News 

The funding will allow the USA to produce 20% of the world’s leading semiconductors by 2030 

The US government has announced that it has signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms to award Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) a subsidy of $6.6 billion for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. 

The funding, which has been made possible through The CHIPS and Science Act, will see TSMC build its third fabrication plant in Arizona, taking TSMC’s total investment in the US to $65 billion. Two of the plants are already under construction, with one nearing completion and aiming to begin production next year. Combined, the three plants are expected to create “6,000 direct high-tech, high-wage jobs”, with the wider construction creating an additional 20,000 jobs. 

The funding includes $50 million that will go towards the training and development a local workforce, “so workers don’t have to leave their hometowns to find good-paying jobs in innovative industries.” 

Once all three fabs are in action, they will manufacture millions of leading-edge chips for use in 5G and eventually 6G smartphones, autonomous vehicles, and AI data centre servers. 

“The CHIPS and Science Act provides TSMC the opportunity to make this unprecedented investment and to offer our foundry service of the most advanced manufacturing technologies in the United States,” said TSMC Chairman Dr. Mark Liu in a company press release. 

Despite chips being invented in America, the country has gone from producing 40% of the world’s chips to just 10%, which the US government said in a statement makes the country exposed to “significant economic and national security vulnerabilities”. 

“These are the chips that underpin all artificial intelligence, and they are the chips that are necessary components for the technologies that we need to underpin our economy, but frankly, a 21st century military and national security apparatus,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a verbal statement. 

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

Also in the news:
Digi Spain sells 6m FTTH accesses to Onivia
Vodafone’s 5G standalone network now connects around half the German population
Broadband poles no problem for Brits says new study

Interview

At Connected America this year, we caught up with Jeff Harsh, Director of Strategic Accounts at UCL Swift North America, to discuss the company’s all-in-one fusion splicing platform and the company’s plans for the future

With a historic level of government funding being delivered to help fund broadband access for all Americans, the US fibre market has never been more exciting.

At Connected America this year, we spoke to UCL Swift’s Jeff Harsh to learn more about the company’s fusion splicing solution and how its ease of use is helping to overcome the skilled labour shortage that comes with the nation’s rapidly accelerating network deployment.

“We can splice, we can cleave, we can strip, and we can also protect the fibre by putting a fibre sleave on. And these machines are easy to use, they are lightweight and easy to train people on,” he explained. “It’s a high tech, high precision machine, but a very simple process. We believe we can be part of the solution [to the skills shortage issue] by fast-tracking training.”

You can watch the full interview with Jeff from the link below.

News 

Mexican broadcaster Televisa will purchase AT&T’s stake in Sky Mexico and take full ownership of the business 

In a press release this week, Televista have confirmed that they are purchasing AT&T’s 41.3% stake in satellite TV provider Sky Mexico. Having already held the remaining 58.7% stake in the business, the deal will give the media group full control over Sky Mexico. 

The deal’s exact cost has not been revealed, but the statement confirmed that the transaction price would be paid by the company in 2027 and 2028. 

“The lack of a published price and the long payment schedule makes me think a significant portion of the consideration will be in the form of an earn-out, in turn reflecting the uncertainty of Sky’s short-term prospects,” speculated Gilberto Garcia, head of financial advisory at consultancy Miranda Partners., when speaking to Reuters. 

An earn-out is a contractual condition of a purchase agreement whereby elements of the price are contingent upon the performance of the business. In this case, AT&T would receive a portion of the purchase price based on Sky’s performance. 

Sky Mexico currently has a 58% share of the Mexican pay TV market, and nearly a 25% share of the broadband market, making it Mexico’s second largest broadband operator. In the third quarter of last year, Sky’s revenues fell by 13.8%, which was put down to a year-on-year decline in RGU’s (revenue generating units, or subscribers). 

The transaction is subject to standard regulatory approval. 

In the announcement, Televisa also confirmed that Luis Malvido will step down as CEO of Sky Mexico next month, after serving in his position for two years. 

“On behalf of Grupo Televisa, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to Luis for his leadership, innovation, and valuable contributions to the Company. Luis has been instrumental in the evolution and simplification processes of our core business at Sky, and we wish him continued success in his future projects,” said Grupo Televisa’s co-CEOs, Bernardo Gómez and Alfonso de Angoitia. 

Francisco Valim, already head of Televisa’s cable unit Izzi Telecom, will take over as CEO of Sky Mexico.  

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

Also in the news:
Digi Spain sells 6m FTTH accesses to Onivia
Vodafone’s 5G standalone network now connects around half the German population
Broadband poles no problem for Brits says new study

News 

The news comes as the UK moves to become a worldwide AI powerhouse 

Microsoft has this week announced plans to establish Microsoft AI London, a new hub aimed at advancing AI research and development in the UK. This initiative follows the recent formation of Microsoft AI, a new company dedicated to improving consumer AI products and research, including Microsoft’s AI chatbot Copilot. 

Led by Jordan Hoffmann, an AI scientist and engineer, Microsoft AI London will focus on developing state-of-the-art language models and infrastructure, as well as creating top-tier tooling for foundation models. The hub will collaborate closely with Microsoft AI teams and partners, including OpenAI.  

“I’m deeply aware of the extraordinary talent pool and AI ecosystem in the UK, and I’m excited to make this commitment to the UK on behalf of Microsoft AI,” said Mustafa Suleyman, EVP and CEO of Microsoft AI in the announcement. 

“I know – through my close work with thought leaders in the UK government, business community and academia – that the country is committed to advancing AI responsibly and with a safety-first commitment to drive investment, innovation and economic growth,” he continued. 

The decision to establish the AI hub in London, the company states, reflects Microsoft’s confidence in the UK’s commitment to responsible AI innovation. It adds to Microsoft’s existing presence in the UK, including the Microsoft Research Cambridge lab, and aligns with the company’s substantial investment to equip the UK workforce for the AI era. 

The AI Hub’s launch follows Microsoft’s 2023 pledge to invest £2.5 billion over the next three years to expand its UK data centre infrastructure. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the investment “a turning point for the future of AI infrastructure and development in the UK,” in a government press release.  

The UK government is currently heavily investing in AI, viewing it as a key factor in growing the UK economy and enhancing its technology sector. In the Spring Budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt pledged £100 million in funding to The Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and AI. Furthermore, in October, the Prime Minister announced that taxpayer spending on AI chips and supercomputers is set to increase to £400 million as part of efforts to make the UK a global leader in cutting edge technology.     

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

Also in the news:
Digi Spain sells 6m FTTH accesses to Onivia
Vodafone’s 5G standalone network now connects around half the German population
Broadband poles no problem for Brits says new study

News

The South Korean mobile giant says it envisions its ‘Ifland’ platform as the first step in creating a “global AI metaverse”

SK Telecom (SKT) first introduced their metaverse platform Iflad in South Korea back in 2021, saying that it would serve as a new social media platform through which customers to could interact with each other and access unique content.

Since then, the company has struck numerous deals with numerous telcos and other related companies around the world, including the likes of Deutsche Telekom, NTT DOCOMO, e&, and Singtel, to help introduce Ifland to a more global audience.

By Q3 2022, the company said it had 12.8 million users on the platform, though its continued growth is hard to measure, with specific updates around usership being notably absent.

But while the buzz around the term ‘metaverse’ has died down substantially in the last two years, the South Korean mobile operator’s commitment to Ifland appears to remain resolute, with multiple updates related to the project released last week.

Firstly, the platform’s international reach continues to grow. SKT said last week that it had signed a new deal with Malaysia’s biggest telco, CelcomDigi Berhad, and Cherry, a Philippine IoT platform company, to help expand the platform’s access in both of these Southeast Asian markets.

The move, the company says, will allow Celcom and Cherry to launch locally optimised Ifland platforms, working with SKT to develop and promote specialised, market-specific content.

Initial partnership discussions had been underway with the companies since November last year.

“Malaysia and the Philippines are one of the important markets for Ifland’s global expansion,” said Yang Maeng-seok, head of metaverse operations at SKT, “Through cooperation with local publishers and the introduction of AI, we will be reborn as a ‘global AI metaverse.’”

This new focus on combining Ifland with AI should come as no surprise. SKT has made its intention to transform from a telco to a fully-fledged AI company very clear, tripling its investment in the technology over the next five years in an attempt to generate RW25 trillion ($18.5 billion) in AI revenue by 2028.

As far as Ifland is concerned, the company plans to add AI functions to its ‘E-Friend’ service within the year, including a ‘social AI agent’ that Ifland users can interact with inside the metaverse, and a ‘3D AI studio’ that uses generative AI to generate personalised items and spaces within Ifland.

The platform is also being optimised for new languages, with Malay, Indonesian, Hindi, and Spanish set to be added in the first half of this year.

Finally, in related news, today has seen the launch of a new single ‘Halla’ by multinational girl group “Triple iz”, a K-pop group formed specifically due to their popularity among Ifland users. According to SKT, the ‘fan-made’ group has been specifically influenced by Ifland users, who have had weekly meetings since February to guide the production process, including the selection of fan club names and musical direction.

The exact impact of the song’s launch on Ifland, however, appears somewhat muted by the fact that it is also launching simultaneously on 216 global music channels – it even has a music video, which does not appear to feature Ifland at all.

Ultimately, while the international hype around the metaverse has reduced substantially in recent years – largely subsumed by AI – SKT still has high hopes for Ifland in the global market, albeit the company’s content creation seems to remain largely centred around its home market.

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

Also in the news:
Digi Spain sells 6m FTTH accesses to Onivia
Vodafone’s 5G standalone network now connects around half the German population
Broadband poles no problem for Brits says new study

The new generation of alternative gigabit-capable broadband ISP networks (AltNets) has helped to bring a huge amount of additional competition into the wider UK market. But one area where some of them fall down is in their use of technologies like CGNAT (IP address sharing) and the lack of IPv6 support.

Now, it’s fair to say that many ordinary consumers probably won’t care too much about things like this. But for IT people, as well as online gamers and those with particular security requirements, the approach an ISP takes to the use of Carrier Grade Network Address Translation (CGN), and any related support for the Internet Protocol v6 (IPv6) addressing standard, can make all the difference.

First, a little explainer. Everybody needs an Internet Protocol (IP) address to go online and your ISP is responsible for assigning one to your connection (it’s the internet equivalent of a phone number). Most ISPs tend to use Dynamic IP addresses for domestic connectivity, which changes each time your broadband link is disconnected and isn’t shared with other subscribers (at least not at the same time you’re using it).

Some providers will also allow you to take a Static IP (Fixed IP) address, which remains the same no matter how many times you switch the connection on and off, albeit usually at an extra cost. However, the shift from the old IPv4 system, which has long since run out of spare addresses (buying IPv4’s now on the market is an expensive business), means that in order to add new connections some ISPs have had to adopt CGN.

CGNAT enables a single IP address to be shared between many users, and is thus seen by some ISPs as a useful solution for IPv4 shortages. But sharing IP addresses like this can also cause security and connectivity issues, which is something that more advanced users often prefer to avoid.

One way to reduce the negative impact from this is to ensure that the network supports the latest IPv6 addressing standard, but surprisingly there are still plenty of ISPs that have yet to properly adopt it. The reality is that some providers will need CGNAT until IPv6 has fully taken over, thus in the meantime more advanced users tend to look for ISPs that can mitigate this by both supporting IPv6 and offering Static IP addresses.

Surveying AltNets

The problem is that most AltNets, as well as ISP more generally, tend not to do a good job of communicating their use of CGNAT or IPv6 support. In addition, CGNAT support may vary between packages (e.g. you might see it on cheaper residential plans, but not necessary the business variants of those). This can make it very difficult for more advanced / experienced users to figure out whether the new networks are able to cater for their needs.

In recent years’ we’ve seen quite a few complaints about this and so we’ve today responded by surveying each provider to identify their level of support. In cases where we couldn’t find enough consumer feedback to verify the details, then we’ve manually contacted providers to ask three simple questions:

1. Do your consumer broadband packages all support IPv6?

2. Do you offer a Static IP option to customers, and how much does it cost?

3. Do your consumer packages use CGNAT?

Since manually surveying masses of AltNets would be far too laborious, we’ve instead opted to only focus on those with wider UK coverage (ideally in the tens of thousands of premises). We’ve also excluded any providers / networks where we had no solid or recent data on their coverage.

One catch here is that some operators are pure wholesale networks, which sometimes don’t operate their own optional retail provider, and in those cases we’ve opted to select two or more recognisable ISPs to represent them (note: IPv6 support is implemented at ISP level). Some of the ISPs we pick may be available via other networks too, but we try not to repeat the entries.

Survey Results

The outcome of our survey can be found below, with extra notes where relevant.

Pure Open Wholesale Networks with Multiple ISPs

CityFibre

TalkTalk
➤ IPv6 Support: No (TalkTalk claims their network supports it, but they haven’t enabled it)
➤ Static IP Available: No (only on business packages)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No

Vodafone
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (free – but you have to request it)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No

Zen Internet
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (free)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No

iDNET
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (often included by default)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No

MS3

Octaplus
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes (deployment started in August 2023)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

Direct Save Telecom
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: ? (included on business plans)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?

Yayzi Broadband
➤ IPv6 Support: No (but in the process of being added)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£2 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes (they’re removing this as IPv6 gets implemented)

OFNL

Seethelight
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: ? (included on business plans)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?

Direct Save Telecom
➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: ? (included on business plans)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?

Take note that the results for open wholesale networks that have their own primary ISP (e.g. FullFibre Limited and F&W Networks) can be found mixed in below with the more vertically integrated providers.

Networks with a Primary ISP (often vertically integrated)

Airband
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£10 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

B4RN

➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: All packages get IPv4 host reservation on the global address, and they also offer IPv6 unicast and prefix delegation address reservation
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No

BeFibre (FullFibre Ltd. and Digital Infrastructure)

➤ IPv6 Support: No (but told it’s on roadmap for 2024 sometime)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£4 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes (but if customers want a standard dynamic IP, they can “request that free of charge“)

Brsk

➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

CommunityFibre

➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: No (but you can get one on their business plans)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

County Broadband

➤ IPv6 Support: ?
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?

Exascale

➤ IPv6 Support: No (but planned as part of core upgrade in 2024)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£6 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No (“we’re dead against this“)

Ecom

➤ IPv6 Support: No (but due soon on Ecom Fibre)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 a month or free on biz plans)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No

Fibrus

➤ IPv6 Support: No (IPv4 by default, but network may be IPv6 capable)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£6 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

FibreNest

➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

NOTE: Some customers report that FibreNest could not supply them with a static IP, despite it being advertised.

Freedom Fibre (TalkTalk)

➤ IPv6 Support: No (TalkTalk claims their network supports it, but they haven’t enabled it)
➤ Static IP Available: No (only on business packages)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No

G.Network

➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£4.80 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

Gigaclear

➤ IPv6 Support: No (they have tentative plans to deploy it)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£2 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No (but CGNAT may be coming)

GoFibre

➤ IPv6 Support: No (but “available to new GoFibre customers in the early part of 2024“)
➤ Static IP Available: ? – Unclear as ISP currently working on changes to related product/prices
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes (on standard non-IPv6 products)

Grain

➤ IPv6 Support: No (they claim it’s coming)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 per month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans:Yes

Hyperoptic

➤ IPv6 Support: No (technically their network does support IPv6, but there seem to be some issues with older kit)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 per month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

Hey! Broadband (F&W Networks)

➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 per month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

Cuckoo (Fern Trading – Jurassic Fibre, Swish Fibre, Giganet and All Points Fibre)

➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£1 per month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?

NOTE: At the time of writting the networks for Jurassic Fibre, Swish Fibre and Giganet are all in the process of being consolidated, with Cuckoo taking on the consumer retail side. Due to this it’s become a bit tricky to know what the final service options and capabilities are going to look like by the end of 2024.

KCOM

➤ IPv6 Support: No (although their network is technically IPv6-ready, but not enabled on consumer plans)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes  (included by default)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No

Lit Fibre

➤ IPv6 Support: Yes (/62)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes  (£5 per month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

Lightning Fibre

➤ IPv6 Support: No (we’re told it’s on the roadmap for sometime in 2024)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£10 a month, but due to be cut to £5 – free for biz users)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No

Lightspeed Broadband

➤ IPv6 Support: ?
➤ Static IP Available: No
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

LilaConnect (VX FIBER , Freedom Fibre)

➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£6 a month – or included on their ‘Gamer’ package)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

NOTE: We had to get some extra clarification on this one, since ‘Static IP’ above has a different meaning with Lila. “We unfortunately do not offer a strictly Static IP at this time, we do offer Public IP’s that are delivered dynamically, however unless a change is forced (on our system) the IP does not change, so it acts as a Static.” So if you pay £6 extra for one, you’re actually getting a Public IP that rarely changes.

Netomnia (YouFibre)
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes, but only in some areas (being deployed)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 per month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

Ogi
➤ IPv6 Support: Yes – partial (full native IPv6 being deploying during H1 2024)
➤ Static IP Available: No (but their IPv4s are quite sticky)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes and No (didn’t use CGNAT when asked, but was due to be added by end of 2023)

NOTE: Ogi said that, once CGNAT is deployed, they will be able to optionally put customers back on an IPv4 address (we assume a static one) if they have problems that cannot be resolved. But the roll-out of native IPv6 should help to placate a lot of this.

Pine Media

➤ IPv6 Support: Yes and No (can only get IPv6 on request, but plan is to roll it out generally in 2024)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£2 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

Quickline

➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (included by default, but £5 a month on wireless plans)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No

Truespeed

➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: ? (£ a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?

Trooli

➤ IPv6 Support: No
➤ Static IP Available: ? (£ a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?

Toob

➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£8 a month!)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

Wessex Internet

➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: ? (£ a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?

WightFibre

➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£? a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: ?

Wildanet

➤ IPv6 Support: Yes (Dual Stack via a 6 to 4 Tunnel, if you use their Adtran router)
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£5 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: Yes

Zzoomm

➤ IPv6 Support: Yes
➤ Static IP Available: Yes (£10 a month)
➤ CGNAT on Consumer Plans: No

Please note that the above details were gathered gradually over three months between late 2023 and early 2024. As a result, it’s entirely possible that some of the information may have changed since we last checked, and we also weren’t able to fill in all the blanks (not everybody responded). Suffice to say, we’d very much appreciate it if the providers and our readers could help by informing us if any of this information needs updating.

The rural south Shropshire (England) village of Ditton Priors, which is home to over 800 people, can now access a gigabit-capable broadband network after a combination of Project Gigabit vouchers, council support and work by ISP Kloud9 enabled the roll-out of a new full fibre (FTTP) network to take place.

Residents in the local community could previously only access Openreach’s ageing Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / VDSL2) network, often at speeds of greater than 24Mbps, but the new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network pushes that into the 1000Mbps territory.

According to Business Insider, Kloud9 only started work on the build in August 2023 and has now completed the roll-out for local homes and businesses. The provider also completed similarly small FTTP build projects in Cleehill and Cressage, and is said to be working on four more builds in the area.

Julie Bushell, Kloud9’s Community Engagement Manager, said:

“Gigabit broadband has become a necessity rather than a luxury. Rural villages like Ditton Priors are in real danger of being left in the broadband dark ages. It was a pleasure to work so closely with the community.”

Customers of the new service can expect to pay from £29.99 per month (plus a £20 one-off installation fee) for symmetric speeds of 100Mbps on a 12-month term, which rises to just £44.99 for their top 900Mbps tier.

In a victory for some full fibre ISPs. The government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency appears to have reversed an earlier decision, which removed gigabit broadband voucher eligibility for some properties (UPRNs) that had previously received public subsidy through the earlier Superfast (24-30Mbps+) scheme, when delivering fixed wireless access (FWA) networks.

The related Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) previously allowed those building newer 1000Mbps+ capable networks to deploy, using vouchers, across some locations, such as remote rural areas that may have previously received a subsidised upgrade to an FWA network under the old superfast broadband programme (unless of course the FWA network could now also deliver gigabit speeds).

However, much as we reported at the start of this year (here), some ISPs like Technological, which had been rolling out a gigabit-capable FTTP network to several rural communities in the Mid Devon and West Somerset (England) areas, began noticing a problem during August 2023 where certain previously eligible premises (mostly those that had in the past received a subsidised “superfast” FWA build) were now being marked as ineligible for gigabit vouchers.

At the time, BDUK said this was merely because they were prioritising other premises that have not had access to higher speeds as a result of recent FWA builds under the Superfast programme. The agency said that such premises would still be in-scope for Project Gigabit, should they continue to have access to speeds below 1Gbps before the programme is complete. But BDUK did agree to review the decision, improve communication and to investigate whether previous subsidised FWA builds in such areas were delivering on their speed promises.

What’s changed?

The good news for some network operators is that BDUK now appears to be in the process of reversing the aforementioned position, which one BDUK official is said to have described as being an “anomaly“.

Following a review of last year’s decision, BDUK has now informed suppliers that it will again open eligibility to gigabit vouchers where the Superfast scheme build phase is complete, including where FWA has been delivered and where voucher requests meet all other eligibility criteria.

Jim Weir, Technical Director of Technological Services, told ISPreview:

“I am delighted that our extensive representations to BDUK have obtained this result for the local communities patiently waiting for improvement to their broadband options. We are already actively extending our Exmoor network and connecting these rural properties to our Full Fibre service, with many more remote communities now within reach.”

BDUK are currently in the process of amending their voucher eligibility engine to reflect this decision, although it hopefully should not take too long before those changes go live on their funding platform.

NEWS 

Onivia was established in 2019 as Spain’s first independent wholesale fibre network operator 

Digi Spain has announced that is has sold 6 million fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) accesses to wholesale fibre provider Onivia for €750 million. 

This acquisition marks a significant expansion for Onivia, which is owned by a consortium comprised of Macquarie Capital, Abrdn, and Arjun Infrastructure Partners, increasing the network operator’s FTTH coverage to approximately 10 million Spanish households, over a third of the market. 

Digi Spain’s network currently serves around 4.25 million homes, with plans for further expansion to cover an additional 1.75 million homes over the next three years. This expansion initiative is projected to extend the network’s reach to a total of 6 million homes, spanning across twelve provinces in key regions including Madrid, Segovia, Avila, Castilla-La Mancha, Comunidad Valenciana, and Murcia.  

As part of the agreement, Onivia has secured the option to acquire any future fibre rollouts from DIGI within these provinces. 

Digi Spain will retain access to the FTTH network as an anchor tenant and will continue to serve its current customer base.  Simultaneously, the network will be opened up to all other Onivia ISP customers, allowing for increased competition in the market.  

“With this acquisition, Onivia confirms its position as largest neutral and independent player, enhancing the value-added proposal for our telco customers, increasing coverage, and offering latest XGS-PON technology,” said Onivia’s CEO Jose Antonio Vázquez Blanco in a press release. 

The transaction is still subject to standard regulatory approval, which includes Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) clearances in Spain and European Commission merger control. 

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Also in the news:
FCC rejects SpaceX’s request for spectrum
Amazon invests $2.75 billion in AI startup Anthropic
T-Mobile gets green light to appeal class action lawsuit

Telecom26 and MiWire today announced they are trialling a new eSIM-based maritime connectivity service that will provide fast and reliable data at a reduced price for commercial vessels — particularly ferries — that often sail on the same routes.

Traditionally satellite has been the technology of choice for the commercial shipping industry. However, satellite connectivity has several limitations including:

High-cost, inflexible monthly usage plans
Significant gaps in coverage.

Telecom26 and MiWire both specialise in providing maritime connectivity. The two companies have collaborated to develop a maritime service that can access land-based cellular networks, which can reach up to 50km out to sea.

This new maritime service, based on eSIM, will always use the most cost-effective and strongest cellular connection for data which can take advantage of local rates – and will only switch to a more expensive satellite when the vessel gets too far from land.

Research conducted by MiWire reveals that, for most of their voyages, vessels tend to spend above 80% of time within sight of the shore and can therefore access land-based cellular networks.

At the heart of the new maritime service are Telecom26’s eSIMs which use a proprietary Local Profile Assistant on device (LPAd) technology. With the LPAd, eSIM profiles can be loaded onto a standard eUICC module, which is inserted into the standard SIM slot of MiWire’s existing routers, without any changes to their hardware stock.

MiWire routers have a database of the coastal coverage which is augmented with scans of the coast, identifying base stations – and the carrier to which they belong – so that they can use this information to select the best network to secure data connectivity.

The onboard antenna then precisely aligns with the optimal mobile base stations to receive the best radio signal. Telecom26 global network is the default profile with its eSIMs able to access cellular networks in more than 200 countries and territories.

The use of Telecom26’s LPAd technology enables:

Existing routers to be upgraded to support eSIM
eSIM profiles to be downloaded, enabled, disabled and deleted on MiWire’s routers
MiWire to remotely manage the connectivity rules and service levels available to individual eSIMs
MiWire’s routers select the appropriate eSIM profile for every location on the vessel’s journey – and support fallback logic, in the event that an eSIM provider suffers an outage

The GSMA’s “M2M eSIM” specification was designed to address large scale deployments of IoT/M2M devices. However, this standard was too costly and complex for medium- to small-scale M2M and router use cases – and did not offer the simplicity that is enabled with consumer eSIM propositions and enjoyed by mobile subscribers today.

Although the GSMA is developing a hybrid approach to resolve this problem, this will take time to be standardised and adopted in routers and modems. In the meantime, to address this deficit and to bring the convenience of eSIM tech to industrial and commercial devices today, Telecom26 has developed its own approach for routers – and will adjust to the GSMA’s standards once they are available.

David Fleischer, CEO of MiWire, said “Telecom26’s innovative and industry-leading LPAd technology is a game-changer for the maritime connectivity industry. Trials of our new service are consistently delivering fast, reliable and always-on coverage – and allows us to offer compelling price points to our customers. It will be launched commercially in the near future”.

Nicola Berardocco, CEO of Telecom26, said “Maritime connectivity is one of our core services with our customers able to use our global service which utilises the networks of hundreds of operators. Our collaboration with MiWire has produced the best data service available for commercial vessels – taking eSIM into the commercial arena”.

About Telecom26

We’re an independent, global mobile operator with our own network core and operational assets leveraging relationships with more than 650 mobile operators in 200+ countries and territories to secure unrivalled global coverage.

We offer a full range of telecom services and connectivity options including 5G, 2G, 3G and 4G, private networks, including offshore connectivity capabilities.

We specialise in providing connectivity for business travellers, enterprises, IoT and M2M.

Our customers include enterprises, OEMs and NGOs who want a single delivery partner, cross-border solutions and network coverage that is secure, resilient and can be tailored to meet specific and evolving needs.

Founded in Switzerland in 2012, Telecom26 is an Operator Member of the GSMA.

For more information, please visit 

www.telecom26.ch

https://www.linkedin.com/company/telecom26-ag/

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