Rural UK ISP Wessex Internet, which is rolling out a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across remote parts of Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Somerset in England, has listed the latest batch of 16 communities to be added to their live network coverage between April and June 2024 (Q2).

The provider’s existing footprint is vaguely said to cover “tens of thousands of homes” (some of this may include their old fixed wireless network), while their current business plan targets an “additional” 150,000 premises by 2027 through a combination of both subsidised and unsubsidised capital investment.

The latest update names the 16 villages and other rural communities in Dorset, Somerset and Hampshire that were connected to their new full fibre network between April and June 2024. During this period, the Dorset-based rural ISP has grown to more than 300 employees and was also named the ‘Best Rural Enterprise’ in the UK at the annual 2024 Countryside Alliance Awards.

Wessex Internet’s 16 New Fibre Locations (Live)

In Dorset:

Child Okeford
Gussage St Michael
Hazelbury Bryan
Holwell
Mappowder & Pleck Hill
Marnhull
Stourton Caundle
Tadnoll

In Somerset:

Dimmer & Blackworthy
Lovington
Lytes Cary
Podimore
Somerton
Yeovilton
Welham

In Hampshire:

Damerham

Gavin Davies, Chief Operations Officer at Wessex Internet, said:

“Our network build has continued apace, as we bring reliable, ultrafast broadband to even more rural communities. We’ve reached an important milestone in now employing 300 staff to help reach homes and businesses in the countryside as efficiently as possible, but we’re not stopping here!

We will be continuing to grow our teams over the next few months, including at our new base in Codford, as we fulfil our plans to deliver full fibre internet to rural areas across Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire and Wiltshire.”

Prices for their full fibre packages start at £29 per month for a 100Mbps (15Mbps upload) tier on a 12-month term, but this only comes with a meagre 100GB data allowance (£44 for unlimited), and you’ll have to pay £49 (one-off) for activation. By comparison, their top unlimited usage plan will give 900Mbps (450Mbps upload) for £79 per month, which isn’t cheap but then they’re often the only FTTP choice in a lot of their locations (rural areas cost a lot more to serve too).

Low-cost focused UK broadband ISP Plusnet, which is a BT Group (EE) sibling, is to follow their parents by introducing a new pricing model, which moves away from the old percentage (%) figures and inflation (CPI) approach to annual price hikes. Instead, from 9th July 2024, they’ll introduce a “clear and simple” view of future price rises, expressed in “pounds and pence“.

The change is designed to reflect Ofcom’s recent move to BAN broadband ISPs and mobile operators from doing mid-contract price hikes that are linked to confusing inflation and percentage-based changes (here). But the regulator’s change was never designed to stop mid-contract hikes (i.e. it’s more about making future package pricing clearer and simpler), which means that providers must now tell customers precisely what any future price increases will be when they sign up (“in pounds and pence“).

The first broadband and mobile providers to announce their intention to adopt this approach became BT and EE during April 2024 (here), although at the time it was stated that sibling broadband ISP Plusnet would, for whatever reason, “follow later this summer.” As expected, Plusnet has now revealed when they’ll introduce the same change.

For all new contracts signed up on or after 9th July 2024, a price rise of +£3 per month will be effective each March from 2025 onwards. Existing customers who want to re-contract their package will also become subject to the same change of terms / pricing policy (if you don’t re-contract and joined before this date, then the old CPI + 3.9% terms will still apply). Finally, out of bundle services will increase by 5% on 31st March each year (these aren’t covered by Ofcom’s policy).

A Plusnet spokesperson told ISPreview:

“Our focus is to provide Plusnet customers straightforward broadband at straightforward prices. From the 9th July 2024, we will be introducing a pricing model aligned with Ofcom’s approach, offering our customers a predictable long-term view of their contract terms. These new contracts will make it simpler for our customers and provide more certainty on what annual price changes will be.”

We are very supportive of Ofcom’s recommendation to show upfront pounds and pence amounts for price change and remain committed to supporting all our customers, especially those who are financially vulnerable.”

On the one hand this approach, which other providers will have to adopt too, is clearer. But on the other hand, it does still continue an approach that will most likely see new and re-contracting customers being hit with an above inflation increase in their monthly prices (i.e. given how quickly inflation has fallen in the past year and the presumption of it staying low by March 2025).

In addition, the £3 increase seems to apply no matter how much you’re paying today (i.e. it doesn’t scale with different monthly rentals), which effectively means that it will hit those on the cheapest and often slowest packages the most.

Admittedly, this does help to protect ISPs from the inherent difficulty of trying to balance mid-term price rises against unknown increases in future network costs and inflation, but it’s also unlikely to damped calls from those who believe there should be an outright ban on mid-contract hikes – something we’d support. Speaking of which, if broadband ISPs can now predict this, then it arguably increases the case for just baking the hikes into a fixed price contract.

However, it’s worth remembering that not all providers adopt the same approach as the biggest players and many smaller ISPs, particularly newer alternative networks, often already promote packages with simple fixed price terms.

News 

The partnership comes as a response to the growing complexities of cyber-attacks, skill shortages, stringent regulatory requirements, and the rise of hybrid workforces 

Australian telco Optus has announced a multi-year partnership with Cisco aimed at increasing network protection for enterprise and business customers. 

The announcement notes that because 37% of Australians now regularly work remotely, there has been an increase in the reliance of Software-as-a-Service public and on-demand network services. Although these are convenient, they can increase the risk of security breaches in both devices and their software. 

In an effort to combat this, the new partnership will see Optus launch a portfolio of network security services, powered by Cisco.  

“This includes the significant upgrade of Optus’ Secure Network Operation Centre, complemented by a suite of new products from Cisco,” the companies confirmed.  

There will also be a boost in the investment of Optus’ Integrated Network Operation Centre and Security Operation Centre. 

The platform also includes Cisco-Powered Secure Firewall and Managed Secure Service Edge (SSE) services. Additional features, like vulnerability management, advanced email security, and integration with Cisco Meraki and ThousandEyes, will further enhance security for Optus customers. 

“Our enterprise and business customers rely on Optus to deliver a network that can support high traffic, secure and reliable bandwidth. We are committed to creating solutions that address complex security issues while optimising performance and reliability, particularly in environments that are increasingly hard to defend,” said Danny Price, VP Client Services and Delivery, Enterprise and Business at Optus. 

Optus itself has faced multiple cyber security issues in recent years. In September 2022, Optus suffered a data breach that affected up to 10 million current and former customers, comprising a third of Australia’s population. The breach resulted in the illegal acquisition of sensitive information, including names, dates of birth, addresses, and contact details.  

Australia’s Communications and Media Authority subsequently launched legal action against Optus in May over the breach, saying it “failed to protect the confidentiality of its customers’ personal information from unauthorised interference or unauthorised access.” 

Former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin also resigned from her position in November last year, following a 14-hour network outage that left millions without mobile or internet coverage for over 12 hours. 

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom newsletter  

Also in the news:
Dutch operators finally get their hands on midband 5G spectrum
Virgin Media O2 completes first stage of Shared Rural Network
Xavier Niel’s $4.1 billion bid for Millicom is too low, company says 

News

The new non-cash impairment charge is in addition to the $2.9 billion impairment logged last year

Ericsson acquired application programming interface (API) specialist Vonage back in 2022 for $6.2 billion, saying at the time that it would play a central role its in ongoing growth strategy.

The idea, in short, was that Ericsson would work together with Vonage to develop network APIs, allowing app developers to gain deeper access to telcos’ 4G and 5G networks, including features such as user authentication, bandwidth, responsiveness, energy efficiency, and security. This, the companies said, would allow developers to better leverage the network to create unique and interesting applications.

In particular, the partners said they would work to build a Global Network Platform for APIs, essentially allowing app developers to rollout their apps across any telco network running on Ericsson equipment – a task that would previously have required unique coding for each telco partner.

At the time, Ericsson claimed that the communications API market would swell to $22 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 30%.

In reality, however, things have moved far more slowly than predicted. App developers’ appetite to get deep into telco networks has been slim, while competition from rival platforms, including Amazon, has been fierce.

By last year, the Swedish operator had announced a non-cash impairment of $2.9 billion – almost half of the acquisition’s value – citing ‘the significant drop in the market capitalization of Vonage’s publicly traded peers, increased interest rates and overall slowdown in Vonage’s core markets.’

Today, the company’s fortunes continue to slide, with Ericsson writing off a further $1.1 billion for Q2 this year.

In total, this leaves Vonage worth only around a third of what Ericsson paid for it just two short years ago.

Ericsson attributed this reassessment of Vonage’s value as being related to “deterioration in the market environment and elective decisions we have made to refocus our investments in strategically prioritized areas”, according to Niklas Heuveldop, Head of Business Area Global Communications Platform and CEO of Vonage.

Despite this, Vonage appears committed to further developing its Global Network Platform.

“We continue to advance our strategy to build a Global Network Platform for network APIs, which was the strategic impetus for the Vonage acquisition. We recently announced additional partnerships with leading mobile network operators and we see continued positive momentum across the industry,” said Heuveldop.

“Through this strategy, we are making advanced 5G network capabilities available to the world’s developer community to accelerate the innovation of value-added applications for industry and society. This will open up new revenue streams for our operator customers and spur growth in the telecom industry.”

At this point, there is no doubt that Ericsson paid far too much in its acquisition of Vonage. Just how much it overvalued the company, however, remains to be seen.

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
Dutch operators finally get their hands on midband 5G spectrum
Virgin Media O2 completes first stage of Shared Rural Network
Xavier Niel’s $4.1 billion bid for Millicom is too low, company says

News 

The deal includes a pledge for Vodafone to sell spectrum to Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) in order to ease regulatory fears over its merger with Three UK 

UK mobile operators Vodafone and VMO2 have agreed to extend and enhance an existing network sharing agreement for the next decade, a deal they say will boost the quality of network coverage across the UK. 

The agreement will mean that the two companies share certain aspects of their network infrastructure, allowing for enhanced service offerings while reducing costs related to overbuilding.  

According to the operators, this network sharing agreement will allow the two companies to compete more effectively with market leader BT (EE), by improving their network reach and service quality without proportionally increasing costs.  

The deal expands on an existing sharing agreement the two operators first struck back in 2012. 

But perhaps more interesting than the extension and expansion of this existing partnership is the deal’s implications for the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three UK.  

The £15 billion merger is currently under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is exploring whether the deal will hinder competition and drive up prices for consumers. One of the major roadblocks is the disproportionate share of spectrum that the newly merged entity will have versus its competitors.  

As part of today’s deal, VMO2 says it will agree to purchase spectrum from Vodafone to balance the scales, if the merger goes ahead. The exact amount of spectrum that would change hands – or the price that would be paid for it – was not specified. Nonetheless, VMO2 says the purchase should help them compete effectively in a tripartite mobile market and should help ease the competition concerns of the CMA. 

“With this agreement and our merger with Three, we will transform the mobile experience for over 50 million customers in the UK for the long-term, providing significant network improvements including more choice, better quality and greater coverage across the country,” said Ahmed Essam, CEO of European Markets at Vodafone in a press release. 

“The proposed merger, together with this agreement, will boost competition by establishing a strong third player in the UK mobile market and will improve the balance of spectrum holdings, levelling the playing field between the UK’s mobile operators,” he continued. 

“We are extending and bolstering elements of our existing network sharing arrangement, while also ensuring there is a robust, balanced and functional structure in place for the long-term should Vodafone and Three’s proposed merger gain consent. We believe that this new agreement addresses the issues we have voiced and the CMA outlined in its initial decision, and will now continue our engagement with the regulator in this spirit,” echoed Lutz Schüler, CEO of VMO2. 

Whether a spectrum sale would, in fact, help create a totally balanced spectrum environment remains unclear. For example, following the merger, Vodafone–Three and VMO2 combined would control roughly 80% of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band crucial for providing 5G services. BT, with only the remaining 20%, could therefore find itself at a significant disadvantage versus competitors when it comes to 5G capacity.The CMA will publish a final report into its probe on 12 October. 

If the merger is ultimately approved, the MergeCo says it will spend £11 billion over the next ten years on network improvements.  

Join the conversation around the UK’s connectivity at this year’s Connected Britain, 11-12 September in London. Get tickets here!  

Also in the news:
Dutch operators finally get their hands on midband 5G spectrum
Virgin Media O2 completes first stage of Shared Rural Network
Xavier Niel’s $4.1 billion bid for Millicom is too low, company says

Network provider Openreach (BT) has informed ISPs that they’re launching a new ‘Prove Telecare’ trial (SVR – Site Visit Reason), which is designed to help UK consumers with old analogue based phone (PSTN / WLR) and Telecare systems to safely migrate to modern broadband (FTTP and FTTC / SOGEA) connections with IP phone (VoIP) services.

In case anybody overlooked it. BT and Openreach recently delayed their planned switch-off of copper-based analogue line services (PSTN phones and WLR) from the end of December 2025 to 31st January 2027 (here and here) in order to give broadband ISPs, Telecare providers and vulnerable users time to adapt.

The delay to the industry-led migration had been expected (here), due primarily to the fact that it was deemed to be putting a lot of Telecare users at risk (i.e. vital health / medical monitoring services for vulnerable and seriously ill people). The main problem being that a lot of the older systems aren’t compatible with modern Internet Protocol (IP / VoIP) based phone services. Not to mention that, without battery backup, they may cease to function during a power outage.

The issue of poor telecare support is largely the fault of telecare and alarm providers (i.e. failing to upgrade their systems), but this doesn’t change the reality that nearly 2 million people use these vital systems in the UK. Often such users exist in rural and isolated areas, where mobile services may also go down during power cuts. Ofcom are separately reviewing mobile resilience, but that’s another matter.

Network operators, ISPs and telecare providers are now working more closely together to introduce solutions to help tackle the issue, one of which is reflected in Openreach’s new Prove Telecare Trial. The small volume field engineering trial, which is due to start on 30th July and run until 22nd October 2024, is designed to support ISPs and customers to “safely migrate” their fixed line telecare devices to SOGEA (FTTC) and FTTP (full fibre) broadband lines with IP voice services.

Openreach Statement

The trial will test the systems, engineering training, on the day processes and procedures associated with moving end customers’ fixed voice telecare device(s) safely to new IP broadband and VoIP services.

To participate in the trial, a CP must confirm that it has agreements in place with telecare providers in the trial areas of Cardiff, North Yorkshire and Lambeth & Southwark to ensure that the telecare provider can arrange for a telecare engineer to be present with an Openreach engineer at the migration appointment. This will ensure that the end customer is always left with a working telecare service.

The trial service will attract an extra charge of £34 +vat, although it remains to be seen whether this is something that retail broadband and phone providers will pass on to related customers. But otherwise, this is a very positive approach and one that will no doubt help to tackle the issue, provided there are enough resources available to deliver it at scale, nationally.

As above, the trial is currently very small and only covering a few limited parts of England and Wales, but in the future it could be expanded. Time will tell. Openreach and BT are separately also piloting a new SOTAP for Analogue product (here), which is a phone line service that does NOT require broadband to work and can harness modern networks to function like the older analogue service.

After some false starts earlier in the year, at least some residents and businesses in the Leicestershire (England) market town of Loughborough should finally be able to connect to CityFibre’s new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network in the area after it started to go fully live.

At the start of 2024 we were told that Loughborough was one of CityFibre’s locations with ‘Ready for Service’ (RFS) premises (here). Similarly, some locals noted to ISPreview that CityFibre’s website had been reporting positive service availability for several months, but they then struggled to confirm this via any actual ISPs (this is a known problem with some of CF’s builds, which causes consumer confusion).

The operator eventually informed us that their £17m build in Loughborough was one of a “small number of locations” where services were now expected to be available to residents by the “summer” (2024). The good news today is that CityFibre appears to have held to that revised target, as confirmed by the latest analysis from Thinkbroadband.

The local coverage is currently still quite limited, but it is now live in certain areas, albeit currently only orderable via TalkTalk. In addition, parts of their build in Halifax have also just gone live and via a wider selection of ISPs.

The work supports CityFibre’s wider ambition of covering up to 8 million UK premises (funded by c.£2.4bn in equity, c.£4.9bn debt and c.£800m of BDUK subsidy) – across over 285 cities, towns and villages (c.30% of the UK), although it’s unclear precisely when they will achieve that (the original goal was for the end of 2025, but their current build + M&A plan may only get them to c.6m). The operator currently covers 3.6 million UK premises (3.3m RFS).

The boss of UK ISP Zen Internet, Richard Tang, has given an interesting new interview in which he’s quizzed by the CEO of Freedom Fibre, Neil McArthur, on the state of the market for alternative networks and what such operators need to do in order to attract more ISPs to their platforms.

Just for some context. Freedom Fibre is itself an alternative network, which, after recently merging with VX FIBER (here), has now covered 300,000 premises (27th Mar 2024) across the United Kingdom with their full fibre (FTTP) network. Richard Tang actually interviewed the operator’s CEO, Neil McArthur, almost a year ago (here) and the latest interview reverses that position, with Neil being the one asking the questions.

The full interview doesn’t offer up much in the way of surprises, but it is quite interesting to watch and confirms that Zen are in “discussions” with a number of operators about onboarding their networks. “We’re having discussions, including with [Freedom Fibre], about possibilities, and I think that’s the right thing to do,” said Richard.

However, Richard also remarked upon the difficulty of choosing who to onboard, particularly while the market is going through a period of consolidation. “Let’s say we’ve integrated with 3, 4 or 5 altnets in that time. Where does it leave us. You know, have we backed the right horses, have we backed four horses that end up.. after doing all that work, now we’re just going to switch off the network because actually it’s now a combined integration,” mused Richard.

The situation could be a costly problem for a retail ISP, but Richard also sees the sunny side as, in the above scenario, they’d now be in the best position to adapt to that change through pre-existing integration. On this point, Richard suggests that waiting until a later date, after all the consolidation has already happened (i.e. pick the winning horse), could instead mean missing out on all that earlier opportunity to grow.

Neil then asks Richard what alternative broadband networks should do in order to attract more retail ISPs to their wholesale platforms, which causes Richard to highlight two key points – 1) Create a “compelling set of commercials” (pricing etc.), and 2) “Just make the integration as easy as possible” (e.g. copy a standard API like the one Openreach or CityFibre uses, thus making it easier for ISPs to adopt).

In addition, Richard confirms that Zen has expressed an interest to CityFibre, albeit not the only retail provider to do so, in acquiring the customer base of Lit Fibre after the altnet has finished integrating the new network. CityFibre recently acquired Lit Fibre’s UK FTTP network (here), but as a wholesale-only provider they have already acknowledged that, in the future, they may need to divest the retail base to avoid a conflict.

Speaking of consolidation, Freedom Fibre’s CEO noted how consolidation can be a slow and complex process to deliver effectively. “It’s going to take us 12 months to make that network [Freedom Fibre and VX FIBER] look like one and deliver the entire suit of products seamlessly,” said Neil.

Finally, Neil touches on Ofcom’s One Touch Switch (OTS) system, which is supposed to make it easier and quicker for consumers to switch between UK broadband ISPs on different network platforms, but it has suffered from significant delays (i.e. it was originally planned to launch in April 2023 and now won’t go live until 12th September 2024, which is still somewhat of a tentative target).

“It’s been massive within Zen,” said Richard. “[OTS] used up multiple teams of software developers, multiple months for us to get ready for that [original] March 2024 [launch] deadline. Then just as it was approaching, it got moved back to September. In terms of impact upon the business, I think it will be beneficial for Zen because on the whole customers like our service, so if they can switch to it more easily from competitors then that will be more of a benefit than the downside of customers who want to switch away from Zen.”

The full interview goes on to cover many more areas, such as the PSTN / WLR switch-off, and is available to view here. We’ll also embed it directly below once it goes fully live.

The latest update from Transport for London (TfL) has revealed that 4G and 5G mobile (mobile broadband) signals have now been extended to cover the first tunnel sections on the Elizabeth line (running approximately 5 miles). Further tunnelled sections to Whitechapel, Canary Wharf and Woolwich will be connected this summer.

Just to recap. Boldyn Networks (formerly BAI), using kit from Nokia and others, currently holds a 20-year concession deal with TfL, which was signed in June 2021 (here) and allows them to build the new 4G and 5G “Ready” (mobile broadband) infrastructure across the whole Tube (London Underground), DLR and Elizabeth line network.

This new network can then be made available via wholesale for Mobile Network Operators (MNO) to harness. The goal of this is to cover the entire London Underground by the end of 2024 (ticket halls, platforms and tunnels), as well as Highbury and Islington and New Cross on the London Overground network.

In terms of the Elizabeth line, all of its stations have already been enabled, and they’ve now started to introduce coverage within the tunnels themselves – starting with the 5-mile section that runs from the Royal Oak portal to the west of Paddington to Liverpool Street station. Further tunnelled sections of the Elizabeth line, towards Whitechapel, will be connected in the coming weeks – the whole line should be done by the end of this summer.

The service also continues to be introduced across the Tube network in Central London, with the Hyde Park Corner and Russell Square stations on the Piccadilly line now receiving coverage. Further sections of the Northern line, Bakerloo line, Piccadilly line and Victoria line are also anticipated to go live in the “coming month“.

As well as all eight ‘underground’ Elizabeth line stations, across London, 36 Tube stations have started to offer mobile coverage to customers in the ticket halls, platform areas and interchanges, with many more, including the southern end of the Northern line, expected to go live by the end of the summer.

London’s Transport Commissioner, Andy Lord, said:

“It’s wonderful to see our programme to introduce high-speed mobile coverage now benefitting customers on the Elizabeth line, the newest part of London’s historic underground network of stations and tunnels.

This key step in bringing better connectivity to London’s underground stations and tunnels will allow more people travelling around the capital to keep in touch, share photos and make the most of the city, especially as we start to enjoy the summer.”

Around 500 people are currently working overnight across the Tube network to install the new mobile equipment, with all works needed to be tidied away before the network opens for customers every morning. Once fully delivered, more than 2,000km of fibre optic cabling, as well as thousands of radios (base stations, small cells etc.), are expected to be installed within tunnels and stations – fitted outside of operational hours.

Overall, nearly 70% of all stations on the Tube network have now started to get mobile coverage, and the project appears to be holding to its completion target.

Alternative broadband ISP Fibrus has today put out a second announcement, which reveals that they’ve just put their new multi-gigabit speed capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network live for 1,100 premises in the Cumbria (England) town of Longtown. The deployment follows similar builds in towns like Workington, Wigton and Ambleside.

Chris Collins, Fibrus’ Head of Network Build, said: “We’re delighted to be able to bring the benefits of our Full Fibre network to even more communities in Cumbria. At Fibrus, we use a full-fibre optic cable all the way to the premises creating a quality and reliability that cannot be achieved any other way. This will make a big difference to local businesses and families in Longtown, allowing them to access more reliable broadband rather than having to rely on slow copper wires for their internet.”

However, despite the usual remarks about locals in Longtown previously “having to rely on slow copper wires for their internet“, it’s worth pointing out Voneus has also recently covered the same location with access to their new gigabit-capable full fibre network. But people could be forgiven for not knowing about this because Voneus rarely does much to promote their builds and future plans.

Otherwise, Fibrus’ new network has, as of 31st March 2024, already been expanded to cover 354,000 premises (337k RFS) across parts of England and Northern Ireland, which is up from 339,000 premises on 31st January 2024 (321,000 RFS). In addition, the operator recently grew their customer base to over 80,000.

Residential customers can expect to pay from £24.99 £21.99 per month for download speeds of 159Mbps (average) and uploads of 34Mbps on a 24-month term (£39.99 thereafter), which rises to £44.99 £39.99 for their top 982Mbps (310Mbps) tier (£59.99 thereafter). The packages also include an Amazon Eero 6+ router (or routers), UK support, free setup and the pledge of “no mid-contract price hikes“. Prices may differ in areas of subsidised build.