Ofcom has today opened an expected consultation into Openreach’s ‘Equinox 2‘ discount scheme, which will further reduce the wholesale prices of their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband products for ISPs and thus consumers. But their “provisional” view is “not intervene“, which is likely to anger alternative networks (AltNets). As we reported at the end of last […]

Mobile operator Vodafone has confirmed that customers using the Notting Hill Gate station on the London Underground have started to receive their ultrafast 5G (mobile broadband) signal. The tunnels from Holland Park to Queensway (Central Line) and Archway to Kentish Town (Northern Line) will follow by the weekend. The move to introduce 5G on the […]

BT’s trading update for the nine months to 31 December 2022 showed a fall in revenues but a massive growth in profit in what the company described as ‘strong performance in tough market conditions.’

Neil Shah, Director of Content and Strategy at Edison Group, reaffirmed BT’s own statement saying “Today’s announcement from BT Group is a welcome one for investors and only just below market expectations. The company reiterated its full-year outlook, despite seeing third-quarter revenues slip by 3% to £5.2bn, with adjusted earnings rising 2% to £2.01bn.”

Post-tax profit grew 49 per cent to £1.3billion for the latter nine months of 2022, although revenue fell 3%. The strong performance was driven on one hand by the formation of a 50-50 JV with Warner Bros. Discovery, boosting the division’s underlying earnings by 15%, and on the other hand by the performance  of the group around fibre-to-the-premises customers.

It was the latter area that prompted Philip Jansen, Chief Executive, to say “On full fibre, we’re building – and now connecting – like fury: 9.6 million premises reached to date, with 29% already connected”.

More controversially he is quoted by the Financial Times as later saying “There is only going to be one national network,” and “Why do you need to have multiple providers?”

It is likely to be these latter comments that will likely draw ire from the likes of CityFibre and VirginMedia O2 as will Jansen’s comment that the market would ultimately be just a “couple of big players” a process that would “end in tears” for many of the other operators.

CityFibre’s Greg Mesch in particular said publicly at Connected Britain in 2019 that “that no one operator can deliver on the UK’s fibre targets alone” and the company has just reported 2022 to be their most productive year ever, with the network footprint increasing 83%. However yesterday CityFibre showed its not all plain sailing, announcing a restructuring process that could result in up to 20% of their 2,000 strong workforce losing their jobs.

Greg Mesch, CityFibre’s CEO stressed the need to take responsible financial and operational decisions saying, “The UK’s economy is struggling, and this is affecting both the market and our customers.”

How many operators can the UK market support? Join the debate around the rollout of fibre networks at our Connected North event in Manchester this April. Find out more here.

Ofcom has today set out their “expectations” for how they want mobile operators – Three UK, Vodafone, EE (BT) and O2 (VMO2 / Virgin Media) – to approach the phased switch-off of legacy 2G and 3G mobile services. The goal being to ensure consumers are “treated fairly” and aren’t left cut-off from vital services. At […]

Press Release

Powered by Intel processors and running on Windows 11 (OS), the interoperability development testing (IoDT) carried out recently at the Ericsson Lab in Sweden showed the use of multiple network slices on cellular-connected laptop devices for consumer and enterprise use cases such as mobile gaming and collaboration applications.

The network slicing trial utilized User Equipment Route Selection Policy (URSP), the capability that enables devices to automatically select between different slices according to which application they are using. It also used Ericsson’s Dynamic Network Slicing Selection, Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core, and Ericsson’s RAN Slicing capabilities to secure end-user service differentiation. Together they deliver the required network capabilities for this solution.

Network slicing has long been seen as vital to capturing the value that a 5G network can provide for communications service providers (CSPs) and enterprises. The market for network slicing alone in the enterprise segment is projected at USD 300 billion by 2025, according to the GSMA. By demonstrating a single Windows 11 device can make use of multiple slices, which are used according to the on-device usage profiles and network policies defined at the CSP level, the partners show the flexibility and range of potential use cases available using this technology.

This trial illustrates the opportunities for 5G monetization beyond smartphone devices and opens the door to a wider 5G device ecosystem, allowing CSPs and other members of the telecoms and IT world to expand their horizons when considering opportunities to generate profitable use cases for 5G. Laptop type devices, in particular, are vital to enterprise productivity. The inclusion of Windows 11 laptops in the ranks of devices that can be used for commercializing 5G network slicing is a sign of the ecosystem maturing. Network slicing capabilities will benefit consumer and enterprise segments by defining specific Service Level Agreement per slice for existing and emerging Windows applications and use cases, such as real-time enterprise applications like Microsoft Teams and Office365, game/media streaming, and emerging AI and augmented reality/extended reality (AR/XR) applications.

Sibel Tombaz, Head of Product Line 5G RAN at Ericsson, says: “Expanding the range of devices for network slicing to include laptops will allow new business segments to create a variety of use cases for consumer and enterprises. We have shown, together with Intel and Microsoft, how ecosystem collaboration can open new possibilities. We will continue to strengthen Ericsson’s network slicing capabilities and work with industry partners to enable more applications on several devices, spreading the benefits of 5G in the consumer and enterprise segments.”

Ian LeGrow, Microsoft Corporate Vice-President of Core OS Innovation says: “We are thrilled to showcase our cutting-edge technology and its ability to deliver fast, dependable and secure 5G connectivity on Windows 11. Partnering with Intel and Ericsson only further solidifies our commitment to innovation and openness in our platform.”

 

News

Hot on the heels of BT announcing an apprentice recruitment drive last week, Virgin Media O2 have revealed that their next generation apprenticeship scheme will create around 350 roles in 2023.

This news comes ahead of National Apprenticeship Week (February 6-12) alongside which VMO2 have commissioned some market research that reveals a lack of understanding from workers about what apprenticeships are and who they are suitable for.

It seems that whilst most people think apprenticeships are a great way to learn new skills whilst getting paid (88%) many are concerned that the roles will be temporary, lacking in job security or only available to the young.

The new roles being offered by Virgin Media O2 are a great example of how this is not the case, offering competitive salaries, the job security of a permanent position and no upper age limit.

As the cost-of-living crisis bights, the research reveals thoughts of retraining are front of mind for many people with as many as 6.5 million workers feeling they are not paid enough in their current role to cover higher bills due to the rise in the cost-of-living. However many are put off by concerns of not having time to retain (28%) as well as the cost (23%).

Head of Future Careers at Virgin Media O2, Karen Handley, commented:
“A retrain revolution is sweeping the UK in these tough times as millions of people across the country worry about their finances and are looking at how they can learn more to earn more and have greater job security but, at the same time, are concerned that training will take too much time or money.”

A quick search on the internet suggests BT and VMO2 are far from being alone in supporting apprenticeship schemes. Companies like CityFibre, Vodafone and many more prominently promoting schemes on their websites, however with a continuing skills crunch holding back technology innovation and deployment in the UK, there is clearly room to do more. The subject will be debated at the Total Telecom Connected North event in Manchester in April, with organisations like the Good Things Foundation and WM5G, UK Telecoms Innovation Network joining the discussion.

The VMO2 research was conducted for them by 3Gem Media Group Ltd and was based on around 2,000 members of the UK Workforce and 250 UK Students.

Total Telecom are proud to support the industry’s development by giving young people the opportunity to meet and engage with the industry. Find out more about this for forthcoming events, Connected North and Submarine Networks EMEA.

The BT Group has today published their latest Q3 FY23 results to December 2022, which saw the coverage of Openreach’s Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network reach 9.57 million premises (up by 810k in the quarter vs 805k last quarter) and EE increase their 5G customer based to 8.5 million (up from 8.157m). As usual, it’s […]

CityFibre has reportedly begun a new restructuring process that could result in the loss of up to 400 jobs out of their 2,000 strong workforce. The operator has blamed this on the UK’s “struggling” economy (i.e. causing rising costs for their business) and the desire to keep their rollout of full fibre gigabit broadband on […]

Broadband ISP, pay TV and mobile operator Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2) has this morning announced that they will create “around” a further 350 new apprenticeship roles across the United Kingdom in 2023, which is up from a commitment of 200 last year. The new positions are being created to cover a variety of different […]

News

The recent wholesale deal with Telenet may help pave the way for the regulatory greenlight

Orange first agreed to acquire a 75% stake minus one share in Belgian operator VOO at the end of 2021, primarily motivated by the integration of the latter’s extensive fibre networks in Wallonia and parts of Brussels.

By mid-2022, however, the pair were still struggling to convince European regulators that the deal would not harm market competition, with regulators launching an official investigation in July.

The acquisition’s prospects were markedly improved in October, when Orange announced it had entered discussions with rival Telenet about a potential wholesale partnership.

This deal would give Telenet access to VOO and Brutélé networks in Wallonia following their acquisition by Orange, potentially alleviating some of the regulators competition concerns. As such, the regulator agreed to pause their investigation while the terms of a potential deal were hammered out.

After months of negotiations, Orange and Telenet finally signed a 15-year wholesale deal earlier this week. The agreement will give Orange access to hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) network in Flanders and Brussels, as well as the company’s future fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network. Telenet, on the other hand, would gain access to VOO and Brutele’s HFC network and future FTTH networks.

Xavier Pichon, CEO of Orange Belgium, heralded the deal as a “major step” towards the VOO acquisition, noting that the deal would allow Telenet to grow into a nationwide fixed line competitor.

Now, the European Commission has announced that it will continue its acquisition investigation, taking into consideration the wholesale deal with Telenet and other concessions made by the operators.

A decision is now expected to be made by April 11 this year.

Also in the news:
Telia preps to cut 1,500 jobs as Q4 results disappoint
BT announces apprentice recruitment drive despite looming cost cuts
Colt connects to Barcelona Cable Landing Station