Broadband ISP Virgin Media (VMO2) has today informed us that existing customers of their pay TV service can now add “Sky Sports Ultra HD” (4K) to their package for £7 extra per month, which also includes support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) picture quality (assuming your TV can support this). The new Sky Sports Ultra […]

Rural focused UK ISP Quickline, which is deploying a mix of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) broadband networks, has today announced that their rollout will expand speeds of up to 1Gbps to “more than 55,000 rural homes and businesses” in 96 places across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in 2023. The FTTP side of their […]

News

With President Biden doubling down on the need for the private sector to purchase equipment domestically, rolling out broadband in the US could be more costly than anticipated

Back in 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law, providing for $1.2 trillion in spending on infrastructure projects, from roads to rural broadband.

Within the IIJA, around $42.5 billion was set aside for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) programme, which seeks to subsidise planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programmes for high-speed broadband across the nation.

The BEAD programme, overseen by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), is currently taking industry applications for funding, with allocations expected to be made by June 30.

Naturally, this programme has been seen as a huge boon to the US fibre industry, with the funding potentially making it far more cost effective to deploy network infrastructure to underserved areas and thereby shrink the digital divide.

However, actually being allocated the funds may not be as smooth sailing as previously thought, with President Biden last week doubling down on his insistence that companies ‘Buy American’ when using federal funding.

“Buy American has been the law since 1933, but for too long past administrations, Democrat and Republican, have fought to get around it. Not anymore. Tonight, I’m announcing new standards to require all construction materials used in federal infrastructure projects to be made in America. Lumber, glass, drywall, fibre optic cable,” said President Biden in his State of the Union address on Thursday.

The speech was followed by the release of a new update to the Build America, Buy America Act provisions within the IIJA, tightening restrictions on which products can be purchased with government funding.

The IIJA currently requires at least 55% of the products purchased using government subsidies to be made domestically – a measure that has proven somewhat painful for fibre optic companies, who claim they can purchase the products from foreign firms at a cheaper rate. As such, many of these companies have been applying for exemptions to these ‘Buy American’ requirements.

The NTIA has already demonstrated a willingness to acquiesce to similar requests for other programmes, with waivers already in place for the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program and the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program. They are also considering allowing waivers for the $1 billion Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program.

Now, however, following President Biden’s speech, the NTIA has reaffirmed their commitment to enforce the ‘Buy American’ stipulations for BEAD, arguing that the US fibre industry has the time necessary to scale their operations to meet the programme’s needs.

“NTIA has done considerable research and does not currently see any need for waivers for fibre optic glass or cable. Our expectation is that industry will be able to produce enough quantity [of fibre] to satisfy the demand from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program over the coming years,” said the NTIA in a statement.

“The BEAD Program has different requirements, and manufacturers have time to re-shore or expand their operations. Moving forward, NTIA will work with these businesses to ensure that they can produce the relevant products for the BEAD program domestically,” it added.

At a time when the global economy is already strained and supply chain crises are rife, the NTIA’s insistence that US companies buy fibre and equipment domestically will surely be a blow to the nation’s fixed line operators.

How will the US government’s insistence that the private sector ‘Buy American’ impact the provision of telecoms services? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s live Connected America conference

Also in the news:
China Mobile and China Telecom withdraw from Sea-Me-We 6 project
CityFibre’s network up and running in Inverness
KDDI selects Samsung for its 5G Standalone core

Existing customers Virgin Media Business UK (VMO2), specifically those who take their Voom 600Mbps, 800Mbps and 1Gps service tiers, may be pleased to learn that the provider has today officially confirmed that they’re getting a boost to upload speeds – reflecting a ’10:1 Download to Upload’ speed ratio across all Voom packages. The move won’t […]

A growing number of ISPs have introduced cheaper Social Tariffs over the past year – aimed at those on benefits who are most exposed to the UK’s cost-of-living crisis. As part of this, some providers have called on Openreach to launch social tariff products at wholesale to support them, but there’s so far no indication […]

Internet provider Voneus has just completed their first trial deployment of a new Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) broadband technology in a rural Hartlepool village – Dalton Piercy (County Durham, England), which they claim can offer gigabit broadband speeds to local homes and businesses. The village of Dalton Piercy is not a new location for Voneus […]

Prysmian UK, which specialises in the supply of fibre optic kit and cables, has teamed up with little-known ISP External Reality to trial their new pre-connectorised Compact Multifunction Joint (CMJ) closure on the rollout of a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network in rural Scotland. The new network build is currently taking place through the Altyre […]

News

Reports suggest that the companies withdrew their investment last year, with geopolitical tensions with the US proving insurmountable

According to a report from the Financial Times, China’s two largest mobile operators – China Mobile and China Telecom – have withdrawn their participation in the South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 6 (Sea-Me-We 6) submarine cable project.

The Sea-Me-We 6 system was first announced last year, with the cable set to span some 19,200km linking Singapore to Marseille, France.

The latest in a series of Sea-Me-We cables, this new iteration is set to be built with 10 fibre pairs, with a total capacity of 126 Tbps, aiming to deliver robust connectivity across South Asia.

The system will reach 12 initial countries, with branches to further locations expected to be added later in the cable’s lifespan.

The project is backed by a consortium including major companies from all over the world, including Microsoft, Orange, Telecom Egypt, Telekom Malaysia, Telin, and all three of China’s major mobile operators: China Unicom, China Mobile, and China Telecom.

The entire project is estimated to cost around half a billion dollars, with China Mobile and China Telecom’s combined investment accounting for around 20% of that total.

The Sea-Me-We 6 system is expected to be ready for service in 2025.

The China Mobile and China Telecom appear to have withdrawn quietly last year, with sources suggesting that they cancelled their involvement after American firm SubCom was selected to build and deploy the cable over Hengtong Marine, China’s foremost fibre cable manufacturer.

China Unicom, the smallest of China’s three mobile operators, seemingly remains involved in the project.

While the loss of around 20% of the projects funding is surely painful for the rest of the consortium, an anonymous consortium member commented that the loss of the Chinese firms was “important but not critical”.

The withdrawal is seen by many as the latest evidence of the ongoing geopolitical conflict between the US and China, with the submarine cable industry having been increasingly pulled into the fray over the past three years.

Since 2020, the US has viewed subsea cable systems connecting the US to China and Hong Kong as potential threats to national security, having refused to permit their activation on numerous occasions.

Want to keep up with all of the latest submarine cable network news from around the world? Join the discussion at the live Submarine Networks EMEA conference

Also in the news:
Comcast signs deals worth $50m with State of Indiana for rural fibre expansion
Verizon records 5G upload speeds of over 1Gbps
Yorkshire Water partners with BT for smart water project

Press Release

CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has completed the primary-build of its full fibre network in Inverness. The new network is now ready for service to over 28,000 homes, representing over 90% of the city’s residential properties, as well as businesses, key public sector and community sites.  

Inverness is the fifth location (second in Scotland) in CityFibre’s nationwide rollout to reach the primary build complete stage, making it one of the best-connected locations in the UK. 

Construction began on the £24.5m project in 2019 and CityFibre has since laid over 400km of dense full fibre infrastructure across the city. While the primary build is complete, CityFibre’s work will continue to reach further areas including properties on private or unadopted roads, new build sites and business parks.  

Access to the network enables local communities to enjoy affordable, gigabit-capable, and reliable full fibre broadband from a range of internet service providers (ISPs) including Vodafone, TalkTalk, BrawBand, Zen, Brillband, Zybre and Giganet. All homes passed by the network can schedule a full fibre installation within five working days of placing an order or find out when their home has been made ready for service. 

CityFibre’s private investment in Inverness followed the award of a public sector contract via Capita, part of the Scotland-wide SWAN programme. The project has seen future-proof gigabit-capable full fibre rolled out to schools, libraries, offices, hospitals, health centres and university campuses. In total, over 150 public sector sites across Inverness, Fort William, Thurso and Wick have been connected. 

A recent report by the consultancy Hatch, commissioned by CityFibre, found Inverness stands to benefit from significant economic, social and environmental impacts from its new digital infrastructure platform, including over £100m in productivity and innovation gains alone. It also reported an expected £46m increase in the value of local homes as a result of the project, thanks to the availability of vastly improved internet speed and reliability. 

Allan McEwan, Area Manager at CityFibre, said: “Our rollout in Inverness marks an exciting step forward for digital connectivity across the city. With the UK’s finest full fibre network under its streets, residents, businesses and the city as a whole will reap the benefits for generations to come. We want to thank the local community and key partners, including the Highland Council, for their support as we have completed the rollout. 

“Inverness is a city filled with opportunity and ambition, which is why it has always been such an important build for us. Full fibre is vital for the UK’s long-term growth, and we look forward to building on our previous success powering the city’s future economic development.” 

Drew Hendry, MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, said: “The transformation of Inverness into a full fibre city is a hugely welcome step towards ensuring the Highlands thrive today and tomorrow, with a successful Inverness City at its heart. This commercial investment from CityFibre has been instrumental in sparking competition, encouraging wider investment and ensuring broadband users across the region get a better deal when it comes to their connectivity at home.  

“This is a major boost for residents, businesses and services alike, and we look forward to harnessing the power of full fibre to drive growth and inclusion across the region.” 

Cllr Ken Gowans, Chair of the Economy & Infrastructure Committee at The Highland Council, said: “CityFibre’s rollout of full fibre across Inverness marks the beginning of a new and prosperous digital era for the city. Digital infrastructure has become the cornerstone of modern day-life, and we are delighted with how the technology is already improving their professional and personal lives.  

“The completion of the private network across the city follows the successful rollout of the public network last year. With many key buildings being brought onto the network during the Covid-19 pandemic, it has proven to be an invaluable resource for the city, and we are excited to see the completed project continue to build on this success.” 

Are the UK’s fibre network operators rolling out infrastructure quickly enough to meet government targets? Join the ecosystem in discussion at this year’s Connected North conference live in Manchester

Also in the news:
Comcast signs deals worth $50m with State of Indiana for rural fibre expansion
Verizon records 5G upload speeds of over 1Gbps
Yorkshire Water partners with BT for smart water project

CityFibre has today announced that the primary build of their £24.5 million project to deploy a new 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network across the city of Inverness in Scotland has completed. Some 90% of local homes and businesses are now covered (28,000 premises). The announcement states that the build cost £24.5m and started […]