Zayo gains UK government procurement status

Zayo has been placed on two of the UK Government’s key procurement mechanisms for the provision of fiber connectivity.

Zayo said these placements enable it to provide design, installation, testing and fiber installation for organisations across the UK public sector.

Derek Gillespie, Zayo’s global chief revenue officer, said, “I’m delighted that Zayo has been named as an approved supplier for the UK public sector. We have extensive experience in providing fiber connectivity to government and education across the United States, and we look forward to putting this expertise to work for more of the UK’s Public Sector.”

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Nokia to supply fiber solutions to Openreach

Nokia will supply its fiber solutions to Openreach to help meet its target of bringing ultra-fast and reliable broadband access to 20 million homes across the UK by the mid-to-late 2020s.

Nokia will provide GPON and XGS-PON technologies to expand Openreach’s fiber-rich network to reach 4.5 million premises by the end of March 2021. The solution, which includes the 7360 ISAM FX, Nokia 7362 ISAM DF and Nokia ISAM ONTs, is capable of delivering up to 10Gbps symmetrical broadband speeds in the future and supports a smooth evolution from current traditional deployments to virtualized access-network control and management (SDAN – Software Defined Access Networking) by software upgrade. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Nokia described the agreement as a key milestone in its extensive partnership with Openreach to deliver multi-Gigabit, next generation PON connectivity to customers and builds on an extensive end-to-end network framework that has been established over the past years. This includes G.fast technology which currently allows Openreach to offer 100s of Mbps to homes in areas where fiber is not available yet.

Clive Selley, CEO of Openreach, said: “We’re accelerating our full fibre build to deliver an ultrafast, ultra-reliable and futureproof broadband network throughout the UK. This new digital platform will help our economy to bounce back more quickly from the Covid-19 pandemic – enabling people to continue work from home, and millions of businesses to operate seamlessly online for decades to come.  Right now, we’re making the new network available to around 32,000 homes and businesses every week, and Nokia’s innovative solutions are helping us to build it better, broader and faster. Our partnership with Nokia will be critical in helping us to upgrade the nation and hit our target of reaching four and a half million premises by the end of March 2021.”

Peter Bell, Network Technologies Director, Openreach CTIO said: “Nokia is already making a major contribution to Openreach’s Fibre-to-the-Premises rollout, including in the build of our first fully fibred city, Salisbury. We’re confident that Nokia will continue to be a strong partner in helping us meet our ambition throughout the UK.”

Sandra Motley, President of Fixed Networks at Nokia said: “Ensuring everybody has access to broadband services is critical, especially during unprecedented times like these where it has become the lifeline to millions working, handling healthcare and learning from home.  Our fiber solutions will help Openreach bring enhanced ultra-broadband services to millions of new customers across the UK today while our 10G PON technology will help to futureproof their network against whatever may come next.”

Openreach picks ADTRAN's OLTs and Cloud Platform

Thursday, May 14, 2020  ADTRAN, Openreach, UK  

Openreach, the wholesale infrastructure arm of BT, has selected ADTRAN’s SDX Series of OLTs and Mosaic Cloud Platform to help it achieve its ambition of making gigabit and multi-gigabit services available to 20 million homes across the UK by the mid-to-late 2020s with its Full Fibre network.

ADTRAN said its SDX platform will enable Openreach to economically scale its GPON and XGS-PON network with a level of flexibility that could not be realized with traditional access solutions.

Peter Bell, Network Technologies Director, Openreach said: “We’re already making our new ultrafast, ultra-reliable broadband network available to around 32,000 UK homes and businesses every week – and we’re on track to reach our target of reaching four and a half million premises with ‘Full Fibre’ by the end of March 2021.”

“But we don’t want to stop there. Our new network will support the UK’s economy for decades to come and help it bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, so we’ll be accelerating our Full Fibre build throughout the year. ADTRAN’s solutions will play a key role in helping us achieve that as we’re continually searching for innovative technologies that can help us build the network better, broader and faster for our customers.”

More than 600 retail carriers across the United Kingdom rely on Openreach to deliver the wholesale capacity to support a broad portfolio of services to enterprise, small-to-medium businesses and residential customers.

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Colt appoints Keri Gilder as CEO

Colt Technology Services appointed Keri Gilder as its new CEO, replacing Carl Grivner, who after five years with Colt, has decided to step down.

“Colt has always been determined to be ahead of the curve. It’s why we invested in high bandwidth connectivity, blockchain and APIs, even before we saw customer demand for these innovative solutions. It has been a privilege to lead an organisation during such a transformation, and it’s been an honour to have the backing of the Board, my team and the wider organisation as we pushed ahead with doing some things that haven’t been done before. I am proud to be a Coltie, and I can’t wait to see where Keri takes the business – it’s in incredibly capable hands," stated Carl Grivner.

Gilder has served as Colt's Chief Commercial Officer since joining the organisation in November 2018. Before joining Colt, Keri held several leadership roles at Ciena but was most recently its Vice President and General Manager EMEA, responsible for guiding Ciena’s EMEA service provider and enterprise customers, as well as partners.

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Telefónica UK migrates TDM to Ciena 6500 Packet Transport

Telefónica UK will migrate its legacy Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) infrastructure to a next-generation Adaptive IP network powered by Ciena's 6500 Packet Transport System (PTS).

Ciena said its 6500 PTS will allow Telefónica UK to continue supporting remaining TDM customers while also addressing new, high-growth applications across a single, converged packet-based transport network.
In addition, Ciena’s Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller will give Telefónica UK real-time visibility into its network to proactively identify and prevent potential issues.

“Providing reliable and seemingly endless bandwidth should not be hindered by the cost and complexity of managing legacy TDM networks. Our solution streamlines the migration process and also homogenizes Telefónica UK’s legacy services and its network approach to deliver 5G and IoT services,” states Rodolfo Vigliano, Senior Managing Director of Sales, Ciena.

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Openreach picks ADTRAN's OLTs and Cloud Platform

Openreach, the wholesale infrastructure arm of BT, has selected ADTRAN’s SDX Series of OLTs and Mosaic Cloud Platform to help it achieve its ambition of making gigabit and multi-gigabit services available to 20 million homes across the UK by the mid-to-late 2020s with its Full Fibre network.

ADTRAN said its SDX platform will enable Openreach to economically scale its GPON and XGS-PON network with a level of flexibility that could not be realized with traditional access solutions.

Peter Bell, Network Technologies Director, Openreach said: “We’re already making our new ultrafast, ultra-reliable broadband network available to around 32,000 UK homes and businesses every week – and we’re on track to reach our target of reaching four and a half million premises with ‘Full Fibre’ by the end of March 2021.”

“But we don’t want to stop there. Our new network will support the UK’s economy for decades to come and help it bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, so we’ll be accelerating our Full Fibre build throughout the year. ADTRAN’s solutions will play a key role in helping us achieve that as we’re continually searching for innovative technologies that can help us build the network better, broader and faster for our customers.”

More than 600 retail carriers across the United Kingdom rely on Openreach to deliver the wholesale capacity to support a broad portfolio of services to enterprise, small-to-medium businesses and residential customers.

“ADTRAN is thrilled to be part of Openreach’s plan to upgrade the UK’s broadband infrastructure and the selection is a proof point that ADTRAN’s open, disaggregated approach to service creation and delivery is a blueprint for the telecommunications industry,” said Dan Whalen, ADTRAN’s Chief Product Officer. “Given the breadth of Openreach’s Full Fibre network, having the ability to deliver GPON and XGS-PON services from the same OLT port streamlines service delivery and reduces the complexity of network design. We make it possible for any service provider, based anywhere in the country, to have the service options they require to fit their customer’s needs.”

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Liberty's Virgin Media to merge with Telefónica's O2

Liberty Global plc and Telefónica SA will merge their operating businesses in the U.K. to form a 50:50 joint venture focused on broadband + mobile + video + entertainment consumer services. O2 is the largest mobile platform in the UK, while Virgin Media claims to be the nation's fastest broadband network.

The "fully-converged" JV is also expected to become a leading challenger in the B2B space as the combination will accelerate the adoption of converged fixed-mobile services to Virgin Media’s and O2’s existing business customers.

The JV will have an approximate annual turnover of £11 billion, and 46 million mobile, home, and business connections.

The companies cite significant operating benefits for the JV, with estimated run-rate cost, CAPEX and revenue synergies of £540 million on an annual basis by the fifth full year post closing, equivalent to a net present value of approximately £6.2 billion post tax and net of integration costs, as well as significant synergies from the accelerated usage of existing tax assets. The vast majority of the benefits relate to demonstrable cost and CAPEX synergies, with an annual run-rate of approximately £430 million out of which approximately 80% are expected to be achieved by the third full year after the closing.

CAPEX synergies:

• Use of existing infrastructure to provide services for each entity’s customers at lower cost compared to standalone / wholesale capabilities;
• Migration of Virgin Media mobile traffic to Telefonica UK’s network;
• Combination of regional and national network infrastructures and IT systems;
• Reduction in combined marketing expenditures;
• Potential to reduce general and administration costs; and 
• Site rationalization

Telefónica's Chief Executive Officer, Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, said, “Combining O2’s number one mobile business with Virgin Media’s superfast broadband network and entertainment services will be a game-changer in the U.K., at a time when demand for connectivity has never been greater or more critical. We are creating a strong competitor with significant scale and financial strength to invest in UK digital infrastructure and give millions of consumer, business and public sector customers more choice and value.  This is a proud and exciting moment for our organisations, as we create a leading integrated communications provider in the U.K.”

Mike Fries, Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Global, said, “We couldn’t be more excited about this combination. Virgin Media has redefined broadband and entertainment in the U.K. with lightning fast speeds and the most innovative video platform. And O2 is widely recognized as the most reliable and admired mobile operator in the U.K., always putting the customer first. With Virgin Media and O2 together, the future of convergence is here today. We’ve seen the benefit of FMC first-hand in Belgium and the Netherlands. When the power of 5G meets 1 gig broadband, U.K. consumers and businesses will never look back. We’re committed to this market and are right behind the Government’s digital and connectivity goals.”

https://www.nationalconnectivitychampion.co.uk/

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Ofcom posts 5G EMF measurements to counter Covid 5G myth

Ofcom published test results showing that UK 5G continues to operate well within internationally-accepted safety levels.

The published results include electromagnetic field (EMF) measurements taken at 22 5G sites in 10 UK cities. The maximum measured at any mobile site was approximately 1.5% of the guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

The highest level from 5G signals specifically was 0.039% of the maximum set out in the international guidelines.

The UK telecoms regulatory authority reminds the public that there is no scientific evidence to support the conspiracy theories linking the coronavirus to 5G and putting lives at risk.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/clearing-up-myths-5g-and-coronavirus

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BT confirms Ericsson for 5G core

BT signed a deal to deploy Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core (Evolved Packet Core and 5G Core), a fully container-based, cloud native Mobile Packet Core for 4G, 5G Non-standalone and 5G Standalone services as a single fully integrated core. The solution, delivered on BT’s Network Cloud, will form a key component in BT’s move to a single converged IP network. It will incorporate network orchestration and automation, including continuous delivery and integration processes (CI/CD), and be integrated into BT’s existing customer experience management platforms using Ericsson Expert Analytics together with Ericsson’s built-in software probes. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Howard Watson, CTIO of BT, says: “Having evaluated different 5G Core vendors, we have selected Ericsson as the best option on the basis of both lab performance and future roadmap. We are looking forward to working together as we build out our converged 4G and 5G core network across the UK. An agile, cloud-native core infrastructure is at the heart of our ambition to enable the next generation of exciting 5G services for our customers and give the UK the world-class digital infrastructure it needs to win in the future global economy.”

Marielle Lindgren, Head of Ericsson UK and Ireland, says: “Ericsson and BT have a long history of working together and we are delighted to continue that relationship with this new dual-mode 5G Core deal. We, at Ericsson, have been in the UK for over a century and delivering the next generation of connectivity here is yet another proud part of our story”.

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Huawei UK appoints former Chairman of BT to its board

Huawei Technologies UK has appointed Sir Michael Rake, former President of the Confederation of British Industry and former Chairman of BT group, to its board. Rake has been an adviser to the company since 1 January 2019.

Victor Zhang, Huawei Vice-President said: “Sir Michael brings a wealth of relevant experience to our boardroom and I look forward to working with him as we enter the next phase of our partnership with Britain. We’re working round the clock to keep the UK connected through the current crisis and bring affordable, reliable 5G to every corner of the country – so millions more can benefit from fast digital connections. I am delighted Sir Michael has agreed to join the board and help us continue this important journey.”

https://www.huawei.com/uk/press-events/news/uk/2020/huawei-technologies-uk-appoints-sir-michael-rake-to-its-board

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Vantage Data Centers to acquire data center campus in Wales

Vantage Data Centers  signed a definitive agreement with InfraVia Capital Partners, along with the two founders of the business, to acquire Next Generation Data (NGD), which operates a data center campus located on 50-acres in the Cardiff Capital Region in South Wales, UK.

The existing NGD data center campus is a Tier III 180MW facility, including an existing 72MW capacity and 108MW of expansion capacity. It uses 100% renewable energy and is rich in fiber delivered by many Tier 1 service providers. Latency between Wales and London is less than 1.5 milliseconds. In addition, NGD Cloud Gateway provides multiple access services, including Express Route and Connect, and NGD recently became a new hosting facility for LINX Wales. The highly secure site meets the U.K. government’s highest standards, and is one of many reasons that multiple blue-chip, high growth companies currently house their IT infrastructure within NGD’s 750,000 square foot facility.

Upon closing, Wales will mark Vantage’s sixth strategic market in Europe following its entrance into five markets (Berlin, Frankfurt, Milan, Warsaw and Zurich) announced in February 2020, including the acquisition of Etix Everywhere.

“As the needs of our hyperscale, cloud and large enterprise customers continue to grow, Wales represents a highly attractive U.K. market offering both lower cost and greater scalability versus London,” said Sureel Choksi, president and CEO, Vantage Data Centers. “NGD customers benefit from very low network latency to London, low power costs and excellent fiber connectivity, coupled with the company’s massively scalable campus outside London’s highly constrained M25 area. We are thrilled to welcome Justin Jenkins and the entire NGD team to Vantage Europe.”

“The NGD team is excited to join Vantage Europe given our shared commitment to operational excellence, high quality facilities and sustainable building practices,” said Jenkins. “Vantage’s global footprint and broad customer relationships, combined with NGD’s growing hyperscale and enterprise U.K. customer base, position us ideally to accelerate the investment and growth of our U.K. business.”

The transaction will be funded with equity commitments from Digital Colony Partners and other investors in Vantage, as well as acquisition debt financing.

Vantage Data Centers launch $2 billion European expansion strategy

Monday, February 10, 2020  Data Centers, Vantage  

Vantage Data Centers has launched a $2 billion expansion into Europe with the aim of establishing itself in the hyperscale market.

As part of its expansion strategy, Vantage has acquired Etix Everywhere, which has 50MW of built data center capacity across its footprint and is building a 55MW hyperscale data center campus in Frankfurt, Germany. Financial terms were not disclosed. In conjunction with the Etix acquisition, Antoine Boniface, former CEO of Etix, has joined the Vantage executive team to serve as president, Europe.

In addition, Vantage Europe has secured land and is planning to develop hyperscale data center campuses in Berlin, Milan, Warsaw and Zurich. The facilities, which are currently underway, are in the following European markets:

• Berlin: 64MW campus on 13 acres (5 hectares)
• Milan: 32MW campus on 17 acres (7 hectares)
• Warsaw: 64MW campus 12 acres (5 hectares)
• Zurich: 40MW campus on 7 acres (3 hectares)

Vantage said intends to invest USD $2 billion in its planned European expansion, including more than USD $800 million in new equity capital provided by Vantage’s current investors and a new commitment from Digital Colony Partners.

“As data center demand from our customer base continues to rapidly increase worldwide, Vantage is embarking upon its largest expansion ever into Europe through the development of five strategic markets,” said Sureel Choksi, president and CEO of Vantage. “The acquisition of Etix accelerates our expansion to Frankfurt, Europe’s highest growth hyperscale market. We are very excited to welcome Antoine and his team to lead our European business.”

Inclusive of this European expansion, Vantage will operate hyperscale data center campuses in 11 markets globally.

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GSMA condemns attacks against mobile masts in the UK

The GSMA issued a statement condemning recent arson attacks in the UK on mobile masts. UK media reported fires in Birmingham, Belfast and Merseyside, and 5G cited conspiracy theories circulating on social media.

“The telecoms industry is working around the clock to keep vital health, education and emergency services online, businesses running, and friends and families connected,” said Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA, the global communications industry body. “It is deplorable that critical communications infrastructure is being attacked based on outright mistruths. We urge everyone to trust health authorities and rest assured communications technology is safe. There is no link between 5G and COVID-19.”

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UK's CityFibre acquire FibreNation

CityFibre, the UK’s third national digital infrastructure platform, has acquired FibreNation from TalkTalk Group.

The acquired full fibre network builder allows CityFibre to increase its rollout ambition from 5 million to up to 8 million premises, supporting an investment programme of up to £4 billion. It will also help to accelerate the availability of full fibre across the UK, a platform critical to social and economic recovery in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. The completion also triggers TalkTalk’s onboarding as CityFibre’s latest major customer, making long-term commitments of both residential and business customers.

FibreNation was founded in 2018, four years after a joint venture between TalkTalk, Sky and CityFibre was launched to deploy full fibre infrastructure and services across the City of York. The FibreNation brand will remain in market and the company will continue to operate and expand its networks where nearly 60,000 premises can gain access to gigabit speed broadband services from TalkTalk. FibreNation has network construction projects underway in Harrogate and Dewsbury and has most recently announced Bolton as the next town to benefit from full fibre. The company is currently mobilising in both Knaresborough and Ripon, with plans to make full fibre available to up to 3 million homes and businesses.

CityFibre’s increased rollout plan to reach up to 8 million premises is expected to span more than 100 towns and cities, and is estimated to create up to 7,000 construction jobs outside London. To date, CityFibre has identified 62 towns and cities to benefit from its rollout and CityFibre has connected thousands of public sector sites including hospitals, GPs, schools and community venues.

Greg Mesch, Chief Executive at CityFibre, said: “In the face of the rapid spread of the Coronavirus and its unprecedented impact on the UK’s society and economy, we believe that the need for world-class digital infrastructure has never been greater.

https://www.cityfibre.com/network/

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BT looks to sell operations in France to Computacenter

BT has entered exclusive negotiations to sell its domestic operations in France to Computacenter.

BT’s domestic operations in France include management and maintenance of IT and network infrastructure, as well as networking and related professional services. During the fiscal year ending in March 2019 they generated total revenue of c.£104m (c.€118m). The acquisition would enable Computacenter to strengthen its position in the French networking market and increase the number of its major domestic customers in France.

The transaction is subject to consultations with works councils over a minimum period of two months. Financial terms were not disclosed.

BT said the sale is part of the ongoing transformation of its Global unit as it sharpens its focus on delivering next-generation networking, cloud and security services to multinational organisations.

BT would retain a strong presence in France serving multinational businesses and organisations, including access points to its global network and a cyber security operations centre. BT and Computacenter also intend to enter into a partnership agreement in France, ensuring continuity for existing customers and future growth opportunities.

“With this agreement we are close to reaching another milestone in the execution of our strategy to make BT Global a more agile business focused on the growing requirements of our multinational customers. I believe this agreement will prove a key step forward for our customers, for our people and for BT. It also offers a positive future for our domestic customers and the people who support them,” said Bas Burger, CEO of Global, BT.

“This planned acquisition represents a small increase in our current revenues in France, which totalled €644.7m in 2019. The current coronavirus pandemic shows the importance of secure and reliable networks to our customers and this deal would significantly strengthen our existing French business in this growth area. It would bring our customer offering in France closer to the broader portfolio in our larger European markets, providing a strong foundation for our continued long-term growth,” said Mike Norris, CEO of Computacenter Group.

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BT's CEO tests positive for COVID-19

Philip Jansen, Chief Executive, BT Group confirmed that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

Philip Jansen said: “Having felt slightly unwell I decided as a precaution to be tested. As soon as the test results were known I isolated myself at home. I’ve met several industry partners this week so felt it was the responsible thing to do to alert them to this fact as soon as I could. Given my symptoms seem relatively mild, I will continue to lead BT but work with my team remotely over the coming week. There will be no disruption to the business.”

BT said it is now working closely with Public Health England to undertake a full deep clean of relevant parts of its Group headquarters and will ensure those employees who have had contact with Philip are appropriately advised.

https://newsroom.bt.com/covid-19-update/

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UK mobile operators embrace Shared Rural Network

All four mobile operators in the UK reached an agreement to develop a Shared Rural Network.

The UK landmass that receives 4G coverage from all four of the UK’s mobile network operators will increase from 66% to 84%; each operator will provide 4G to at least 90% of the country’s landmass; Partial Not Spots will be virtually eliminated; and over 1,800sq miles of the country will get 4G for the first time.

Ofcom spokesperson: “We welcome this agreement, which will make a real difference to all mobile customers right across the UK. We are making the coverage commitments legally binding by including them in operators’ licences. We’ll also monitor and report on companies’ progress in bringing better coverage to people and businesses.”

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UK allows Huawei in 5G, defying U.S. pressure

The UK will permit Huawei to participate in the rollout of 5G and gigabit-capable networks with certain conditions. The decision defied pressure from the U.S. government to ban Huawei on security grounds.

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has recommended the "high risk vendors" should be:

• Excluded from all safety related and safety critical networks in Critical National Infrastructure
• Excluded from security critical ‘core’ functions, the sensitive part of the network
• Excluded from sensitive geographic locations, such as nuclear sites and military bases
• Limited to a minority presence of no more than 35 per cent in the periphery of the network, known as the access network, which connect devices and equipment to mobile phone masts

For its part, Huawei issued the following statement:

"Huawei is reassured by the UK government’s confirmation that we can continue working with our customers to keep the 5G roll-out on track. This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future. It gives the UK access to world-leading technology and ensures a competitive market.

"We have supplied cutting-edge technology to telecoms operators in the UK for more than 15 years. We will build on this strong track record, supporting our customers as they invest in their 5G networks, boosting economic growth and helping the UK continue to compete globally."

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Zzoomm deploys ADTRAN for multi-gig services in the UK

Zzoomm, a Full Fibre network provider in the UK, is leveraging ADTRAN’s 10G Symmetric XGS PON portfolio to initially offer up to 2Gbps symmetric residential services.

At the core of its full-fibre network is ADTRAN’s Total Access 5000 (TA5000). Zzoomm will be able to scale services within Henley-on-Thames, and beyond, by upgrading the switch fabric to 100G.

“Today, less than 11 percent of the UK has Full Fibre coverage, and we’re addressing that head-on by building the broadband network of the future with ADTRAN,” said Matthew Hare, Chief Executive of Zzoomm. “Henley-on-Thames is a tech-savvy town with a great digital community, many remote workers and a mix of population demographics. Like the rest of the UK, residents of Henley love bandwidth-intensive applications and online gaming. Our Full Fibre network provides the infrastructure needed to ensure that every person gets the optimized broadband experience they crave, both today and in the future.”

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BT and Google enter cloud gaming pact

BT is the first European distribution partner for Stadia, Google’s new cloud gaming platform.

BT is launching a unique Google Stadia offer to celebrate the partnership. Customers taking out either BT’s Superfast Fibre 2, Ultrafast Fibre 100 or Ultrafast Fibre 250, with prices starting from just £39.99 per month, can choose to receive a free Google Stadia Premiere Edition. The Stadia Premiere Edition includes a Stadia controller, Chromecast Ultra and three months access to Stadia Pro, which offers the ability to play in up to 4K/60FPS with HDR and 5.1 surround sound, as well as claim games, and discounts on a la carte purchases.

Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer Division, said: “We continually look to provide our customers with the most exciting products and experiences, and by partnering with Google on Stadia, we’re able to help them push the limits of gaming. We’re also investing in the UK’s fastest 4G, 5G and fibre networks, so our superfast home broadband service is the perfect accompaniment for those wanting to make the most from this innovative streaming gaming platform”.

Michiel van Eldik, General Manager & VP, Devices & Services, EMEA, said: “We’re excited to continue our cross-product partnership with BT in the UK to further drive the cloud gaming industry forward. BT has an established track record of leading the industry in delivering next-generation services and products to their customers. Through today’s announcement, we are able to make the best gaming content even more accessible, and to continue to change the way people access, play and enjoy their favourite games”.

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Colt completes fiber densification project in London

Colt Technology Services completed a fibre densification project in and around the city of London, adding 110 kilometres of new fibre in the city in which the company was founded.

Colt also has expansion projects underway in in Eastern Europe, Dublin and Berlin. These expansions have seen a new 7,000 kilometre network connecting more than 10 cities in Eastern Europe with more than 300 kilometres of fibre being installed in the London, Dublin and Berlin metros.

Carl Grivner, CEO, Colt Technology Services said: “We know that as the world shifts dramatically towards wireless networks, having fibre in the ground becomes increasingly important. Colt has been investing in our owned, high bandwidth network, the Colt IQ Network, for several years now, because we know it’s our most valuable asset."

“The projects we announced last year in Eastern Europe, Dublin and Berlin, customers are now benefitting from these, and the London expansion sees Colt extending its already impressive fibre footprint in the UK capital. This is particularly exciting for us because we were founded in the City of London some 28 years ago, and since then we’ve seen telecoms truly evolve. We’re happy to say that we’ve prepared the connectivity backbone that is truly ready for the next decade.”

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EE activates 5G in six more UK cities

EE switched on its first 5G sites in six new cities across the UK, bringing its 5G rollout to a total of 50 cities and large towns in 2019.

EE launched with 5G coverage in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester in May. The new activation includes Hull, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Sunderland, surpassing its target of introducing 5G to 16 UK cities in 2019. EE has also switched on its first 5G sites in Northampton, Stevenage and Wakefield.

Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s consumer division, said: “We switched on the UK’s first 5G network in May, and this is another milestone towards keeping our customers connected 100% of the time. We’re leading the way in the UK, with 4G and 5G coverage in more places than any other operator. Adding 5G to more cities and towns – and expanding our 5G coverage in each place – is helping us to always deliver the best mobile experience to our customers.”

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