Today, Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) and UK bakery chain Greggs have announced a new partnership that will see them work together to provide free mobile data to families struggling to pay bills during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. 
The programme, facilitated by the Greggs Hardship Fund, will see VMO2 provide free O2 SIM cards and voucher codes to families…

Today, Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) and UK bakery chain Greggs have announced a new partnership that will see them work together to provide free mobile data to families struggling to pay bills during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. 

The programme, facilitated by the Greggs Hardship Fund, will see VMO2 provide free O2 SIM cards and voucher codes to families, providing up to 15GB of data. Eligible families will be able to access these resources through their schools, with VMO2 hoping to 255,000 people get connected by the end of 2023.

As of today, the project is being trialled in Scotland, the North East, South East, and the Midlands, with other regions of the UK potentially to be added in future.

The scheme is being conducted as part of the wider National Databank project, in which both Vodafone and Three are also participating. Described as a ‘food bank for data’ and operated by the Good Things Foundation (GTF), the project allows operators to donate free SIMS and data which is then delivered the people in need via GTF’s community partners network. 

“We’re proud to see the National Databank go from strength to strength, providing free mobile data to people who need it. We’re delighted to welcome the Greggs Foundation, so we can support more families across the UK and help connect the disconnected,” said Nicola Green, VMO2’s Chief Communications and Corporate Affairs Officer.

Numerous operators in the UK have been taking notice of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, noting its potential for deepening the digital divide in the UK and furthering inequality for decades to come. Last month, Vodafone noted that the crisis was driving up the demand for connectivity, citing data from foodbanks obtained via their partner the Trussell Trust.

Earlier this week, five UK ISPs announced they were forming a consortium called the Rebel Alliance to campaign for the industry to make broadband services more affordable and accessible, particularly through offering social tariff, noting that existing discount tariffs were greatly under-subscribed.

Today, BT and Ericsson have announced a new partnership that will see them work together to provide private 5G networks for Industry 4.0 customers. 
 
The deal will see BT use Ericsson technology to provide private 5G networks to partners in various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, and transport and logistics, focussing on enabling valuable solutions like asset tracking, predictive maintenance, and automation.
 
The specifics of the multi…

Today, BT and Ericsson have announced a new partnership that will see them work together to provide private 5G networks for Industry 4.0 customers. 

The deal will see BT use Ericsson technology to provide private 5G networks to partners in various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, and transport and logistics, focussing on enabling valuable solutions like asset tracking, predictive maintenance, and automation.

The specifics of the multi-million-pound deal were not revealed, though we are told the terms are for multiple years.

“This UK-first we have signed with Ericsson is a huge milestone and will play a major role in enabling businesses’ transformation, ushering in a new era of hyper-connected spaces,” said Marc Overton, BT’s Managing Director for Division X, Enterprise. “We have combined our skill and expertise at building converged fixed and mobile networks with Ericsson’s leading, sustainable and secure 5G network equipment, to offer a pioneering new proposition that will be attractive to many industries. 5G private networks will also support smart factory processes and the advancement of Industry 4.0 which can realise significant cost savings and efficiencies for manufacturers. 

Overton noted the versatility of private 5G networks, being configurable to the enterprise customer’s specific requirements, as well as providing “the foundation to overlay other innovative technologies such as IoT, AI, VR and AR”.

Now, two years later, the operator is keen to showcase the project’s success, holding it up as a poster child for a private 5G deployment in real-world setting and an enabler of numerous additional technologies.

“We’re now into phase two of the project and this includes various use cases such as teleoperation of heavy plant machinery, artificial reality (AR) for remote maintenance, as well as enhanced video AI analytics and the use of drones for surveillance and inspections,” said Overton.  

In addition to Belfast Harbour, BT has other private 5G network projects currently underway with Ericsson, including at the Worcester Bosch factory, where the technology is being used to enable IoT, edge computing, and autonomous robots. 

Regardless, it is clear that interest in private 5G networks for industry partners is growing and we should expect to see more deals of this sort announced in the near future as operators move to make their private network solutions more accessible for potential customers. 
 

Earlier this year, the South Korean government launched its government’s K-UAM Grand Challenge programme, seeking to identify the country’s first operator of urban air mobility (UAM) services. 
Launched by the Ministry of Transport, the project seeks to bring together various industry players, including aircraft developers, airspace designers, and air traffic management operators, to help develop the UAM ecosystem and commercialise UAM in central Korean cities by 2025.
Since the programmes launch in February, companies have been invited to submit applications to participate, with selected parties then set to demonstrate their UAM capabilities for the government and potentially be selected as the country&’…

Earlier this year, the South Korean government launched its government’s K-UAM Grand Challenge programme, seeking to identify the country’s first operator of urban air mobility (UAM) services. 

Launched by the Ministry of Transport, the project seeks to bring together various industry players, including aircraft developers, airspace designers, and air traffic management operators, to help develop the UAM ecosystem and commercialise UAM in central Korean cities by 2025.

Since the programmes launch in February, companies have been invited to submit applications to participate, with selected parties then set to demonstrate their UAM capabilities for the government and potentially be selected as the country’s first UAM operator.

The end of May marks the deadline for submissions and today The Korea Herald has reported that South Korea’s largest telco, SK Telecom (SKT), is at the helm of a major bid to take part in the Challenge. 

According to the report, SKT will lead a consortium including Hanwha Systems, Korea Airports Corp., and the Korea Transport Institute, leveraging its 5G and 4G networks to establish the vital real-time communications needed for UAM vehicles to operate succesfully.

Crucially, Hanwha Systems has already conducted UAM aircraft tests last year with their US partner Overair, featuring a prototype of an air taxi called ‘Butterfly’, featuring electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL).

The government has also received additional proposals from car-maker Hyundai, Korean IT firm Kakao Group, and conglomerate Lotte Group, each of which is backed by their own expansive consortium of diverse partners. 

Evaluation and due diligence of the various proposals will now take place until mid-October, with the participants officially selected in November this year. Developmental testing, including demonstration flights, are scheduled to take place until up to March 2024 at the latest, after which a winner will be selected.

The Challenge’s schedule remains very flexible due to a variety of factors, “including changes in government policy, the status of infrastructure construction, domestic and international conditions, and natural disasters”, according to the K-UAM Grand Challenge Website.

The winner of the Challenge will work with the South Korean government over the next few years on further demonstrations and validation tests, before being allowed to operate their own service in urban areas in 2024, with commercialisation planned for 2025.

According to the Ministry of Transport, initial services being prioritised will include airborne medical services, such as flying ambulances, and cargo delivery to underserved communities. Less critical applications, such as tourist trips and even UAM theme parks, are also being considered in the longer term.

As you might imagine, this is a huge economic opportunity for the winning bidder, with financial firm Morgan Stanley predicting the burgeoning UAM sector will be worth up to $1.5 trillion by 2040.

The timeline, with its 2025 commercialisation date, however, seems somewhat optimistic. Even with early commercialised services only allowing the eVTOL flights through pre-designated, fixed corridors, there is still an enormous amount of complex regulations and infrastructure that must be legislated and deployed to make this project viable in a real-world setting.

Many of the challenges of standardisation and regulation mirror those facing the drone industry, another rapidly growing sector in which the telecoms operators and their connectivity have a key role to play. In the UK, for example, Vodafone has been particularly active in supporting drone projects supported by its mobile connectivity, including delivering NHS supplies to remote locations during the pandemic. 

Earlier this year, a consortium announced its plans for Project Skyway, the world’s largest drone corridor in the UK, spanning 165 miles. Dubbed by consortium leader, Altitude Angel, as the most ambitious transport project proposed since the advent of the railway network, the project is far greater in scale than Project XCelerate, the UK’s first and only commercial drone corridor so far, which is largely being used for drone trials. 

A timeline for Project Skyway has yet to be announced, with the regulatory infrastructure surrounding such a large project requiring considerable investigation by the government and other stakeholders.

Nontheless, from drones to UAM, facilitating airborne connectivity is clearly an enormous opportunity for telcos and it should come as no surprise that SKT, one of the most innovative operators in one of the most advanced markets in the world, should be staking a claim to a key role in the sectors’ development.

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Also in the news: 
Malaysian telcos continue to clash with govt over 5G
Amdocs buys Mycom OSI in $188m deal
Lithuania begins long-awaited 5G spectrum auction

Tell us about your start up We are a Street Works consultancy, delivering a management, coordination and planning package to our clients. We are based in Southampton, but work on contracts all over the UK. We have a growing reputation of going the extra mile to meet targets for our clients, adding that personal touch along the way. We work tirelessly to build and maintain relationships with all parties, from Local/ Highway Authorities, Works Promotor, traffic management…

Tell us about your start up
We are a Street Works consultancy, delivering a management, coordination and planning package to our clients. We are based in Southampton, but work on contracts all over the UK. We have a growing reputation of going the extra mile to meet targets for our clients, adding that personal touch along the way. We work tirelessly to build and maintain relationships with all parties, from Local/ Highway Authorities, Works Promotor, traffic management, contract managers, site agents, supervisors and gangers. We also have robust processes in place to minimise the risk of Fixed Penalty Notices and Section 74 overstays.

What is your USP?
We tailor our business to the requirements of each client. We work remotely but can provide full back-office support to offer Project and Street Works management, supply a Daily Whereabouts and source Stats/ Utility Prints/ Safe Digs for any location in the UK. We can now offer site surveying of existing and planned infrastructure. Ad-hoc office or site visits and meetings can also be arranged, should there be a need to meet with an Local Authority

What is your relationship with the telecom sector?
We have direct contact with Internet Service Providers and builders of Full Fibre infrastructure.

How have you got to your current stage of development?
The founder has grown the business gradually over time, building many relationships with clients and colleagues, and getting recommendations and referrals following on from that. We are looking to increase our exposure and profile to become the primary Street Works solution provider.

Why did you establish the business?
A decade ago, I was fortunate to land a coordination role on the Street Works team of a very well-established civil engineering company, delivering services across multiple utility sectors, including telecommunications, gas, power, water, renewable energy and rail. I worked my way up through the organisation to become a Team Leader. I then had the opportunity to work for a more recently established company, dedicated to managing the sewer contract for a water supplier. I was then approached by another very well-established Tier 1 contractor, to work on a large telecoms project in the south. Finally, around 6 years ago, I was presented with an opportunity to work on a Highways England build and another Tier 1 contractor. This is where I established my Limited Company and the rest is history! I’ve worked with some of the market leaders and biggest telecoms suppliers, that are working hard to build competition and help keep prices low for consumers.

Who inspired you?
I have worked with several key and important people along the way. I have learned to take the positives from each experience to be the manager I am today, but I am always striving to learn more and become a better version of myself. Currently, my small team of dedicated individuals inspire me more than ever. They manage to juggle lots of things, but their keen eye for detail and dedication to their roles is the key to the success of the business.

What does the future hold for your business?
Further expansion into Project & Street Works management, inspection and surveying. We aim to deal directly with Tier 1 and 2 contractors, trying to break the monopoly in the market!

HEADQUARTERS: Southampton
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 4
LAST FUNDING TYPE: Privately funded
WEBSITE URL: solentstreetworks.com
FOUNDER: Founder and Managing Director – Andrew Waight

Solent Streetworks will be participating in Connected Britain on the 20-21 September 2022 in London. To meet them and other startups visit totaltele.com/connectedbritain