A number of Virgin Media’s UK broadband ISP customers have been left frustrated after they were promised the provider’s latest Hub 5 router (Sagemcom F3896LG-VMB) with their package, but instead ended up being sent an inferior Hub 4 (Arris TG3492LG-VMB) and with no clear promise to rectify the issue at a later date. The issue […]

The Mayor of London UK, Sadiq Khan, has today claimed that 50% of the capital city (up from 4% in 2017) can now access a full fibre broadband ISP network, which is apparently “thanks to the Mayor’s policies and his work with boroughs and broadband providers“. We’d say only a small part of it is […]

News

The job cuts come amongst a raft of cost-cutting measures that have been ongoing since the start of 2021

This week, the announcement of Telia’s lacklustre Q4 results has been accompanied by an acceleration of job cutting plans, with the company set to reduce its headcount by 1,500 this year.

According to the company’s earnings statement, the first 1,000 of these jobs will be slashed in Q1 this year, with the remaining 500 expected to be cut by the end of the year.

The company currently employs around 20,000 full time staff in various markets.

Telia has been attempting to cut costs significantly for a number of years now, in 2021 laying out a new strategic plan that included job cuts, asset divestiture, and operational streamlining.

At the time, the company said it would aim to cut 1,000 jobs a year until 2025, but now the macroeconomic environment, including rising energy prices and inflation, is forcing the company to accelerate its strategy.

Struggling under the weight of $2 billion in non-financial impairments related to its Norwegian and Finnish units, this year Telia noted a net loss of roughly $1.8 billion –a stark contrast to the profit it recorded for the same period a year ago.

“We are transforming a large, complex business in a challenging market and there are no shortcuts to success. We have known from the start that achieving our ambitious goals demands focus, discipline and perseverance,” said Telia CEO Allison Kirkby. “However, having returned the company to growth, expanded our 5G networks, passed our investment peak and built the foundations for better operational momentum and cash conversion going forward, I remain confident we are on the right track.”

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News

The operator says it plans to hire over 400 apprentice and graduates in its September 2023 intake

This week, UK incumbent operator BT has announced that it is looking to foster the next generation of telecoms talent by bringing on board over 400 new recruits in the coming year.

The new apprentices and graduates will be recruited to work in a variety of areas within the business, including engineering, customer service, and cybersecurity.

These jobs will be made available at a variety of locations around the UK, primarily in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Ipswich, Leeds, London, and Manchester.

BT notes that many of these offices are part of its ongoing Better Workplace Programme, a scheme first announced back in 2019 that sought to consolidate the company’s 300 offices into just 30 as part of broader cost cutting measures. The Programme, which is set to be completed next year, aimed to modernise these remaining locations, creating “future fit, high tech workspaces where colleagues can collaborate, innovate and deliver the best service for BT Group’s customers and for the business”.

It is also worth noting here that his hiring process will be undertaken with BT’s Manifesto in mind, aiming to more diversified workforce by 2030. As part of the plan, BT is targetting a 50:50 gender split within the workforce, as well as ethnic minority groups making up 25% of staff, and people with disabilities comprising 17%.

“As one of the largest private sector employers of apprentices and graduates in the UK, we continue to recruit and attract brilliant people into our business and we offer unparalleled development opportunities to those who join us,” said Athalie Williams, BT Group’s Chief Human Resources Officer. “Despite the current economic backdrop, we’re building a future pipeline of talent to help drive growth across our business, deliver great outcomes for all of our customers and to underpin economic growth in the UK.”

The operator says it has recruited over 2,600 apprentices and graduates over the last five years, with around 4,000 of the company’s staff working towards qualifications at any one time.

This announcement of further recruitment comes at a relatively delicate time for BT.

Last November, the company said that soaring energy prices would force it to seek even more cost savings by 2025 than previous expected, increasing targets from £2.5 billion to £3 billion. Some of these cost savings would “inevitably” be derived from a reduction in staff, according to BT CEO Philip Jansen.

It is also worth noting that BT has only recently settled a pay dispute with its existing engineers and call centre staff, which saw disgruntled workers vote for the first national strike action in 35 years. In November, BT agreed to settle the despute by offering staff a £1,500 pay rise.

Is the UK telecoms industry doing enough to nurture the next generation of telecoms talent? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s upcoming Connected North conference

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Press Release

This agreement between AFR-IX and Colt will enable the multinational to strengthen its connections to the main European routes

Barcelona (Spain), 26th January 2023. Colt Technology Services (Colt), the digital infrastructure company, today announced the connection of its award-winning intelligent Colt IQ Network to the Barcelona Cable Landing Station (Barcelona CLS). Colt becomes first carrier to link to Barcelona CLS of AFR-IX telecom. The new CLS has been built by African internet exchange AFR-IX Telecom which is already using Colt’s network in the African market to provide an internet service to African operators and customers to connect them to European data centers via Colt’s routes.

Colt operates in more than 220 cities in over 30 countries and connects more than 1,000 data centres and over 31,000 connected buildings in the largest business centres in Europe, Asia and North America. Colt’s network in Spain and Portugal is already serving Lisbon, Bilbao, Madrid and Barcelona, and has 13 connection points to data centers in Barcelona.

Connection with the major European digital hubs

Colt will be able to offer, from Barcelona CLS, services like  data centre interconnection (Data Centre Interconnect), inter-network traffic exchange (IP Transit) or dark fibre (non-active fibre optic circuits that enable the capacity of customers to be expanded in times of need).

Colt will enable Barcelona CLS to connect to Europe’s major digital hubs (Paris, London, Frankfurt) and provide an express terrestrial route to other key regional cable landing stations such as Lisbon, Bilbao and Marseilles, installing new submarine cables and capacity in the US, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

In addition, the Colt deal is an example of how Barcelona CLS is shaping the digital ecosystem needed to build a competitive digital hub in Southern Europe.

Christian Schmidt, Colt’s Network Expansion Manager for Spain, said: “Colt is participating in the repositioning of the Iberian Peninsula as a European digital hub, becoming a key player in the connections between America, Asia, Africa and Europe. To avoid saturation in Europe, the peninsula has become an essential hub to diversify connectivity. The Barcelona landing station for submarine cables will position the Iberian peninsula geo-strategically as a key access point to Europe.”

Norman Albi, CEO of AFR-IX telecom, said: “We are very proud that Colt, with whom AFR-IX telecom has had a long-standing business relationship, will be part of the Barcelona CLS project, as it will represent a major deployment of the station’s activity, which opened in October. With Colt, we are sure that other operators will follow, as synergies are very important in this sector”.

How is the submarine cable landscape changing in 2023? Join the experts in discussion at this year’s live Submarine Networks EMEA conference

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Customers of Shell Energy, which is a retail provider of energy and broadband services to UK consumers, could be facing an uncertain future after Shell launched a “strategic review” of the business due to “tough market conditions“. Shell is known to be considering several options, including an exit from the sector. The move may come […]

Broadband ISP and telecoms giant BT has tonight announced that they intend to recruit another 400 apprentices and graduates this year (down from 600 in 2022), which will form part of their usual September 2023 intake. This will reflect roles spanning areas such as engineering (5G and FTTP etc.), customer service, research and security. As […]

Technical UK consultancy firm FarrPoint has today published a new report, which surveyed 100 digital leaders at local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales to discover the priorities and challenges they face in upgrading digital infrastructure (e.g. gigabit broadband, 5G mobile etc.). The report – FarrPoint Digital Connectivity Survey 2023 (PDF) – found that around […]

The Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme in England and UK ISP Airband have today issued a new January 2023 update on their Phase 2 contract to deploy a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across the region, which reveals some of the next areas to benefit. The work reflects Airband’s existing deal with CDS, which […]

Fern Trading, which is part of Octopus Investments’ portfolio and backs a number of UK full fibre broadband projects from Giganet, Jurassic Fibre, Swish Fibre, AllPoints Fibre and Vorboss, is also supporting another company called Vitrifi that has just launched a new technology to help AltNets offer wholesale products. The new system being introduced by […]