Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.
BT’s CEO Philip Jansen has called for the UK government to implement permanent tax breaks for infrastructure investment.
In a plea to UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ahead of his upcoming Spending Review, Jansen explained that the introduction of a tax Super Deduction in April 2021 – which reduced tax on new plan and machinery equipment by 25% – had allowed BT to increase its fibre rollout targets from 20 million homes to 25 million homes.
Now, as economic hardship increased last winter and the Super Deduction measures have come to an end, the pressure to hit these targets has greatly increased.
Thankfully, the Super Deduction scheme was replaced in spring by a new policy of Full Expensing, allowing companies a 100% tax relief on qualifying plant and machinery investments between April 2023 and April 2026.
This measure has, according to Jansen, allowed BT to keep on track with its 25 million premises target, and increase its capital investment by £300 million per year.
However, the Full Expensing scheme is expected to expire in just over two years, with Jansen arguing continued private investment in telecoms infrastructure will be difficult without these tax breaks.
As a result, he is calling for the government to make these tax breaks permanent to ensure that the UK’s telecoms industry can make the additional investment of £20 billion to meet government fibre and 5G targets.
Further explaining how tax breaks are key for incentivising investment for large firms, Jansen added that it “would give businesses like BT Group genuine long-term certainty to plan and shift the investment environment in Britain from good to great.”
“I know the Chancellor is considering this as one option for next week’s Autumn statement. He has said he would like to take this step when the economic conditions allow. With billions of pounds of potential investment at stake, it’s also important to ask whether, as a country, we can afford not to,” continued Jansen.
Jeremy Hunt is set to announce his autumn statement on 22 November.
Want to keep up to date with all the latest news from the international telecoms sector? Click here to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter direct to your inbox
Also in the news:
Globe Telecom plagued by network battery theft
Digital Infrastructure: Riding the resurgent wave of telecom investment
Boldyn Networks snaps up Cellnex’s private networks business unit
A team of UK companies led by Stratospheric Platforms Limited (SPL), a Non Terrestrial Networks telecoms developer, has won a significant contract trialling advanced airborne 5G connectivity from a Britten-Norman Islander. Aircraft manufacturer Britten-Norman will be providing key design and trials support for the project, with Marshall Futureworx providing important cooling systems technology.
SPL is pioneering the concept of using a High-Altitude Platform (HAP) with airborne antenna to provide widescale coverage of high performance 5G from the stratosphere. The goal of the project is to deliver an unmanned, liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft, designed with a 56-metre wingspan that will, due to its lightweight structure and significant power source, enable a flight endurance of over a week.
The contract will see SPLs 5G airborne phased array integrated to a Britten-Norman Islander, with flight trials due to begin in July 2024. The turbine-powered BN2T-4S Islander variant has been selected for the programme due to its performance and payload capacity and the simplicity with which it can be modified to accommodate the equipment. The trial will be conducted under Britten-Norman’s Civil Aviation Authority test conditions.
Britten-Norman will operate the aircraft from its Solent Airport aircraft maintenance (MRO) facility, with the mission to be performed over the North Sea. The 5G phased array will be linked via a backhaul link to the Adastral Tower in Suffolk, England, from which the telecommunications and mission equipment will operate.
Garnet Ridgway, Flight Test Engineer at Britten-Norman, remarked:
“This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the full capabilities of both Britten-Norman as an accomplished trials organisation and the Turbine Islander as a highly capable trials aircraft. Working closely with our partners, the project includes deliverables from our design, manufacture, MRO, continued airworthiness, flight test and flight operations teams.
The project requires a test platform that can be easily modified; the BN2T-4S Islander has a combination of payload capacity, endurance, climb performance, twin engine reliability, robustness and electrical power generation that makes it unbeatable for this mission.
We are very pleased to have been selected by Stratospheric Platforms to assist in pioneering this innovation.”
Kevin Bean, Chief Technical Officer at Stratospheric Platforms Limited said:
“We are delighted to be working with Britten-Norman on this programme. The Islander is a great workhorse for this kind of engineering because it can be rapidly and extensively modified to accommodate our equipment.
The role-based type of mission which can readily be executed by the Islander, combined with the stability of the platform, is ideal for a programme where telecommunication trials require predictable performance.”
Kieren Paterson, Managing Director of Marshall Futureworx, commented:
“We’re delighted to be deepening our relationship with SPL, Cambridge-based technology leaders, through this project. It is easy to see why they are considered among the UK’s most promising innovators.
This is an exciting project to be part of, with so much potential to dramatically broaden and transform access to high-speed communication—while also providing global leadership in areas such as uncrewed aviation and zero emission flight.”
Also in the news:
Globe Telecom plagued by network battery theft
Digital Infrastructure: Riding the resurgent wave of telecom investment
Boldyn Networks snaps up Cellnex’s private networks business unit
Five infrastructure projects touching five continents: … [visit site to read more]
In the summer of last year, Verizon Business stuck up a deal with the Port of Virginia, pledging to deploy a private 5G network at the Virginia International Terminal (VIT), one of the port’s main container terminals.
The partners said the deal would allow the port operator to explore the use of cutting-edge technologies throughout the location, most notably autonomous over-the-road trucks to drop-off and pick-up shipping containers.
Now, roughly 18 months later, it seems that the deployment has been a major success, with Verizon announcing its intention to repeat the deployment at another of the port’s neighbouring locations, the Norfolk International Terminal (NIT).
The new deployment will cover 270 acres of the NIT, replacing the existing Wi-Fi solution. The network’s hardware will be provided by Ericsson.
As before, Verizon says the private 5G network will facilitate the use of a wide range of modern industrial solutions, including safety and surveillance drones, autonomous trucks, and remotely controlled cranes. Combined, these new technologies should greatly improve the port’s operational efficiency and reduce downtime, as well as increasing worker safety.
It will also incorporate Verizon’s Push-to-Talk (PTT) solution – an app-based solution that essentially turns the user’s smartphone into a walkie-talkie. PTT can reportedly allow up to 250 people to communicate via the push of a button, not only transmitting voice data but also files, photographs, and video.
“The expansion of Verizon’s private 5G presence at the Port of Virginia shows that companies can modernize and improve their operations by starting small with new technology, proving out the use cases and applications that are right for their business, and then scaling up to do even more,” said Kyle Malady, CEO of Verizon Business. “The Port of Virginia, through the private 5G journeys at VIT and NIT, epitomize how to adopt cutting edge technology to transform a business efficiently and productively.”
Verizon has been deploying private 5G networks in ports for almost two years now, the first of which having taken place in the UK at the Port of Southampton.
The fact that the Port of Virginia is seemingly satisfied enough with Verizon’s private 5G solution to essentially buy it twice is surely a major feather in Verizon Business’s cap. It also vouches for the solution’s scalability – a factor which is often bragged about in company press releases but rarely demonstrated when it comes to private networks.
Are private networks delivering on the industrial promise of 5G? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s Connected America conference live in Dallas
Also in the news:
Globe Telecom plagued by network battery theft
Digital Infrastructure: Riding the resurgent wave of telecom investment
Boldyn Networks snaps up Cellnex’s private networks business unit
This Industry Spotlight was authored by Soma Naidoo, Global Head of Telco at Endava
Did you know that roughly half the global population would rather have their smartphone instead of their wallet when away from home? An unsurprising trend given that the rate at which we rely on our digital devices grows every day. This has a direct impact on the telecommunications industry and is intensifying the already fierce competition among carriers and networks. … [visit site to read more]
Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.
Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.
What is described as a “landmark agreement” will lay the foundation for South Africa’s Gugulethu Colliery, a newly developed mine in Mpumalanga, to integrate 5G technology in its operations.
Mpumalanga is a province in eastern South Africa, bordering Swaziland and Mozambique.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in Cape Town between Menar, a private investment company with an actively managed and growing portfolio of diversified minerals, mobile network operator MTN, and technology firm Huawei, will enable implementation of 5G technology at the Gugulethu mine, which is to start producing in early 2024.
Plans under discussion include the possibility of rolling out a three-phased project to install 5G connectivity on the mine campus and shafts among other elements.
Supported by MTN’s telecommunications expertise and Huawei’s technological infrastructure, the aim is to enhance communication onsite, ensuring people’s safety and well-being, as well as operational efficiency.
As we reported at the time, in December 2022 Canyon Coal’s Phalanndwa Colliery also based in Mpumalanga, signed an agreement that ultimately saw the mine adopting 5G technology. The team at Phalanndwa reportedly registered improvements when it comes to enhanced communication, safety, and real-time monitoring.
The role of 5G in this sector is likely to go on expanding, if comments from Menar’s chief innovation officer Cleavon Moothoosamy are any indication. He says: « We want to be at the forefront of mining innovation, and this partnership is a bold step towards a future where technology and connectivity redefine the mining landscape.”
A collection of interesting items from around the sector this week: … [visit site to read more]
