News

We’re delighted to see Stoke-on Trent City Council (SoTCC) today announced its innovative and forward-thinking Silicon Stoke prospectus.

Digital infrastructure specialist, VX Fiber has kick-started the build of a full fibre open access network across Colchester.

The shift to full fibre has been taking place on a global scale for over a decade.  On a weekly basis ‘build and connect’ announcements are being made from all players in the market, it would seem that the UK is on the ball and powering ahead with its full fibre revolution.

Gigabit capable broadband has always been an intrinsic part of the UK government’s investment in projects that will kick-start the economy and improve the UK’s competitiveness in the longer term.

In November, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, delivered the Spending Review 2020 – to Parliament. It included details of a £7.1 billion National Home Building Fund designed to help build the homes and the infrastructure communities need to succeed.

Telecoms.com published its ‘2020 Telecoms.com Annual Industry Survey’ at the beginning of November with the bold statement: ‘With resolution and defiance, the telecoms industry is standing firm in adversity’. We whole-heartedly agree with that statement and are proud of our team here at VX Fiber, its commitment and hard work during the unprecedented circumstances surrounding COVID-19.

ICYMI: We wanted to share some exciting news for VX Fiber today. It has been announced that Global investment manager, AMP Capital has agreed to acquire a majority stake in VX Fiber, on behalf of investors in its infrastructure equity strategy – clearly demonstrating the healthy appetite in the market for AltNet providers who have an innovative approach to the FTTP market.

As schools return, Silicon UK considers how technology has been used to keep students connected to their teachers and, what the future of education could look like. As hybrid working looks set to become the norm for businesses, will we see something similar in our education system? How will education change thanks to COVID-19?

According to the Centre for Economics & Business Research (CEBR) as a direct result of Covid-19 we are seeing an emergence of three types of UK workers: those who mainly work in a workplace (e.g. an office); those who mainly work at home; and those who do a bit of both (also known as Hybrid working). As a result, by 2025 approximately 25 per cent of the UK workforce (6 million people) will be working from home on any given day.

Total Telecom spoke to Mikael Sandberg, Chairman of VX Fiber, to find out how the UK can continue to sharpen its focus on full fibre services, as the industry continues to address the challenges around COVID-19 and gears up for another big FTTP push. The UK has moved from FTTP penetration levels of 7% end 2018 to 12% end 2019 (Connected Nations Updates – Spring 2019 and Spring 2020) – is fibre deployment happening quickly enough or do we need to pick up the pace?

Following on from Boris Johnson’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ speech, Rishi Sunak outlined his summer economic plan in Parliament today. He detailed what he believed was needed to help the UK recover from the harm that has been inflicted by Covid-19. The crux of the message was that we are moving into the next phase – the plan for jobs, based around ‘protect, support and create jobs’ for the UK.

In March, UK Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden announced new government legislation to ensure that all new-build homes will come with gigabit-speed broadband. Legally, developers will be required to install high-quality digital infrastructure from the outset, making it a priority as part of each build. They will also ensure that broadband companies are on board before the first brick is laid.

Winners of a student design competition will see their creative concepts brought to life by an international technology company. Sixteen students from Staffordshire University’s School of Creative Arts and Engineering took part in a five-day virtual design challenge set by Swedish technology company VX Fiber.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had – and continues to have – an impact on all UK businesses, across all industries, but with varying degrees of complexity and magnitude. It is a situation that has called for quick, impactful changes guided by a commitment to protecting workers and the community at large. In ways large and small, the telecoms industry has stepped up to the plate.

In late April, the FTTH (Fibre to the Home) Council Europe published its 2020 Market Panorama detailing the status of full-fibre connectivity (homes and business) in Europe. According to the report, as of September 2019, there were almost 172 million FTTH/FTTB homes passed in the EU39 countries – up from 160 million from the previous year.