UK ISP Giganet has today announced that their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband service, specifically the part that is served via CityFibre’s network, has been extended again and is now also available to 360,000 premises across Scotland (Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Renfrewshire, Stirling, Glasgow and Edinburgh). Just to recap. Giganet is currently investing £250m with Fern Trading […]

The Shropshire County Council in England has allocated another £500,000 (total so far of £2.5m) to help boost the value of gigabit broadband vouchers for rural areas, which means that local homes and businesses will now be able to apply for vouchers worth up to £7,000 to help them get a faster connection installed. The […]

Press Release

BT today switched on its IoT National Roaming SIMs for businesses across the UK, allowing them to keep smart devices connected wherever they are

IoT national roaming SIMs allow smart devices to connect to mobile networks ensuring they stay connected while on the move or in remote locations. BT’s IoT national roaming SIMs will connect devices to the UK’s best and largest network, EE, meaning data is quickly and reliably relayed where it’s needed most. As well as a primary connection to EE, part of BT Group, the SIM can connect to multiple other major UK networks, helping to keep smart devices online.

The rollout of BT’s new service is set to benefit courier and delivery companies in particular by giving them reliable, fast network access no matter where they are – whether in cities, rural areas, or by the coast. Just last week EE announced the arrival of 5G to over 500 new, predominantly rural locations, bringing the total number of UK cities, towns and villages where customers can access the service to over 1,000. At the same time, EE’s leading 4G network coverage is on track to reach 90% of the UK’s geographic landmass by the mid-2020s.

The new IoT service will help end users such as drivers and delivery workers improve accuracy and efficiency by giving them access to important information in real-time. An example of this would be providing visibility of fuel efficiency, changes to a delivery schedule and cold chain management so temperatures can be constantly monitored on a refrigerated vehicle.

IoT national roaming ensures that devices can continue performing to a high standard even in the harshest remote conditions thanks to the enterprise-grade IoT sims, offering reliable, fast connectivity. BT is also offering the product at the same competitive price as its existing pay-as-you-use IoT SIM service, meaning businesses only pay for the data they use rather than risking underutilising data on a fixed rate.

Marc Overton, Managing Director, Division X at BT, said: “Businesses across the UK are increasingly understanding the benefits of using IoT devices in running their operations. And now, with the unveiling of our IoT national roaming SIMs, we’re making sure those connections stay strong no matter where business takes you. Whether in the heart of a bustling city or out in the countryside, our solution ensures data is transmitted quickly and reliably. We’re excited to help both our existing and new customers fully harness the power of their smart devices with lightning-fast mobile connectivity.”

In addition to the improved connectivity, BT’s IoT national roaming service will offer a secure management portal with full security measures to protect important data and help businesses keep track of all their smart devices. The added security helps to ensure the safe and efficient use of devices, allowing companies to focus on their core operations without worrying about data breaches or device mismanagement.

The launch of BT’s IoT offering is poised to shake up the B2B IoT market thanks to its connectivity capabilities, powered by the UK’s largest and most reliable network, EE. The added benefit of being able to switch to other operator networks, when necessary, also offers greater simplicity for businesses with many currently negotiating separate deals with mobile network operators depending on where they have operations in the country.

To find out more about how you can utilise BT’s IoT national roaming SIMs, please visit here.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest news from the UK telecoms industry? Join the telecoms ecosystem in discussion around some of the sectors biggest issues at this year’s Connected North

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

Press Release

Point Broadband Fiber Holding, LLC, a provider of high speed fiber-to-the-premise internet services to residential and business customers in select small town and rural markets in the United States, today announced it will receive a significant growth investment from funds affiliated with Berkshire Partners, a leading private investment firm with deep experience in digital infrastructure. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Opelika, Alabama, Point Broadband today serves approximately 75,000 customers and growing, primarily in rural areas and small city communities in nine states. The Company focuses on providing multi-gig fiber internet connectivity solutions to homes and businesses at the speeds needed to be successful and competitive in today’s connected world. The Company is backed by GTCR, a leading private equity firm, which made a strategic investment in the business in 2021. Since that time, the Company has added over 100,000 additional fiber passings and entered two new states.

“As we continue to prioritize growth and extend access to our 100 percent fiber optic internet service, the sector expertise and resources Berkshire Partners brings in digital infrastructure are the perfect fit to help expand our reach and bring quality service to customers in underserved markets,” said Todd Holt, CEO of Point Broadband. “Together with our continued partnership with GTCR, this investment will accelerate the deployment of our all-fiber Gigabit broadband solutions to a wider array of residential and business customers in rural communities.”

“We believe that access to reliable high speed broadband is a fundamental underpinning of economic opportunity,” said Beth Hoffman and Drew Walker, Managing Directors at Berkshire Partners. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Todd and his team, alongside GTCR, as Point Broadband expands its fiber-based internet access and exceptional customer service to many more underserved communities across the U.S.”

“Point Broadband has achieved impressive growth since we first partnered with the team in early 2021, and it continues to deliver excellent local service to its customers,” said Stephen Jeschke, Managing Director at GTCR. “This additional investment will significantly increase the Company’s ability to bring critical fiber-based broadband access to underserved rural communities across the nation.”

Bank Street Group LLC served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Point Broadband and GTCR. Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal advisor to Berkshire Partners.

Point Broadband operates in a number of locations, including the states of Georgia, Texas and Virginia which are represented by speakers at Connected America, March 28-29, 2023 – Irving Convention Center, Dallas. Make sure you attend to understand the development of broadband solutions across America and see what you can learn from your colleagues and friends in the industry

Internet traffic across UK broadband ISPs surged to a new peak on Wednesday night (15th Feb 2023), with customers of TalkTalk setting a new record of 10.25Tbps (Terabits per second) and the London Internet Exchange (LINX) reaching a peak of around 7.87Tbps. In both cases, the records were set at between 8pm and 10pm. All […]

Broadband and mobile giant BT (EE) has today launched their new IoT National Roaming SIMs for businesses across the UK, which are designed to help firms keep their smart Internet of Things (IoT) devices connected “wherever they are” by harnessing several different wireless and mobile network technologies. The IoT National Roaming SIM is designed to […]

Rural UK broadband ISP Gigaclear has announced that, as part of their ongoing £39 million project to deploy a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across Cambridgeshire in England, the provider intends to cover another 10,000 premises across four neighbouring villages. The four villages include Warboys, Sawtry, Ramsey and Stilton. The first of 1,400 homes in Stilton […]

Broadband ISP TalkTalk UK has today moved to promote their latest Pay TV Hub by partnering with mural artist Qubek (Russell Meheen) to create a “live street art stunt” (Dish it Out), which turns old satellite TV dishes into art. The aim is to highlight how people are “spending unnecessarily” on “expensive” TV plans (wink.. […]

News

Q probably won’t be deploying any exploding umbrellas, but in this case a trenching machine would be much more useful. M Group Services, the UK infrastructure services company, has just added to it’s 10,500 employees through the acquisition of part of Light Source Design.

Nottingham based Light Source had employed 220 people but entered administration on the 31 January 2023 with RSM UK Restructuring Advisory LLP tasked with trying to find a buyer for the business. The company had been growing steadily with a client based that included Openreach, Netomnia and Airband, but had struggled with bad debt and drops in customer budgeted spend.

Now 83 jobs have been secured and will transfer to Morrison Telecom Services, a part of M Group Services’ Telecom Division – which also includes Magdalene, Avonline Networks and Waldon. The sale was described by Tom Straw a Partner at RSM as ‘partial’ and includes the right to use the Light Source name and brand.

Additional roles should be safeguarded as Morrison’s have said they will work with Light Source Design Ltd sub-contractor partners to maximise employment opportunities. The key outcome of the agreement is that it enables Morrison Telecom Services to extend provision of fibre network build and other services for Openreach.

Mark Turner, Managing Director of the Telecom Division, said: “We are proud to be delivering solutions for the future of UK telecommunications infrastructure. This agreement further strengthens the long-standing relationship between Morrison Telecom Services and Openreach.”

The challenges of building out fibre networks will be examined in the Project Rollout track at Connected North in Manchester. Find out how you can get involved here.

A collaboration between operators O2 UK (VMO2) and Vodafone, the Scottish Government’s £28.75m 4G Infill Programme (S4GI) and the UK government’s £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) project has enabled two rural Scottish communities – Traquair (Peeblesshire) and Balmacara (Ross-shire) – to be covered by a 4G signal. Just to recap. The industry-led SRN programme aims […]