MBNL extends managed services contract with Ericsson

Ericsson won a two-year network managed services contract extension from MBNL, the network-sharing joint venture between UK mobile operators Three and EE.

Ericsson has been MBNL’s managed services provider since 2009. The new extension covers Design, Plan and Deploy projects from June 2018 until May 2020.

Pat Coxen, Managing Director at MBNL, says: “The agreement to extend the Design, Plan and Deploy services contract with Ericsson, for a further two years, reflects the strength of the collaborative relationship between Ericsson and MBNL. This will continue the trend of collectively delivering great results and is a sign of true partnership. We look forward to continuing the great work with Ericsson in order to meet the demanding buisiness objectives of MBNL and its Shareholders.”

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Three UK posts 2% revenue growth in 1H18, signs Huawei for 5G

Three UK reported revenue of £1.19 billion for the first half of 2018, up 2% from 1H17.

Customer service margin was £729 million, up 1%, and EBITDA was £364 million, up 7%.

Operational highlights:

• 6% growth of the active contract customer base; total customer base now 10.1 million
• Contract handset churn at lowest ever level of 1%, a 9% improvement
• Usage per customer of 7.6GB per month, up 10% from 6.9GB
• 84% of customer base using 4G and 75% of data usage on 4G network
• The company secured 20MHz at auction to add to its 5G spectrum portfolio
• The company signed an agreement with SSE to unbundle BT local telephone exchanges to facilitate fibre optic connections of masts to datacentres.
• Three UK is the first UK network to stop selling 3G-only handsets

Three UK also confirmed that it has awarded a new contract to Huawei for its 5G network roll-out.

“Over the course of 2018, we will accelerate the rollout of our 5G network and the opportunity this brings to both our existing and prospective base of customers and partners. All the key components that are needed for a successful 5G service have been procured over the last few years and I am excited by the prospect of trialling 5G soon, working together with our new IT and Core network infrastructure.

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Openreach sets wholesale pricing for UK fibre broadband

Openreach announced a new, supplementary wholesale discount structure for fibre broadband in the UK in return for volume commitments.

Openreach said it would offer long-term discounts to all of its Communication Provider (CP) customers from 21 August. The discounts go beyond Ofcom’s pricing controls on its superfast broadband products.

BT believes that the new pricing structure will allow CPs to encourage more of their customers onto better services and ultimately to move the vast majority of Britain’s homes and businesses onto superfast and ultrafast platforms.

The Openreach pricing tiers are posted here:

https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/products/super-fastfibreaccess/downloads/Openreach_Special_Offer_GEA_Volume_Agreement.pdf

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Vodafone activates its first gigabit residential service in UK

Vodafone began offering home broadband speeds of 1 Gbps, about 20 times the current UK average of 46 Mbps, in Milton Keynes. The full fibre home broadband service is first being tested in 50 customer homes before it is made widely available across the city.

Nick Jeffery, Vodafone UK Chief Executive, said: “Full fibre is vital to our digital economy and to the UK’s future as a digital leader, yet just 3% of UK premises currently have access to it. That’s why we are offering Vodafone Gigafast Broadband and making it available on a mass scale, reaching a million UK homes by 2021.”

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Openreach picks Huawei and Nokia for Fibre First

Openreach has selected Huawei and Nokia for its "Fibre First" national Fibre-To-The-Premises (FTTP) rollout, which aims to reach three million homes and businesses across the UK by the end of 2020.

Huawei and Nokia have each been awarded contracts to provide new electronics that support Openreach’s headend equipment. Huawei has already started to deploy the new kit across the Openreach fibre network, whilst Nokia is expected to start installing equipment from July next year. This equipment includes the Huawei MA5800-X17 and the Nokia ISAM FX-16.

Peter Bell, CTO & NGA Operations Director, Openreach said: “We’ll be going flat out to make FTTP available to three million homes by the end of 2020, and we want to reach 10 million by the mid-2020s, so using cutting-edge technology will be integral to achieving that. Britons consume more than double the amount of data they did just three years ago and whilst we’re already a leading digital economy, Openreach continues to invest in network upgrades to make sure we can repeat that success and keep well ahead of demand.”

Jeffrey Zhou, president of Huawei Access network, said: “As a long-term strategic partner of Openreach, we look forward to continuing our work with the fibre and network delivery team. We welcome the opportunity to help build a better, faster and intelligent network that helps Openreach customers stay connected. Huawei is committed to building a better connected UK.”

Frederic Guillén, President of Nokia Fixed Networks, added: “We’re excited about this new five-year collaboration with Openreach and are confident that our innovation, strength and operational expertise will benefit all broadband subscribers in the UK.”

http://news.openreach.co.uk/pressreleases/openreach-selects-huawei-and-nokia-to-support-its-fibre-first-programme-2576879

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Vodafone to launch 5G trial in UK cities this year

Vodafone UK confirmed plans to launch a 5G trial network in seven cities across the UK starting between October and December this year.

Specifically, Vodafone engineers are already laying the groundwork for 5G at more than 40 sites in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Manchester.

The 5G rollout will be part of Vodafone's "Gigabit UK" vision, which also includes fixed broadband using gigabit-capable ‘full fibre’ connections all the way to people’s homes and offices. Vodafone plans to bring its Gigabit UK service to seven cities by then of this year, including Aberdeen, Coventry, Edinburgh, Huddersfield, Milton Keynes, Peterborough and Stirling.

Vodafone UK Chief Executive Nick Jeffery said: “We want to make 5G and new fibre broadband services available to consumers and business throughout the UK, delivering a Gigabit society for all. We will also be bringing ultra-fast 4G to several hundred sites in hard to reach rural areas this year, building on our position as the network that offers the best voice coverage in the UK.”

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LINX adopts disaggregated network architecture using EVPN on open hardware

The London Internet Exchange (LINX) migrated its LON2 platform to a new disaggregated network model that uses EVPN technology. The new architecture became fully operational on 5th June following an extensive testing, proof of concept, and migration process lasting nearly two years.

LINX is believed to be the first IXP globally to implement EVPN in its production fabric.

LINX said its new LON2 architecture employs EVPN over VXLAN, leaf-spine topology, full automation and is 100G ready.

LON2 is using IP Infusion’s OcNOS network operating system in concert with switch hardware from Edgecore Networks.

LINX is one of the world’s largest Internet Exchange Point (IXP) operators connecting over 820 networks from over 75 countries. It operates a dual-LAN infrastructure in London with regional exchanges in Manchester, Cardiff and central Scotland. It also operates an exchange in Northern Virginia, USA.

“By introducing a disaggregated platform, LINX members will benefit from increased flexibility plus continued value from their investment,” said Richard Petrie, LINX CTO. “The EVPN technology allows LINX to deliver long-term innovative technology to our members, a commitment to ever-greater levels of service quality and to allow us to provide services at a greatly reduced cost base.”

LINX Lead Architect, Flemming Heino, added, “With EVPN everything is programmed. Switches talk to one another, they are synchronised and ultimately more predictable and stable. The system offers many benefits and the flexibility for more features to be added such as multi-homing.”

George Tchaparian, CEO, Edgecore Networks, said, “There are many operational and cost benefits of the new architecture model and Edgecore are extremely proud to have worked with LINX on this ground-breaking project. We’ve clearly demonstrated that open network systems are ready outside of data centre applications and are viable solutions for mainstream telecom service providers."

https://www.linx.net/contact/linx-news/

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ADVA FSP 3000 powers UK’s first quantum network

ADVA's FSP 3000 platform is powering a metro transport system in the city of Cambridge that is being used for the UK's first quantum network.

The project, which is conducted by the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme, super-encrypts data using quantum key distribution (QKD) for complete and long-term cryptographic data security.

ADVA said the openness of its ADVA FSP 3000 platform, which can accept keys from third-party systems utilizing standard protocols, is a vital component of the ultra-secure ROADM-based network. For several years, ADVA has worked closely with Toshiba and the Quantum Communications Hub to engineer the groundbreaking data protection system.

The ADVA FSP 3000’s open interface was developed to comply with early drafts of the new ETSI quantum-safe cryptography standard currently being developed by an ISG headed by Toshiba. This enables the platform to interoperate with external systems and is crucial to the viability of the new QKD solution as it allows the ADVA FSP 3000 to securely and robustly accept keys. What’s more, ADVA’s WDM platform is able to utilize the same fiber for sending high-speed encrypted data as well as for distributing (or generating) quantum keys. QKD is widely predicted to be fundamental to the future of transport network security, especially for finance and government network applications. Distributing encryption keys by transmitting quantum states guarantees the secrecy of data as any attempt to intercept traffic disturbs photons, introducing coding errors and alerting network operators. This makes QKD the ultimate defense against man-in-the-middle attacks.

“As part of the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme in the Quantum Communications Hub, we’re bringing together a wide range of universities, public sector bodies and private companies in a unique collaboration. Our shared goal is realizing the potential of QKD technologies to deliver secure communications. Now, alongside key partners such as ADVA, we’ve reached the stage where QKD-based security is ready for live traffic,” said Tim Spiller, York University and director of the Quantum Communications Hub.

“This launch is a genuine milestone for data protection. By working with Toshiba and the Quantum Communications Hub to advance QKD, we’re ushering in a new age of robust security. This technology will provide peace of mind to businesses most at risk from cyberattacks both now and in the future. They and their customers can have confidence that their data will be shielded from all threats including data harvesting for future quantum hacking,” commented Jörg-Peter Elbers, SVP, advanced technology, ADVA. “In recent years, our encryption technology has earned a formidable reputation for protecting service provider and enterprise networks while ensuring highest capacity, lowest latency and maximum scalability. Our ConnectGuard™ suite offers the strongest protection possible at Layers 1, 2, 3 and 4. Using our FSP 3000 to enable QKD protection ensures our technology will remain at the forefront of secure data transport, even in the post-quantum era.”

“Developing quantum cryptography in fiber optic networks has long been a focus for our team. Over the years, we’ve taken it from PoCs in the lab to real-world demonstrations and we were the first company to achieve a transfer rate of more than 1Mbit/s for quantum communication. Now, through close collaboration with ADVA and the Quantum Communications Hub, we’ve created a fully operational transport network secured by QKD and ready to carry live data,” said Andrew Shields, assistant managing director, Toshiba Research Europe Limited, Cambridge Research Lab. “At a time of increasingly frequent and severe cyberattacks, this technology will prove vital to enterprises looking to fortify their data security, particularly those in the financial sector. Not only does it offer a new level of protection against intrusion on fiber optic networks, but it also safeguards against the upcoming threat of hacking in a post-quantum world.”

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EE to launch 5G trial in London in October

EE, which operates the UK's biggest mobile network, plans to launch a live 5G trial network in East London in October.

The EE 5G trial will encompass 10 sites around East London in areas including City Road, Old Street, Hoxton Square, St Paul’s and Chiswell Street. EE will be using social media channels to sign-up the first 5 small business and 5 residences to test the service.

EE said it aims to be the first UK operator to launch 5G, but did not commit to a rollout date.

Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer business, said: “This live trial is a big step forward in making the benefits of 5G a reality for our customers, and in making sure that the UK is at the front of the pack for 5G technology. We’re focusing our resource and experience across EE and BT to ensure that we continue to lead the UK market with a mobile network that keeps giving our customers the best speeds and the best coverage. 5G is a fundamental part of our work to build a converged, smart network that keeps our customers connected to the things that matter most.”

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Three UK supports new MVNO from Superdrug

Superdrug, a health and beauty retailer in the UK, is launching a low-cost, prepaid mobile service that will be priced starting £10 per mont for unlimited calls and texts and 4GB per month. The service will be sold in the retailer’s 807 UK stores and online from 20th June 2018.

Superdrug Mobile will operate a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) over Three's network. Other MVNOs on the Three network include SMARTY, iD Mobile (the UK’s fastest growing MVNO) and B2B communications provider Gamma.

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Zayo announces dark fibre contract in UK

Zayo announced a major contract to provide dark fiber infrastructure in the UK for a leading global carrier. The solution includes 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of dark fiber to connect several data centers across the UK Zayo’s UK network extends from Glasgow and Edinburgh in the north, to Birmingham and Manchester and includes dense metro fiber in London. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We have a strong relationship with this carrier and have worked closely with them to provide a dark fiber solution that delivers high performance and low latency to support a growing volume of data traffic,” said Annette Murphy, managing director of Europe at Zayo. “The carrier is relying on the infrastructure as a key element of its strategic growth and densification efforts.”

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BT launches small business broadband gateway with LTE backup

BT introduced a business-grade broadband product which switches automatically to 4G if there is an interruption to their fixed broadband service.

BT said the new product– called 4G Assure – is the first example of a new portfolio of products for converged connectivity services to business customers. The launch is aligned with, and closely follows, the strategy updates provided by BT Group and its Consumer business, where convergence features prominently.

Mike Tomlinson, MD, SME for BT, said “We recognise that a reliable, always-on broadband connection is essential for businesses. So we’ve packed even more innovation into our award-winning Smart Hub to provide SMEs with a failsafe method to stay online.We are very excited about this new service because it combines the strengths of our fixed broadband network and the UK’s most powerful Wi-Fi signal with the most extensive 4G network in the country. This delivers a highly resilient broadband service which will keep SMEs – the backbone of the UK economy - up and running.”

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BT outlines strategic initiative, including increased infrastructure spending and job cuts

BT outlined a series of strategic priorities as it seeks to transform into a leader in converged connectivity and services.

Highlights include:

• Launching new converged product offerings to deliver differentiated customer experiences, support customer loyalty and improve economic returns;
• Increasing FTTP and mobile infrastructure investment within an annual CAPEX allocation of around £3.7bn;
• Accelerating the restructuring and transformation of Global Services by introducing new digital products with a greater focus on our top global customers, reducing capital intensity, and significantly lowering costs;
• Focusing on around 30 modern, strategic sites to create a more collaborative, open and customer-focused working culture, including plans to exit BT’s headquarters in Central London;
• A three-year reduction of c.13,000 mainly back office and middle management roles;
• A year 3 cash cost reduction of £1.5 billion with costs to achieve of £800 million and 2-year payback;
• Cost reductions to help offset near-term cost and revenue pressures, provide capacity to invest in value-enhancing projects and drive longer-term profit growth;
• Hiring c.6,000 new employees to support network deployment and customer service.

“BT is uniquely positioned to be a leader in converged connectivity and services. We are a clear market leader in terms of the scale of our customer relationships. We have the UK’s leading fixed and mobile access networks, a portfolio of strong and well-segmented brands, and close strategic partnerships. We provide products and services that are essential to both consumers and businesses, delivered through multiple channels to suit their needs. This position of strength will enable us to build on the disciplined delivery and risk reduction of the last financial year, a period during which we delivered overall in-line with our financial and operational commitments whilst addressing many uncertainties,” stated Gavin Patterson, BT Chief Executive.

Separately, BT reported revenue of £5,967 billion for its fourth fiscal quarter ending 31-March-2018, down 1% for the year and 3% for the quarter.

Some operational highlights

• Gfast premises of 1m and FTTP premises of 560,000 passed in Q4; over 1.5m premises able to connect to ultrafast service
• Openreach fibre connections at 555,000 in Q4 with superfast fibre broadband passing nearly 27.6m UK premises
• 4G coverage reaches 90% of the country as we deploy in hard to reach areas
• Mobile postpaid net additions of 95,000, with low churn of 1.2%; monthly mobile postpaid ARPU down 1% to £26.0
• BT Sport rights packages secured; includes Premier League matches for a further three years from 2019/20
• Average BT Sport viewing increased 19% year on year; second best quarterly performance since launch
• BT Consumer revenue generating units per customer increased 3% to 2.03, with ARPU up 5% to £41.7

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Interoute adds UK fibre routes to Europe

Interoute has added new 100G routes between the UK and Europe, enabling service providers and large enterprises to transport traffic from the UK Midlands to Europe without going through the London area. Interoute cites improved diversity and resilience for the expansion.

Jonathan Wright, VP of Commercial Operations at Interoute, commented: "Offering unparalleled cross border capacity and connectivity has always been a cornerstone of Interoute’s strategy. With this, we will continue to provide highly strategic, robust routes to meet the multitude of demands made by our valued customers.”

Earlier, Interoute announced that it has been selected by a global social media networking company to provide over 4,000 kilometres of dark fibre in Europe, specifically in long-haul dark fibre routes in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Financial terms were not disclosed.

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NTT Comm activates PoP in Manchester

NTT Communications (NTT Com) expanded its Tier-1 Global IP Network with a new Point-of-Presence (PoP) in Manchester, United Kingdom, at Equinix’s MA4 Manchester IBX data center, a strategically-located facility within the Manchester Science Park.

Equinix’s MA4 data center enables direct interconnection to IX Manchester and the London Internet exchange, LINX, as well as a wide range of network service providers and major cloud service providers.

NTT Com customers at MA4 will be able to connect to the Global IP Network at numerous capacity levels including 100G ports.

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Zayo to open first data center in the London metro area

Zayo announced plans to open its first data center in the London metro area, will add 30,000 total square feet and 3.6 megawatts (MW) of critical power.

The new data center, which will be located in Feltham, UK, is driven by a commitment from a major anchor tenant. It will add 30,000 total square feet and 3.6 megawatts (MW) of critical power.

“This new data center strengthens our commitment to the UK, providing customers with an excellent option for colocation and high-capacity fiber connectivity,” said TJ Karklins, senior vice president of Zayo's zColo business segment. “This facility will offer low-latency connectivity to Slough, city center, and even around central London for connection directly to France and the rest of Europe. We look forward to delivering high-compliance, network-neutral solutions from our growing European platform.”

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Vodafone UK tests 3.4 GHz spectrum for 5G

Vodafone UK completed the first test of 3.4 Gigahertz (GHz) spectrum for 5G across an existing live network between Manchester and the company’s headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire.

The test used Massive MIMO combined with 3.4 GHz spectrum running over the core 4G network. Vodafone's site in Manchester was its contact centre, which houses around 1,000 customer service employees

The company described the test as a major milestone in UK telecommunications, as it is the first time that the 3.4 Gigahertz (GHz) radio frequency allocated for 5G has been used in the UK, and noted that is was carried out just a week after Vodafone secured the largest slice of 5G spectrum in Ofcom’s auction.

Vodafone UK Chief Executive Nick Jeffery said: “5G will improve the quality of our lives and transform how we work. This next generation technology will enable medical services that could save lives, from remote surgery to remote care for the elderly. It will enhance industrial applications, from automated systems to robotics, helping manufacturers across the UK boost their productivity. And it will enable families to share their experiences with loved ones wherever they are, thanks to innovations like augmented reality."

UK completes spectrum auction - EE and Vodafone gain 5G bands

Thursday, April 05, 2018  Auction, Ofcom, Spectrum, UK  No Comments

Ofcom, the official telecoms regulator in the U.K., completed the auction of 190 MHz of spectrum across two frequency bands: 40 MHz in the 2.3 GHz band, which will be used to increase 4G mobile broadband capacity; and 150 MHz in 3.4GHz, which has been earmarked for 5G.

Here are the results:

EE won 40 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £302,592,000.

Hutchison 3G UK won 20 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £151,296,000.

Telefónica UK won all 40 MHz of 2.3 GHz spectrum available, at a cost of £205,896,000; and 40 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £317,720,000.

Vodafone won 50 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £378,240,000.

Airspan Spectrum Holdings, which would have been a new entrant to the UK mobile market, failed to win spectrum in either band.

The total value of the winning bids amounts to £1,355,744,000.

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UK completes spectrum auction - EE and Vodafone gain 5G bands

Ofcom, the official telecoms regulator in the U.K., completed the auction of 190 MHz of spectrum across two frequency bands: 40 MHz in the 2.3 GHz band, which will be used to increase 4G mobile broadband capacity; and 150 MHz in 3.4GHz, which has been earmarked for 5G.

Here are the results:

EE won 40 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £302,592,000.

Hutchison 3G UK won 20 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £151,296,000.

Telefónica UK won all 40 MHz of 2.3 GHz spectrum available, at a cost of £205,896,000; and 40 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £317,720,000.

Vodafone won 50 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £378,240,000.

Airspan Spectrum Holdings, which would have been a new entrant to the UK mobile market, failed to win spectrum in either band.

The total value of the winning bids amounts to £1,355,744,000.

Philip Marnick, Spectrum Group Director at Ofcom: "This is good news for everyone who uses their mobile phone to access the internet. As a nation, we’re using ever more mobile data on smartphones and mobile devices. Releasing these airwaves will make it quicker and easier to get online on the move. It will also allow companies to prepare for 5G mobile, paving the way for a range of smart, connected devices."

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IAR Systems acquires Secure Thingz

IAR Systems Group AB, based in Uppsala, Sweden agreed to acquire Secure Thingz, a provider of advanced security solutions for embedded systems in the Internet of Things (IoT).

IAR Systems, which already owned approximately 20 percent of the shares in Secure Thingz, will pay approximately 230 MSEK (US$27.9 million) for the remaining 80%. IAR will finance the acquisition either with support from a credit facility or by a directed share issue.

Secure Thingz, which is based in Cambridge, UK and with an office in San Jose, California, was founded in 2016 by staff from ARM. The company develops and sells products and services for implementation of embedded security in connected devices. The company has provided security solutions for the Renesas Synergy Platform through its Secure Deploy platform offerings. Secure Thingz is headed by Haydn Povey, who previously led Arm's strategy for security across mobile, enterprise and IoT domains. Before that, Haydn Povey led the development and introduction of the Arm Cortex-M microprocessor family, which now dominates the embedded and IoT-markets and whose large market impact enabled the rapid adoption of 32-bit microcontroller technology around the globe. Haydn Povey will continue to operate Secure Thingz as CEO.

In February 2018, IAR Systems and Secure Thingz introduced a jointly developed product called Embedded Trust that enables companies to safeguard intellectual property against overproduction and counterfeiting, manage software updates in a robust way, and protect end users from malware intrusion and theft or loss of data.

"With the increasing number of connected devices, our customers are facing new challenges. One of the major challenges is how to deliver secure products in a world where even minor failures can lead to major consequences," comments Stefan Skarin, CEO, IAR Systems. "As a first step, our customers need help mainly protecting themselves against overproduction and IP theft, and we are responding to this need with a new offering that provides possibilities to create modern workflow where security is included from start. The acquisition of Secure Thingz is a step in our increased ambition for future growth through new technology, new markets, new business models, and new relationships. It also secures our position as a frontrunner in a changing industry."

"We are very excited to become a part of the highly competent IAR Systems team," says Haydn Povey, CEO, Secure Thingz. "We have already established a smooth collaboration with the development of Embedded Trust, and our combined resources within technology, sales and customer support will enable us to accelerate the development of the innovative security solutions that the digital products market so desperately needs."

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Matillion raises $20 million for cloud data warehousing software

Matillion, a start-up based in the UK, announced a $20 million Series B round of funding for its cloud data integration tools.

Matillion's software enables customers to extract, load and transform data into and on cloud-based data warehouses, quickly and at scale. Versions are avaialable for Amazon Redshift, Snowflake and Google BigQuery.

The funding round was led by Sapphire Ventures and included new investor Scale Venture Partners, and existing investor, UK-based venture capital trust, YFM Equity Partners.

"Cloud-based data warehouses, like Amazon Redshift, Snowflake and BigQuery, are changing the game in data analytics, reducing cost, time-to-value and increasing the power available to businesses to load, transform and analyse their data. The thousands of new projects and workloads this creates is in turn driving rapidly increasing demand for our built-for-the-Cloud, ELT architecture, data integration tools, as companies want and need to compete with data, quickly and at any scale," said Matthew Scullion, chief executive officer, Matillion. "This round of funding is an exciting opportunity for us to work with the fantastic teams at Sapphire Ventures and Scale Ventures Partners to meet the needs of our customers and partners as well as further accelerate the pace of innovation going into our products."

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