News

Parents in the U.S. are more likely to relocate if they lose access to reliable internet versus affordable childcare according to a new study.

This story was originally released by our sister publication Broadband Communities

A recent study has ranked reliable internet as more important than affordable childcare for American parents.

The study, conducted on behalf of internet exchange operator DE-CIX this spring, surveyed over 2,000 respondents.

A quarter of parents surveyed said access to reliable internet is a priority when deciding where to live. By comparison, only 16 percent of parents surveyed responded that access to affordable childcare was a priority.

The survey, conducted by Censuswide, also reported residents in San Francisco, New York City, and Los Angeles “showed a high propensity to relocate if remote work options were available.”

A summary of the survey reported over half of respondents in those cities expressed a desire to move.

“These survey findings are a wake-up call for businesses and urban planners alike to invest in robust internet infrastructure to retain and attract a vibrant, innovative workforce,” said Ivo Ivanov, the CEO of DE-CIX.

Ivanov, through comments provided to the media, said internet infrastructure will be key for competitive advantage and community resilience.

“Strengthening internet exchanges across America is no longer just about business continuity,” he said.

Also revealed by the survey were findings that nearly two thirds of respondents between the age of 18 and 24, value remote working arrangements. Conversely, only 31 percent of respondents over age 55 prioritized remote work and workplace flexibility.

“Our study indicates that the younger generations in the workforce—particularly Gen Zs — place a high value on flexibility and mobility, elements that will shape future workplace policies and urban planning of digital infrastructure,” Ivanov said.

In total, 44 percent of those surveyed said they’d consider relocating to maintain remote work jobs, according to the research made public by DE-CIX.

To get content like this delivered to your inbox, subscribe to the Broadband Communities newsletter

Also in the news:
Digi set to buy OTE’s Telekom Romania
Billionaire Xavier Neil ponders Millicom acquisition
EU-funded Global Gateways projects on show at Submarine Networks EMEA 2024

News 

A key panel on day one of Submarine Networks EMEA in London delved into how infrastructure can assist the growth of Africa’s ICT sector

The session was moderated by Ed McCormack, Director of Mc Corporate Services, and consisted of:

Rosalind Thomas, Managing Director and CEO at SAEx International Management

Dylan Carver, Global Account Manager at Medusa Submarine Cable System

Mohammed Aliyu, Chief FiberCo Officer at Bayobab

Nikki Popoola, Director of Sales West Africa & DRC at WIOCC Group

Africa is home to 1/6 of the population and is the fastest growing population in the world. That sounds promising, but that does not mean the market is without challenges. 

An obvious big challenge are cable outages currently going on, such as in the  Red Sea or in West Africa. “This a major challenge,” said Nikki Popoola “I don’t recall a time when there have been so many cables down”. 

“But there’s so much opportunity in Africa,” she continued. “More than anything, we need to develop the terrestrial. That’s a big challenge”. 

Africa has a population 1.4 billion people, so there is a huge opportunity for expansion. “If you want to go fast you go alone, but if you want to go far, you go together,” said Mohammed Aliyu. Collaboration is vital for African growth.  

The challenges are also opportunity. “We are operating in a bipolar global economy with geopolitics impacting us. We can’t ignore that,” continued Rosalind. 

Power is a huge challenge in Africa, especially in South Africa, which has an issue with load shedding. Without power, you can’t have any of the advanced technologies such as data centres, so “Africa is paying catch up”. 

Rosalind notes that there’s also a problem with getting skilled people, which must be addressed collaboratively. Skills are a challenge everywhere, but it is more intense in Africa. In South Africa, there is 65% youth employment rate, who simply are not skilled enough to be able to work in a digital economy. In other countries on the continent, due to the problems in country, many of them leave for jobs elsewhere. 

Some answers to this could be visa free travel within Africa or driving pan African initiatives, because there’s less employment issues in Kenya, Nigeria etc. Youth employment is much lower in Kenya for example, 12.5%. In South Africa, there are 330,000 people filled by employees on critical skills visas in South Africa, and 77,000 jobs they cannot fill, but around 14 million unemployed youth. 

Because the industry is a global one, it attracts skills globally. There are not seeing enough people entering the subnets industry, and they go to the likes of meta or google related to the end user applications, not the submarine cables bit!  

Africa has built thousands of kilometres of cable in recent years. But what is different in the business plan for the development of new cables?  

There are now more players in the market with different interests. Collaboration must be seen one the ground, as people are far too protective of what they own, there need to be more of an open access model, the panel argues. In South Africa, there are more than 17 fibre providers duplicating fibre in the same areas, and its impacting on their Return on investments because they are not collaborating. “The idea of sharing is very important”, confirms Rosalind. 

The areas in need of investment 

It has been made clear that some cables will reach the end of their life in the next 10-15 years. The recent outages on the continent are shifting mentalities on how to address the next cable initiatives. 

The current problem with African cables is that they all follow the same routes, Rosalind argues. Last year, there were 9 cable cuts. Climate change will also be a factor in these cuts, because they have all been laid too close to the continent.  

“In the short term, because there have been many more data centres built in Africa. There must be a focus on domiciling content in Africa, so you don’t need to go out of Africa to get this continent,” says Mohammed. 

“We need to be able to connect the hubs in Africa: the three major ones are Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa,” he continues. Therefore, building terrestrial connectivity is equally important.  

Technology has leapfrogged the continent no end. The phone has become the way that we all work, live and play. It becomes your banking, source of information, everything. 

The panel concludes that there is ample opportunity for Africa to be better connected within the next five years. The growth potential in the market is great. Working together has been a key takeaway here – cross collaboration will be the pathway to success. 

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

Also in the news:
Digi set to buy OTE’s Telekom Romania
Billionaire Xavier Neil ponders Millicom acquisition
EU-funded Global Gateways projects on show at Submarine Networks EMEA 2024

Hull-based UK ISP and Pay TV provider Octaplus, which sells services to consumers via various alternative full fibre broadband networks (e.g. MS3, CityFibre and FullFibre Limited), has today confirmed that they’ve just added Freedom Fibre’s network in the North West of England to that list.

Freedom Fibre’s Head of B2B, Lee Sutch, said: “The team at Freedom Fibre are excited to be partnering with such a customer-centric internet service provider. Partnering with Octaplus is a great opportunity to work with connectivity resellers to deliver our industry leading XGS-PON network to homes and businesses across the North West and provide value to customers who want this service.”

Freedom Fibre, which recently merged with VX FIBER (here), was originally backed by £111m from Equitix and has been working to cover parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Shropshire in England and North Wales. The operator previously aspired to cover 2 million UK premises and has so far reached 300,000 (27th Mar 2024) and rising.

Alternative network and UK ISP G.Network, which is rolling out a MultiGigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across parts of London (here), has further discounted their top two “Gigafast” broadband (900Mbps average download) packages – with both now starting at just £30 per month.

The provider, which is estimated to be live across around 250,000 to 300,000 premises in London, currently has two Gigafast plans (Gigafast and Gigafast Extra). The regular Gigafast plan now costs just £30 per month on a 24-month term (£35 thereafter), which gives you speeds of 900Mbps (300Mbps upload), free installation, parental controls and a wireless router.

By comparison, Gigafast Extra costs £30 per month for the first 6 months, before rising to £40 per month for the remaining term and then £45 post-contract. But for that you get the addition of symmetric speeds, a fixed IP address, priority support and their Full-On WiFi (mesh signal extender) coverage commitment. But oddly G.Network seems to have removed their cheapest entry-level 150Mbps tier from view.

Kevin Murphy, CEO of G.Network, said: “The last thing Londoners want to think about when they’re enjoying the action this summer is their internet bill, and our £1 a day offer is taking that worry away. G.Network’s market-beating price tracks the prices of major providers (as defined by Ofcom) to provide consumers with better-than-market average prices – starting at £27 per month – which are independently verified by FDM.”

News 

The final panel on day one of Submarine Networks EMEA 2024 was titled Collaborating towards a greener future.

Moderated by John Wrottesley, Liaison Officer at the European Subsea Cables Association (ESCA) the panel was comprised of:

– Michael Clare, ICPC Marine Environmental Advisor & Senior Researcher at the National Oceanography Centre 

– Horst Brockmueller, Chief Executive Officer of Oceanic Environmental Cables  

– Merete Caubet, VP Bulk Fiber Networks at Bulk Infrastructure 

Both historically and in our current economy, we’ve been taking materials from the earth, making products with them and then discarding them. This process is linear and unsustainable. So, there’s a need to create a circular economy, a system where materials do not become waste and nature is regenerated. This is achieved through recycling, refurbishment and reusing. 

Since the first ever telecoms cable creation in the 1850s, around 3.5 million kilometres of cable has been laid under the sea, and presently, 1.6 million kilometres is currently in use. This means that around 1.9 million kilometres of out of service, but still on the sea floor. It would be ideal to remove and recycle the disused cable to be able to recycle it. Around 83% of carbon footprint of cable in its lifetime is done in the manufacturing. When they recover previously laid cable, they can recover around 63% of it. 

But the more new cables that are laid over old ones, the more difficult they will eventually be to remove.  

The subsea cable industry has a relatively minor environmental impact on the ocean. But nevertheless, there is a still a biodiversity crisis in our oceans which the industry does contribute to. Some forecasts predict that 40% of species are facing extinction by the end of the century. Part of this is to do with an unsustainable use of the sea floor. 

When we think about sustainability, there are some impacts that we cannot quantify, such as: what happens to the seabed in the long term if you disturb it by laying cable there? The industry must begin to think about how we value different aspects of the environment, even if we can’t quantify them currently. 

Something that needs to be developed, is to try to build an evidence base to help us understand more about processes, so the industry can make more evidence-based decisions. For example, is it necessary to recover the cable in the ground if doing so will cause extreme damage to the seabed and its inhabitants? For this, it is essential to have data from recovered cable systems and how the seabed reacts after a cable has bene recovered. These impacts are presumable much smaller than the installation impacts, but with the absence of any data, precautionary approaches are taken where the industry simply says, “we don’t know yet”. 

Can there be win-win situations both for corporations and nature? It’s a huge potential for the industry, there’s a chance here to create a full circle economy. The ability to reuse areas of sea floor that have already been disturbed, rather than disturb new areas, or adding sensors to disused cables for seismic activity sensing are all examples of these possibilities.  

The session concludes by emphasising that a cross sectoral approach is vital; it is not just subsea that are using the sea floor, industries like offshore wind farms do too. Harmonising those voices, and sharing data between industries will allow for a solution that will be essential for success. 

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

Also in the news:
Digi set to buy OTE’s Telekom Romania
Billionaire Xavier Neil ponders Millicom acquisition
EU-funded Global Gateways projects on show at Submarine Networks EMEA 2024

Network operator Freedom Fibre, which has so far built their gigabit-capable broadband (FTTP) ISP network to cover 300,000 UK premises (27th Mar 2024) – mostly in the North West of England, has confirmed to local residents in the Cheshire village of Hollins Green and Rixton that they’ve acquired the local full fibre network from CityFibre.

Just to recap. The service in Hollins Green and Rixton was first announced in September 2020 by CityFibre’s FibreNation division (here), which only a few months earlier had been acquired from TalkTalk for £200m (here). Despite this, TalkTalk continued to act as the retail ISP for customers on the UltraFibreOptic (UFO) and FibreNation parts of their network (technically, FibreNation actually built the network before CF acquired them).

However, the local service made the news a couple of times last year after TalkTalk began to issue wrongful closure warnings to local customers (here and here), which caused plenty of confusion. At the time ISPreview was informed by a number of residents that CityFibre’s support agents were actively signalling that a future deal might see Freedom Fibre takeover the local network, but neither party would confirm that.

The latest change is that residents within the community have recently begun to be informed that Freedom Fibre has in fact acquired the local network.

Customer Statement from Freedom Fibre

Attention Hollins Green!

Did you know that Freedom Fibre have purchased the broadband network in the area, and we’re set to upgrade the network to the latest in full-fibre technology?

We know you probably have a lot of questions about why we’re doing this and what’s involved, so we’re hosting a drop-in session on the 4th of June at The Black Swan from 3pm-7pm.

Refreshments and Ice-cream will be provided, so pop by and chat all things full-fibre with the Freedom Fibre team.

The reference to adopting the “latest in full-fibre” technology probably reflects a shift from GPON to XGS-PON technology via a new vendor, as the platform that FibreNation deployed harnessed older hardware and some of that is also known to have involved kit from the now banned Huawei (it’s not clear if the latter is also applicable to Hollins Green).

The acquisition would make sense for Freedom Fibre because they’ve already been building in the area, although it’s less clear why CityFibre would choose to sell (we have asked for a comment) – particularly as the latter are actively trying to grow through consolidation and not shrink. But it’s possible that CityFibre may have found this approach to be both easier and cheaper than upgrading the network, at cost, themselves.

Alternative network operator and UK ISP Grain (Grain Connect), which has extended their gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) broadband network to cover 220,000 premises (RFS) and 30,000 customers, has revealed that they recently set a new personal record by getting a new customer connected within just 36 minutes.

According to the blurb, the Middlesbrough-based customer, Motunrayo Oyeleye, called Grain at 9.58am to place an order for a Full Fibre broadband service, and by 10.34am their engineer, Salman (pictured), arrived at the property and had completed the installation and the customer was connected to the internet just 36 minutes later.

The feat is fairly impressive, since it normally takes at least a few days, or possibly even weeks, to get a new full fibre connection installed to a property.

Grain CEO, Richard Cameron, said:

“Our customers are at the heart of everything we, so to know we have installed this customer in 36 minutes and delivered a great value contract with no price rises, is fantastic.

There is no better demonstration of the efficient connection process we have built here at Grain, which means that we can connect customers to our service in just minutes in this case.

I am extremely proud of the team for delivering this and for ensuring the efficiency of our processes, which allows us to always offer customers the lowest prices to their home.”

However, in fairness, we don’t know anything more about the context of this installation (e.g. was it for a new build house, where Grain already had some infrastructure?) or what Grain’s typical delivery times are for a new service. In that sense it would be interesting to know precisely what work was performed, since everything from drilling and screwing-in the new kit, to cleaning up, splicing and testing, usually takes a bit longer.

In any case, it’s still a fantastic time to be in and out of a customer’s home.

Barcelona, May 29, 2024 – In a significant move that promises to revolutionize the telecommunications and enterprise sectors, Italtel, a multinational ICT company and renowned system integrator, has announced a strategic partnership with Nearby Computing, a leader in edge-to-cloud automation and orchestration platforms. This collaboration is set to fast-track the adoption of 5G solutions, private networks and edge computing, marking a significant milestone in the industry.

Italtel, with its extensive expertise in integrating and managing complex network systems, has been at the forefront of technological innovation, delivering cutting-edge solutions to telcos and enterprises worldwide. Nearby Computing, on the other hand, has carved a niche for itself with its advanced edge-to-cloud automation and orchestration platform, enabling streamlined operations and enhanced efficiency.

By year-end 2026, Gartner predicts that 70% of large enterprises will have a documented strategy for edge computing, compared to fewer than 10% in 2023.

With a shared commitment to innovation, Italtel and Nearby Computing aim to empower businesses to embrace digital transformation, streamlining operations and fostering agility through advanced technological solutions. By harnessing the power of 5G and edge computing, the partnership will enable businesses to automate processes, enhance efficiency, and unlock new growth opportunities. Italtel already has a 5G MPN Lab in Madrid (on premise and cloud) and a Telco Edge Computing Lab, both orchestrated by NearbyOne.

“This partnership is a game-changer for the industry,” said Felix Luna, CEO of Italtel Spain. “By joining forces with Nearby Computing, we are not only enhancing our capabilities but also accelerating the delivery of next-generation 5G and edge computing solutions, use cases and business applications to our customers. This is about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and enabling a new era of digital transformation.”

Josep Martí, CEO of Nearby Computing, echoed these sentiments, stating, “We are thrilled to partner with Italtel, a company that shares our vision for the future of telecommunications. Together, we are set to redefine the landscape of 5G and edge computing, empowering businesses to harness the full potential of these transformative technologies.”

This partnership is a significant milestone for the industry, promising to deliver innovative solutions that accelerate digital transformation, automate business processes, and propel enterprises and telcos into a new era of technological excellence.

WALTHAM, MA — May 29, 2024 — Netcracker Technology announced today that Hawaiian Telcom will utilize Netcracker Digital BSS, along with Support & Managed Services, as part of a broad digital transformation program to improve the customer experience, decrease manual business processes and provide greater integration for an in-house order entry system.

Headquartered in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, Hawaiian Telcom delivers communications solutions – including high-speed Internet, video, voice, data network and security, along with managed and cloud services – to residential, business and wholesale customers over its statewide fiber network.

Hawaiian Telcom will deploy a number of Netcracker products to create a next-generation platform for order management, including Customer Order Management, Product Catalog, Service Inventory, Service Catalog and Service Order Management. The resulting implementation will help automate the operator’s order management process, improve monitoring functions and reduce order fulfillment times.

“As we expand our future-proof fiber network across the state, increasing access to gigabit Internet service, it’s critical that we deliver a seamless customer experience, starting with the ordering process,” said Michele Lehmkuhl, Vice President of Consumer Strategy & Sales for Hawaiian Telcom. “We are pleased to continue our digital transformation with Netcracker to elevate our order lifecycle and ultimately, our customer support.”

“We look forward to partnering with Hawaiian Telcom and helping the company maximize its investments in fiber by improving the experience at every stage of the customer journey,” said Rohit Aggarwal, GM at Netcracker. “We are proud to be part of this digital transformation initiative and look forward to what our companies can achieve together.”

About Netcracker Technology

Rapid digitization is disrupting the status quo of today’s communications markets. Constantly evolving customer needs and behaviors require service providers to adapt quickly and diversify their businesses to deliver the outcomes that their customers expect. Building digital ecosystems, anticipating customer requirements and delivering a digital-first experience are essential for service providers to accelerate innovation, expand into new markets and become the disruptors in the 5G era.

Netcracker Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, has the expertise, culture and resources to help service providers around the world transform their businesses to thrive in a digital economy. Our innovative solutions – including our flagship cloud-native Netcracker Digital Platform – value-driven services and unbroken delivery track record of three decades help service providers to achieve their digital transformation goals, drive the telco to techco evolution within their organizations and realize business growth and profitability. For more information, visit www.netcracker.com.

Media Contact

Anita Karvé
Netcracker Technology
MediaGroup@Netcracker.com   

Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 29, May 2024 – Ezditek, an innovator in data center and digital infrastructure services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), has appointed Stuart Manby as Chief Sales Officer to position Ezditek for long-term growth on-the-ground across the KSA. Its core values are focused on delivering innovation and sustainability in KSA’s data center market. Ezditek is part of Ezdihar Holding Company, a multi-billion conglomerate with divisions focused on construction, real estate and digital infrastructure. 

Manby will play a leading role in Ezditek’s growth strategy to provide world-class data center solutions and establish the KSA as an international destination for digital innovation and transformation. He has more than 25 years’ experience in the data center market with roles at EDGNEX Data Centres by Damac, Global Switch, Ark Data Centres and Digital Realty. His strong technical and commercial background will help him excel as Chief Sales Officer of Ezditek, as it prepares for exciting expansion plans that encompass Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies, and digital innovation. 

“Stuart has a proven history of accelerating business growth and executing on strategic goals in the data center market. He is a strong leader who combines understanding of global digital infrastructure demands and local market requirements. It is great to have Stuart on board as we help to position the KSA as a global leader in digital innovation and provide a foundation as a global digital hub,” said Ibrahim Almulhim, CEO at Ezditek. “Ezditek is accelerating its growth as we deliver on our vision for innovation and sustainability in the data center market. We’re excited to welcome Stuart to the team and work together to shape the future of KSA’s data center market.” 

Ezditek plans to deliver high-capacity infrastructure across nine data centers in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam by 2030. Its carrier neutral data center hubs are designed to support the Kingdom’s Saudi Vision 2030 roadmap for economic diversification, global engagement, and enhanced quality of life. 

“I’m excited to be joining an organization with a clear strategy for delivering high-quality data centers and digital infrastructure that meets local and global demands. Ezditek has a unique vision for the market and empowers its people to innovate and share new ideas. This is an excellent next step in my career with a company that is thinking differently about data center design, build and operations,” said Stuart Manby, Chief Sales Officer at Ezditek. “Ezditek’s core values of sustainability and innovation directly align with my own views on the future of our industry. We have an opportunity to push MENA’s data center market forward and support Saudi Vision 2030.” 

Manby has spent two decades defining and executing sales strategies for global data center organizations that drive long-term growth. He has a strong focus on disrupting the global data center market and supporting the development of new digital hubs in local markets.  

About Ezditek 

Ezditek has established itself as a leading player in the technology market. The company is dedicated to leveraging the latest technologies and fostering innovation to play a significant role in the Kingdom’s ambitious vision for 2030 and the corresponding technological advancements. 

ezditek.com