We reported yesterday that Openreach (BT) had announced a range of price cuts for their full fibre broadband lines (here), but as part of the push toward FTTP the operator also hiked prices for copper-line broadband and phone services too (FTTC / SOGEA and G.fast etc.). Such changes will be particularly painful for those with […]
Business ISP Inclarity Communications Sold to DRD Communications
Earlier this month we reported (here) that UK business broadband and I.T solutions provider Inclarity Communications had fallen into administration. The good news is that the company’s administrators, Moorfields Advisory Limited, have sold the company to VanillaIP owners DRD Communications. As previously reported, Inclarity’s last publicly available accounts, which were made up to 31st July […]
Nokia announces five-year network analytics deal with BT
Press Release
Nokia today announced that it has expanded its partnership with BT in a five-year deal for its AVA Analytics software for fixed networks that will help the UK operator strengthen its network monitoring through AI and machine learning, and improve its subscriber experience.
The deal enhances Nokia’s dashboard solution (“Homeview”) for BT to give its call center agents a real-time, full view of the operator’s network, from individual subscribers to devices, in order to quickly correct access and in home issues, and provide the best service across all its phone and digital channels.
Nokia’s AVA Analytics will provide BT with the use of automated workflows with deep analytics to deliver operational efficiency improvements and boost BT’s net promoter scores (NPS). NPS is a barometer of how likely a customer would recommend a provider or service to another user.
Along with AVA Analytics, Nokia’s Home Device Manager and Service Management Platform enables BT’s roughly 6,000 care agents to remotely manage over 10 million WiFi connections, with more than 100 million actions taken each day to optimize the home broadband experience for BT’s customers.
Nick Lane, Managing Director for Consumer Customer Services at BT, said: “Our expanded partnership with Nokia is another demonstration of our commitment to providing the best customer experience by investing in AI, analytics, and other state-of the-art technology. Our partnership will help BT’s customer service agents provide the best service across all phone and digital channels and continue to make BT the only network to answer 100% of customer calls in the UK.”
Hamdy Farid, Senior Vice President, Business Applications at Nokia, said: “Nokia AVA Fixed Network Insights is a critical component to helping operators improve network diagnosis and troubleshooting processes, while reducing unnecessary manual fixes. We are very pleased to be taking our partnership with BT to the next level with this agreement.”
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Is time running out for TikTok?
News
The US government is mulling a nationwide ban on one of the world’s largest social media platforms due to national security fears
This week, Democrats and Republicans have joined forces to propose a new law that would see TikTok banned in the US.
The bipartisan bill would aim to block transactions from any social media company deemed to be under the control of China or Russia. The bill proposes that these foreign governments could use the apps not only to capture personal data from US citizens, but also to indirectly influence the population, particularly with regards to foreign policy and domestic elections.
“This isn’t about creative videos — this is about an app that is collecting data on tens of millions of American children and adults every day,” said Senator Marco Rubio, who introduced the bill. “We know it’s used to manipulate feeds and influence elections. We know it answers to the People’s Republic of China. There is no more time to waste on meaningless negotiations with a CCP-puppet company. It is time to ban Beijing-controlled TikTok for good.”
The announcement comes roughly a month after a hearing in which the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Chris Wray, suggesting that the platform continues to pose a threat to national security.
TikTok’s relationship with the Chinese government has been a source of debate for years now, with concerns first coming to a head in 2020 when President Donald Trump threatened a de facto ban on the platform in the US market.
While this ban was ultimately blocked by judges later that year, scrutiny over TikTok’s owner, Beijing-based ByteDance, has been a continuous focus ever since. Numerous US states have since taken the unilateral decisions to prohibit the use of TikTok on federal networks and devices.
TikTok, naturally, described the bill as “troubling”, in a statement calling it “politically motivated” and saying that it “will do nothing to advance the national security of the United States”.
The company also said that it continues to improve the security of its platform and is communicating these improvements to Congress.
If such a ban were to be implemented, the implications would be enormous. Globally, TikTok has over a billion users, over a 100 million of which are from the US.
However, the chances of such a ban ever materialising are slim. TikTok’s popularity in the US alone would make this bill hugely unpopular with the general public. Furthermore, the US government has been notoriously slow to change data privacy and content moderation laws, despite perceived threats; consider, for example, the ongoing debates around platforms like Twitter and Facebook and their influence over the US political landscape.
“From a privacy standpoint, simply preventing a company like TikTok from operating doesn’t close the gaps,” noted Caitlin Chin, a fellow at the Washington DC-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
On the contrary, it seems more likely that this bill will die a slow death in the bowels of bureaucracy over the coming years, with the current hubbub instead largely intended to restate the government’s continued crackdown on Chinese tech companies.
How is the regulatory landscape in the US set to change in 2023? Join the telecoms industry in discussion at the upcoming Connected America conference live in Dallas, Texas
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More Rural Villages in Powys to Get FTTP Broadband Installed
The Powys County Council in Wales has announced that their Digital Powys project, which is supported by the UK and Welsh government’s gigabit voucher schemes, will soon result in three community broadband schemes (Llanfan Fawr & Llanwrthwl, Aberedw & Glascwm, and Dwyriw & Manafon) deploying a new full fibre network. Rural network builder Broadway Partners […]
Sky UK Add FREE Mobile Social Tariff for Sky Broadband Basics Users
Customers who take UK ISP Sky Broadband’s cheaper “Basics” social tariff for home broadband and phone connectivity will now also gain the ability to add Sky’s new mobile social tariff, which will provide existing users with unlimited UK calls and texts and 3GB of data per month for 12 months “at no cost at all“. […]
Ethio Telecom already coming to blows with newcomer Safaricom
News
The Ethiopian incumbent operator is threatening legal action against Safaricom Ethiopia after the latter reportedly damaged their infrastructure
At the start of October, Safaricom Ethiopia officially launched commercial mobile services in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, marking the end of one of the world’s last remaining telecoms monopolies.
Since then, the company has been rapidly rolling out its own network across the country, as well as extending services to additional customers via an infrastructure sharing agreement with Ethio Telecom.
However, the relationship between the incumbent and the newcomer is already beginning to fray, with Ethio Telecom suggesting it could sue Safaricom over network disruption suffered earlier this week.
In a Twitter thread, the operator said its customers in the Afar region had experienced a service blackout on December 11 as a result of damage to their infrastructure caused by Safaricom Ethiopia. The latter was in the process of deploying their own infrastructure in the region.
“As a result of the construction of the line that was being carried out, our international communication line passing through Djibouti as well as our service lines in the Afar region were severely damaged in many places. Extensive repairs have been carried out by our company’s experts and the telecom service has been restored,” read the Tweet, originally posted in Amharic. “Therefore, for the harassment, interruption of service, and loss suffered by our honourable customers, we declare that we will hold the parties who committed the act without prior warning accountable by law.”
This clash is the first sign of real tension between the two companies, who until now have appeared relatively amiable.
However, the Ethiopian telecoms market could soon get even more complicated, with the government announcing last month that they would reinitiate the sector’s long-delayed liberalisation process.
This will include allocating a third national telecoms licence to a winning bidder, as well as selling a 40% stake in Ethio Telecom.
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Commsworld Bring Gigabit Broadband to 110 Northumberland Schools
Scotland-based UK business broadband ISP Commsworld has reached a new agreement with Northumberland County Council in England, which will see them take responsibility for rolling out a new gigabit-capable full fibre network to connect 110 schools in the county. The announcement contains very little information or funding details, but we assume that the investment for […]
Rural Full Fibre ISP Truespeed Launch New Linksys WiFi 6 Router
Alternative network provider Truespeed, which is building a gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across rural parts of South West England, appears to be moving away from their heavily restricted routers of old and have today launched a new WiFi 6 router from Linksys and optional Mesh system. The operator, which has so far covered […]
The Asia Communication Awards Ceremony 2022: Watch live!
Join us LIVE at 5pm SGT on 14 December for the Asia Communication Awards virtual ceremony
Launched in 2011, the Asia Communication Awards recognise the region’s leading communication service providers and telecom operators as well as OEMs, suppliers, and other service providers based within the region or offering products and solutions specifically targeting the region.
For 2022, Total Telecom is delighted to be able to bring back the ACAs with a totally refreshed line-up of awards categories and a carefully selected panel of expert judges.
Click the link below to watch live from 5pm SGT!
Once again, a huge congratulations to all of our award winners. We look forward to you joining us once again in 2023.
A more detailed summary of the ACA winners will be published in the coming days.