CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has awarded a £21m contract to Trust Utility Management Ltd. to deliver its network rollout in Lincoln, a project which has sparked the creation of more than 80 local jobs.
 
The latest milestone has incited a recruitment drive with new workers needed to support throughout the build process. CityFibre and employment agency Carbon60 are supporting Trust Utility Management Ltd in hiring across various roles…

CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has awarded a £21m contract to Trust Utility Management Ltd. to deliver its network rollout in Lincoln, a project which has sparked the creation of more than 80 local jobs.

The latest milestone has incited a recruitment drive with new workers needed to support throughout the build process. CityFibre and employment agency Carbon60 are supporting Trust Utility Management Ltd in hiring across various roles, from technical and construction, to supervisory, and administrative positions.

Works commenced in Lincoln in March and real progress is already being made. The rollout is progressing into new areas with construction underway in Abbey Ward while work in areas such as Glebe Ward is set to start in the near future. Once the city-wide rollout reaches completion in 2024, almost every home and business locally will have access to full fibre services from a choice of internet service providers.

Neal Wright, City Manager for Lincoln, said: “CityFibre is investing £21m in a full fibre roll out which will benefit residents and businesses across the city with broadband of up to 900mb. In Trust Utility Management Ltd, we have found a partner that recognises the importance of this project, knows what is needed to deliver for the people of Lincoln and can grow with us as we move into new areas of the city.

“In addition to future-proofing Lincoln’s digital capabilities, this project is providing a welcome boost to the jobs market. It has sparked the creation of 83 new roles, with local talent needed to help us carry out this important project.”

Liam Coyne, Commercial Director, Trust Utility Management Ltd., said: “We are pleased to have been appointed by CityFibre to construct full fibre networks in Lincoln and support its wider plans of transforming the digital infrastructure of cities and towns across the UK.

“We are certain that with our vast utility contract management experience and the high calibre team that we are building, this project will prove to be a success for Trust Utility Management Ltd. and our client, CityFibre.”

In Lincoln, the team is using a range of construction methods while working in close partnership with Lincoln City and County Council and local communities to deliver a fast rollout while managing potential disruption.

As work is completed in each neighbourhood, CityFibre will designate the homes ‘ready for service’, which means residents can choose to connect to full fibre-enabled broadband services when they go live in their area.

In Lincoln, services are not yet available, however, as soon as they go live, customers will be able to access full fibre enabled services via CityFibre’s UK launch partner, Vodafone, on selected Vodafone Pro Broadband plans, with TalkTalk, IDNet and other providers expected to join the network soon.

Residents interested in giving their home broadband a boost can find out more about the build and register their interest at www.cityfibre.com/residential

Tell us about your start up
In a world where modern enterprises face increasingly rapid data growth and high real-time requirements Xelera’s software platform enables the easy deployment of accelerator technologies, such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), to address these challenges. Big Data algorithms in data centres, clouds and edge clouds are accelerated to run up to 100 times faster as well as far more energy efficient. The guaranteed low latency enables completely new approaches to many application areas…

Tell us about your start up
In a world where modern enterprises face increasingly rapid data growth and high real-time requirements Xelera’s software platform enables the easy deployment of accelerator technologies, such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), to address these challenges.

Big Data algorithms in data centres, clouds and edge clouds are accelerated to run up to 100 times faster as well as far more energy efficient. The guaranteed low latency enables completely new approaches to many application areas, such as cyber security, fintech and virtualized RAN.

Customers are network and cloud solution providers, telecommunication network integrators and high-frequency trading companies all over the globe but with focus on Europe and the US. Currently operational customer deployments are in Germany, Switzerland and China.

What is your USP, how do you stand out from your competition?
Programming hardware accelerators is a whole different world from traditional programming and only very few areas, such as artificial intelligence, have frameworks that make them easily accessible to users. For everything else highly specialized software engineers are required. Xelera has both, extensive experience in hardware acceleration and common software engineering. That’s why the company can offer easy-to-use solutions, often requiring zero code-change, to massively accelerate processes.

What is your relationship with the telecom sector?
Xelera has close ties to telecommunication operators and suppliers due to past and current projects. Xelera acts as sub-supplier in the sector, offering high-performance software components for 5G Open RAN.

How have you got to your current stage of development?
Xelera started as a university spin-off financed by a government grant from the EXIST program in Germany. After establishing itself on the market as acceleration company it received a seed funding from the hardware accelerator producer and strategic investor Xilinx which allowed Xelera to significantly grow in size. Besides funding, Xelera is also engaged in business activities with Xilinx/AMD such as joint marketing and product offerings.

Why did you establish the business?
Two of the four founders have a strong FPGA (type of hardware accelerator) background. When Intel acquired Altera, one of the two big FPGA producers, in 2015, and announced the introduction of FPGAs into datacentres on a large scale, that was the perfect time to get into the market. There was little competition but lots of emerging demand for hardware acceleration in datacentres and clouds.

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Who are your mentors?
Our mentors are Prof. Andreas Koch from the TU Darmstadt and Prof. George Constantinides from the Imperial College London. Both are luminaries in the field of hardware acceleration and helped and inspired us to start this venture.

What does the future hold for your business?
With the upcoming 5G technology a new business opportunity emerges that plays a lot into Xelera’s strengths. Virtualized Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN) has drastically increased bandwidth requirements that are only possible to process using hardware acceleration. Furthermore, Xelera has already developed a lot of the required technology during previous projects and product development. That’s why Xelera sees itself as one of the suppliers of core component for 5G in the not-so-distant future.

HEADQUARTERS: Darmstadt, Germany
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 10 full-time employees
LAST FUNDING TYPE: Seed funding by VC
WEBSITE URL: https://www.xelera.io/
FOUNDERS
> Felix Winterstein
> Andreas Duffner
> Andrea Suardi 
> Alexander Lange 

You can meet Xelera in the startup zone at Connected Germany, 5-6 April 2022, Mainz Congress – Germany. Find out more HERE

In early 2020, Ofcom announced that they would be appointing Dame Melanie Dawes as CEO, replacing Jonathan Oxley who had been serving as interim CEO since late 2019. At the same time, the UK regulator also announced that the company Chairman, Lord Burns, would stand down, with the government seeking a new Chair more suited to overseeing Ofcom’s increased regulatory powers over internet content…

In early 2020, Ofcom announced that they would be appointing Dame Melanie Dawes as CEO, replacing Jonathan Oxley who had been serving as interim CEO since late 2019. At the same time, the UK regulator also announced that the company Chairman, Lord Burns, would stand down, with the government seeking a new Chair more suited to overseeing Ofcom’s increased regulatory powers over internet content. 

Initially, the incoming Chairperson was expected to be in place by the end of 2020. By early 2021, however, no decision had been made and the previous Deputy Chair, Maggie Carver, was raised to the position of interim Chair.

Throughout 2021, Paul Dacre, editor-in-chief of DMG Media, which publishes the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, and other titles, caused a media storm when it was reported he would be applying for the role. In May, his application was rejected by the interview board, but the process was then controversially restarted, with all the other candidates for the role reportedly rejected by culture secretary Oliver Dowden. 

In November, however, before the second round of applications could be judged, Dacre withdrew his application, leaving the position once again with no clear frontrunner. 

Now, the government has announced that Conservative peer, Lord Michael Grade, has been selected as the preferred candidate for the position. 

Lord Grade, 79, has served in numerous TV and broadcasting roles over the years, including at ITV, the BBC, and Channel 4.

“Ofcom is respected across the globe as a first-rate communications regulator, so I am privileged to be asked to become its chair. The role of Ofcom in British life has never been more important with new responsibilities on the horizon regulating online safety, on top of the ever-changing broadcasting landscape. I look forward to my appearance in front of the DCMS Select Committee to outline what I can bring to this role and how I can help ensure Ofcom is fit for the future,” said Lord Grade of his nomination.

Lord Grade has been noted as an outspoken critic of the BBC, calling its coverage of illegal parties at Downing Street during lockdown “gleeful and disrespectful”.  He has also been an advocate for the privatisation of Channel 4, in 2015 calling it a “brilliant experiment” that needed to be “freed up”.

Furthermore, he has been vocally critical of  the £159 a year TV licence fee is both “regressive” and “excessive”. 

If appointed, Lord Grade will need to the cross-benches in the House of Lords and will give up any non-executive roles that could cause a conflict of interest.

What impact will Ofcom’s increased powers though the Online Safety Bill have on the UK’s telecoms sector?  Find out from the experts in discussion at this year’s live Connected Britain event

Also in the news: 
New UK Telecoms Innovation Network targets Open RAN and other ‘disruptive tech’
Airtel Africa asks IFC for $194m for network expansion
Newly rebranded e& deepens ties with Microsoft

Can you introduce yourself and your role?
I am head of the Digital Infrastructure Division at the Projects Directorate of the European Investment Bank based in Luxembourg. I oversee a team of sector experts involved in sector and technology analysis as well as project appraisal. I also works on the Bank’s business strategy with respect to financing of digital infrastructure…

Can you introduce yourself and your role?

I am head of the Digital Infrastructure Division at the Projects Directorate of the European Investment Bank based in Luxembourg. I oversee a team of sector experts involved in sector and technology analysis as well as project appraisal. I also works on the Bank’s business strategy with respect to financing of digital infrastructure, semiconductors, space, industrial policy and the economics of digital transformation in general. I have also contributed in defining new financial instruments for digital infrastructure and services jointly with European Commission, national promotional banks and private sector. 

You work across the European Union – how does Germany’s investment landscape differ?

Germany is Europe’s largest economy with knowingly many areas of excellence in various sectors of economic activity. As a result on many indicators of performance Germany is in a leading position in Europe, and not only. This has also been achieved by continuous investment in R&D, skills and of course in physical assets. Where Germany is underperforming compared to peers is in digital infrastructure with the result of hindering certain patterns of specialisation and technology adoption in the digital domain which are becoming fundamental for the economy. There is need to catch up in order to be able to fully embrace the trend of digital transformation of all economic activities.

What do you expect to be the biggest developments in investment over the next year or so?

The bulk of investment will still be in the build out of very high capacity digital infrastructure, in particular in areas of low population density and where unit costs are considerably higher. Moreover, there is still large investment need in data security and secure data centres.

What are you most looking forward to at Connected Germany?

The first significant life sector convention in Germany after two years of unwelcome social distancing. Though digital meetings have a large number of benefits, meeting and talking to real people opens up completely different domains of developing and sharing innovative ideas. I am looking forward to meet and discuss with interesting people with innovative ideas.

Welcome Anders. What do you consider to be the most exciting markets for the submarine cable industry right now? 
Across the globe the subsea cable business is booming; entering 2022 the demand for capacity is as insistent as it was in preceding years. We’ve seen advances in technology for the repeatered market facilitating higher fiber count systems, ROADM technology and in some cases Aluminium cables.  Unrepeatered technology continues to be the strong sibling to the active side of the business – already well developed technically, with high fiber count (192) cables in existence for several years now, and a robust mechanical design that is well qualified.  
Different countries and regions require different submarine cable system designs, with festoons and interlinks typically leaning towards more economic passive solutions. This means that in certain regions, such as within Europe, the Caribbean or the Pacific Islands, we see a lot of activity on our side of the business, whilst trans-oceanic demand continues to preoccupy suppliers of repeatered systems. 
Our approach to all aspects of our work, from the manufacturing lines to our customer service, is focused on providing the best experience for the end user &–…

Welcome Anders. What do you consider to be the most exciting markets for the submarine cable industry right now? 

Across the globe the subsea cable business is booming; entering 2022 the demand for capacity is as insistent as it was in preceding years. We’ve seen advances in technology for the repeatered market facilitating higher fiber count systems, ROADM technology and in some cases Aluminium cables.  Unrepeatered technology continues to be the strong sibling to the active side of the business – already well developed technically, with high fiber count (192) cables in existence for several years now, and a robust mechanical design that is well qualified.  

Different countries and regions require different submarine cable system designs, with festoons and interlinks typically leaning towards more economic passive solutions. This means that in certain regions, such as within Europe, the Caribbean or the Pacific Islands, we see a lot of activity on our side of the business, whilst trans-oceanic demand continues to preoccupy suppliers of repeatered systems. 

Our approach to all aspects of our work, from the manufacturing lines to our customer service, is focused on providing the best experience for the end user – this is as important as ever in a busy market, where resource and capability are stretched for many companies. In the subsea industry there are different types of suppliers, those that provide full turnkey solutions, those that focus on active components and transmission, and of course all the different combinations in between. Here at Hexatronic our focus is on what we do best, providing durable and reliable high fiber count cable solutions, and we are happy to partner with marine installers and equipment vendors alike in order to help our customers achieve the end-to-end system they need.

Hexatronic recently launched the Fiber Pod, can you tell us a little more about the idea behind it?

Yes, it is a great initiative from our management team in Sweden; a series of podcasts aimed at sharing insights from around and within the fiber optic industry. In the first episode we heard from Vincent Garnier who is the General Director of the FTTH Council Europe, about the mission to advance  full fiber-based connectivity to the whole of Europe, something which is close to the heart of our business.  

You mention offshore energy, we see Hexatronic continue to participate in the other subsea markets such as power systems and renewable energy, how is this side of the business performing?

Hexatronic has delivered over 5000km of fiber optic cable in the offshore energy market to date. We supply a number of energy utilities with interlinks between countries, as well as solutions for offshore wind farms. Hexatronic have also been contracted recently by a number of power cable manufacturers for deliveries of our integrated fiber optic product in Northern Europe and in the Middle East. Our team continues to drive the offshore energy side of the business in parallel with our successful unrepeatered submarine cable product family. We pride ourselves on designing and manufacturing all our cable to the high standards you would expect from any Swedish supplier. Our approach to all aspects of our work, from the manufacturing lines to our customer service, is focused on providing the best experience for the end user.

Hexatronic’s integrated fiber optic solution for power cables

Sustainability has been key focus for Hexatronic for a number of years now – economically, environmentally, and socially. Can you tell us a little more about what the company’s sustainability goals and initiatives and any key takeaways so far?

In short, we take a holistic approach to sustainable development, we want to contribute to a more sustainable society and know that how we run our company and do business matters. Over the last few years, we have created a Sustainability Roadmap to guide our journey towards sustainability for the coming decade. The roadmap demonstrates our contribution to the UN 17 Global Goals, it outlines Hexatronic Group’s desired position for 2030 and explains the goals, targets and key actions to get us there. Our six priority areas are i) Strong business ethics ii) Low climate impact iii) Social involvement iv) Sustainable supply chain v) Diversity and gender equality, and vi) Good health, safety and working environment. 

Priority areas for Hexatronic’s Sustainability Roadmap

Our business aims to protect the environment for present and future generations by preventing emissions and minimizing the use of resources in our product handling. We also intend to work with contractors and suppliers who share our values when it comes to sustainability and business ethics. And I am proud to say that we see differences as an asset; working with diversity strengthens our expertise and thereby our competitiveness.  We strive to offer an inspiring working environment that contributes to job satisfaction and enjoyment – our workplaces shall be equal, safe and secure. 

A sustainable business needs a quality product at its core, how does Hexatronic fulfil this requirement?

The subsea sea cable industry in particular, is hugely reliant on high quality durable cable products due to harsh nature of the seabed and the requirement for high reliability over prolonged system lifetimes. A robust cable is required to withstand not only the tough underwater environment but also the many forms of external aggression that can exist in its 25+ year life. 

Quality is the single most important feature of Hexatronic products and our technology department works systematically to drive quality-related issues out of our processes.  In terms of submarine products, Hexatronic’s range of cables is based on our extensive experience in cable projects, including design and project management.  We have a very flexible approach to cable supply, which suits a lot of customers especially in these busy times.  From our dedicated manufacturing facility in Hudiksvall, Sweden, we are able to provide smaller lengths of cable for shorter systems, and our team support fast turnaround times for manufacturing and supply, which is critical in an industry where time-to-market is key. Cables can be loaded directly onto a cable ship from our dedicated pier in Hudiksvall, or they can be shipped via a freighter or transported on a lorry.

Hexatronic’s dedicated loading pier in Hudiksvall

We’ve read a lot in the press about the various acquisitions made by Hexatronic over the last year, can you tell us how the business is doing?

In 2021 we saw strong growth, unprecedented margins, and an even stronger order book. Entering  into Q1 2022 the order book was 179% compared to last year. Investments that were made in the UK, Germany and the North America to enable growth, have started to pay off.  On the subsea side there were a couple of new orders in for the English Channel and the Baltic Sea and repeat orders in for Asia and the offshore wind industry.

Hexatronic also completed a number of new acquisitions including, The Fibre Optic Shop, based in Australia, who manufacture fiber optic cabling for telecoms operators and “harsh environments”, and Data Center Systems in the US, who supply complete fiber connectivity system solutions to the data center market, including infrastructure design solutions, installation and managed services, mainly to telecoms, financial and technology companies.

Hexatronic’s subsea team – looking forward to meeting you in person again!

Although there have been plenty of challenges throughout the pandemic, we are fortunate that as a team we have been able to keep working successfully and have managed to deliver all our orders on time and to our customer’s satisfaction.  Travel restrictions made it harder for us to meet with existing and potential clients around the globe, but our company’s reach is wide and we continue to place new contracts on a regular basis.  We have started 2022 positively, with our aim to keep pushing development forwards and to maintain our reputation as easy to do business with, at the forefront of our agenda.

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Executive Biography 

Anders Ljung is the Business Manager Submarine Cable Solutions at Hexatronic in Hudiksvall, Sweden.  Anders holds an MSc in Polymer Mechanics. Anders has been employed for 29 years in the fiber optic cable    industry. More than twenty of these years he was in Ericsson’s organization where he held several managerial  positions within sales, project management and manufacturing of fiber optic submarine cables. When Hexatronic acquired Ericsson’s telecom cable plant in 2013 Anders was employed in his current position with a worldwide responsibility for Hexatronic’s fiber optic submarine cable portfolio.