Boeing invests in Isotropic Systems for satellite terminals

Isotropic Systems Ltd., a start-up developing next-generation integrated satellite terminals, announced a $14 million Series A round of funding led by Boeing HorizonX Ventures, with participation from WML, Space Angels and Space Capital.

Isotropic Systems, which is based in London, is developing the world's first multi-service, high-bandwidth, low power, fully integrated high throughput terminal designed to support the satellite industry to 'reach beyond' traditional markets and acquire new customers with a full suite of high throughput services.

"The Series A financing builds on an exceptional year for Isotropic which saw a rapidly growing roster of strategic partners and customers who are poised to unlock the full potential of high-throughput satellites and mega-constellations across all orbits," said John Finney, founder and chief executive officer of Isotropic Systems. "Boeing's investment provides our team access to Boeing experts, testing labs, and other valuable resources to fast-track the deployment of our terminal solutions and to leverage our intellectual property across other space-based and wireless connectivity applications."

https://www.isotropicsystems.com

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Openreach extends its G.fast network to 81 more locations across UK

Openreach announced the planned extension of its Gfast network in a further 81 locations across the UK, including London, Leicester, Manchester, Worth, Birmingham, and Blackpool.

The multimillion pound investment will extend the service to just over a million homes and businesses.  This latest announcement complements a wider investment programme in FTTP networks, which is on track to reach three million homes and businesses by the end of 2020. By the mid-2020s, Openreach aims to reach a total of 5.7 million properties using Gfast, and also wants to extend its FTTP rollout to 10 million premises.

Openreach said its new Gfast network builds on existing infrastructure and changes the way broadband signals are transmitted from existing street cabinets to boost speeds up to 330 Mbps (seven times today’s UK average), without the need to dig up roads and install new cabling.

Kim Mears, MD for Strategic Infrastructure Development, said: “Currently, the UK is a world leader in digital infrastructure and services, but as the digital revolution rushes forwards and the demand for data continues to grow, we need to sure we stay ahead of the curve. That’s why we’re investing in faster, more reliable network infrastructure to facilitate all the activities we want to do now, and also those we haven’t even dreamt of doing in ten years’ time.”

https://news.openreach.co.uk/pressreleases/openreach-builds-ultrafast-broadband-network-to-81-new-locations-2803422

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Equinix plans new data center at its London Slough campus

Equinix will build a new International Business Exchange (IBX) data center at its London Slough campus.

The LD7 data center will cost approximately $120M (£90M) and scheduled to open Q2 2019. The facility will be built to LEED gold certified standards. This will bring the company's UK portfolio to 12 IBXs.

Equinix said it remains confident in the future of London as Europe's major financial hub and one of the world's greatest commercial cities, regardless of the outcome of the ongoing negotiations around the UK's departure from the European Union. The new $120M (£90M GBP) data center forms part of a total $387M (£295M GBP) investment in the UK's digital economy from Equinix throughout 2018/19.

Russell Poole, managing director UK, Equinix, states: "London is one of the most important connection points in the world and we expect this growth to continue as the city continues to play a crucial role in powering the global digital economy. LD7 will be one of the most technologically advanced colocation data centers in the world and will be a major addition to our thriving London Slough campus. This latest data center will also act as a sustainability benchmark for future data centers – something we are very passionate about."

http://www.equinix.com/

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EE activates nine 5G trial sites in London

EE, the UK’s number one mobile network and part of BT Group, activated nine 5G trial sites are now live across East London. The company also has a live 5G trial site in Canary Wharf, and new device functionality is being tested in its state-of-the-art Borehamwood test lab.

EE said its preliminary 5G work has so far encompassed every element of building a new 5G network, from obtaining planning permission and access agreements, through to managing power outputs. The trial will go on to assess the customer experience of new 5G spectrum.


Some lessons:

• Rooftop sites often need significant strengthening to carry the new 50kg 5G antennas – and some sites house three of these
• The level of upgrade work required can cause delays in obtaining planning permission, and can necessitate repeat visits, which means multiple access requests to landlords
• Location for 5G antennas can be dictated by the need to stay below regulated power output levels

Howard Watson, BT CTIO, said: “Deploying this brand new layer of our EE mobile network is far from straightforward, and this trial has helped us to understand – and learn how to overcome – the significant challenges that we’ll face in the coming years. We’re also learning about the coverage we can achieve with 5G New Radio on our new 3.4GHz spectrum, both indoors and in densely cluttered streets.”

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Three UK to invest over £2 bilion in 5G

Three UK has completed a number of key steps in its network improvement programme, as part of a wider £2bn+ infrastructure investment, in preparation for the advent of 5G.

Three UK announced its commitment to invest over £2 billion in network infrastructure as it rolls out 5G.

As part of its network upgrade the telecoms operator has:

• acquired the UK’s leading 5G spectrum portfolio
• signed an agreement for the rollout of new cell site technology to prepare major urban areas for the rollout of 5G devices, as well as enhance the 4G experience
• built a high-capacity dark fibre network, which connects 20 new, energy efficient and highly secure data centres
• deployed a 5G-ready, fully integrated cloud-native core network in the new data centres, which at launch will have an initial capacity of 1.2Tbps, a three-fold increase from today’s capacity
• rolled out carrier aggregation technology on 2,500 sites in busiest areas, improving speeds for customers

Three said its mobile customers are particularly data-hungry, already using 3.5x more data per month than the industry average.

“We have always led on mobile data and 5G is another game-changer.  Also described as wireless fibre, 5G delivers a huge increase in capacity together with ultra-low latency.  It opens up new possibilities in home broadband and industrial applications, as well as being able to support the rapid growth in mobile data usage. “This is a major investment into the UK’s digital infrastructure. UK consumers have an insatiable appetite for data and 5G unlocks significant capability to meet that demand," stated Dave Dyson, Three's CEO.

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

Friday, August 03, 2018  UK  

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

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

Thursday, April 05, 2018  Auction, Ofcom, Spectrum, UK  

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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CityFibre plans £2.5 billion full fibre network in UK

CityFibre announced a new £2.5 billion full fibre investment plan to extend its network in 37 towns and cities across the UK. The plan is underpinned by significant existing network assets and operations in these municipalities.

CityFibre was acquired in June 2018 by Antin Infrastructure Partners and West Street Infrastructure Partners, a fund managed by Goldman Sachs.

CityFibre said its expanded rollout plan will deliver fibre connectivity to five million homes and corresponds to one third of the Government’s 2025 target of 15 million homes.

Vodafone was named as the first consumer ISP customer for the new network.

CityFibre’s fibre-to-the-home builds are currently underway in Milton Keynes, Peterborough and Aberdeen, with construction due to start in Edinburgh, Stirling, Coventry and Huddersfield before the end of this year and Cambridge, Leeds and Southend-on-Sea shortly afterwards.

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NTT Com to build massive data center in London

e-shelter, which is a subsidiary of NTT Communications that operates over 400,000 square meters of data center space in many facilities, will develop a new data center campus in Dagenham, East London.

The new campus will be known as “UK London 1 Data Center” (London 1) and is capable of up to 24,000 sqm IT space and 60MW IT load once fully developed. The project also involves Gyron, the NTT Com owned UK operator which is currently being integrated with e-shelter to create a combined pan-European operating platform. Construction will begin next month. Phase one, with an initial 8MW IT load, is targeted to be ready for December 2019, with five further phases planned to follow.

“We are delighted to have now received planning permission at our Dagenham site and we look forward to developing our industry leading data center campus there, which is the latest addition to our growing pan European platform.” said Rupprecht Rittweger, CEO of e-shelter and Gyron. “London is a major global data center market and this development is driven by continued demand from our customers and partners.”

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SSE teams with Three UK and O2 for fibre through London sewers

SSE Enterprise Telecoms, which operates a 13,700km private telecoms network and an estate of 15 data centres across the UK,  announced a fibre agreement with Three UK and O2 that will form the basis of enhanced fibre access in the country’s capital.

The companies will intend to deploy fibre through the sewers of London to enhance backhaul capabilities of 4G and 5G networks.

Under the agreement with Three UK and O2, approximately 100 points of connectivity exit from this central London sewer network via two BT Exchanges. By partnering with SSE Enterprise Telecoms, Three UK and O2 can operate their own Central London Area (CLA) network, while also accessing spare fibre ducts for future initiatives in London.

“Networks will fundamentally underpin the UK’s digital economy and will be essential to 5G services,” said Colin Sempill, Managing Director of SSE Enterprise Telecoms. “With this high capacity core in the London sewers, Three UK and O2 are tapping into our unique, diverse connectivity and putting their networks in a strong position to trial 5G offerings, while enhancing existing services for their customers.”

Dave Dyson, Chief Executive Officer of Three UK added, “New and innovative models are essential to improving the customer experience of mobile networks by increasing the availability of dark fibre for mobile backhaul and driving competition in the market. Our partnership with SSE Enterprise Telecoms and O2 is one of the first examples of using existing infrastructure to improve connectivity in an urban area.”

Brendan O’Reilly, Chief Technology Officer of O2 shared: “This kind of agreement is essential to allow for continued investment and improvement of services for our customers. This partnership is a great example of SSE Enterprise Telecoms, Three UK and O2 coming together in a collaborative and innovative way to address the growing challenge and pressure of obtaining access to fibre for mobile backhaul in the UK”

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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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