News

The proposed guidance would only allow internet providers to use the terms ‘fibre’ and ‘full fibre’ to indicate fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), not the inferior fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC)

You only have to spend a short time in the world of telecoms to realise that the sector loves an acronym.

From relatively benign terms like CSP (communications service provider) to the more arcane, such as FDD (frequency division duplexing), navigating telecoms’ linguistic landscape can be a minefield for even the most seasoned professional.

But while all this represents a relatively minor stumbling block for those within the industry, for the broader public the challenge is far greater.

For years now, various surveys had drawn attention to the fact that UK customers typically have a relatively low understanding of what their broadband package actually contains. In more recent studies by Ofcom itself, the regulator found that 27% of broadband customers lacked confidence in understanding the language used by their provider. Indeed, this fact was borne out by related research that showed 46% of customers believed they were connected to full fibre (i.e., FTTH), while actually living in areas where FTTH was unavailable.

Clearly, there is a communications breakdown here between broadband providers and their customers, and this is exactly what Ofcom is today attempting to remedy with the launch of a new consultation.

Under the newly proposed rules, broadband providers would be forced to use the term ‘full fibre’ only for FTTH, as well as providing a more detailed explanation of terminology where appropriate.

The broadband industry is being invited to share its thoughts on the proposed rules, with a deadline for comments on May 3.

“It’s vital that customers are provided with the right information to help them choose the best broadband service for them. But some of the industry jargon used to describe the underlying technology supporting their broadband service can be unclear and inconsistent, meaning customers are left confused,” explained Selina Chadha, Ofcom’s Director of Connectivity. “So today we’re proposing to introduce new guidance to ensure that broadband firms give clearer, straightforward information about their services – making it easier for people to take advantage of more reliable, and potentially higher speed technology, as it becomes available.”

Are ISPs doing enough to communicate clearly with their customers? Join the telecoms ecosystem in discussion at this year’s Connected North conference live in Manchester

Also in the news:
Viasat–Inmarsat merger gets provisional greenlight from CMA
Verizon shuffles executive team in search of growth
Ericsson to pay DoJ $206.7m over bribery scandal

News

The deal will see the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company provide connectivity across Orange’s international footprint

Today, Orange has announced a new partnership with UK-based LEO satellite player OneWeb, seeking to use the burgeoning constellation to provide front- and backhaul connectivity to customers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.

The operator says the deal will allow them to extend connectivity services to customers in hard-to-reach areas, particularly in cases where reaching the customer with traditional terrestrial connectivity would be impractical or prohibitively expensive.

The satellite constellation will also serve to bolster Orange’s existing network, providing additional resilience and backhaul capacity.

“At Orange, we believe that satellite is a promising and complementary technology showcasing many recent innovations that will benefit enterprises all around the word and will accelerate the digital inclusion of populations within our subsidiaries in Africa and the Middle East,” said Jean-Louis Le Roux, Executive Vice President, of Orange International Networks Infrastructures & Services. “We are therefore delighted to partner with OneWeb as it will allow us to continue deploying high quality networks in all underserved parts of the world.”

With this deal, Orange becomes the latest in a growing list of major operator clients for OneWeb, with the UK satellite operator having already scored similar deals with AT&T, BT, Telefonica, Bharti Airtel, and others.

Orange currently offers telecoms services in 26 countries, over half of which are in Africa, a market where almost a billion people remain unconnected to the internet.

However, OneWeb’s services will not be available in all of Orange’s markets immediately. Following the company’s latest launch in January this year, OneWeb will soon have 542 satellites in orbit, with the constellation already able to provide services to Alaska, Canada, the UK, Greenland, and the wider Arctic area.

The latest batch of 40 satellites, which take around 100 days to reach orbit and become operational, will increase this reach to Southern Europe, the US, North Africa, the Middle East, Japan, Australia, and India.

To achieve global coverage, the OneWeb says it will require 588 satellites, a feat that will be achieved after the next batch of satellites is launched later this year.

An additional 60 satellites will also be constructed to provide a mix of in-orbit and ground spares, bringing the OneWeb constellation’s final number to 648.

Somewhat ironically, these launches are being facilitated by OneWeb’s rival, SpaceX, after the company lost access to Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft as a result of Russian’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

SpaceX’s own LEO constellation, Starlink, already has over 3,580 devices in orbit.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest telecoms news? Receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter direct to your inbox

Also in the news:
Viasat–Inmarsat merger gets provisional greenlight from CMA
Verizon shuffles executive team in search of growth
Ericsson to pay DoJ $206.7m over bribery scandal

The Independent Networks Co-operative Association, which represents UK alternative broadband ISP networks, has today warned Ofcom that “more than £25bn worth of investment” to improve the UK’s digital infrastructure “will be directly threatened” if Openreach is allowed to introduce new FTTP wholesale price discounts (Equinox 2). Just to recap. Openreach are set to introduce a […]

Broadband ISP BT has today confirmed that they will restart the national UK rollout of their new Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) based Digital Voice product from April 2023, which will start gradually with a series of expanded pilot schemes that will be made up of “lower usage landline customers” who already have full fibre broadband. Just to […]

Good news. The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed new guidance that would only allow broadband ISPs to use the terms “fibre” and “full-fibre” on their websites and in contracts “if their network uses fibre-optic cables all the way from the exchange to the home” (i.e. FTTP). As we’ve previously reported, numerous broadband ISPs […]

Blackburn-based network operator IX Wireless, which is building a new gigabit-capable wireless broadband network for UK ISP 6G Internet (NOT related to 6G mobile), has faced criticism after over a hundred residents in part of Bolton came out to protest against their installation of another 15 metre high metal pole (mast). The operator, which has […]

A team of researchers from the University of Oxford – working in close collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University – claims to have made a breakthrough to enable “perfectly secure” hidden digital communications for the first time by tackling some of the flaws with steganography via a new computer algorithm. For those who may be unfamiliar, […]

New customers of the Sky Stream TV product, which uses your home broadband ISP (doesn’t have to be Sky Broadband) and WiFi to stream Sky’s on-demand video and live TV content directly to your existing TV without a satellite dish, may be displeased to learn that they no longer own the set-top-box (puck) itself. The […]

The UK Government’s Technology Secretary, Michelle Donelan MP, will today re-introduce the new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDI No.2) to parliament, which among other things will increase fines for nuisance calls and texts to be either up to 4% of global turnover or £17.5 million, whichever is greater. The telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has […]

News

The deal will see private equity firm EQT Partners take a 67% stake in SK Shieldus

The deal will see EQT acquire the entirety of Macquarie Group’s 37% in the business, with the rest of the equity being purchased from SK Square directly.

After the sale, SK Square will retain a 32% stake in the business.

SK Shieldus currently provides security infrastructure across 680,000 commercial customer sites and more than 100 central monitoring and dispatch centres across South Korea. The company also provides options for both physical and cyber protection at strategic customer locations.

The company’s key partners include South Korea’s police and security services.

“The company is a clear leader in both the Korean physical and cyber security markets and EQT Value-Add Infrastructure is excited about partnering with SK Square to support SK Shieldus as it continues to roll out new digitized security solutions and invest in the decarbonisation of its vehicle fleet,” said Sang Jun Suh, Managing Director and Head of South Korea for EQT’s Infrastructure Advisory Team.

As always, the transaction is subject to the typical regulatory approvals, with the deal expected to close in Q3 this year.

Originally named ADT Caps, SK Shieldus spun off and given its new name back in 2021, with the company saying it would leverage artificial intelligence, cloud computing and quantum-safe security capabilities, the company will double down on new growth engines. Its four major focuses were given as cyber security, physical security, convergence security and safety and care.

Following the spinoff, SK Group quickly planned an initial public offering worth around $2.8 billion. However, in September last year, SK Group said they had pulled the plug on a plan citing unfavourable global economic conditions.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest telecoms news? Receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter direct to your inbox

Also in the news:
Viasat–Inmarsat merger gets provisional greenlight from CMA
Verizon shuffles executive team in search of growth
Ericsson to pay DoJ $206.7m over bribery scandal