UK B2B ISPs Redcentric and Talk Straight Join Fibre Cafe Platform
Business ISPs Redcentric and Talk Straight (aka – Schools Broadband) have today announced that they’ve joined the Fibre Cafe‘s (Strategic Imperatives) connectivity aggregation platform, which with both combined should bring an additional 24,500 business connections to the platform. Fibre Cafe’s platform was designed to tackle the integration and automation challenges for broadband ISPs when onboarding new networks (e.g. common processes, a national availability checker, alternative network...
What’s next for fibre technology? HFCL at Connected Britain 2024
Interview At Connected Britain this year, we sat down with Rob Gilbert, VP of UK and Ireland at HFCL to discuss his thoughts on market consolidation from a manufacturer’s perspective, the next big breakthroughs in fibre technology, and sustainability within the fibre supply chain. Watch the full interview...
Openreach Names First UK Exchange Area to go 100 Percent Full Fibre
Network operator Openreach (BT) has today announced that the rural village of Llanbrynmair in Powys (Wales) can lay claim to being the “first telephone exchange area in the UK” on their network to have 100% Full Fibre broadband coverage, meaning every single home and property in the village can now access their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) lines. The village itself, which is home to a population of around 1,000 (or over 500 premises), appears to have been upgraded with financial support from...
Big Nottinghamshire Broadband Outage After Openreach Network Attacked
Some 10,000 premises in Nottinghamshire (England) have suffered a disruption to their broadband and phone services after Openreach’s (BT) network was “maliciously damaged” by criminals. The details are currently unclear, although the fact that the operator has to replace around 700 metres of cable suggests copper theft may be the cause. The incident is believed to have begun on Sunday night near to Trent Bridge (many people only began to notice it this morning), although most of the impacted...
Ethio Telecom to be the first company floated on Ethiopia’s stock exchange
News The move is set to bring increased private investment to the country Ethiopia is set for the historic launch of its first stock exchange this week, the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX). The first listing will be operator Ethio Telecom, the country’s largest telco, which will sell a 10% stake this week. The move is part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s plans to open up the country – which is heavily controlled by the state – to more private investment. Ethio Telecom’s listing represents...
Vocus to acquire TPG’s fibre and fixed network assets for $3.35bn
News Discussions between the two companies first began in July last year Australia’s Vocus has announced a binding agreement to acquire TPG’s Enterprise, Government, and Wholesale (EG&W) fixed business and fibre network assets for AU$5.25 billion (US$ 3.35 billion). The acquisition will position Vocus as a digital infrastructure operator in Australia, boosting its ability to serve enterprise, government, and wholesale customers. The deal will significantly extend Vocus’ reach, adding...
MS3 Begin Trial to Run FTTP Broadband via KCOM’s Poles in Hull UK
The CEO of alternative broadband operator MS3, Guy Miller, has confirmed to Richard Tang (CEO of ISP Zen Internet), in a new interview, that they’ve just begun a trial with KCOM in Hull that will allow them to deploy their full fibre (FTTP) lines by harnessing some of the incumbent’s existing poles and ducts – potentially reducing community complaints. Hull-based MS3 is an Asterion-backed operator that aspires to cover 535,000 UK premises with their gigabit fibre network by the end of 2025. So...
Pulse Fibre Adopt 10Gbps Adtran Tech for UK Full Fibre Broadband Build
London-based alternative broadband ISP Pulse Fibre, which over the next few years aspires to complete over 250,000 unique “full fibre” (FTTP) connections into new build homes and MDUs (here), has announced that they’ve chosen Adtran’s 10Gbps speed capable XGS-PON equipment and services to support their deployment. The deployment features Adtran’s Optical Network Terminals (ONT / ONU), which are the optical modems that get installed inside your home, and their software-defined optical line...
EXA Infrastructure Launch Managed Fibre Network Covering 31 Countries
London-registered network operator EXA Infrastructure has today launched its new Managed Fibre Network (MFN) service to “address market demands for increased connectivity and shorter service delivery times“, which is also said to provide the “benefits of dark fibre and equipment ownership“, albeit without the usual costs of in-house delivery. The new service will take advantage of the company’s existing reach – covering over 155,000 kilometres of fibre across 37 countries, as well as more than...
UK ISP TalkTalk’s Chances of a Takeover Reduce After Auditor Quits
Debt-troubled broadband ISP TalkTalk, which was recently saved from the immediate risk of a default by a refinancing package worth roughly £400m (here and here), may now find it even harder to find a buyer after their auditor of 22 years – Deloitte – resigned and was replaced by RSM. The refinancing agreement came after the Group had already spent much of the past few years wrestling with some suffocating debts, which in 2023 culminated in a plan to demerge the group into three separate...