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The regulator says it wants to ensure that vulnerable customers are being treated fairly and that access to emergency services is not being jeopardised during the switch

Across the UK – and, indeed, across many parts of the world – steps are being taken to migrate customers away from traditional analogue landlines to IP-based digital landline services.

While for the vast majority of customers this process will cause little disruption, for a number of vulnerable customers who rely more heavily on the older system, the switch could be more problematic. Perhaps the largest issue is related to IP-based services reliance on a consistent power supply; if power supply is disrupted, such as during a storm, this can leave customers unable to contact emergency services.

Concerns related to these issues saw Ofcom call on operators to pause their landline migration process back in December last year, asking the operators to review their processes.

Today, Ofcom has gone one step further, launching an investigation into Virgin Media to examine whether they have been treating vulnerable customers appropriately.

“This investigation relates to concerns about Virgin Media’s compliance with two areas,” explained the regulator in a statement. “First, our rules require that Virgin Media must take all necessary measures to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency organisations. Second, our rules also require that Virgin Media establish and comply with effective policies and procedures for the fair and appropriate treatment of vulnerable consumers.”

Virgin Media defended itself, saying it has been working with Ofcom and the government to ensure the switch-over takes place smoothly and are following best practices.

“Last December we signed a Government-led charter and have paused all landline migrations, carried out an end-to-end review and will make further improvements to the measures we already have in place before switchovers restart,” said the company in a statement. “While telecoms companies like us have a crucial role to play in this switchover activity, it’s essential that telecare companies and local authorities also step up and meet their responsibilities to ensure everyone receives the support they need. We’re cooperating fully with the regulator’s investigation and will continue to work closely with the rest of the industry and other parties.”

Want to keep up with all the latest news from the UK telecoms sector? Join the ecosystem in discussion at this year’s Connected North conference live in Manchester

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A reform package proposed by Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador would see a number of regulatory organisations shut down, including the telecoms regulator the Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT)

This week, the Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has proposed a raft of constitutional changes that includes weakening or dissolving entirely various autonomous bodies, including the IFT.

According to López Obrador’s proposal, this would allow public spending to be redistributed more fairly – particularly to pensions and social programmes.

2024 is an election year in Mexico and López Obrador is seeking to push through these reformed before his term expires in summer.

The Mexican constitution limits the president to just a single six-year term.

With regards to the IFT itself, abolishing the regulator would see related regulatory powers moved to the central government itself. This, López Obrador says, would make the regulatory process more effective and more cost efficient.

López Obrador has been on something of a crusade against the IFT for years, claiming that the regulator’s commissioners earn too much money and refusing to replace them when their terms expired.

The IFT, naturally, was displeased by the proposal.

“This institution considers that the proposal represents a setback to the detriment of users and audiences, given that it implies returning to a model that was demonstrated to have serious limitations to achieve, among other objectives, the entry of more competitors, greater legal certainty and ensuring a level playing field so that more Mexicans can have more telecommunications services at a lower price and with higher quality, as well as more radio and television stations where a greater diversity of voices and opinion can be expressed,” said the regulator in a statement.

The IFT was set up in 2013, prior to which the sector was overseen by the communications and transport ministry (SCT). As such, returning regulatory powers to the government could simply be seen as a return to the status quo of nearly a decade ago.

However, the realities of the situation would be much more complicated. Not only would the change have major ramifications for the sector domestically, but the removal of the IFT could also create issues on an international level; the free trade agreement between Mexico, the USA, and Canada (the USMCA), for example, requires the existent of an independent ICT regulator, and could be in jeopardy if López Obrador’s proposed reforms come into effect.

Perhaps ironically, given the shakeup these proposals would have for Mexico’s telecoms sector, the reforms would also move to define internet access as a constitutional right.

The internet, says López Obrador, “constitutes a strategic public service whose objective is to prevent a significant part of the population, for economic reasons, from [not being able to access] this fundamental instrument for education, culture, economy and information, and therefore a constitutional criterion must be added with which the State guarantees its development.”

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The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has this morning announced that they’ve opened a new investigation into broadband ISP Virgin Media’s migration of customers from analogue to IP-based digital landlines. The case will look at whether they’ve been treating vulnerable consumers correctly and “ensuring uninterrupted access” to emergency services. The regulator’s General Condition rules typically require […]

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Three UK is seeking to tackle urban network congestion in Glasgow by deploying over 50 small cells throughout the city  

The project, which will take 15 months to implement, will see 51 small cells deployed around the city of Glasgow to cope with the huge rise in consumer data consumption since the launch of its 5G services in 2019.  

According to Three, the average Three customer uses 30GB of data per month, which is 2.2x more data than the average UK user.

“These are huge levels of consumption,” said Iain Milligan, Three’s Chief Networks Officer, explaining the necessity for additional capacity in urban centres to journalists at a press conference in Glasgow.  

 The first phase of Three’s new project to meet this rising demand will see 20 small cells deployed, the first of which was unveiled in the city centre yesterday. 

For a major city, Glasgow is notable for its sporadic phone signal, which the journalists attending the project launch experienced first-hand. Milligan explained that in some parts of the city 5G coverage was excellent, while in others it was non-existent. Small cells, he explained, are a quick and cheap solution to this problem, costing around 1/9th of a macro site – which cost around £150,000 if being built from scratch. 

These small cells are not only cheaper than their macro counterparts, but also far quicker to deploy; a traditional mast might take a year to fully deploy, while a small cell can be set up in just a matter of weeks.  

Mavenir is providing equipment and software for the project, while site acquirement and deployment being carried out by Boldyn Networks. P.I Works will provide automation solutions, and Accenture will carry out performance measurements before and after.   

Three predicts a 61% increase in coverage in areas where small cells are deployed as part of the trial, and an incremental average increase in speed of 35%. If the project is this successful, there are plans to roll out this infrastructure to other cities throughout the country. For this to happen effectively, there has to be the right balance of high customer demand and local authority engagement, as has been the case with Glasgow City Council. 

“Without a fast, stable and secure connection to the internet, our citizens cannot be part of the limitless opportunities that are offered to them in the modern world,” said Glasgow City Councillor Paul Leinster, adding that the Council aims to to wipe out the digital divide within the city and to ensure that everyone’s access to the city’s economy should not be hampered by a lack of connectivity. 

But while Three’s dealings with Glasgow have been positive, Milligan noted that the same reception cannot be expected from all local councils. As such, if the trial in Glasgow proves a success, Three aims to package up the process into a sort of “rinse and repeat” strategy around the country. 

Beyond improving urban connectivity, this small cell trial is also interesting for another reason: its Open RAN architecture. 

The UK government has set a target for the UK’s mobile networks to carry 35% of the UK’s network traffic over open RAN by 2030. Currently, Three UK have 0% Open RAN traffic, with this trial representing their first significant move in this technology’s direction.  

Open RAN equipment is built to specifications that promote the interoperability, allowing mobile operators to theoretically cherry pick individual providers for each component within the RAN. This, Open RAN proponents argue, should allow for greater performance, customisation, and a reduction of reliance on the trio of major vendors: Nokia, Ericsson, and Huawei. (Although it is worth noting here that, in the case of Three’s small cell trial, there is still only one RAN vendor involved: Mavenir.)  

The UK government is particularly fond of Open RAN because of the plug-and-play nature of Open RAN architecture, which they say should allow for greater security of the UK’s networks. 

For Three, Open RAN remains an exciting prospect but not a necessity. 

“We support the ambition for it [the government’s 35% Open RAN goal], its just that within the financial constraints that we have, based on what revenue we have and flexibility, it’s not a priority for us at all,” explained Milligan. 

“But we have stated, regarding the government commitment, that we will do what we can within our means, but that’s as much as we can do.”  

If other operators share the same sentiment, hitting the target looks unlikely. 

Finally, pressed on the matter of the prospective merger with Vodafone and what this would mean for the companies’ Open RAN ambitions, Milligan stressed that it was too soon too tell.  

“We’re still in basic planning mode”, he said. 

Hear more about connectivity in the North of the UK at this year’s Connected North, in Manchester 22-23 April – book your tickets now! 

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News

As the risks associated with climate change grow, Telefonica is aiming to help businesses better understand the impact of adverse weather events

This week, international mobile operator giant Telefonica has announced an investment in Mitiga Solution, a company focussed on climate risk management solutions.

Mitiga is a company combining climate science with AI analysis, with their EarthScan™ software solution allowing them to accurately measure customers’ exposure to risk related to changes to environmental conditions, like flooding, heatwaves, and storms.

“Current traditional data models are inadequate for calculating impacts because they are based solely on past events projected into the future,” explained a press release from Telefonica. “[Mitiga] incorporates new data models based on physical and transient data to complement traditional models, enabling its clients in sectors such as finance, insurance, real estate, industry and retail to comply with European CSRD/SFRD legislation and make more cost-effective and sustainable investment decisions.”

The investment, for an unspecified amount, comes via Telefónica Ventures and Íope Ventures, the operator’s startup innovation arm Wayra.

Telefonica says the investment is in line with the Group’s strategy surrounding sustainability, with climate risk assessment viewed as an increasingly important field.

“Telefónica supports the transformative power of innovation and technology to build a sustainable future, which is why we have made a double commitment by investing in Mitiga through both Telefónica Ventures and Íope Ventures, the investment vehicle jointly created by Wayra and Telefónica Seguros. For us, Mitiga is a strategic partner that will help us drive our business in Climate Tech,” said Irene Gómez, director of Telefónica Innovación Abierta and CEO of Wayra.

“Climate change is the biggest challenge facing society today and in the coming decades, not least because of the large-scale economic impact it will have. We need to rethink our cities, homes and workplaces to build resilience to climate change on a daily basis. That’s why we’re excited about this strategic collaboration with Telefónica to bring our SaaS climate risk assessment technology to more businesses and public organisations,” said Alejandro Martí, CEO and co-founder of Mitiga Solutions.

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

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