The annual Connected Britain Awards 2023 (Total Telecom) took place this week, which among other things saw full fibre provider brsk scoop both the coveted “Broadband Provider of the Year” and “Full Fibre ISP Innovation” awards, while Vodafone was named for the “B2B Service Provider of the Year” award. All of the organisations that entered […]

Mobile network operator Vodafone has quietly dropped support for inclusive roaming in 83 destinations, which for example used to be available on their Unlimited Max Xtra + Entertainment plan. New customers on supporting plans will now only be able to take inclusive roaming in 51 European destinations. One of the operator’s support agents confirmed the […]

News

The Connected Britain Awards took place last night at the Connected Britain Afterparty. Hundreds joined us for an evening of networking, live music and the highly anticipated winner announcements.  

We had a record breaking number of entries this year, reflecting Britain’s ever-growing and rapidly evolving digital economy. 

Our shortlist this year represented a fantastic array of diverse organisations and individuals, with the traditional big players being joined by many organisations of varying sizes from all corners of Britain. This is a clear reflection of how the whole digital economy is now working towards the same goal of improving lives through connectivity. 

From the latest technological innovations to the most impactful community initiatives, the Connected Britain Awards strives to highlight excellence in every corner of the UK.  

A big thanks to all our award presenters, our generous sponsors and the excellent panel of judges, who spent the last number of months analysing entries for each of the 15 categories. 

Onto the 16 awards… 

The Full Fibre ISP Innovation Award 

Winner: Brsk Ltd 

Featuring a massive increase in homes passed (919%) over the year in question and an excellent customer satisfaction record, Brsk is well on the way to becoming a fibre powerhouse in the north of the UK. “Good customer feedback, great use of locally based community liaison officers, and quality engagement with other local stakeholders.” 

The finalists were: 

Gigabit Networks 

Giganet 

Hey! Broadband 

Hyperoptic 

TalkTalk Wholesale Services 

 

The Barrier Removal Award 

Winner: Intelligens Consulting with Renfrewshire Council 

Intelligens Consulting’s work supporting Renfrewshire Council’s fibre journey has been transformational, turning a previously underserved area into the third most fibre-enabled local authority in Scotland. 

 

The judges praised the entry’s clarity, saying it clearly outlined the scale of the challenge at hand, the methodology used to meet that challenge, and the exceptional results delivered. 

The finalists were: 

CityFibre 

Kent County Council – Kent Wayleave Toolkit 

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) 

Lothian Broadband Networks (LBN) 

Trenches Law 

 

 

The Industrial Innovation Award 

The winner: Vodafone – 5G SA Slicing  

Vodafone’s entry demonstrated the success of 5G network slicing on one of the biggest stages of all, supporting the broadcast industry to deliver live footage of the coronation of King Charles III. 

 

“This is a perfect example of what 5G slicing is intended to do,” said one of the judges, noting the broadcast industry’s unique set of requirements, especially for covering a major event such as the coronation.“ 

The finalists were: 

Dexgreen Ltd – Virtual Buddy Training App 

Neutral Wireless – Private 5G Network Deployed for King Charles III’s Coronation 

Prodapt OpenFibreXchange 

Zeti Limited 

 

 

The Wireless Innovation Award 

Winner: Quickline Communications 

Quickline Communications delivered fascinating project using fixed wireless access over a bespoke cloud-based 5G standalone network using shared spectrum. Overall, a great use-case cited for rural broadband coverage. 

 

“Proper innovation with extensive real-world applicability,” commented one of the judges, with another calling it “a true commitment to the use of high bandwidth FWA to serve the most challenging rural areas”. 

The finalists were: 

EdgeQ 

Freshwave and the City of London Corporation 

Jangala 

Neutral Wireless – Private 5G Network Deployed for King Charles III’s Coronation 

Scottish Water, Blackspot Networks and Atos 

 

 

Broadband Provider of the Year 

Winner: Brsk Ltd 

With impressive growth, customer-centric initiatives, and an excellent Trustpilot rating, Brsk demonstrated impressive results since its launch in 2020. 

“The focus on customers appears to permeate the entire organisation,” concluded one of the judges, while another noted that “ambitious deployment plans and innovative approaches, including same-day installation, sets Brsk apart”. 

The finalists were: 

Fibrus 

Giganet 

Lightning Fibre 

Truespeed 

Wessex Internet 

Wildanet  

 

Enterprise Solution of the Year 

Winner: Vitruvi Software 

Virtuvi’s GIS-based build management software offers altnets a way to automate a traditionally highly manual process, ultimately allowing them to deploy fibre at recording-breaking speeds. 

 

The solution was praised as “a highly impressive tool” by the WCA judges, who also commented on the excellent customer feedback supporting the entry. 

The finalists were: 

Eseye Infinity IoT Platform 

IFS Planning & Scheduling Optimization (PSO) 

Jetty 

Qualcomm Technologies, Wi-Fi 7 Networking Pro Series platforms 

VETRO 

 

 

Project Rollout Award 

Winner: Liverpool City Region Combined 

Authority (LCRCA) and LCR Connect 

An excellent example of public–private collaboration in action to deliver major community benefits. This project shows a local authority that truly appreciates the importance of delivering high quality connectivity infrastructure to deliver economic growth. 

“A good partnership model and phased deployment that is delivering some impressive results” 

The finalists were: 

CityFibre 

County Broadband Ltd 

Lothian Broadband Networks (LBN) 

Openreach 

Truespeed 

 

 

The Access Innovation Award 

Winner: Norfolk County Council 

With a holistic approach to expanding broadband penetration in Norfolk through numerous initiatives, Norfolk County Council has more than doubled the county’s superfast coverage to 96%. 

 

“This entry demonstrates an excellent appreciation for numerous technologies and doesn’t shy away from the challenges of delivering broadband to some of the UK’s hardest-to-reach areas,” said the judges. 

The finalists were: 

Avanti Communications 

DexGreen Ltd 

Lothian Broadband Networks (LBN) 

Scottish Water and Atos using Starlink 

 

 

The Smart Places Award 

Winner: Connected for Success: 

Welcome to Sunderland, City of Smart 

Featuring a layered approach using a range of technologies for different industry verticals, this entry sought to drive ‘cross-fertilisation’ of ideas between sectors. 

 

“With a focus on infrastructure, skills, digital inclusion, and applications – Sunderland showed it has everything needed for a Smart City to really develop” 

The finalists were: 

FarrPoint Western Isles IoT Project 

Living Map Ltd 

NYnet Ltd / North Yorkshire Council 

Virgin Media O2 Business and partners. Greater Manchester Local Full Fibre Network programme 

 

 

The Community Improvement Award 

Winners: Get Online London 

Greater Manchester Combined Authority – 

Get Online Greater Manchester: for care leavers 

For the first time ever in the history of the Connected Britain Awards, the judges were unable to separate two excellent projects, both of which supported some of the most vulnerable people in society. 

 

“Both of these projects feature the coordination of fragmented resources to help make a real and lasting difference to peoples’ lives. Digital inclusion at its best” 

The finalists were: 

Coventry City Council #CovConnects

FullFibre – Fibre Heroes’ Community Investment Fund 

Ogi, ‘Cefnogi’ Community Fund 

Sunderland City Council’s local connectivity shapes communities fit for the future 

Three Discovery 

Wildanet 

 

 

B2B Service Provider of the Year 

Winner: Vodafone Business UK 

With its comprehensive range of products and services backed by numerous success stories, Vodafone Business’s dedication to meeting their business customers evolving needs was evident throughout this entry. 

 

“V-Hub, the business.connected programme, and free training courses for SMEs demonstrate the company’s commitment to going above and beyond when it comes to customer support.” 

The finalists were: 

Gigabit Networks 

Giganet 

ITS Technology Group 

Pangea 

Truespeed 

 

 

 

Digital Skills Award 

Winner: Dorset Council – Embedded digital champions 

Dorset Council’s Digital Champions initiative showcases a proactive and impactful initiative to tackle the digital divide head on, providing digital skills to empower those that need it most. 

 

“Digital Champions are a proven means of delivering digital skills at scale – perhaps the only proven means of delivery at scale,” said one of the judges. “Dorset Council’s approach of encouraging and supporting a wide range of individuals to become Digital Champions should be seen as best practice for the future.” 

The finalists were: 

Innovation Nottinghamshire – 5G Careers Programme 

Kent County Council (Digital Kent) 

Lloyds Banking Group and We Are Digital 

Vodafone Business & Enterprise Nation – business.connected 

 

  

The Sustainability Award 

Winner: Wildanet 

 Wildanet’s B23 strategy saw them greatly improve their sustainability credentials, leading the charge in their local communities. 

 

“Here’s a company that’s tackling the issue of sustainability in numerous forms and bringing local businesses along with them. Very impressive” 

 

The finalists were: 

FarrPoint Western Isles IoT Project 

iLOQ Oy – iLOQ 5 Series Battery Free Locking Solution 

KCOM 

Openreach 

Zayo: Zeus 

  

The Rising Star Award 

Winner: Dorset Council – Embedded digital champions 

James’ journey from soldier to cable specialist exemplifies the enormous potential a telecoms career can offer anyone with passion, drive, and the will to learn. What’s more, with Cable Giants, James is helping others take that same journey, building a highly successful company in the process. 

“Hard work, skills and a positive attitude are clearly paying dividends” 

 

The finalists were: 

Chris Founds, CJ Founds Associates 

Franck, Courbon, Ethicronics 

Haseeb Ahmed, NETS International Ltd 

Liam Ceaplen, Jetty 

Phil Bairsto, Freedom Fibre 

 

The Startup Award

Winner: Artifeel

The winner was selected by the judges on day one of Connected Britain, with all shortlisted entries having their chance to take to the stage and present their business case.

The shortlist was:
AssetHUB
Emu Analytics
Groundhawk io
Inteliports
Jetty
Lumilinks
SecHard
Stacuity
Weaver Labs

 

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Also in the news:
EE announces 3G switch off timeline
VMO2 conducts Connected Farm trial in Barnsley
Project Gigabit contracts awarded by CityFibre

Press Release

Virgin Media O2 has created the “Connected Farm of the Future” in a trial with Cannon Hall Farm in Barnsley, designed to showcase how enhanced mobile connectivity could transform rural agriculture. 

Virgin Media O2 is bringing connectivity to every corner of Cannon Hall Farm’s 126-acre estate, including historic blackspots and not-spots, to explore how a network of sensors and monitors can work together to transform the farm, saving valuable time and money. The trial helps create a blueprint for the future of farming that could help unlock an additional £2.5 billion for the UK economy and create 30,390 additional rural jobs according to new economic modelling by Cebr for Virgin Media O2.  

Agriculture has faced some of the toughest challenges over the past few years, from extreme weather changes to labour shortages compounded by Brexit and the pandemic. In DEFRA’s latest Farmer Opinion Tracker, farmers on over half (52%) of holdings do not feel positive about their own future in farming, up from 41% in 2022. Virgin Media O2, Cannon Hall Farm and Jules Hudson have designed the “Connected Farm of the Future” trial to help the industry combat these challenges. 

Countryman and TV Presenter for ‘Springtime on The Farm’ and ‘Escape to the Country’, Jules Hudson commented “Agriculture and farming is the largest rural industry in the UK and sits at the heart of many communities across the country. The last few years have been extremely challenging for farmers, and the research from Virgin Media O2 coupled with this trial, highlight the potential for rural farming and agriculture to be transformed with ever more useful technologies. British agriculture faces great uncertainties, but without it the foundation of our rural communities would disappear. If Virgin Media O2 and other leading industry partners can develop ways of further supporting our farmers, it will play a crucial role in the fight to keep Britain farming and thriving.” 

Virgin Media O2 has boosted its network across Cannon Hall Farm to remove signal blackspots and not-spots, providing a reliable and high-speed mobile network to the area. This supports the testing of several connected technology use cases across the farm, including:  

Protecting valuable assets 

As the two most common rural crimes, equipment and livestock theft cost the rural agriculture industry a combined £49.5 million in 2022 alone. Compounding the issue are gates being left open on public footpaths that run around and through many farms, leading to livestock escaping fields and being lost or injured.  

Trackers, sensors and switches like those installed across Cannon Hall Farm’s equipment, livestock and gates as part of this trial enable the farmers to monitor in real time the location of these high-value items or receive alerts about gates left open. This means that farmers can be alerted instantly if equipment moves unexpectedly or leaves the farm, helping minimise the risk of loss and freeing up time previously spent doing manual checks.  

Enhancing safety 

With farmers often working alone across big areas and remote locations with little to no signal, access to connectivity can be a game changer, and in the most extreme instances be the difference between life and death. According to data from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), agriculture has the highest workplace injury rate of 4,100 per 100,000 workers, 3.5 times higher than the all-industry average. The trial improves safety by removing not-spots, providing reliable mobile signal across the farm and giving workers the ability to get help should they need it. 

Optimising yields 

Over the past 30 years, major crop yields have decreased globally by 4-10% due to climate change. To combat the impact of increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather events such as floods and droughts on crop viability and yield, part of the trial sees the installation of connected soil moisture, atmospheric temperature and humidity sensors. These sensors show the potential to monitor the health of crops and assess irrigation needs, reduce water use, improve crop quality and allow for targeted interventions based on real-time conditions. 

Rob Nicholson, Owner of Cannon Hall Farm said, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Virgin Media O2 to trial the “Connected Farm of the Future”. Rural connectivity opens the door to a range of new technologies than could completely change farming as we know it. Being able to monitor in real-time soil and atmospheric conditions, provide remote support and have round-the-clock monitoring of livestock, machinery and equipment is a total game-changer. The potential for this technology to help create a more efficient, profitable and sustainable future for not only our family farm but many other farms across the UK is huge.” 

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2 said “This trial is an example of the transformational power of connectivity and how it’s being used to power a Great Rural Revival. Through this innovative trial with Cannon Hall Farm, we have demonstrated how a network of sensors, underpinned by excellent connectivity, can make a real impact and transform the way we live and work in rural areas.  

“We will continue to work with industry partners, the UK Government, planning authorities and landowners to deliver the network upgrades to provide faster and more reliable coverage that is essential for rural communities to thrive both now and in the future.” 

Boosting UK agriculture    

The Great Rural Revival shows that improved rural connectivity could boost the UK economy by £65.1 billion and increase employment by 6.8% through the creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs.  

The report finds potential for the rural agriculture sector to increase turnover by 9.4% and boost employment, equating to an extra £2.5 billion per year and 30,390 additional jobs. However, as part of the economic modelling, decision makers within the agriculture sector were asked if they currently make use of connectivity and the results highlight the digital divide between urban and rural agriculture firms. When it comes to using connectivity for video calling / conferencing, fleet management, remote stock / inventory management or making and receiving mobile phone calls, agriculture firms in urban areas significantly outscore their rural counterparts: for example, a third (33%) of urban agriculture firms use connectivity for remote stock checking / inventory management compared to only 4% of rural businesses.  

Robert Beauchamp, Managing Economist Cebr comments “Our analysis underscores the huge potential for improved connectivity to drive forward employment and turnover growth in the UK’s agricultural sector. As a predominantly rural industry, it stands to reap significant benefits from the resolution of today’s rural connectivity challenges, unlocking new opportunities for the widespread adoption of digitally-enabled technologies.” 

Virgin Media O2’s commitment to rural connectivity  

Virgin Media O2 remains committed to investing to boost connectivity in rural communities and tackling signal not-spots. As part of the UK Government’s Shared Rural Network (SRN), this year the company further expanded its reliable 4G network to an additional 50 sites and secured planning consent for work at a further 100 sites.  

While SRN upgrades continue to be delivered at pace, Virgin Media O2 is calling on policy makers, planning authorities and landlords to remove obstacles and ensure rural communities fulfil their potential. Specifically, the company wants rules in place making it faster, easier and lower-cost to provide the infrastructure that is required to deliver the connectivity customers rely on. 

Broadband ISP and mobile network operator EE (BT) has announced that it is in the process of updating their existing SCAM and SPAM blocking technologies, which should enable them to root out additional scam tactics (e.g. “Hi Mum, Hi Dad” scams) and help protect consumers from hard to spot scams. The operator reports that its […]

The UK Government has proposed to change the law so that internet-based TV channels on smart TVs, which are delivered over home broadband ISP connections, would need to follow the same Ofcom content rules as on traditional TV to ensure “young and vulnerable audiences are protected from harmful programming“. According to the government, more than […]

The Building Digital UK agency has released their latest September 2023 progress update on the Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme, which is now running live contracts and procurements worth over £2bn in state aid (up from £1.4bn in July) to help extend coverage to an extra 1.1 million hard to reach premises. The […]

Network operator FullFibre Limited (Fibre Heroes), which is rolling out a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband infrastructure across various parts of England for other ISPs to use, has signed a new supply deal with solutions provider NETS International to help “ensure [a] faster network build“. At present the operator is already aiming to extend their […]

CityFibre has announced that they’ve awarded their “first round of contracts” to civil engineering firms under their state-aid supported Project Gigabit broadband rollout contracts in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Hampshire and Suffolk. The deployments will bring full fibre (FTTP) lines to a total of 715,000 extra rural properties. The operator, which is supported by ISPs like Vodafone, […]

Press Release

CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has awarded its first round of contracts to build partners as it mobilises to deliver four county-wide full fibre rollouts under the government’s £5bn Project Gigabit programme. The deployments will bring ‘gigabit capable’ infrastructure to 715,000 rural properties that would otherwise be excluded from commercial rollouts.

CityFibre has now appointed Granemore Group in Cambridgeshire, OCU Group and CCN Communications in Hampshire, OCU Group in Norfolk, and Telelink, OCU Group and Granemore Group in Suffolk. The appointment of build partners will enable CityFibre to begin the first phase of construction in each location. The first homes passed by the rollout will be in Cambridgeshire and are expected in October.

The four Project Gigabit contracts, awarded to CityFibre under a competitive process and totalling £387m of government subsidy, will be supported by an additional private investment from CityFibre of £223m, delivering a combined total investment in the project of well over half a billion pounds.

CityFibre’s nationwide full fibre network now passes over 3m premises, with more than 2.7m Ready For Service, as it continues its full fibre network rollout to reach up to a third of the UK. CityFibre is on course to deliver approximately one million Ready For Service homes this year, and comfortably remains the second largest full fibre platform with take-up in mature locations now approaching 30%.

All CityFibre’s rollouts now benefit from the latest full fibre technology known as XGS-PON. This enables CityFibre’s Internet Service Provider Customers to offer homes and business access to even faster and more reliable services, with 2.5Gbps speeds available today, 35x faster than the UK’s average, and has the capability to deliver up to 10Gbps in the future.

Greg Mesch, Chief Executive Officer at CityFibre, said: “We’re excited to get our Project Gigabit rollouts underway, bringing faster and more reliable broadband connectivity to hundreds of thousands of rural homes and businesses areas that were at risk of missing out. With the legacy copper networks in these areas soon to be made obsolete, we look forward to providing all Internet Service Providers a powerful new network from which to better serve their customers.”

Project Gigabit is the government’s flagship £5 billion programme to enable hard-to-reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit-capable broadband. It targets homes and businesses that are not included in broadband suppliers’ commercial plans, reaching parts of the UK that might otherwise miss out on getting the digital connectivity they need.

BDUK awarded CityFibre a £69 million contract to provide up to 45,000 hard-to-reach premises in Cambridgeshire with access to gigabit-capable broadband.

BDUK awarded CityFibre £318m of UK government funding to provide up to 218,000 homes and businesses across Norfolk, Suffolk and Hampshire with access to gigabit-capable broadband.
By the end of 2025, the government is targeting 85% of the UK to have gigabit-capable connectivity, and then nationwide coverage by 2030.