CCOOMMMMSS N NEEWWSS
LAST MONTH SAW a landmark decision from Ofcom which will
cap charges imposed by Openreach on those companies with
a Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA). Although available for
some time the decision will invariably encourage more private
investment into the fi bre sector. The market has seen 15 fi bre
infrastructure company’s set-up in the UK, some which have
benefi ted greatly from the National Digital Infrastructure Fund
(NDIF) who have pledged £400m to the industry to drive fi bre
deployments. The private sector is also starting to circle these
potential investments and could push the money pouring into the
UK to well over £1bn.
The major challenge will be to stop these companies
overbuilding in dense areas, where they will most likely fi nd the
highest ROI on their investments. The big question is will rural
areas still be left behind given the economics of building in less
populated areas?
The latest alternative fi bre ISP to receive funds is Call Flow
Solutions, they have managed to raise €30m, from European
investors, for FTTP rollout in Kent under their Trooli brand. The
money will allow them to build a Gigabit capable FTTP broadband
network to 500,000 premises across the South East of England
within 5 years.
Three deploys 5G
cloud core network
THREE UK AND Nokia have
launched a 5G-ready fully
integrated cloud core
network, in preparation for the
communications provider’s
rollout of 5G.
The new core network will be
managed from Three’s 20 new
data centres which have been
distributed across the UK to
bring its 5G network closer to
its customers in order to deliver
the lowest possible latency.
Dave Dyson CEO of Three UK
said: “Our new core network is
part of a series of connected
investments, totalling £2 billion,
that will provide a signifi cant
step change in our customers’
experience. UK consumers
have an insatiable appetite for
data as well as an expectation
of high reliability. We are well
positioned to deliver both as we
prepare for the launch of the
UK’s fastest 5G network.”
EXPERIENCE the SOS Training Academy
FONtevo Technical, Panasonic PBX, Networking Essentials and Wireshark
Call 01403 224450
www.soscommunications.co.uk
BYTES...
SECURITY
Ingram Micro U.K. & Ireland have
announced the partnership with Axis
Communications, a new Physical
Security business unit within the newly
formed Specialty Solutions business
unit at Ingram Micro.
AZURE
Software AG and Microsoft have a
powerful new solution that enables
enterprises to accelerate and
simplify migration to Azure. The new
Cloud Migration Accelerator allows
enterprises to connect to applications,
cloud services and data faster and
more easily providing a path to a truly
connected ecosystem.
CITYFIBRE
CityFibre has confi rmed 14 further
towns and cities are being planned and
mobilised for full fi bre deployment. They
are set to join its ‘Gigabit City Club’
and form the next phase in CityFibre’s
£2.5bn investment plan to bring
competitive full fi bre infrastructure to
at least fi ve million homes, more than
20% of the UK market.
12 | Comms Business Magazine | August 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
June.ai 4 14/05/2019 14:40:02
Ofcom constrains charges for PIA
POD STANDS OUT IN ‘BROADSOFT FOG’
24 SEVEN CLOUD will be launching its brand-new Unifi ed
Communications product, ‘pod’, at Channel Live in September.
Powered by Metaswitch, 24 Seven will be the 1st company in the UK
to launch the UC offering, following over 100 commercially successful
implementations in global markets, including the US and Europe.
“There’s an awful lot of Broadsoft fatigue in the UK market",
commented Alex Grant, director
of 24 Seven Cloud (pictured).
“Many resellers have expressed
their frustration to us of coming
up against other resellers
selling exactly the same product
as them when pitching UC to
businesses. This is just causing
a race to the bottom in terms of
price because it’s largely the
only way they can differentiate
themselves.”
8×8 acquires Singaporebased
Wavecell for $125m
8×8 HAS ACQUIRED privatelyheld
Wavecell Pte. Ltd., a
Singapore-based global
Communications Platform-asa
Service (CPaaS) provider, for
approximately USD $125 million
in cash and stock.
The acquisition provides 8×8
with an established technology
platform and high-growth
revenue business to pursue
CPaaS globally.
Wavecell will expand 8×8’s
international presence,
and deepen the company’s
technology capabilities in cloud
communications. The acquisition
expands 8×8’s presence into the
rapidly growing Southeast Asian
market, including Singapore,
Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand,
and Hong Kong, with a talented
employee base and more than
500 enterprise customers,
including Paidy, Tokopedia and
Lalamove.
©ivanchik29-stock.adobe.com
©phonlamaiphoto-stock.adobe.com
/www.soscommunications.co.uk
/www.commsbusiness.co.uk