing costs, effort, and time-to-market. The recent ratification of SESIP as a European Standard (EN 17927) serves as both a vote of confidence and a trigger for further adoption.”

A rapidly growing ecosystem

SESIP has rapidly become an internationally recognized standard for security evaluation, supported by a large community of security providers, industry bodies, security laboratories, and other stakeholders.  

The longstanding certification body TrustCB has already issued 47 SESIP certificates to companies including NXP Semiconductors, STMicroelectronics and Winbond Electronics Corporation. These products were evaluated by a growing group of GlobalPlatform licensed security laboratories. Currently these labs are Applus+, Riscure, SERMA, SGS Brightsight, and Thales ITSEF with more expected to join this list in the coming year. Two additional certification bodies are currently working to become GlobalPlatform SESIP CBs to bring even more capacity and reach to the ecosystem. 

Importantly, the methodology is also already used or referenced by bodies including the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), ETSI, FiRa Consortium, National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), PSA Certified and Wireless Power Consortium. This adoption first demonstrates the value of the methodology to strengthen IoT security across diverse vertical markets and use cases. It also helps device manufacturers using these technologies to compose their final device based on SESIP-certified software or hardware components, while quickly and easily ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.

Collaborating to expedite adoption

The GlobalPlatform community is responsible for maintaining the methodology, enforcing a governance model with an associated quality brand between CBs, product vendors and laboratories. The support and expedite growth, GlobalPlatform has delivered several important initiatives and resources:

SESIP Committee & Working Groups – A dedicated Committee and Working Groups have been established to drive GlobalPlatform’s strategy for SESIP ecosystem development, initiate new technical projects, facilitate adoption efforts, and oversee governance. A primary focus is to engage with regulators and the security evaluation ecosystem to identify requirements and demonstrate SESIP’s applicability for different regions and vertical markets.
New SESIP Product, Lab and Certification Body Marks – A suite of branded logos have been made available for certified products, and accredited laboratories and certification bodies, to promote and bring trust to their offerings.
SESIP Profiles and Mappings – GlobalPlatform develops and maintains a growing suite of SESIP Profiles and Mapping documents to facilitate adoption and use of the methodology. SESIP Profiles are used in the security evaluation of a component or device, while SESIP Mappings bridge the security requirements defined in the methodology with those of global cybersecurity regulations.
SESIP Adopters Community – As the methodology is now being used by a diverse range of different stakeholders, GlobalPlatform has created the ‘SESIP Adopters’ community. This program informs non-members about the latest GlobalPlatform SESIP developments, provides access to relevant technical documents, and allows them to showcase their certified products and/or support for SESIP.

“SESIP leverages the expertise of the GlobalPlatform ecosystem to incorporate better cybersecurity in IoT devices, at the right cost and aligned with market regulation,” added Bernabeu. “By giving stakeholders a single point of reference for IoT cybersecurity, regardless of their security expertise, we can collectively raise the bar for security. But we need to reach beyond this GlobalPlatform community. These programs, partnerships and resources will extend our ecosystem, enabling anyone to join us in driving the development of SESIP for the benefit of the growing IoT industry.”

Learn more about SESIP and join the adopters community.

-ENDS-

For further media information, please contact Ellie Fingleton at ellie.f@iseepr.co.uk and on +44 (0) 113 350 1922

About SESIP 

The SESIP methodology provides a standardized approach for evaluating IoT security implementations, tailored to the unique requirements and challenges of the evolving ecosystem. The methodology can therefore support regulatory and industry requirements from leading organizations such as ENISA, ETSI, IEC and NIST. The IoT community therefore has a single, accessible reference point for assessing IoT cybersecurity in line with these and other requirements, reducing fragmentation, complexity and cost from security certification processes for stakeholders.

Additionally, the SESIP methodology also supports composition and reuse of certificates. This enables previously certified components to be used to build a device with in-built security assurances, without having to repeat a complete evaluation of the same component in each and every targeted market. This drives greater efficiency, security, innovation, and cost-savings across the certification process.

Importantly, both national and private certification bodies are creating and managing certification schemes based on the SESIP methodology.

About GlobalPlatform
GlobalPlatform is a technical standards organization that enables the efficient launch and management of innovative, secure-by-design digital services and devices, which deliver end-to-end security, privacy, simplicity, and convenience to users.  It achieves this by providing standardized technologies and certifications that empower technology and service providers to develop, certify, deploy, and manage digital services and devices in line with their business, security, regulatory and data protection needs.

GlobalPlatform technologies are used in billions of smart cards, smartphones, wearables, and other connected and IoT devices to enable convenient and trusted digital services across market sectors, including healthcare, government and enterprise ID, payments, smart cities, industrial automation, smart home, telecoms, transportation, utilities, and OEMs.

GlobalPlatform standardized technologies and certifications are developed through effective industry-driven collaboration, led by multiple diverse member companies working in partnership with industry and regulatory bodies and other interested parties from around the world.

Learn more about SESIP Methodology.

globalplatform.org| Twitter/X | LinkedIn | YouTube | GitHub | WeChat

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UK multi-award winning full fibre provider brsk is celebrating another milestone in their North West rollout. They have announced today that work is underway to bring full fibre broadband to St Helens in Merseyside, and neighbouring Ashton In Makerfield in Wigan, Greater Manchester, further increasing their national footprint which has already passed 552,000 premises.

Speaking of the network expansion into new areas, Chief Operating Officer Ian Kock, said, “Quite frankly, we think it’s criminal that so many residents have had to suffer with slow, expensive broadband for so long. Not to mention, the extremely poor customer  service that comes with it. Luckily, we’re on the case. We look forward to bringing broadband the way it should be experienced. Fast, affordable and fair – nothing less.” 

The investment will provide approximately 60,000 homes and businesses in the area access to full fibre, the fastest and most reliable broadband in the UK, with symmetrical upload and download speeds, and a guarantee of no unexpected mid-contract price increases. 

Bringing better broadband to underserved areas across the UK is brsk’s mission, which is no small task. Discussing what contributes to a successful rollout, Ian Kock credits, “strong collaboration between Local Authorities and Operators proves crucial to drive digital inclusion by making sure that world-class technology is available and usable for everyone, rather than a select lucky few.

In addition to lack of access to better technology, people across the country are struggling financially in this economic climate, yet major broadband providers are implementing annual price increases instead of supporting customers. We don’t believe that’s right, especially because customers never know exactly how much they will end up paying, when initially signing up. We believe in simplicity and, more importantly, transparency,” continues Kock. 

Brsk is increasing their extensive coverage across the North West and West Midlands within the UK, including Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside, West Yorkshire, Lancashire, The Black Country and South Birmingham.  

Anyone wanting to check their full fibre coverage with brsk can do so at brsk.co.uk.

Rural network builder and ISP Voneus, which aims to cover 350,000 UK premises via both their gigabit-capable fixed wireless access (FWA) and Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband networks, has received an additional capital injection of £18m from existing investors that appears to have changed its ownership structure a bit.

Until recently Voneus was being backed by up to £250m from investors including Macquarie Capital, IIF, Tiger Infrastructure Partners and bank lenders. But the situation became a bit more complex after last year’s merger with SWS Broadband (Rural Broadband Solutions), Cadence Networks and Broadway Partners (here).

The above deal meant, among other things, that Rural Broadband Solutions Holdings Limited (RBSHL) held a significant stake in Voneus, while Global Connectivity PLC (G-CON) retained their existing 15% stake in RBSHL. The situation changed again in January 2024 after a further £25m investment boost from G-CON, which meant that RBSHL ultimately increased its stake in the operator to 38%.

According to a new press release from G-CON today (here), RBSHL has now injected a further £18m (capital) into the business and thus increased their stake again to 41%.

G-CON Voneus Investment Statement

The most conservative method of valuation, particularly in the early period of a merged entity, is to use the cost of investment as the principal determinant. This is what we have adopted, which mirrors the practice of Tiger Infrastructure, partner in and majority shareholder of RBSHL. To date Tiger has invested £72 million in RBSHL.

The vast majority of investment has been made since the merger of and interests into Voneus was announced in September 2023. Moreover, by prior agreement, the extent of this subsequent investment has far exceeded that made by Macquarie. As a result, percentage ownership of Voneus has increased from an initial 25% to approximately 41% with a consequent increase in in-direct ownership.

Moreover, Voneus now operates on a fully integrated basis with a resultant increase in the rate of growth of homes passed, those ready for service and sales to customers. The historic valuation of approximately £6.8 million or 1.9p per GCON share in our audited accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 reflects neither increased percentage ownership of Voneus since the 25% starting point, nor the growing maturity and success of the underlying business.

In addition to all this, G-CON has also published an interesting investor’s document, which with respect to Voneus notes that the network operator is now aiming to reach a “target pipeline of 370,000 (up from
an initial 350,000) homes passed“, which they add “will appeal to strategic buyers within the next 12-18 month” (this sounds a bit like they’re positioning the business for an acquisition).

The same document notes that Tiger is currently planning to fund the final rounds of investment in a “similarly disproportionate manner” and take the RBSHL ownership to “at least 44%” in the not too distant future. The catch with Voneus is that we still know relatively little about the provider’s broadband rollout plans and progress, as they’ve historically not been an operator that likes to boast much about their achievements.

Voneus currently has broadband networks in over 35 counties across England, Scotland and Wales. Residential customers of their full fibre broadband packages pay from £38.99 per month on a 24-month term for their 250Mbps (symmetric speed) package with free installation, which rises to £74.99 for 900Mbps.

News

CEO Tim Cook called Apple’s AI launch the ‘next big step’ for the company 

At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference this week, Apple has announced a new partnership with OpenAI that will integrate ChatGPT directly within Apple devices. 

In the day one keynote speech, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the company’s new integrated ‘Apple Intelligence’ system, which he characterised as “the personal intelligence system that puts powerful generative models right at the core” of your Apple device. 

The new features, the company says, are a “new chapter in Apple innovation,” and will include: 

– Writing tools, allowing users to summarise, rewrite, or proofread text on different apps such as Mail, Notes, or third-party applications. 

– Image generation, including ‘Genmoji’, which creates personalised and instantly curated emojis. 

– A Siri overhaul, making platform is more natural and personal, with more control over apps and actions, for a wider range of actions. 

“AI has to understand you and be grounded in your personal context like your routine, your relationships, your communications and more. It’s beyond artificial intelligence. It’s personal intelligence,” said Cook. 

“We’re excited to partner with Apple to bring ChatGPT to their users in a new way,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a press release, who did not attend the event. 

“Apple shares our commitment to safety and innovation, and this partnership aligns with OpenAI’s mission to make advanced AI accessible to everyone. Together with Apple, we’re making it easier for people to benefit from what AI can offer,” he continued. 

Apple has kept its AI cards close to its chest for some time, leaving users that the company could fall behind other US tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Meta. Despite this, rumours of discussions with OpenAI had been circulating for some time. 

Apple has emphasised its dedication to privacy when it comes to its new AI solution, with Cook confirming that Apple Intelligence accesses user information in a “completely private and secure way”. 

Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, told attendees that the Private Cloud Compute that the feature uses means it works with “groundbreaking privacy,” and is the “most advanced security architecture ever deployed for cloud AI at scale”. The company say that it will only use user data to make the AI request and never store it, meaning it is not accessible to anyone, not even Apple.  

The integration of Chat GPT, however, has brought these claims into question, as using the features would mean personal data is sent outside of Apple’s secure ecosystem. 

X CEO Elon Musk has emphatically expressed his disapproval, calling the deal an “unacceptable security violation” in a post on X. 

It’s patently absurd that Apple isn’t smart enough to make their own AI, yet is somehow capable of ensuring that OpenAI will protect your security & privacy!

Apple has no clue what’s actually going on once they hand your data over to OpenAI. They’re selling you down the river.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2024

Conversations surrounding data privacy have reached a critical point in the last few weeks as Open AI has found itself embroiled in a scandal involving Scarlett Johansson. Last month, the company launched a chatbot named “Sky” with a strikingly similar voice to the actress, after she declined to voice the chatbot herself. The ordeal has brought the ethics of OpenAI into question and highlighted the ways in which such companies can seemingly bypass consent to advance their platforms.  

Most importantly, it has emphasised the need for ethical guidelines and legal protection as the AI field evolves rapidly. 

Alongside the Apple Intelligence announcement, the company also revealed new satellite messaging capabilities for its iMessage app, in an effort to solve connectivity issues caused by “not spots”. With this new capability, iMessage users can send and receive messages even when a terrestrial mobile or Wi-Fi connection is not available.  

Since 2022, users of the iPhone 14 and higher have been able to use a satellite connection to make emergency calls. 

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

Also in the news:
AI is shaking up the submarine cable ecosystem
Cyber and other threats to submarine cables
Old copper networks: A gold mine for telcos?

News

CEO Tim Cook called Apple’s AI launch the ‘next big step’ for the company 

At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference this week, Apple has announced a new partnership with OpenAI that will integrate ChatGPT directly within Apple devices. 

In the day one keynote speech, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the company’s new integrated ‘Apple Intelligence’ system, which he characterised as “the personal intelligence system that puts powerful generative models right at the core” of your Apple device. 

The new features, the company says, are a “new chapter in Apple innovation,” and will include: 

– Writing tools, allowing users to summarise, rewrite, or proofread text on different apps such as Mail, Notes, or third-party applications. 

– Image generation, including ‘Genmoji’, which creates personalised and instantly curated emojis. 

– A Siri overhaul, making platform is more natural and personal, with more control over apps and actions, for a wider range of actions. 

“AI has to understand you and be grounded in your personal context like your routine, your relationships, your communications and more. It’s beyond artificial intelligence. It’s personal intelligence,” said Cook. 

“We’re excited to partner with Apple to bring ChatGPT to their users in a new way,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a press release, who did not attend the event. 

“Apple shares our commitment to safety and innovation, and this partnership aligns with OpenAI’s mission to make advanced AI accessible to everyone. Together with Apple, we’re making it easier for people to benefit from what AI can offer,” he continued. 

Apple has kept its AI cards close to its chest for some time, leaving users that the company could fall behind other US tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Meta. Despite this, rumours of discussions with OpenAI had been circulating for some time. 

Apple has emphasised its dedication to privacy when it comes to its new AI solution, with Cook confirming that Apple Intelligence accesses user information in a “completely private and secure way”. 

Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, told attendees that the Private Cloud Compute that the feature uses means it works with “groundbreaking privacy,” and is the “most advanced security architecture ever deployed for cloud AI at scale”. The company say that it will only use user data to make the AI request and never store it, meaning it is not accessible to anyone, not even Apple.  

The integration of Chat GPT, however, has brought these claims into question, as using the features would mean personal data is sent outside of Apple’s secure ecosystem. 

X CEO Elon Musk has emphatically expressed his disapproval, calling the deal an “unacceptable security violation” in a post on X. 

It’s patently absurd that Apple isn’t smart enough to make their own AI, yet is somehow capable of ensuring that OpenAI will protect your security & privacy!

Apple has no clue what’s actually going on once they hand your data over to OpenAI. They’re selling you down the river.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2024

Conversations surrounding data privacy have reached a critical point in the last few weeks as Open AI has found itself embroiled in a scandal involving Scarlett Johansson. Last month, the company launched a chatbot named “Sky” with a strikingly similar voice to the actress, after she declined to voice the chatbot herself. The ordeal has brought the ethics of OpenAI into question and highlighted the ways in which such companies can seemingly bypass consent to advance their platforms.  

Most importantly, it has emphasised the need for ethical guidelines and legal protection as the AI field evolves rapidly. 

Alongside the Apple Intelligence announcement, the company also revealed new satellite messaging capabilities for its iMessage app, in an effort to solve connectivity issues caused by “not spots”. With this new capability, iMessage users can send and receive messages even when a terrestrial mobile or Wi-Fi connection is not available.  

Since 2022, users of the iPhone 14 and higher have been able to use a satellite connection to make emergency calls. 

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

Also in the news:
AI is shaking up the submarine cable ecosystem
Cyber and other threats to submarine cables
Old copper networks: A gold mine for telcos?

The Conservative Party has today published their own Manifesto for the 4th July 2024 UK General Election, which naturally echoes their existing pledges around fixed line gigabit broadband coverage, as well as their efforts to improve 5G based mobile network coverage across the country.

One of the advantages – or disadvantages (depending upon your perspective) – of being the party of Government is that people often go into a General Election with a better idea of what you’d actually aim to deliver and how. In that sense, the current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, can only really repeat the pledges they’ve already made in this area.

The party is currently backing several programmes for improving broadband and mobile. The first is the industry-led £1bn Shared Rural Network project, which aims to boost geographic 4G coverage to 95% of the UK (or 84% for areas where you’ll be able to take it from all operators) by the end of 2025 (part of this is delayed).

In addition, they’ve also set a target for “all populated areas to be covered by ‘standalone’ 5G (5G-plus) [network] by 2030“ (here), although we would have preferred to see a stronger target based on geographic coverage and one that was a bit more binding on the operators.

The final one is their £5bn Project Gigabit programme, which aims to make 1Gbps+ fixed broadband speeds available to at least 85% of UK premises by the end of 2025 and to then push that “nationwide” (c.99%) by 2030.

As above, the new Conservative 2024 Manifesto Document (PDF) doesn’t add anything new and makes two related mentions of broadband and mobile policies. The only slight annoyance below is the unnecessary switch in terminology from “high-speed internet” to “gigabit coverage“, which later changes to “high-speed broadband” (just to be clear, they’re all talking about the same thing – gigabit speeds):

➤ “We have transformed our digital infrastructure by rolling out gigabit broadband to over a million hard to reach premises, helping to deliver high-speed internet to over 80% of the country. We are set to achieve at least 85% gigabit coverage of the UK by 2025 and nationwide coverage by 2030. Our ambition is for all populated areas to be covered by ‘standalone’ 5G mobile connectivity and to keep the UK at the forefront of adopting and developing 6G.”

➤ “Over 80% of properties across the country can now access high-speed broadband, up from just 7% in 2019, with a record £714 million committed to boosting rural broadband coverage in 2024. We will invest in new technology to achieve our ambitious broadband targets for hard-to-reach areas.”

At present, the first 2025 pledge (85%) for gigabit broadband under Project Gigabit looks likely to be exceeded. Ofcom currently forecasts that gigabit coverage will reach around 87-91% by May 2025 (here), albeit thanks mostly to commercial builds. But the 2030 goal for “nationwide” (c.99% of the UK) coverage will still be a challenge, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it fell a little short.

By comparison, the party’s targets for 4G and 5G mobile coverage have, in the past, often been a bit of a mixed bag, and it doesn’t help that gauging the progress of mobile coverage remains notoriously difficult due to the highly variable environment for related signals and performance. The SRN shows just how challenging such projects can be, particularly with so many unknowns around planning approvals (i.e. local opposition) and the current delays (here), thus it remains unclear how close the country will get to hitting these mobile targets.

Network builder and UK ISP Connect Fibre, which is currently deploying their gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) broadband network to cover 100,000 premises across the East of England, has today revealed that they’ve become the latest Altnet to secure the ISO certification for quality management standards (ISO 9001).

ISO certifications are a seal of approval from a third-party body, which represents a series of global standards developed and published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). The idea is that by securing these companies can show that they’re safe, reliable and of good quality for particular tasks, features, management and / or services etc.

As part of that, the Quality Management Systems ISO 9001 standard is generally designed to help companies improve customer satisfaction levels, internal efficiency and process consistency. The operator sees this as bringing “numerous benefits to Connect Fibre, enhancing various aspects of its operations and service delivery. From greater levels of accountability and cultural improvements, to enhanced leadership engagement.”

Dale Regan, Connect Fibre’s Chief Delivery Officer, said:

“Achieving ISO9001 certification is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team. Our primary focus has been to optimise our operational processes, and obtaining this validation rubber-stamps the efforts that have been put in.

It not only highlights the high standards maintained in our work but also provides a framework for continuous improvement. This achievement positively impacts our customers by guaranteeing consistent, quality services while also having huge benefits for our internal team. We are excited about the future and remain dedicated to delivering the best possible broadband experience to our customers.”