WALTHAM, MA — April 16, 2024 — Netcracker Technology announced today that Play, the operator that acquired UPC Poland and is part of iliad, a major European telecommunications group, has extended its relationship with Netcracker for professional services and Digital BSS, which provides support for a number of functions, from onboarding new subscribers to service activation, including billing and payments.

Play, the leading operator in Poland, offers mobile, broadband Internet and television services to customers throughout the country over its extensive mobile and fixed networks. By continuing to incorporate Netcracker’s professional services, Play will gain numerous benefits, including the highest level of system performance, visibility into critical business processes, the ability to quickly launch new products and services and unmatched service quality.

“We have been working with Netcracker for many years, through several business changes and acquisitions, and we appreciate the extensive experience and knowledge to help us in key areas, such as application development and supporting our BSS stack,” said Pawel Passowicz, Chief IT Officer at Play. “We are happy to continue our engagement going forward.”

“Play has grown and evolved over the years, making this a truly fulfilling partnership for Netcracker,” said Benedetto Spaziani, GM at Netcracker. “We are proud to be Play’s vendor of choice for BSS and support and maintenance, which when combined deliver a strong solution for the future.”

About Netcracker Technology

Rapid digitization is disrupting the status quo of today’s communications markets. Constantly evolving customer needs and behaviors require service providers to adapt quickly and diversify their businesses to deliver the outcomes that their customers expect. Building digital ecosystems, anticipating customer requirements and delivering a digital-first experience are essential for service providers to accelerate innovation, expand into new markets and become the disruptors in the 5G era.

Netcracker Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, has the expertise, culture and resources to help service providers around the world transform their businesses to thrive in a digital economy. Our innovative solutions – including our flagship cloud-native Netcracker Digital Platform – value-driven services and unbroken delivery track record of three decades help service providers to achieve their digital transformation goals, drive the telco to techco evolution within their organizations and realize business growth and profitability. For more information, visit www.netcracker.com.

News

The Council, aimed at reinforcing the UK’s supply of key imports, includes 23 representatives from business, academia, and government

Today, the UK government has announced the first meeting of the newly formed Critical Imports Council, a group formed to ‘help safeguard flows of vital goods such as medicines and smartphone chips’.

The creation of the Council is part of the government’s wider Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy, announced in January, aimed at ensuring minimal disruption for British consumers due to global supply chain shortages.

In its announcement, the government noted the increasingly volatile nature of global supply chains, highlighting the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Russia invasion of Ukraine, attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, and environmental disasters on UK businesses.

“It’s never been more important to strengthen our supply chains and make sure vital goods can continue reaching consumers, in the face of the pandemic, the Red Sea attacks and many other crises around the world,” said Business and Trade Minister Alan Mak, who is serving as Chair of the Critical Import Council. “That’s why we’re now going even further to strengthen our critical goods supplies with the launch of this new Council, which will bring together government and industry experts to help protect businesses from supply chain shocks now and in the future.”

The Council will comprise 23 representatives from across the public and private sector, covering numerous industries from aerospace automotive to healthcare and shipping. The full list of representatives can be found here.

The interest of the UK’s communication industry is seemingly represented by the likes of BT and Tech UK, with BT’s Chief Security and Network Officer, Howard Watson, noting his involvement in a Linkedin post.

“The new Critical Imports Council met for the first time today. It has been established to address some of the difficulties that international conflict, pandemics and other challenges pose to the usual flow of vital equipment that’s needed across a range of sectors,”  he said. “Having the voice of the telecommunications industry is therefore vital and I’ll raise issues on behalf of all colleagues in our sector to seek to protect the supply chains we all rely upon.”

The Council will meet quarterly to evaluate risks to their relevant supply chains and how to mitigate their impact for UK consumers.

Ensuring robust supply chains for critical technologies has been a key focus for governments around the world in recent years. Alongside the aforementioned challenges for global supply chains, geopolitical tensions between East and West has seen industry’s grow increasingly protectionist and insular, particularly with regards to semiconductors, AI, and other rapidly advancing technologies viewed as the bedrock of the future economy.

When it comes to smartphone chips, for example, massive subsidies are being doled out in the US, Europe, China, and Japan to bolster their respective production capabilities and reduce reliance on overseas suppliers.

How important is global supply chain resilience for UK telcos? Join the discussions at the Connected North conference live in Manchester. Get your tickets today!

Also in the news:
South Korea to invest $7 billion in AI semiconductors
Swisscom expands 5G partnership with Ericsson
Daisy Group set to acquire 4Com for £215m

Sky (Sky Broadband) has today announced plans to deploy the next major new update (Entertainment OS v1.3) for the operating system firmware (software) that underpins their broadband-based Sky Glass and Sky Stream pay TV platforms, which will introduce a variety of new features when it begins rolling out in the next few weeks.

The last big update, EOS v1.2, began rolling out in July 2023 (here) and introduced various features, such as the ability to fast-forward and rewind using your voice, as well as more personalisation for playlists, tailored viewing recommendations via the movie / TV genre rails and bug fixes etc.

The next EOS v1.3 update, which is due to start rolling out to existing customers from May 2024, will similarly introduce various new features, such as Auto Game Mode, enhanced voice control options and lower latency (i.e. quicker response times) on Sky Sports Main Event.

Entertainment OS 1.3 Features

Auto Game Mode levels up gameplay

Good news for gamers, Auto Game Mode is launching on Sky Glass which uses Auto Low Latency (ALLM) to offer a more responsive gaming experience for casual players. Simply plug in your console and Sky Glass will automatically switch to Auto Game Mode.

Add actors to your Playlist

Add your favourite actors to your playlist, and then easily find movies and TV shows they’ve been in to watch whenever you want. Soon, football fans will be able to follow their teams to enjoy the latest matches all in one place.
Simply press the + button on the remote whilst browsing for people in the UI, e.g. from the new Cast & Crew rail on the show page, or search for your favourite people and add from there. When a person has been added, you can find them within a ‘People you follow’ rail within the playlist section.

“Hello Sky, add to Playlist”

You’ll be able to use your voice to add movies and shows to your playlist. Simply go to the show or movie page and say, “Hello Sky, add to playlist” to save things you want to watch later.

Sky Sports Main Event soon to be available in Low Latency

Sky Sports Main Event viewers will soon be able to watch the channel in Low Latency, reducing the time between the action on the pitch and watching on your Sky Glass or Stream. Latency has been reduced by over 20 seconds, which means you can now watch your favourite sports faster than many other streaming services.
Sky Sports Main Event viewers will be able to watch sports in Low Latency over the coming months, before being rolled out to other Sky Sports channels this year.

Show Page to show Rotten Tomatoes ratings

Show pages will feature Rotten Tomatoes scores to save the hassle of googling a rating before jumping into a movie, as well as a range of new icons.

Enjoy all your favourite shows and movies with subtitles

All Ultra HD on demand content, including Sky Nature shows and blockbuster films, will have the option for subtitles by the end of the summer – a feature already available on HD
Coming soon, Audio Description, a popular feature on our TV channels, will also be available on video on demand content

In addition, customers who also make use of Sky Live (Sky’s smart camera) will be able to enjoy three new or updated motion games in the shape of Basketball Knockout, Tennis Smash: Racketville and the ability to enjoy a two-player music rhythm game of Starri.

News 

The revised restrictions were passed by majority vote in the House of Councillors’ (upper house), after passing through the House of Representatives (lower house) earlier this month 

This week, the Japanese government has passed a law to ease restrictions on Japan’s largest telco NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation) that were first placed on the company 40 years ago. 

NTT was a government-owned monopoly until it was privatised in 1985, following a long period of rapid economic growth in Japan.  

As part of this process, restrictions were placed on the company to prevent it from dominating the country’s telco market and to enable entrance of new competitors. As per the agreement, the Japanese government would retain ownership of a third of the business, only Japanese nationals would sit on the company’s board, and the company’s fixed-line, mobile, and enterprise businesses would be separated. 

This so-called ‘NTT Law’ has played a major role in creating a reasonably healthy telecoms market in Japan over the past four decades. However, in recent years, NTT has complained that the regulations are holding the company back from becoming a major player on the global stage, particularly due to being forced to disclose the results of its R&D projects due to the company’s partial government ownership. 

Now, the easing of restrictions will mean that NTT will no longer have to disclose its R&D results, a fact the company says will allow them to “become more competitive on a global stage” according to a company press release.  

In addition, NTT will be permitted to allocate seats on its director’s board to foreign nationals (one third of the total members), as well as allowing NTT and its two regional units to change their official business names, if so desired. 

The easing of restrictions has not been received favourably by the wider Japanese telecoms industry. In November last year, rival Japanese firms KDDI, SoftBank, and Rakuten Mobile issued a joint statement expressing their objections to the revision of the NTT Law. The statement expressed that “it is crucial that discussions on the NTT Law be conducted in a manner that avoids any potential harm to Japan’s national interests and its citizens’ lives.” 

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

Also in the news:
South Korea to invest $7 billion in AI semiconductors
Swisscom expands 5G partnership with Ericsson
Daisy Group set to acquire 4Com for £215m

News 

The move would mark the first major move from BT’s new CEO Allison Kirkby, who began the role in February this year 

BT may sell its Irish unit after shelving the proposal in 2020, according to a new Sky News report. Anonymous sources, the UK incumbent is working with Citi Bank to discuss the unit’s potential sale.  

In April 2019, BT first announced that it was seeking to offload its Irish unit, which at the time was worth around €300 million. After a year-long auction process with many interested bidders, London-based private equity firm Mayfair Equity Partners ultimately prevailed, having met BT’s price expectations, which multiple reports suggest fell around €300 million.

However, BT called off the deal in April 2020, having had “a change of heart”, as reported by The Times. The company said the decision unrelated to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

The Irish unit is Europe’s largest telecoms service wholesalers by revenue and market share and the second largest fixed line wholesaler in the Republic of Ireland. It currently employs over 600 people. 

Having sold off its consumer unit to Vodafone in 2009, BT Ireland currently only serves business and wholesale customers, including Vodafone, Sky, Three, and Bank of Ireland. 

Discussions around the potential sale reportedly remain in the very early stages and a transaction may not necessarily follow.  

“We continually review our operations to ensure they align with our global strategy,” BT told Sky. “We have an excellent business in Ireland and no decisions have been taken.” 

Catch BT at this year’s Connected North event, 22-23 April in Manchester. Secure your last-minute tickets here

Also in the news:
South Korea to invest $7 billion in AI semiconductors
Swisscom expands 5G partnership with Ericsson
Daisy Group set to acquire 4Com for £215m

News

The fibre network operator says it “is on track to become the second-largest competitive network in just its second year of operation”

Just 14 months since launching commercial services, full fibre wholesaler nexfibre has announced that its fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) network is now available at over 1 million premises across the UK.

The altnet was formed back in 2022 as a £4.5 billion joint venture between InfraVia Capital Partners, Liberty Global and Telefonica.

The company’s stated goal was to deliver FTTP broadband connectivity to up to 7 million homes across the UK that are not already served by Virgin Media’s network.

Since then, the company has been expanding rapidly. By the end of 2023, the company’s FTTP network had already passed 830,000. Now, the company is reporting over 170,000 more premises passed, bringing the total to over 1 million.

“It’s thanks to the hard work of our team, our partners, and the commitment of our investors that we are able to mark this significant milestone on our path to reaching 5 million premises by 2026. And we’re just getting started. As we continue to accelerate activity, we remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering the high-quality digital infrastructure that has the power to create lasting value in the communities we serve,” said Rajiv Datta, Chief Executive Officer of nexfibre.

“We firmly believe that we are building a platform to foster sustainable competition in the UK fibre market, that will drive innovation for generations to come,” he added.

It is worth noting here that nexfibre acquired fibre altnet Upp in September last year, move that gave the company an additional 175,000 premises passed. With these premises presumably still being integrated into nexfibre’s network, it is unclear if these additional premises are being included in the company’s new milestone total today.

In terms of the future, nexfibre announced an additional £1 billion investment in January, saying they would use the funds to pass a further 1 million premises in 2024.

Ultimately, the operator aims to pass five million premises by 2026.

nexfibre’s network is available to all ISPs on a wholesale basis but, as of February, Virgin Media was the company’s only ISP partner. More ISPs are expected to be added later this year.

“The build programme is delivering at pace and is underpinned by an ambitious plan that’s already extended fibre to one million new premises,” said Lutz Schüler, Chief Executive Officer at Virgin Media O2. “In partnership with nexfibre, we remain focused on driving scaled, sustainable competition in the full fibre market, and bringing the benefits of next-generation gigabit services to millions more homes and business across the UK.”

Nexfibre’s CEO Rajiv Datta is speaking on the opening keynote at this year’s Connected North conference live in Manchester. Get your tickets today!

Also in the news:
South Korea to invest $7 billion in AI semiconductors
Swisscom expands 5G partnership with Ericsson
Daisy Group set to acquire 4Com for £215m

Ofcom has published their latest study of UK consumer complaints for Q4 2023, which once again names Virgin Media as the worst for attracting the most gripes about fixed broadband, landline phone and pay TV services. Meanwhile, O2, which is part of the same company, attracted the most complaints for Pay Monthly Mobile services.

The regulator’s new report only covers complaints that Ofcom itself has received and not those sent directly to an ISP, the ISPA or an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) complaints handler (i.e. Communications Ombudsman or CISAS). Ofcom does not deal with individual complaints, but they do monitor them and can take action if enough people raise a concern.

Otherwise, the results below reflect a proportion of residential subscribers (i.e. the total number of quarterly complaints per 100,000 customers per provider), which makes it easier to compare providers in a market where ISPs can vary significantly in size. But sadly, the study only covers feedback from the largest ISPs (i.e. those with a market share of at least 1.5%) due to limited data.

Take note that the proportion of people who were satisfied with their communications services in 2023 was 77% (unchanged from last year) for landline services, 82% (down from 83%) for broadband services and 87% (down from 91%) for all mobile services.

Fixed Line Home Broadband Complaints

For the second quarter running, Virgin Media attracted the most broadband complaints in Q4 2023, with related gripes against the ISP mainly being driven by issues related to complaints handling (44%). On the flip side, Sky Broadband continued to attract the fewest complaints of all the listed providers.

 
Q1 2023
Q2 2023
Q3 2023
Q4 2023

BT
12
13
11
11

EE
7
7
9
9

NOW Broadband (NOW TV)
9
13
18
18

Plusnet
12
11
11
9

Shell Energy
16
13
13
14

Sky Broadband
5
5
5
5

TalkTalk
20
18
15
13

Virgin Media
15
15
32
20

Vodafone
17
24
15
14

Industry Average
12
12
15
12

Fixed Line Phone Complaints

Virgin Media also attracted the most complaints for fixed line phone services, where the top gripe once again related to issues of complaints handling (43%). By comparison, Sky Broadband (Sky Talk) attracted the fewest complaints.

 
Q1 2023
Q2 2023
Q3 2023
Q4 2023

BT
8
7
7
7

EE
5
6
5
3

NOW Broadband (NOW TV)
6
7
11
10

Plusnet
7
7
7
6

Shell Energy
10
10
8
12

Sky Broadband
3
2
2
2

TalkTalk
13
10
10
9

Virgin Media
9
10
19
13

Vodafone
7
8
5
4

Industry Average
7
7
8
7

Mobile Complaints

Mobile operators still enjoy lower complaint levels than fixed line providers, but O2 managed to attract the most gripes during the quarter, with issues around complaints handling (34%) driving most of it – we’re starting to see a bit of a trend. By comparison, EE, Tesco Mobile, Vodafone and Sky Mobile all tied by attracting the fewest gripes.

NOTE: The table list’s BT too, but it’s worth pointing out that they no longer sell mobile plans to new customers.

 
Q1 2023
Q2 2023
Q3 2023
Q4 2023

BT Mobile
7
8
5
3

O2
4
5
6
7

iD Mobile
4
4
4
3

Sky Mobile
2
2
2
2

Tesco Mobile
2
3
3
2

Three UK
3
4
4
4

Virgin Mobile
4
8
 
 

Vodafone
3
3
3
2

EE
3
2
2
2

Industry Average
3
3
3
3

Pay TV Complaints

Finally, Virgin Media attracted the most complaints for Pay TV and the key driver for most of those gripes was, yes you guessed it, issues with complaints handling (48%). Meanwhile, Sky TV and TalkTalk jointly received the fewest pay-TV complaints.

 
Q1 2023
Q2 2023
Q3 2023
Q4 2023

BT
11
10
7
7

Sky TV
2
2
2
2

TalkTalk
4
4
1
2

Virgin Media
9
10
20
13

Industry Average 
5
5
7
5

Ofcom’s Consumer Complaints Report Q4 2023
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/../telecoms-and-pay-tv-complaints

Network operator MS3, which is rolling out a new open access (wholesale) full fibre gigabit broadband network across 30 locations in the UK (mostly East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire), has today announced that they’ll be able to tackle more residential apartment blocks (MDUs) in Hull after securing a master wayleave (legal land/property access) agreement.

The Asterion-backed network operator currently aims to reach 535,000 UK premises by the end of 2025 and has so far (4th Jan 2024) covered 174,261 homes (142,538 RFS), which is up from 158,779 (119,139 RFS) on 2nd Nov 2023. A good chunk of this is in the Hull area of East Yorkshire, where access to Multi-Dwelling Units (MDU) can be a bit tricky and KCOM’s broadband network tends to dominate.

Despite recent changes to the law that should make gaining access to MDUs easier (here and here), they can still present a complex installation challenge and require close cooperation with local landlords and housing associations, who must comply with their own stringent safety standards.

However, while working closely with the Hull City Council (HCC), MS3 has been able to secure a master wayleave agreement to allow access to its MDU premises (e.g. social housing).

Jo Fleming, Corporate Partnerships Manager at MS3, said:

“Offering access to MDUs is an important part of our strategy. MS3 holds a strong belief in the power of technology to bridge the digital divide and promote equal opportunities for all, and we have taken various steps to ensure that individuals from all communities benefit from the progress of the digital era.

Our business model works in a way that is quite unique, in that we sell directly via our multitude of wholesale partners only. What this means is that the consumer can select internet packages that are aligned to their individual bandwidth and budget needs. In addition, our wholesale partners have implemented social tariffs specifically tailored to lessen the financial burden on individuals belonging to more economically disadvantaged communities. These tariffs provide discounted rates for internet services, making them more accessible to those who would otherwise struggle to afford them.

We strive to work with Local Authorities and MPs with their digital inclusion strategies and understand the needs of the local areas and the overall economic benefit we can bring.”

For decades, Hull residents have been limited to a single broadband ISP (KCOM) and thus higher prices. But competition from the likes of MS3 Networks and others is slowly turning that tide. As a wholesale network operator, MS3 has a growing list of ISP partners on its network, each offering a range of affordable packages and prices.

Rural UK ISP Wessex Internet, which is rolling out a full fibre gigabit broadband network across isolated parts of Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Somerset in England, has celebrated after they won the Rural Enterprise category for the South West region of the 2024 Countryside Alliance Awards.

The Countryside Alliance Awards, which are now in their 17th year, were setup to help recognise businesses that go the extra mile within their communities, such as by supporting the local economy and championing local goods and services. Wessex Internet was initially nominated anonymously by their customers, before later topping a public vote to win the award.

At present the operators existing broadband network footprint is vaguely said to cover “tens of thousands of homes” (some of this may relate to their older fixed wireless infrastructure), while their current business plan targets an “additional” 150,000 premises by 2027 through a combination of subsidised and unsubsidised capital investment.

More recently, we’ve also seen Wessex Internet scoop the government’s Project Gigabit roll-out contracts for rural parts of North Dorset (Lot 14.01 – £6m to cover 7,100 premises), the New Forest – Hampshire (Lot 27.01 – £14m to cover 10,500 premises), South Wiltshire (Lot 30 – £18.8m to cover 14,500 premises) and Dorset and South Somerset (Lot 14 – £33.5m to cover 21,400 premises).

Hector Gibson Fleming, CEO at Wessex Internet, said:

“We have always sought to be champions and enablers of the rural economy – through providing ultrafast broadband to areas overlooked by other companies, as an employer of choice for hundreds of local people, and by working in consultation with rural communities and landowners in how we build our network.

I am also delighted for our neighbours at the Child Okeford Village Shop and know first-hand how popular the shop is with our teams. With many villages unfortunately seeing the closure of local amenities, we are lucky to have a nearby shop that provides many locally sourced products – including delicious deli lunches – and an essential Post Office service. By providing ultrafast broadband to Child Okeford and other villages like it, Wessex Internet will also continue doing our part to help rural communities thrive.”

Last year also saw Wessex Internet being named ‘Fibre Provider of the Year’ at the 2023 UK Fibre Awards, as well as winning ‘Best Rural Provider’ for the second year running, and was awarded ‘Best Rural ISP’ at the 2023 ISPA Awards.

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 is fairly expensive by today’s standards, albeit still good if nobody else can supply FTTP.

Low-cost UK mobile operator iD Mobile (Currys), which uses Three UK’s national 4G and 5G network via a virtual operator (MVNO) partnership, has today claimed to be launching a “new” set of fixed price SIM Only mobile plans that pledge not to hike their prices each year by the rate of inflation.

The pledge isn’t actually all that surprising when you consider that Ofcom are already in the process of effectively banning any mid-contract price increases that are linked to either inflation or percentage (%) based changes (here). But the regulator’s change doesn’t completely rule out other mid-contract price hikes, which is where iD Mobile’s commitment to “fixed price” plans may come in handy.

On the other hand, iD Mobile has been promising a “SIM Only Price Lock” with “no annual price rises” alongside their mobile plans since around early February 2024, so that aspect isn’t terribly new. The announcement also fails to include any pricing details of the new plans more generally, which might be because they haven’t changed all that much.

For example, a quick look this morning shows that their entry-level package on a 24-month term now gives you 8GB (GigaBytes) of data with unlimited calls/texts for £7 per month, which is actually £1 more expensive than it was before (note: you get 6GB on a 12-month term for the same price and 5GB for a 30-day term). The top unlimited data plans also seem to be unchanged at £17 for a 24-month term. But it’s possible they haven’t launched the new plans yet (we’re checking).

Lewis Henry, Customer and Marketing Director at iD Mobile, said:

“We understand that in the current cost of living crisis, people are actively seeking better deals across all their everyday essentials. So, we’re fixing our prices across all of our SIM only plans.”

Take note that all of iD Mobile’s plans come with access to 5G, free Data Rollover and inclusive Roaming in 50 destinations worldwide as standard.