High Speed 2 Ltd, which is a non-departmental public body that is wholly funded by the UK Government’s Department for Transport (DfT) and oversees the HS2 rail project, has signed a £99.6m deal with Hitachi and Telent to design and deploy telecommunications services across the new rail network, including passenger voice and broadband connectivity.

The contract itself, which is expected to run for thirteen and a half years, will see Hitachi and Telent (Joint Venture) become “responsible for the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning” of a range of telecommunications platforms (Ethernet, WiFi, ESN and mobile cellular etc.), before later acting as the “interim operator” until the works can be handed over to a “long-term operating partner“.

The deal is focused on the operational needs of HS2 but will also cover “passenger communication systems“, which includes infrastructure that can be used to support the provision of “voice and data mobile communications” (4G, 5G etc.) for HS2 “users in stations and on the trains“. This includes adding full support for the 4G based Emergency Services Network (ESN).

This is of course subject to Hitachi and Telent being able to reach commercial agreements with the UK’s primary mobile operators, such as EE, O2, Three UK and Vodafone (although Voda and Three will be one entity by the time this all comes to pass). More info. can be found on Public Technology‘s page.

Alternative fibre optic ISP Brsk, which is currently in the final stages of being merged into Netomnia’s network (here), has reportedly confirmed that approximately 50,000 homes and businesses across the South Yorkshire (England) market town of Barnsley will be the next to benefit from their roll-out of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband.

The town is already well covered by Virgin Media’s (inc. nexfibre) gigabit-broadband network, while Openreach also has a significant level of FTTP coverage and CityFibre is similarly present in a big part of the town. After that, there are some much smaller patches from other altnets, like Hyperoptic and OFNL. Grain had also previously listed Barnsley as a target for their broadband network in 2023, but we have yet to see any live services.

According to the Barnsley Chronicle, Brsk will aim to cover 50,000 premises across the town, although the report doesn’t indicate when or where this service will start to go live, or even when the roll-out is expected to finally reach completion.

The soon-to-be-combined network of Netomnia and Brsk has so far covered a total of 2.08 million premises (ready for service) across parts of over 90 UK cities and towns, and they also have a customer base of 238,000. The pair is currently aiming to expand their full fibre network to cover 3 million UK premises by the end of 2025 (inc. 1 million customers by 2028).

News 

The Asia Direct Cable (ADC) system is now fully operational, two months ahead of schedule 

The ADC, developed by a consortium of companies including China Telecom, China Unicom, Singtel, SoftBank, Tata Communications, and Viettel, is the first new submarine cable introduced in the Asia-Pacific in over eight years.  

The cable spans approximately 10,000km, connecting China, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, and has a capacity of over 160 Tbps. 

The submarine cable aims to boost connectivity in region and support growing network capacity demands. With existing cable resources increasingly stretched, the activation of ADC capacity is expected to ease congestion and support the expansion of services such as cloud computing and big data analytics. 

The wet plant of the ADC was marked ready for service last November, with the dry plant section announced as fully operational this week.  

China Telecom, serving as Co-chair of the ADC Consortium, coordinated efforts among stakeholders, despite delay challenges. faced long delays. 

The ADC’s launch is expected to enhance digital infrastructure in Asia-Pacific, supporting technology development and digital transformation across industries. As demand for reliable, high-speed connectivity grows, China Telecom continues to expand its global network.  

Keep up with all the latest cable news at Submarine Networks EMEA, the world’s largest submarine connectivity event live in London next week! Tickets available here 

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Bridging AI and global connectivity: The rise of hybrid cable landing stations and the shift beyond hyperscalers
UK space race heats up as Amazon wins UK MoD satellite contract
French energy giant EDF offers up land for data centre projects

Contributed Article

by Tim Parker, Chief Growth Officer of Assured Comms

The rapid evolution of AI is reshaping data center infrastructure, changing the approach to compute deployment by enterprises and cloud providers. Driven by traditional hyperscalers with large-scale training clusters, emerging efficiency gains are shifting demand toward smaller, more distributed inference deployments. Meanwhile, demands for connectivity continue to rise globally, demanding infrastructure that best minimizes latency and improves data distribution.

This shift presents an opportunity for hybrid cable landing stations (HCLS)—a model integrating subsea connectivity with AI infrastructure—to support the next generation of AI workloads.

Moving beyond hyperscalers

Historically, AI infrastructure required 100–200MW data center campuses optimized for model training. However, advancements like DeepSeek’s efficiency gains are altering this model, reducing energy requirements and making 5–20MW AI inference hubs a viable alternative. Enterprises increasingly recognize that AI processing doesn’t need to be concentrated in massive, high-density clusters. Instead, regionalized AI workloads allow for more flexible, cost-efficient deployment while minimizing bottlenecks.

Greater efficiency does not necessarily reduce overall demand. Instead, it enables broader AI adoption, shifting workloads to a wider range of locations and infrastructure types. As AI becomes more accessible and cost-effective, enterprises are reconsidering where and how their compute resources should be deployed.

The role of hybrid infrastructure in AI deployment

As AI workloads move toward distributed inference models, connectivity becomes a critical factor. Traditionally, cable landing stations (CLS) have been designed solely to handle subsea fiber traffic, routing data from international networks to terrestrial infrastructure. However, this model is evolving.

Hybrid cable landing stations integrate subsea connectivity with AI processing, enabling localized compute power at network entry points. This reduces the need for long-haul data transport, cutting latency for AI-driven applications while optimizing bandwidth utilization.

The benefits of this model include:

• Lower latency, with AI workloads processing data closer to the end user.
• Greater flexibility, allowing enterprises to deploy inference workloads at strategic global entry points rather than relying on centralized hyperscaler hubs.
• Improved scalability, supporting modular AI deployments that can adapt to changing infrastructure needs.

Investment and infrastructure implications

As these shifts take hold, investors and data center operators must rethink long-term strategies. The move away from ultra-large AI campuses suggests that speculative hyperscaler builds may carry greater risk, particularly those requiring extensive power commitments. Instead, mid-sized deployments (5–20MW) and modular colocation models are becoming more attractive investment targets.

For enterprises, the ability to leverage regionalized AI infrastructure offers cost advantages while reducing reliance on traditional hyperscaler platforms. GPU-as-a-service providers and enterprise-owned AI deployments are also gaining traction, further diversifying the AI infrastructure landscape.

AI is no longer confined to massive hyperscale campuses. As training efficiency improves and inference workloads become more distributed, the industry must adapt. Hybrid cable landing stations represent a critical evolution, merging subsea connectivity with AI infrastructure to enable faster, more flexible data processing.

This shift has broad implications for infrastructure investment, data center design, and global connectivity strategies. The future of AI-driven networks will be defined not by scale alone, but by strategic placement, efficiency, and adaptability—a trend that forward-thinking enterprises and investors must embrace.

Join Assured Comms and the subsea cable commuity next week at Submarine Networks EMEA, the world’s leading subsea connectivity event

Abingdon-based broadband ISP Gigaclear, which has already extended their full fibre (FTTP) network to cover 580,000 premises (RFS) in rural parts of England (inc. over 130,000 customers), is reportedly hiring advisors to help it find new funding in order to continue their network deployments across the UK.

According to Bloomberg‘s (paywall) sources, advisor firm Teneo is working with Gigaclear on the funding effort. Lenders are understood to have heard pitches from financial advisers this week, although it will probably be some months before we see any outcome from such an effort. Neither Gigaclear nor their primary investor has commented on the report.

The report follows a few months after Gigaclear moved to slow its network deployment and cut some jobs as part of “planning for the next stage of its development” and a “re-focus on ultra-rural areas“ (here). The rural ISP said that it planned to build on this year’s record figures to “help drive economic growth in 2025“, not least by “ensuring that even more rural homes and businesses are benefitting from ultrafast broadband.”

Gigaclear’s latest annual accounts, which cover the period to the end of 2023 (here), revealed that their revenues had increased by 32% to £33.8m (2022: £25.7m) and their workforce had grown to 819 employees in 2023 (up from 670); this of course came before the recent announcement of further redundancies. But their losses for the year also grew sharply to £138.3m (2022: £21.8m).

The provider’s debt consists of almost £1bn in committed bank funding, including a term loan, a capex facility and a revolving credit facility, all due in September 2030. Gigaclear has also agreed with banks on a provision for an accordion facility worth over £500m. Suffice to say, building a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network in UK rural areas is a slow and expensive business, particularly in today’s challenging climate of high interest rates and rising build costs etc.

Alternative network provider and UK ISP LightSpeed Broadband, which has so far built their gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) network to cover 250,000 premises across the East of England and West Midlands, has finally started to put their new network live in the neighbouring coastal Norfolk towns of Cromer and Sheringham.

The provider, which in 2023 was acquired by Kompass Kapital (here) after suffering some job cuts and a build slowdown in the East of England (here), is currently busy deploying across parts of 32 market towns in South Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Rutland.

In terms of Cromer and Sheringham, it’s easy to forget that both towns were first mentioned as potential targets for the provider around four years ago, although little seemed to happen until June last year when they were formally announced as part of the operator’s latest network expansion phase (here). Both towns currently have strong gigabit broadband coverage from Virgin Media and patchy FTTP cover via Openreach.

LightSpeed has since been busy building in the area and reports in a local newspaper (here) suggest they’ve now covered 2,700 premises across the towns and have just gone live. This coverage is expected to reach 9,500 by the end of March 2025.

Brett Shepherd, CEO of LightSpeed, said:

“We’re excited to introduce ultra-fast broadband to Cromer and Sheringham, offering a transformative experience for the community.

From busy families to thriving local businesses, our service ensures a dependable and effortless connection for all.

We look forward to welcoming our first Cromer and Sheringham customers onto our network so they can enjoy the fast, reliable digital access they deserve and all the possibilities it brings.”

Residential customers of the service typically pay from £18.99 per month on a 24-month term for symmetric speeds of 75Mbps, which rises to £54.99 for their top 2000Mbps tier. The package includes a wireless router and free activation, except on their 75Mbps plan, where there’s a £30 one-off activation charge. A number of packages are also throwing in Amazon shopping vouchers worth between £30 and £130.

Customers can optionally add a Home Phone plan for £4.80 a month, as well as a Static IP for £6 or a signal-extending Wi-Fi mesh from £8.99.

Broadband ISP Youfibre, which is available to those covered by Netomnia’s (Brsk) 10Gbps capable FTTP network, has today launched a new “Loyalty Promise” for its renewing customers. The move is part of an effort to help set them apart from the market’s largest ISPs, which often hit existing customers with price hikes at the end of their term.

Under the promise, customers coming to the end of their contracts at YouFibre “will be able to choose from the same packages available for new customers“. This commitment, coupled with their current Fixed-Price plans, helps to highlight the provider’s positive attributes when compared with the biggest four broadband providers (BT, Virgin Media, Sky Broadband and TalkTalk), particularly in terms of pricing fairness.

Customers will also be notified 40 days before their contract renewal with information about Youfibre’s current deals. Otherwise, prices currently start at just £23.99 per month for their 150Mbps package and that goes up to £99.99 for their top 7000Mbps (7-8Gbps) tier, when taken on an 18-month minimum contract term with free setup.

Ryan Battle, Managing Director at YouFibre, said:

“Our customers’ broadband package prices have always been fixed during their contracts. And from now, our loyal customers will have even more price certainty as they reach their contract end, with access to our advertised offers, just like our new customers. This cements our commitment to giving a fairer deal to everyone.

If you’ve ever been frustrated, or felt cheated, by new customers getting a better deal than loyal ones, or felt robbed by mid-contract rises, we’re ready to show there is a Full Fibre broadband provider that truly looks after their customers with transparent pricing.

The price customers see on our website and sign up for is what they’ll pay for their whole 18-month contract. And beyond that, it’ll now be easy for them to see what they’ll pay when they stay with us. We’re committed to bringing our customers broadband that’s faster, futureproof, but above all, fair.”

Netomnia’s (inc. Brsk) full fibre network currently covers over 2.08 million premises across parts of more than 90 UK cities and towns, but they’re aiming to reach 3 million homes and businesses by the end of 2025. The network is also home to a total of 238,000 customers via Brsk and Youfibre, and they have an ambition to reach 1 million customers by 2028.

However, it should be noted that the network integration with Brsk hasn’t yet completed, which means that Youfibre is currently only available to 1.3 million of Netomnia’s passed premises.

Broadband ISP CommunityFibre (CF), which has deployed their 3Gbps speed FTTP network to cover 1.32 million UK premises (mostly in Greater London), has this week introduced a new entry-level tier that offers symmetric speeds of 100Mbps from just £19 per month on a 24-month minimum term.

The new package is slower than the old entry-level tier of 150Mbps, but at £19 per month it’s also a few pounds cheaper. The residential package includes free setup, a wireless router and a 60-day satisfaction guarantee (i.e. no exit fees if you leave within this period). The monthly price of this package is said to be locked until March 2026 and after that it will go up by £2 each April, but at the end of your contract the price will increase by £4 versus your last month.

CommunityFibre also offers a separate 35Mbps social broadband tariff called “Essential 35 Mbps” for £12.50 a month (rising to £16.50 after the first 12-months), although this plan isn’t technically a true Social Tariff because it’s available to everybody covered by their network (i.e. not just those on state benefits). But they don’t advertise this tier alongside their main packages on the front page.

News

The regulator is proposing sharing the upper 6GHz band between both mobile and Wi-Fi networks

Today, Ofcom has launched a consultation on the future of the upper 6GHz spectrum band, potentially allowing both mobile and Wi-Fi networks to share the valuable airwaves.

Back in 2020, 500MHz of spectrum in the lower portion of the band were allocated to Wi-Fi as part of the Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 standards. The future of the upper portion of the band, on the other hand, remained up for debate.

With its low latency, high capacity, and relatively strong propagation, the 6,425 –7,125MHz spectrum band is appealing to both mobile and Wi-Fi operators. For the mobile players, this band could substantially bolster the quality of their 5G offering, while for Wi-Fi it could support high-power and outdoor deployments. As a result, both parties have been deeply involved in regulatory discussions with Ofcom, alongside the band’s existing users – mostly satellite services and radio astronomy users – that are also seeking assurances from the regulator.

Ofcom’s proposed solution would see the band potentially split between mobile and Wi-Fi. The regulator wants to make the whole of the upper 6GHz band available for Wi-Fi as soon as possible, ideally before the end of this year. But, by 2027, it suggests the band should be shared, with 160MHz and 400MHz prioritised for Wi-Fi, with the remainder prioritised for mobile usage.

In cases where mobile deployments are not present, the full band would still be available for Wi-Fi usage.

In addition to these changes, Ofcom is also suggesting that the use of the lower part of the band be expanded to outdoor and high-power Wi-Fi deployments.

“This new spectrum would provide a large increase in capacity for both mobile and Wi-Fi services, laying the foundations for future generations of data-hungry technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, and AI,” said Ofcom in its announcement. “In a boost for the economy, it would also help mobile and Wi-Fi providers to deliver improved services to more customers, especially where demand is greatest. It would support advanced Wi-Fi for homes, businesses and industry, and enable mobile networks to better serve their customers, particularly in the most crowded places like high streets or stadiums.”

As Ofcom makes clear in its announcement, much of this regulatory approach is based on harmonising with its European counterparts, who are similarly debating the best use of this spectrum and are expected to make a decision by 2027.

“European harmonisation would see sharing of 6 GHz by mobile and Wi-Fi across the continent, and will help manufacturers, operators, and users have the confidence to invest in equipment and services for the band, which we are keen to encourage,” explained the regulator.

Feedback on the proposals are open until May 8.

Is the UK’s spectrum policy adequately supporting the country’s digital needs? Join the telecoms industry in discussion at Connected North live in Manchester

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Boosting Wavelength and Interconnection Services in the Region

GNM’s Budapest Point of Presence takes advantage of its own DWDM-system. It provides valuable options for network redundancy improvement, traffic flow optimization, and reduction of points of failure. The GNM’s interconnection services such as GNM-IX and IP Transit allow direct connections with a wider range of networks, as well as access to Tier-1 connectivity providers. Flexible port options from 10G to 400G provide customized options to meet different bandwidth needs.

Expanding Infrastructure to Support Growing Demand

“The launch of our Budapest PoP marks an important milestone in GNM’s expansion strategy,” said Alex Surkoff, Business Development Director at GNM. “This new PoP not only enhances connectivity in Central Europe but also supports local telecom providers by delivering cost-efficient and scalable solutions.”

The Budapest PoP is now part of GNM’s European backbone, offering direct, low-latency connections to hubs in Bratislava and Sofia. This expansion improves access for Hungarian telecom companies to European content and international networks while reducing reliance on third-party transit providers. It also enables seamless integration with major global content providers, cloud platforms, and international carriers. By lowering latency and ensuring stable traffic flows, the PoP ensures more efficient data exchange and service quality for end-users.

Future Expansion Plans

GNM plans to expand its backbone and establish new PoPs in Central Europe to strengthen network coverage, providing businesses and telecom operators with a robust digital infrastructure.

About GNM

GNM is a global backbone provider known for its extensive 18,000 km DWDM backbone network. It offers high-performance connectivity solutions that ensure low-latency, scalable, and resilient network infrastructure. Unlike traditional providers, GNM combines its own GNM-IX Internet Exchange with direct access to Tier-1 ISPs, giving customers enhanced routing efficiency and cost-effective traffic exchange. including Internet Exchange and IP Transit, as well as DWDM transport services.