BYTES...
57%
According to BT, 57% of SMEs are
confi dent in the economic outlook for
their business over the next 12 months
www.commsbusiness.co.uk
COMMS NEWS
February 2020 | Comms Business Magazine | 5
5G
O2 has connected multiple major cities
to its 5G network by turning on the fi rst
of its 5G hotspots in 13 new locations,
fulfi lling its commitment to switch-on a
total of 20 places by the end of 2019.
EXPANSION
Colt Technology Services has completed
a fi bre densifi cation project in and
around the city of London, adding 110
kilometres of new fi bre in the city.
This project was run alongside the
expansions in Eastern Europe, Dublin
and Berlin, with the expansion of the
Colt IQ Network
INVESTMENT
Arrow has received a strategic
investment from funds advised by
MML Capital Partners LLP. This follows
the highly successful partnership
with Growth Capital Partners which
enabled the business to complete eight
acquisitions, nearly triple earnings and
double the employee base whilst adding
signifi cant further scale and expertise
in cloud telephony, energy and IT
services in just three years.
KCOM to invest £100m in fi bre network
KCOM GROUP HAS announced
plans to invest approximately
£100 million to expand its full
fi bre broadband network.
KCOM, which completed a
full fi bre broadband rollout to
around 200,000 properties
across Hull and East Yorkshire
last year, has revealed
new plans to push beyond
the company’s traditional
boundaries to tens of thousands
more homes and businesses.
KCOM chief executive Dale
Raneberg said: “Our investment
in Fibre To The Premises
technology to date has made
Hull the UK’s fi rst full fi bre city,
with broadband speeds that are
the envy of the rest of the UK.
“I’m delighted to announce
the fi rst phase of our new,
ambitious plans to bring our
award-winning broadband
to many more homes and
businesses in East Yorkshire
and North Lincolnshire. By
investing to develop and expand
our networks we hope to deliver
benefi ts to residents through
infrastructure that will also
underpin growth and innovation
across the region.
KCOM’s expansion plans
are the fi rst phase of a wider
programme of investment
to increase regional fi bre
accessibility, supported by its
new owner, MEIF 6 Fibre Limited,
a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Macquarie European
Infrastructure Fund 6 SCSp (an
investment fund managed by
Macquarie Infrastructure and
Real Assets (Europe) Limited),
which acquired the company in
August 2019.
The plans support the
Government’s goal to make
gigabit-capable connectivity
available nationwide. Just 11 per
cent of UK properties currently
have access to full fi bre
broadband.
Jola launches a range of Direct Routing for partners
JOLA’S DIRECT ROUTING for Teams is built
on a Microsoft approved platform, offers
numbers in 167 countries and every
area code in the UK. Jola’s unlimited
wholesale UK call package is priced for
resellers excluding VAT at £3.50 per
month on a 30-day contract, £3.00 per
month on a 12-month contract and £2.50
per month on a 36-month contract, with
very competitive out-of-bundle rates.
Lee Broxson (pictured), Jola’s Sales
Director commented: “We have been
blown away by the demand for this
product from the channel. We are
pleased to be the fi rst to offer Direct
Routing for Microsoft Teams on a range
of different contract terms and monthly
rates, giving our partners complete
fl exibility.
Jola partners enjoy healthy recurring
margins on call bundles and out-ofbundle
call charges, whilst still offering
compelling prices to their customers.
Ordering and management is all selfserve
through our well-established SIP
Manager portal and APIs are available.”
CITYFIBRE BUYS
TALKTALK’S FIBRE
NATION
CITYFIBRE ACQUIRED
FIBRENATION from TalkTalk
Group, increasing CityFibre’s
rollout target from 5 million to
up to 8 million premises. This
investment programme,
totalling up to £4 billion, will
also secure TalkTalk as a
major wholesale customer
across both consumer and
business markets.
As part of the wholesale
agreement, TalkTalk has made
long-term commitments
across CityFibre’s existing
and future network rollout,
ensuring its customers can
benefi t from faster, more
reliable connectivity at
competitive prices.
Greg Mesch, Chief
Executive at CityFibre, said
“Digital connectivity has the
power to transform our
country into a nation of
smart, connected towns and
cities, boosting and levelling
up our economy.”
“The UK is a service-based
economy, and this runs best
on full fi bre. Ensuring national
coverage is critical and this
can only be achieved by
driving infrastructure
competition at scale. This
deal demonstrates the
appetite from industry to see
it established.”
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