Startup Stories

Tell us about your start up

Mapsd is an innovative Fibre Design and Planning firm that provides cutting-edge solutions for FTTx, enterprise, rural community, and multi-dwelling unit (MDU) planning to suit the ever-increasing demands of Internet service providers. We offer technical consulting services to help with ITTs, procedures, and standards related to the construction and deployment of fibre optic networks.

What is your USP?

We have a firm grasp of the telecoms business due to our team’s years of experience in every facet of fibre, from construction to design. The development of solid working connections with our partners and the capacity to efficiently absorb architecture needs are key to our efforts, as are the delivery of timely, distinctive, and dependable results to our partners.

What is your relationship with the telecom sector?

Because of the strong relationships we’ve established within the telecoms industry, our staff is able to provide expert advice on which products will best meet the requirements of each individual client. From our inception, we’ve collaborated with some forward-thinking alternative networks to bring first-rate services to people all around Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

Why did you establish the business?

Mapsd was established to compete with industry heavyweights, which were having trouble meeting customer demand due to long delivery timeframes, and to spur creative solutions that would yield high-quality, easily digestible final products. Our research shows that many alternative networks, particularly the smaller ones, are not given sufficient design priority by industry frontrunners when they attempt to make the leap from the fixed wireless access to full fibre ISP model.

What does the future hold for your business?

Mapsd has a bright future ahead of it as plans are underway to leverage decades of experience in building fibre networks by assembling a specialised team of surveyors, cablers, fibre jointers, and civils engineers. This will allow us to expand into a full-turnkey partner and provide our full capabilities to clients all over Scotland and the United Kingdom. To further assure our clients receive reduced prices and faster outputs, we plan to invest heavily in the automation of our planning and design processes. By forming strategic alliances with multiple ISPs and ensuring that our values and commitments are congruent with theirs, Mapsd plans to play a significant role in the next year in the rollout of fibre to those who need it most and in reducing the digital divide in rural communities in the United Kingdom.

Comany CV

Headquarters: Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Number of employees: 4

Last funding type: Self-funded

Website URL: https://www.mapsd.co.uk/

LinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mapsd-ltd/

Founders: Callum McNair, Carl Puno, George Smith, and Ryan Dickson

You can join the Mapsd team at this year’s Connected North conference live in Manchester on 17-18 April

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News

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the $61 billion deal could see server prices increase, potentially warranting a more thorough investigation

The CMA is considering launch an in-depth investigation into US semiconductor specialist Broadcom’s acquisition of cloud computing firm VMware, suggesting that such a move could directly harm server competition.

Broadcom announced their takeover intentions in May last year, suggesting that the move would help them diversify the business, as well as generating approximately $8.5 billion of pro forma EBITDA within three years.

Antitrust regulators, however, were immediately suspicious that the deal would result in a loss of market competition, particularly driving up server prices for customers.

Now, the CMA have formally aired this concerns, telling Broadcom that it fears the deal will directly result in higher prices for UK businesses.

“Servers are a vital building block, functioning largely thanks to hardware products made by firms like Broadcom, working in unison with virtualisation software from firms like VMware,” said CMA Executive Director David Stewart. “We are concerned this deal could allow Broadcom to cut out competitors from the supply of hardware components to the server market and lead to less innovation at a time when most firms want fast, responsive, and affordable IT systems.”

The CMA said it was also concerned that Broadcom could obtain commercially sensitive information from rival companies that have a pre-existing relationship with VMware.

The regulator has given Broadcom until Monday 27 March to assuage its concerns, or else it will launch an in-depth investigation.

Broadcom says it is cooperating with the CMA to address these concerns, arguing that the deal will offer customers “increased quality, innovation, and choice”.

This is not the first time Broadcom may become stuck in a regulatory quagmire over a potential acquisition. Back in 2017, the company was attempting to purchase rival chip player Qualcomm in a deal that would have been worth $117 billion, before it was blocked by an executive order from President Donald Trump in 2018.

What impact would this deal have on the wider US telecoms industry? Join the experts in discussion at next week’s Connected America conference live in Dallas, Texas

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News

The Italian operator has reportedly reached an agreement with unions that 2,000 staff will take voluntary early retirement as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures

At the start of last year, Italian incumbent operator TIM announced that the company would seek to save €1 billion by 2024 through various cost-saving measures, including cutting jobs.

At the time, reports suggested that the operator was looking to reduce its domestic workforce of roughly 42,500 staff by up to 20% by 2030.

By the summer, the first outlines of the job cutting process were becoming clear, with the operator reaching an agreement with unions to cut 1,200 jobs by the end of 2022 via a voluntary retirement scheme.

However, this was quickly revealed to be just the first round of cuts, with TIM soon back at the negotiating table with unions to cut a further 2,200 jobs by the end of 2024.

This week, nearly half a year on, an agreement has finally been reached, with unions agreeing to a new voluntary early retirement scheme encompassing 2,000 Italian employees.

In total, this will mean TIM will have cut around 3,200 of its domestic staff through early retirement by the end of the year.

In related news, TIM recently launched a bidding process for the sale of NetCo, its network unit that comprises its access network as well as its wholesale submarine cable unit Sparkle.

TIM received an offer for NetCo from US investment firm KKR back in February, which was followed up by a counter offer earlier this month from state bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Australia’s Macquarie Group.

KKR now has the option to increase its bid.

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Also in the news:
Fibre overtakes cable in the Netherlands
Ericsson IoT Accelerator to manage the connectivity for Lyft e-bikes and scooters
Spring Equinox? It seems Ofcom aren’t certain of the balance

Some FTTH, a new data center build, and a backbone upgrade project: … [visit site to read more]