The CCO of the Complete Technology Group (CTG), Kevin Monaghan, has criticised today’s Spring Budget 2024 announcement for both failing to “crackdown” on broadband ISPs “inflicting substantial mid-contract price hikes” on consumers and not announcing any new provisions to help upgrade digital infrastructure. The Government currently has two headline investment programmes for improving broadband and […]

Network operator and UK ISP CommunityFibre, which has deployed a 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across a big chunk of London, has sadly just begun informing existing customers about a new round of annual price increases. The only good news is that their packages are still fairly competitive. The operator, which also owns Box […]

Broadband operator Netomnia, which is supported by ISP YouFibre and had been aiming to cover 1 million UK premises with their 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network by early 2024, has announced that they’ve covered 850,000 premises (up from 730k in Nov 2023) and raised a further £147.5m to fuel their rollout. The group, which now […]

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On day one of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024, Huawei’s Bob Chen, President of Huawei Optical Business Product Line, launched the company’s latest Innovative All-Optical Products

Huawei estimate that 2024 will be the year that F5.5G will be used commercially, and within this, 10Gigabit connections are the foundation of intelligent applications. The products launched by Huawei will support the global operators to build F5.5G all-optical target networks and accelerate the development of 10G ultra broadband, which will help F5.5G to be commercialised.

The three products launches were the Industry’s 1st DC-oriented OTN product, OptiX OSN 9800 K36; the Industry’s 1st intelligent OLT product, OptiXaccess MA5800T; and the Industry’s 1st FTTR+X product, iFTTR OptiXstar F50 for ultra-broadband backbone, 10G access, and all-optical smart home scenarios. All three of the product launches will all help operators build a F5.5G all-optical target network and accelerate development of 10G ultra broadband, which will help to expand the commercial use of F5.5G.

In his address, Chen explained that operators must build a an F5.5G all-optical target network that supports “1+3+4” core features amid 10G ultra broadband development in to boost the development of F5.5G further. The three all-optical products that Huawei has launched will help this:

Ultra-broadband backbone: The OptiX OSN 9800 K36 is the industry’s first Data Centre-oriented optical transport network product. It has three innovations. First, it provides single-wavelength 1.6Tbps, 33% higher than the next highest rate and reducing cost-per-bit by 30%. Second, it has an innovative dual-3D orthogonal architecture that quadruples the capacity, so it can deal with traffic surges. The built-in intelligent unit implements detection and real-time intelligent fault analysis within milliseconds, supports accurate construction of digital optical networks, secures the optimal working state for networks, and improves the network availability.

10G access: The industry’s first intelligent optical line terminal (OLT) product, MA5800T, also has upgrades. It enables he capacity of a single slot on the device reaches 2T, more than twice the industry average, and can evolve to 200G PON. It also has built-in intelligent computing to improve user experience.

All-optical smart home: The industry’s first FTTR+X product, the iFTTR F50, features a C-WAN architecture coupled with Wi-Fi 7, resulting in a rapid access rate of 3000 Mbps. It also is equipped with a built-in storage and computing unit providing users with up to 8TB of storage space and intelligent album search functions.

“2024 is the first year of F5.5G commercial use, and fixed networks will take a new leap forward. Amid the development of 10G ultra broadband, Huawei released three innovative all-optical products…helping operators build the F5.5G all-optical target network with “1+3+4” core features, continuously broaden service boundaries, and advance the intelligent world,” concluded Chen.

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If the deal gets the go-ahead, it will mean the removal of UK listed Spirent from the London Stock Exchange 

 

This week, US technology company Viavi Solutions has made a £1 billion takeover bid for UK-based telecoms testing group Spirent Communications. 

Viavi offered 175 pence per share for Spirent, with Chief Executive Oleg Khaykin saying in a press release that the deal would “deliver enhanced product solutions and applications, accelerate growth in new markets and strengthen innovation through expanded engineering and design capabilities”. 

The deal is expected to help Viavi Solutions boost its expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning, security, cloud-native architecture, and automation.   

Viavi, who claim they are a “global leader in communications test and measurement and optical technologies” have outlined their strategic and financial rationale for the acquisition, saying they expect the deal to create a leading provider of test, assurance and security solutions; provide diversification and higher growth; achieve better R&D; and reduce costs, with operational efficiencies set to decrease by $75 million two years after the acquisition. 

“Spirent has undergone a period of significant transformation and growth over recent years and I am proud of the significant progress we have made, thanks to the efforts and commitment of our people,” said Spirent CEO Eric Updyke. 

“More recently, however, we have endured significant challenges due to the macro backdrop and the impact of this on our core end markets. These conditions are likely to continue for some time,” he continued. 

The acquisition will be funded by a combination of Viavi’s existing cash, an $800 million 7-year loan from Wells Fargo Bank, and a $400 million investment from investment firm Silver Lake. 

The deal is subject to standard regulatory approval and is set to close in the second half of the year. 

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Also in the news:
BT wins £26m contract to connect UK schools
Apple fined €1.8bn by European Commission over Spotify row
Japan to reduce regulatory pressure on incumbent NTT

News

Colt Technology Services released findings from a comprehensive study involving 1,114 IT leaders across 12 countries. The research highlights a surge in optimism around technology budgets, with almost 8 in 10 (79%) businesses planning to increase their tech budgets over the next one to three years.

Security (40%) and the integration of AI and machine learning capabilities (31%) emerged as the top priorities for IT leaders. Notably, one in four businesses is leveraging digital infrastructure to explore new revenue streams, with Japan leading at 31% and the US at 30%.

However, environmental concerns are gaining traction, with 20% prioritising understanding the environmental impact of their IT infrastructure and a similar percentage aiming to reduce it. Spain stands out as the most committed in addressing these concerns, with 28% focusing on understanding and 26% on reducing environmental impact.

Buddy Bayer, Chief Operating Officer at Colt, emphasised the shifting perspective on digital infrastructure, now viewed as a central driver for growth and revenue opportunities. The research also uncovered key trends, such as a focus on emerging tech (25%), quantum computing impact awareness (15%), and the critical need for enhanced network flexibility (23%).

Industries exhibit unique priorities, with travel, transport, and logistics companies emphasising environmental impact, financial services leaders focusing on AI and machine learning (36%), and manufacturers (30%) utilising IT to explore new revenue streams.

Bayer expressed enthusiasm for the research results, saying “It’s a privilege for us to carry out this research across so many countries. The exciting results give us a deeper understanding into our markets and they’ll inform and inspire us, as we support our global customers and partners through the next digital revolution”.

The study was conducted by Intuit Research for Colt Technology Services, surveying IT decision-makers across 12 regions between November 30 and December 14, 2023.

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The Conservative MP for Beverley and Holderness, Graham Stuart, has followed up his previous calls for the UK government to clampdown on the use of “ugly and unnecessary” poles – used to deploy some gigabit broadband networks – by sending a letter to the Digital Infrastructure Minister, Julia Lopez, which makes five key “demands“. Poles […]

Energy and telecoms provider UW (Utility Warehouse), which is also known as Telecom Plus, has today announced that the company has passed the “one million customer milestone” and are now setting their sights on “doubling in size to two million customers” (no timescale for this was given). Since 2021, UW has organically signed up more […]

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On day 2 of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona this year, Li Peng, Huawei’s Corporate Senior Vice President and President of ICT Sales & Service, shared his views about the advancing intelligent world in a keynote speech – outlining what the intelligent world means for carriers, and what networks need to do to prepare for the advancement in our increasingly intelligent society. AI has been a huge overarching theme of this year’s MWC, and Li Peng’s sentiment is no different, as Huawei estimates that by 2030, the intelligent economy will be worth almost $19 trillion.

Li outlines that as we have witnessed the vast changes in the ICT industry over the last two decades, we will see many more new changes as quickly approach a fully intelligent world. Most importantly, Li notes, the intelligent world “unleashed the potential for ubiquitous connectivity.”

The intelligent world will create a more efficient way to create and process information, and by 2026, it‘s estimated that AI will create over 100 billion GB of data, which is both a massive requirement and opportunity for carriers. But what exactly does it mean for them? It means that there will be an increase in innovations like livestreaming and cloud phones, but for these to work to the best of their ability, low latency, quality of service and guaranteed uplink are paramount, says Li. If this is done well, the carriers will be able to monetize mobile services beyond just connectivity, and Huawei estimates that the market will be worth over $100 billion.

Li gives the example of the insurance industry. If someone has a car accident, they use 5G New Calling to deal with the insurance claim. The one-stop solution reduces the handling time from hours to minutes. Consumers can see the ease and tangible benefit that the service will bring to their everyday life. Use cases like this can help carriers monetize the B2B2C market.

These days, Li notes, everything can be connected, from roads to warehouses, from land to sea, and from cities and to the most remote places on earth, which will only increase over time. But these new services require stronger network capabilities, such as deterministic experience, Passive-IoT, etc. The example of cloud phones can use remote storage and processing power with real-time broadband connection is given, so consumers can enjoy better experiences in cloud gaming and remote office.

Li concludes his speech by emphasising that, “the intelligent world is around the corner. The opportunities are endless. Let’s build today’s networks for tomorrow’s applications. Together, we can succeed in advancing the intelligent world.”

 

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned another advert for UK fixed wireless broadband ISP 6G Internet (IX Wireless), albeit this time for sending out a “misleading” leaflet promotion that claimed the provider offered “Full Fibre Speed Broadband” (Full Fibre is a term that’s typically only be used by FTTP networks). The provider previously got […]