News

The regulator said the operator had not done enough to protect consumer data

This week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reached a settlement with telco giant AT&T, fining them $13 million for their lack of oversight over customers’ data security.

Back in January 2023, bad actors gained access to the data of 8.9 million AT&T customers via a cyberattack on an unnamed third-party cloud vendor.

According to the FCC, this vendor was used by AT&T “to generate and host personalized video content, including billing and marketing videos” for the affected customers.

As part of the vendor’s service agreement with AT&T, the company was required to destroy or return customer data once it was not longer needed. However, the FCC claims that AT&T did not enforce these obligations, thereby creating the conditions for the data theft to take place.

Customer data stolen included that from the period 2015 to 2017, which should have been deleted in 2017 or 2018.

Today, following an investigation, the FCC has fined AT&T $13 million for its failure to protect consumer data.

“The Communications Act makes clear that carriers have a duty to protect the privacy and security of consumer data, and that responsibility takes on new meaning for digital age data breaches,” said FCC chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel. “Carriers must take additional precautions given their access to sensitive information, and we will remain vigilant in ensuring that’s the case no matter which provider a customer chooses.”

As part of the settlement with the FCC, AT&T will be required to increase its data security and supply chain integrity practices, as well a carry out annual compliance audits.

It is worth noting that this is not the only cybersecurity breach of AT&T being investigated by the FCC. Earlier this summer, AT&T revealed a data breach that took place in April affecting roughly 109 million customers – almost the company’s entire subscriber base.

The FCC’s investigation into this incident is still ongoing.

Keep up to date with all of the latest telecoms news with Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

Also in the news:
Meta resumes use of UK user posts to train its AI models
Verizon’s 4,800 job cuts will cost over $1.9 billion
CMA questions Vodafone–Three merger after second probe

News

The five new Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are the first step in providing mobile coverage to ‘not spots’ across the USA

AST SpaceMobile has successfully launched its first five BlueBird LEO satellites, which will ultimately form part of a constellation aimed at delivering direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity to mobile subscribers.

The five satellites carry antenna arrays that each cover around 700 square feet, making them the largest ever deployed by a commercial space craft.

For the next three months, the quintuplet will undergo various calibration testing, after which beta tests with AT&T (and likely Verizon) customers will begin.

Each of the satellites’ beams are designed to support a capacity of up to 40 MHz, enabling peak data transmission speeds of up to 120 Mbps. and will target approximately 100% nationwide coverage from space with over 5,600 coverage cells in the US.

Initial coverage from the satellites will be limited; the devices will orbit the Earth twice a day, providing about an hour of combined connectivity across the US. AST aims to launch 17 additional satellites during Q1 next year, with plans for up to 155 to be built by 2030, which will ultimately provide global coverage.

“This is a pivotal moment for AST SpaceMobile as we bring our vision to enhance cellular connectivity globally, with the support of our strategic partners and the unwavering commitment of our team,” said Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of AST SpaceMobile. “As we shift our manufacturing focus to increase Block 2 production of the active payload systems and other components for the first 17 Block 2 satellites, we are excited to bring this revolutionary technology to the world. We believe space-based broadband cellular connectivity will revolutionize how people connect, empowering communities and driving economic growth on a global scale.”

Both AT&T and Verizon have deals with AST SpaceMobile to make use of the satellites to deliver connectivity to ‘not spots’ across the country. The services will use the operators’ respective 850MHz spectrum and will connect to unmodified smartphones.

“This is an exciting next step to a future where our customers will only be hard to reach if they choose to be – giving them the power to go anywhere and the possibility to do anything while staying connected with just an everyday cell phone” said Jeff McElfresh, Chief Operating Officer at AT&T. “This moment has been several years in the making, and I am proud of our teams’ work, in collaboration with AST SpaceMobile, to help make space-based connectivity a reality.”

Exactly how the mobile operators will commercialise these services remains to be seen, but AT&T’s network chief Chris Sambar has previously hinted that the service will be available as-standard on premium packages or as a paid addition to cheaper packages.

Besides AT&T and Verizon, AST SpaceMobile also has partnership and investments from the likes of American Tower, Google, Rakuten, and Vodafone.

It should also be noted that AST SpaceMobile is not the only satellite operator to be eying D2D connectivity. Indeed, SpaceX’s more than 7,000-satellite Starlink constellation has plans to launch its own D2D connectivity services later this year.

Also in the news:
Meta resumes use of UK user posts to train its AI models
Verizon’s 4,800 job cuts will cost over $1.9 billion
CMA questions Vodafone–Three merger after second probe

News 

The company initially received backlash back in June before an intervention from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) 

Meta has announced that it will begin training its AI models using public content shared by users on Facebook and Instagram in the UK, having paused the training in June due to regulatory clashes. 

The company intends to start this process in the coming months, with customers of their platforms to be informed via in-app notification.  

Meta argues that the use of this training will allow the company’s AI models to better reflect British culture, history, and language. In reality, of course, this is more about accessing the many millions of posts that will help to enhance their product offerings and maintaining a competitive edge against rival models. 

The decision follows discussions with the ICO after Meta paused its AI training in the UK to address regulatory concerns. Meta has since received clarity from the ICO, which confirmed that using public data under the legal basis of “Legitimate Interests” is acceptable. As a result, Meta expects its AI models to launch in the UK sooner than originally planned. 

Stephen Almond, Executive Director Regulatory Risk at the ICO has released the following statement:  

“Meta has since [since June] made changes to its approach, including making it simpler for users to object to the processing and providing them with a longer window to do so. Meta has now taken the decision to resume its plans and we will monitor the situation as Meta moves to inform UK users and commence processing in the coming weeks.” 

“We have been clear that any organisation using its users’ information to train generative AI models needs to be transparent about how people’s data is being used. Organisations should put effective safeguards in place before they start using personal data for model training, including providing a clear and simple route for users to object to the processing. The ICO has not provided regulatory approval for the processing and it is for Meta to ensure and demonstrate ongoing compliance.” 

Meta remains under scrutiny from various regulators over its handling of consumer data, particularly in Europe where the rollout of its Generative AI products remain paused as a result of regulatory inquiry.  

Keep up to date with the latest telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
CMA questions Vodafone–Three merger after second probe
UK govt to class data centres as critical national infrastructure
Connected Britain 2024: The Award Winners

News 

The Connected Britain Awards took place last night after a busy first day of the event. Hundreds joined us for an evening of networking and highly anticipated winner announcements. We had a record-breaking number of entries this year, reflecting Britain’s ever-growing and rapidly evolving digital economy.  

Our shortlist this year represented a fantastic array of diverse organisations and individuals, with the traditional big players being joined by many organisations of varying sizes from all corners of Britain.  

The awards recognise the most significant and innovative organisations, solutions and programmes that are shaping Britain’s digital future.  It is a clear reflection of how the whole digital economy is now working towards the same goal of improving lives through connectivity.  

From the latest technological innovations to the most impactful community initiatives, the Connected Britain Awards strives to highlight excellence in every corner of the UK.   

A big thanks to all our award presenters, our generous sponsors and the excellent panel of judges, who spent the last number of months analysing entries for each of the 15 categories.  

Onto the awards… 

B2B Service Provider of the Year 

The winner in this category introduced a broad range of exciting new B2B solutions this year, as well as a new Partner Programme that has already welcomed over 100 registered partners.  

WINNER: PlatformX Communications (PXC) 

The finalists were: 

CovertSwarm 

Evolve B G Limited 

NETS International 

Texaport 

ZAYO – Fibre Backhaul 

Broadband Provider of the Year 

For this category, the judges were looking for a broadband provider that not only delivers excellent service to customers but goes the extra mile in helping them on their digital journey. The winner has done exactly that, helping to transform previously underserved locations in the UK. 

WINNER: Wildanet 

The finalists were:  

Brsk 

Fibrus Broadband 

Lightning Fibre 

Truespeed Communications 

Wessex Internet 

Zzoomm 

Digital Council of the Year 

Local councils have become a vital part of Connected Britain and the winner in this category has shown exceptional leadership. Their entry included a huge number of successful projects, from deploying 5G and fibre infrastructure to using drones to deliver medical equipment. 

WINNER: Coventry City Council 

The finalists were: 

Cornwall Council 

Glasgow City Council 

Kent County Council 

Norfolk County Council 

Digital Skills Award 

The lack of digital skills is becoming a major challenge in the UK, threatening to deepen the digital divide. 

The winning entry in this category brought together volunteers, partners, and council staff to tackle this issue head-on, with some very impressive results. 

WINNER: Wigan Council’s TechMate digital skills initiative 

The finalists were: 

Kent County Council – Digital Kent 

Norfolk County Council—Tech Skills for Life 

Three UK & Three Discovery, Power up the Possibilities 

Trafford Council 

We Are Group & Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames 

Wigan Council’s TechMate digital skills initiative 

Enterprise Solution of the Year 

The winner in this category is helping the telecoms industry deliver on one of the most exciting initiatives in the UK, with huge implications for the market and for customers across the country. 

WINNER: SONALAKE, pivOTS 

The finalists were: 

Calix – Broadband Platform 

Colt – Intent-based Networking Optimisation 

Deepomatic – First Time Right Automation platform 

Digitalnauts & HoloPlan 

Evolve B G Limited 

SuLe – Sule Hub Limited 

Project Rollout Award 

The winner in this category needs no introduction, with its rollout continuing to go from strength to strength, even in the face of a challenging economic environment over the past year. 

WINNER: CityFibre 

The finalists were: 

4 Fibre Limited 

Freedom Fibre Ltd 

NETS International 

Openreach, Fibre Build plan 

“Virgin Media O2 & Deloitte – Smart Planning tool “ 

The Access Innovation Award 

The winner of this category is doing some amazing work across the country, including here in London. In fact, many of you may have used their infrastructure on your way to Connected Britain today… 

WINNER: Boldyn Networks 

The finalists were: 

ACOME Group’s Nanomodule ultra lightweight (ULW) fibre cable 

The AssetHUB Ltd 

Network on Wheels via the The One Word Project – Partnership between Worcestershire County Council, Virtuser and Telet 

Nokia – Corteca 

Openreach (Scotland’s Fair Isle) 

Pangea Connected, global cellular IoT connectivity solutions 

The Barrier Removal Award 

The winner in this category has taken an innovative approach to removing barriers for infrastructure deployment, creating a dedicated unit to spearhead public–private collaboration.  

WINNER: Glasgow City Council Telecoms Unit 

The finalists were: 

4 Fibre Limited 

Dalcour Maclaren – High Level Design review/ Land Rights Assessment 

Freedom Fibre Ltd 

MapAll, MapAll Blockages 

Swansea Bay City Deal Digital Infrastructure Programme and Local Authority Digital Champion Teams at Swansea Council, Carmarthenshire County Council, Pembrokeshire County Council and Neath Port Talbot Council 

The Community Improvement Award 

The idea that quality connectivity should benefit everyone in society is at the heart of this category’s winning entry. The winner showcased a wide range of initiatives to ensure no one is left behind on their digital journey.  

WINNER: Sunderland City Council’s Digital Inclusion Programme supported by Boldyn Networks 

The finalists were: 

BeFibre 

Cefnogi’ community engagement programme 

#CovConnects Coventry City Council 

Commsworld and SmartSTEMs: Inspiring The Next Generation 

Fibrus 

The Full Fibre ISP Innovation Award 

The winning ISP in this category has made great progress in the past year, expanding its customer base significantly thanks to great customer service and close collaboration with communities at all levels. 

WINNER: Brsk 

The finalists were: 

Gigabit IQ from Grayshott Gigabit Limited 

ITS Technology Group 

Ogi Pro 

Wifinity 

Zzoomm 

The Industrial Innovation Award 

High quality connectivity can play a huge role in health and safety in an industrial setting. The winner of this category showcased a wearable solution providing real-time data about workers and their environment, keeping everyone connected and protected.  

WINNER: Blackline Safety 

The finalists were: 

aql 

INNO Instrument 

Magdalene 

The Rising Star Award 

This was a highly competitive category, with many amazing entrants from across the industry. Our winner this year has had a huge impact on their organization, spearheading changes to the company’s operating model and helping to deliver savings of over £50 million. 

WINNER: Sophie Dunstan, Openreach 

The finalists were: 

Alan Cutler, Home Unity 

Jamie Sandles, V4 Cloud 

James Armstrong, National Grid 

Natalie Rowley, Truespeed Communications 

Ramona McGarry, Coventry City Council 

The Sustainability Award 

Sustainability has been a key them here at Connected Britain and the winner in this category is going to great lengths to reduce their carbon footprint and that of their entire supply chain. 

WINNER: Openreach Limited, Carbon Reduction Programme 

The finalists were: 

Cable and Things – Sustainable Draw Rope 

M Group Services’ Telecom Division 

Openreach Limited, Carbon Reduction Programme 

PlatformX Communications (PXC) 

STL – EcoLabelled Methodology in OFC manufacturing 

Technetix, in partnership with Virgin Media O2 

TXO 

Wildanet 

The Wireless Innovation Award 

Our final winner overcame major deployment challenges to deliver quality mobile connectivity to some of the UK’s most remote areas. The results exceeded their partner’s expectations, with the project being expanded as we go into 2025. 

WINNER: Blackspot Networks Ltd 

The finalists were: 

Iris-iot Solutions Ltd 

Mobile Private Network (MPN) by AWTG Ltd. 

The Startup of the Year Award 

WINNER: Connected 

The finalists were: 

Zim Connection

YWE Media

EV Mobiliti

Appella AI

Polaris Safety

Thinking Machine

Qomodo

HalleyX

Lumilinks 

Viewpoint Article 

by Jarlath Finnegan is Group CEO of AllPoints Fibre Networks (APFN)

As the industry approached the launch of One Touch Switch (OTS) on 12 September, there was an increasing amount of commentary on its perceived faults and features. Regardless of which side of that debate we stand, at APFN, we see OTS as an inflection point which should give pause for thought to all of us involved in the industry.  

Over the past ten years, our backers have poured billions of pounds of private sector capital into brand new full fibre infrastructure, which is already benefiting millions of customers. Much delayed and under-publicised, it is a common hope across the industry, government, and the regulator that OTS will encourage more consumers to engage more deeply with the telecoms market. 

But we already know that OTS is not an industry cure-all. None of us should be under the impression that customer take-up of full fibre broadband will rocket from mid-September onwards. To make a more competitive marketplace a reality, we need the government and the regulators to step in. 

At the stroke of a pen, and without spending any money, they could do a lot to help. Ofcom’s new guidance on the use of the word ‘fibre’ in marketing comes into effect four days after the new OTS process goes live. Using the word ‘fibre’ without qualification will now be banned by Ofcom, and according to them, consumers should also be informed about the technology used to deliver their broadband. But the Advertising Standards Authority has declined to follow suit. So providers will be able to market their networks in one way on their websites, and an entirely different way on an advertising billboard. In no other industry would this be tolerable and the government and Ofcom needs to pressure the ASA to change its guidance immediately, as has happened in France and Ireland. 

Secondly, the government has failed to meaningfully support the industry to communicate the benefits of fibre. Successive administrations have overseen a remarkable success story in terms of the rollout. The availability of full fibre connections grew to over 60% in January 2024 according to Ofcom compared to 7% in January 2019. But we need consumers to switch and take advantage of this new technology. If consumers voluntarily move on to faster, more reliable connections, that benefits everyone: they get a better service; productivity increases; and the government can further digitise public services. The government should run a public information campaign to ‘make the switch’, just like it did for the digital tv and radio switchover. For those that need it, the government should also prioritise digital skills training, particularly for those adults who missed out when they were in school. We cannot unlock the full potential of the UK without it. 

Finally, we are approaching another inflection point when the copper networks are switched off and consumers are moved to full fibre networks by their ISPs. Like OTS, this has not received the publicity and scrutiny that it deserves. This is important for Openreach, as well as those that use their networks. There is no point in Openreach, the industry and consumers paying for the costs of running two networks, a 20th century part-copper network based on old landline technology and a modern fibre optic one. At the point of switch off, it is vital that consumers can make an informed choice of network, rather than having their contracts automatically rolled over to a full fibre one by their existing ISP. The government and the regulator should intervene on this now so that the rules are clear before the switch off takes place and we can inject much needed competition into the broadband market. Copper switch-off is a once in a generation opportunity to do it. 

Broadband isn’t generally argued about much in the chambers of Westminster because, for the most part, everyone agrees: it’s a fairly-priced daily essential that facilitates our lives. But there needs to be a healthy broadband market for that situation to continue, and for that, we need the government to get more involved.  

One Touch Switch is being introduced on Thursday 12 September! Get the latest reactions from the UK telecoms industry live at Connected Britain

Jarlath Finnegan is Group CEO of AllPoints Fibre Networks (APFN), which was created from the merger of Giganet, Swish Fibre, Jurassic Fibre and the existing AllPoints Fibre brands. Cuckoo Fibre is also part of the same group. His background is in telecoms and renewable energy infrastructure.

LINX Nairobi is a neutral, multi-site interconnection fabric providing peering services and more for networks wanting to improve performance, increase redundancy and lower latency.

Launched back in November 2023, the new Internet Exchange Point (IXP) is going from strength to strength with a strong community of local Internet Service Providers (ISPs), global content networks and strategic partners already interconnected, and traffic starting to build.

The team at LINX have spent a lot of time with the local engineering community and following interest from key networks located at PAIX it was decided that the infrastructure needed to grow – only 9 months after launch.

PAIX Nairobi NBO-1 is located at the Britam Tower in Upper Hill, Nairobi, the central business district and a known key financial hub for East and Central Africa.

Networks located at the PAIX facility in Nairobi are soon to be just a single cross connect away from peering opportunities with any network present at LINX Nairobi, from global content networks like Meta to local ISPs such as ICON Fiber, Mtaani Telecom, Mymanga Networks and PepeaNet.

LINX Nairobi has a fully interconnected and dual fibre infrastructure between the data centre sites for full resilience and redundancy. The addition of PAIX will enhance the LINX fabric to a 4-site interconnection hub and the installation work is being prepared and looking to go live in the coming weeks.

Emmanuel Makina, Sales Manager of PAIX Data Centres says:

“With our cloud- and carrier-neutral datacentre located in the centre of the business district, we host communities of interest for the financial and content industries, so that includes financial services, advertising, broadcasting, and entertainment companies. The customers that host their mission critical equipment in our facility have a requirement to be online 24×7 in today’s digital economy. They all benefit from being able to connect to multiple networks, easily scale their bandwidth, reduce their connectivity costs, and have the lowest latency to their partners…”

“Further, the PAIX facility is a natural communications hub for Nairobi: in a very central location in Upper Hill, and next to Britam Tower where our customers can colocate their antennas for wireless connectivity to all parts of the city.”

Jennifer Holmes, CCO for LINX comments:

“We didn’t expect to be expanding the LINX Nairobi network this soon, but we like to pride ourselves in our commitment to the local community. They said, we listened. By expanding the peering opportunities to the customers at PAIX we are adding value to the entire LINX Nairobi community and prospective new local and global networks who we are in talks with.”

Wouter van Hulten, CEO & Founder, says:

“PAIX Data Centres is fully committed to the development of Kenya’s digital infrastructure, with support for all the latest AI hardware and software. PAIX Data Centres is invested in by Africa50, a private equity fund in which the Republic of Kenya is a shareholder. We are building and operating the infrastructure to enable Africa’s digital economy, with local datacentres, local teams, and world class operations, all essential ingredients for the developments that lie ahead. We warmly welcome LINX to the PAIX Community in Kenya.”

Mole ploughs broke the ground in Stapleford last week, as Wessex Internet began its physical work to deliver full fibre internet to 14,500 homes and businesses in South Wiltshire.

This work is part of Project Gigabit, a government-funded programme to enable hard-to-reach communities to get fast, reliable broadband. The contract is worth £18.8 million and will see Wessex Internet expanding its existing network in the Wylye Valley, going across the Salisbury Plain, connecting villages surrounding Amesbury, and going as far north as Chisbury and Little Bedwyn. The first communities to be connected will be Stapleford, Wylye and Bapton.

The contract was awarded by the government in March 2024 to be delivered over the next five years. The infrastructure work that started this week follows six months of detailed planning to design the network route, liaison with landowners and communities in the areas that will be connected, and the opening of a new construction base in Codford, where civils operatives delivering the project are based.

Meanwhile, as the network build gets underway to deliver one of Wessex Internet’s latest Project Gigabit contracts in South Somerset, the company has also just reached a significant milestone in delivering its first Project Gigabit project in the North Dorset area, with more than 50% of the properties in this contract now connected. Villages recently connected include Kington Magna, Buckland Newton and Holwell.

All the homes and businesses being connected across South Wiltshire and North Dorset will benefit from full fibre broadband, also known as Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). This means a fibre optic cable goes all the way to each building, rather than stopping at a cabinet down the road. This delivers connection speeds of up to 10Gbps, with far superior speeds and reliability compared to old copper telephone lines.

Minister of State for Telecoms Chris Bryant said:

“Connectivity is a vital part of modern life, for individuals, families, communities, businesses and government. I’m delighted that months of hard work are now paying dividends in South Wiltshire where villages that were once cut off will soon be able to access state of the art broadband.

“This will be a game-changer for residents, not only because it will provide them with faster internet, but because it will help create equal opportunities, boost rural businesses, and ensure our villages aren’t left behind in the digital age.”

Hector Gibson Fleming, CEO of Wessex Internet, said:

“Wessex Internet is determined to continue our mission delivering ultrafast broadband to rural communities that would otherwise be left behind by traditional providers. Supported by the government’s Project Gigabit, we continue this work at pace, and it’s exciting to see milestones being reached in both our first and one of our newest contract areas.

“This is great news for homes and businesses in the North Dorset and South Wiltshire, who will be able to access world-class connectivity and the many economic and social benefits it provides. We will continue working closely with the residents and businesses across these two contract areas, involving them in our planning process and informing them as soon as our future-proofed broadband is available in their communities.”

Wessex Internet’s rollout will continue over the next five years in South Wiltshire and complete within the next two years in Norh Dorset. It will target hard-to-reach rural areas that, without government investment, would have missed out on faster speeds. This gigabit-capable connectivity is being supported by the government to help expand opportunity, reduce inequality and drive economic growth, by making it easier for rural communities to access broadband that will meet people’s needs for decades.

Interview

With Connected Britain just around the corner, Total Telecom caught up with Aprecomm Founder & CEO Pramod Gummaraj to discuss why now is the perfect time to expand into the UK and beyond

Aprecomm was founded in India by ex-Qualcomm employees back in 2016. At that time, the company was focused entirely on the enterprise segment, providing solutions to help service providers and businesses better understand the end-user experience on their networks. This included developing self-healing and self-organising tech to make networks more autonomous and easier to monitor.

“We saw consistent growth in the enterprise market,” said Pramod. “These were customers who really understood the value of having a more intelligent network, in terms of delivering a better user experience”.

But the scope of the company’s ambitions was set to change dramatically with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

“During the pandemic, almost every home also became a small office,” explained Pramod, noting that customers were now intimately aware of their network quality, especially with YouTube videos perpetually buffering and Zoom calls lagging.

“Consumers began holding CSPs to a higher standard,” said Pramod. “Making the shift to the residential side was natural for us and also crucial.”

Since then, the company’s client base has grown enormously, with Aprecomm’s customer experience (CX) suite managing 7+ million locations (homes and businesses combined) globally through more than 45 service providers. The company also partners with over 50 customer premise equipment (CPE) makers and over 180 individual CPE models have been integrated and certified for use with Aprecomm’s CX suite.

Quality of service as a differentiator

Explaining this rapid growth, Pramod explained that network quality and reliability had rapidly become a key differentiator for CSPs in a competitive market.

“Subscriber experience is increasingly a key element and to ensure a quality experience we need networks that can adapt in real-time,” he said. “Customers are willing to pay that extra dollar to ensure that they have a reliable connection.”

“India is a very cost-sensitive market. There are 2,000 to 3,000 Tier 2 CSPs in India, and it’s a similar story in Brazil where there are about 20,000. In these fracture markets, the only way they can compete is on customer service,” he continued.

Indeed, a customer study conducted by the company showed that using their end-to-end Wi-Fi QoE solution could massively decrease network issues for end users, with considerable benefits for the CSP as a result. The study, which examined a CSP with 400,000 customers over one year, saw a 62% truck roll reduction, a 35% improvement in first-call resolution, and a 30% reduction in call resolution time when the Aprecomm suite was used.

Even more crucially, this improved service significantly reduced churn by 20% in the first two months.

“The most important threat in all these markets is churn. There is a customer acquisition cost to gaining a customer, which takes months of revenue to recoup. So, it’s very expensive to lose customers, even if you’re replacing them with new ones. That’s what CSPs are worried about,” said Pramod.

The road to zero-touch

As AI, machine learning, and automation improve, there has long been a discussion about the journey towards zero-touch networks – networks that are entirely autonomous, able to optimise their services for customers and react to issues without human intervention.

For Pramod, the end is in sight.

“The biggest missing piece was understanding the customer experience on a technical level. Once you have that, teaching everything else becomes easier. We now can consider more network parameters on a more granular level, and that makes it easier to automate effectively,” he explained. “Physical damage to the networks will always need a physical response, but I think we’re pretty close to achieving zero-touch networks – a couple of years.”

Expansion plans

Having scaled considerably in India, plans are already in motion for Aprecomm to expand into the UK, the USA, and Latin America. All these markets feature many regional Tier 2 players fighting hard to attract and retain customers, where quality of service would be a key factor.

“The smaller players make up a significant portion of the addressable market, but they’re also a segment that’s been somewhat ignored,” said Aprecomm’s Head of Marketing Communications, Mark Goodburn. “Everyone tends to chase the big players and leave the smaller service providers largely untouched.”

This expansion process has already begun. Earlier this year, the company struck a partnership with Brazilian network solution provider OpenGlobe which is reselling Aprecomm’s CX suite in its territory. The partners hope to target the top 300 CSPs in Brazil.

This week, Aprecomm is turning its attention to the UK market at Connected Britain. The UK market is currently home to around 100 altnets, all of whom are facing a challenging economic environment and growing pressure from giants like Openreach and Virgin Media O2.

“We’ve got the scale and maturity now to expand into these new markets, at a time when there is more focus on customer experience by CSPs and chipset companies than ever,” said Pramod. “Lots of factors are coming together at the right time for us and we’re very excited to be looking at these new markets.”

Want to hear more from Pramod about in-home connectivity and the evolution of customer service? Join Aprecomm on stand #167 at Connected Britain on 11–12 September! Get your ticket today.

Contributed Article

by Mark Turner, Managing Director, M Group Services – Telecom Division

You might know us as Avonline Networks, Magdalene, Morrison Telecom Services or Waldon Telecom but did you know we’re all part of one business?  

Together, we are M Group Services’ Telecom Division. We use our expertise to deliver comprehensive end-to-end services to our clients, including VMO2, Openreach and National Grid.  

M Group Services is the leading essential Infrastructure service provider within water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors across the UK and Ireland. Collectively, we have over 11,000 employees, 6,000 commercial vehicles, 12,000 items of plant and a turnover of £2bn.  

Our scale, breadth and depth open opportunities for collaboration, creating solutions which deliver efficiently and cost effectively against our client’s needs, and ensure a positive legacy in the communities in which we work.  

We are passionate about protecting our people, the public and the planet.  Alongside our leading safety record, we work to introduce industry-firsts. This has  included our multilingual Safe Working in Civils course, upgrading our fleet, which is led by EV and other sustainable fuels and rolling out comprehensive first aid training for our 2,000+ staff. 

Our Telecom Division provides expertise and services to Fixed, Mobile and Private clients.  

Fixed 

We are building and delivering full fibre networks to over one million premises per year, supporting our clients’ ambitious broadband rollout plans.  

By bringing fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) to homes and businesses, we provide high-quality communications networks for our clients, supporting the wider socio-economic benefits that come with better connectivity for local communities. 

We also deliver repair and maintenance services, at scale, across the country, offering a cost-effective solution to our key clients.  

Many of our clients take advantage of our active technology services,  including core network services, covering switch sites, exchanges and data centres.   We also cover access networks, including cabinets to customer premises and complex business network installations. 

Mobile 

We provide a full end-to-end 5G upgrade capability for our Mobile Network Operator (MNO) and TowerCo clients. This includes site acquisition, design and construction (ADC), fibre backhaul, active equipment commissioning (DIC&I) and full lifecycle Notice to Quit (NTQ)The demand for network densification is growing, so we are installing increasing numbers of small cells for our clients across London and other major cities.   

As the market for Private 5G solutions continues to rise, we are providing a full turnkey service covering survey, design, installation, commissioning and operation.   This exciting new technology is being used in diverse locations such as ports, airports, sports stadia and heavy industry. 

We have a comprehensive high mast capability, with our specialist teams supporting both the onsite and offsite design and build.  Our tallest tower to date is at Bilsdale in North Yorkshire, standing at 308.5m high.  

There is huge importance in supporting our clients to manage the overall cost lifecycle of their networks and sites.  Our divisional nationwide platform provides 24/7 inspection, fault fix, repair and maintenance solutions.  

Private 

Our capital project delivery programmes enable our clients to meet their increasingly complex needs.   Programmes include transforming and upgrading connectivity platforms, extending the life of existing equipment, upgrading network security, improving monitoring and control of assets and moving towards net zero targets.  

Our Network Operations and Maintenance (NOAM) capability forms part of our divisional service platform, offering a comprehensive set of services including both shared and dedicated NOCs, as well as national 4-hour fault fix. 

Want to find out more? 

We’d love to tell you more about how we can help design, build, connect, operate and maintain your network! Come and visit us on stand 79 at Connected Britain on 11 and 12 September at London Excel.  

A Connected Britain Preview   

Connected Britain 2024 is just around the corner and, with just days left to go, it is only fitting that we highlight some of our amazing keynote sessions, featuring some of the biggest names in the UK telecoms industry.   

Day 1 – Wednesday 11 September 

CXO Interviews 

Intimate discussions with some of industry’s biggest names  

Marc Allera, CEO EE (08:50)  

Lutz Schüler, CEO, Virgin Media O2 (10:00)  

Katie Milligan, Chief Commercial Officer, Openreach; Rajiv Datta, CEO, nexfibre; Greg Mesch, Founder & CEO, CityFibre; Stephanie Liston, Chair of the Board, Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority & Chair, Digital Connectivity Forum (12:10) 

Panel Discussions 

Bringing together speakers from across the telecoms industry and beyond to tackle the sector’s biggest challenges 

Securing the UK’s position as a global tech leader (09:20) 

What are the barriers to success for the UK tech sector? What is needed from govt, industry and other key stakeholders to overcome these challenges? 

Speakers:  

Sasha Qadri, Moderator 

Paul Alexander, Head of Cloud Infrastructure Business, Europe, Nokia 

Julian David, CEO, techUK 

Iain Milligan, Chief Network Officer, Three UK 

Keri Gilder, CEO, Colt Technology Services 

The changing landscape of the UK fibre market (12:50) 

Exploring the past year’s developments in the fibre market and tackling major topics including investment, competition, regulation, and deployment strategy. 

Speakers: 

Stephanie Liston, Chair of the Board, Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority & Chair, Digital Connectivity Forum 

Rajiv Datta, CEO, nexfibre 

Rebecca Molyneux, Deputy Director, Broadband Regulation and Investment, DSIT 

Katie Milligan, Chief Commercial Officer, Openreach 

Greg Mesch, Founder & CEO, CityFibre 

Daren Baythorpe, CEO, ITS 

Digital Britain: Connecting our nation (17:40) 

Discussing technology, policy, and innovation in the UK telecoms industry and what impact these can have on wider society. 

Speakers: 

Duncan Golestani , Correspondent, ITN 

Jaynesh Patel, Head of Telecoms and Spectrum Policy, techUK 

Ian Smith, Head of UKTIN, UKTIN 

Gareth Elliott, Director of Policy and Communications, Mobile UK 

Presentations and Updates: 

Mission Critical is Relative (09:10) 

Paul Alexander, Head of Cloud Infrastructure Business, Europe, Nokia 

Innovation and imagination: helping our industries lead the world (10:15) 

Dame Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive, Ofcom 

Diamond Sponsor presentation: ITS (12:40) 

Daren Baythorpe, CEO, ITS 

Enabling a Digitally Connected Society: How Cornerstone Connects the Four Corners of the UK (17:20) 

Jamie Hayes, Chief Sales and Commercial Officer, Cornerstone 

Connected Britain 2024 promises to be bigger and better than ever before. It’s not too late to join us! Last minute tickets are available here