ISPA POLICY UPDATE
ISPA joins Government Ministers at a cost of living roundtable
ISPA chair, Steve Leighton, joined Broadband Minister Julia Lopez and DWP Minister Mims Davies at an industry roundtable to discuss the sector’s ongoing work to support consumers who may be struggling as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. Elsewhere, the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill completed its Parliamentary stages and now awaits Royal Assent.
NIS regulations to be extended to MSPs
In keeping with the current trend by government to impose sweeping cyber security procedures across all economic sectors and society, DCMS has confirmed its intention to amend Network and Information Systems (NIS) regulations to apply to all digital managed service providers (MSPs). Outlined in the government’s response to a consultation on expanding NIS, which was launched earlier this year, the changes will bring digital MSPs that have “privileged access to their customer’s IT networks” into scope of the legislation. DCMS stated that NIS 2.0 will increase protection to the UK’s critical national infrastructure, such as energy providers and the NHS. The new measures will be implemented “as soon as parliamentary time allows”.
ISPA EVENTS
ISPA announced the winners of the 2022 ISPA Awards (the ISPAs) at the Landmark Hotel in London on Thursday 24th November.
Digital inclusion was once again a big theme, with the Digital Poverty Alliance picking up the coveted Internet Hero Award, as guests on the night raised money for the Good Things Foundation, ISPA’s charity partner. The Internet Villain made a welcome return with the prize going to the Anti-Broadband Rollout Coalition, representing all those hindering the rollout of gigabit capable broadband. Full details of the winners and highly commended from the night can be found here.
Community Fibre was the big winner on the night, taking home broadband awards in the consumer (Best Consumer ISP – fewer than 100K customers) and business (Best Business ISP) categories. Other notable winners included Hyperoptic (Best Consumer – more than 100K customers) and CityFibre (Best Infrastructure for more than 100K premises passed).
In its twenty-fourth year, the 2022 ISPA Awards included new categories for both infrastructure and ISP, alongside long standing categories, reflecting the innovation and progress made by the broadband industry.
ISPAs 2023 will launch in February. If you would like to sponsor the event, please contact awards@ispa.org.uk.
Thank you to the sponsors of the ISPA Awards 2022
ISPA PARTNERS
Test & Measurement Partner
Enabling the Network “Speedometer”
Service and broadband reliability has become more integral to everyday life, and for Openreach – the UK’s largest digital network – that means record numbers of residents and businesses signing up to their ultrafast full fibre services.
Trevor Linney, Director of Network Technology at Openreach, joins VIAVI Solutions to discuss how they are utilizing new technology to enable a network “speedometer”, ensuring a reliable service while optimising the troubleshooting process.
Watch the interview to learn more
Field Service Management Partner
The Ultimate FTTP Field Service Toolkit
Like Batman’s utility belt, Zinier’s Ultimate FTTP Field Service Toolkit has all the resources you’ll need to discover how to enhance and optimize your field service operations. For anyone putting together their 2023 plans, it will help you figure out your priorities and goals for the coming year.
This one-click download includes everything from a checklist for planning efficient FTTP installs to a primer on AI for field service.
Download your Ultimate Toolkit for FTTP Field Service here.
Network and Connectivity Partner
Greece’s biggest power utility, Public Power Corporation (PPC), is leveraging the Adtran open, disaggregated 10G fiber access platform to launch its pilot high-speed wholesale network in the municipality of Peristeri, within the region of Attica.
Learn more in this latest press release
Subscriber Experience Partner
The broadband industry is drunk on speed—an idea perpetuated by dumb-box hardware providers who push, “If you upgrade your network to a faster speed, you will win.” At Calix, we do not agree that this is a successful long-term strategy. In the early stages of a market, this can work. We saw this with COAX over-building DSL. Speed helped the cable provider grow share. But, even then, it was not a pure speed play. Michael Weening, President and CEO outlines his perspective on why speed alone is not a winning strategy
Full Fibre Infrastructure Partner
CityFibre wins Best Infrastructure provider for a second year in a row
CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has picked up the award for Best Infrastructure Provider over 100k Premises Passed at this year’s ISPA Awards, in recognition of the company’s pace of network build over the last 12 months.
The judges were impressed by CityFibre’s rapidly-growing footprint across towns and cities, offering a multitude of different technologies for different scenarios – including residential, business, powering 5G and custom optical services.
In their citation for the award, the ISPA judges stated: “2022 has seen some exciting landmarks in the pursuit of a digitally connected future. Our industry has been at the fore, expanding full-fibre networks at an unprecedented rate. Congratulations to CityFibre, who managed to stand out among very strong candidates at this year’s ISPA Awards.”
On accepting the award, Emma Goodwin, Sales Director - Consumer at CityFibre said: “When we gratefully received this award last year, I shared that we had just passed one million homes. This year I am so proud to tell you that we now have over two million premises passed. But we are a wholesaler – it is our partners, our ISPs, who are supporting consumers and businesses, and for that, we are truly grateful.”
DDoS Protection Partner
4 Reasons your customers should talk to you (their ISP) about DDoS Protection
DDoS protection is no longer just a ‘nice to have’. It’s a need to have. And a common challenge for organizations is how to find the best way to deploy this protection. In many cases, organizations need look no further than their current Internet Service Provider. Why should your customers turn to their ISP partner for DDoS protection?
Open Disaggregated Solutions Partner
Making the Switch: Why Service Providers and Telcos are Embracing Open Disaggregated Networking Amidst Skyrocketing Mobile Data Traffic [Podcast]
Total global mobile data traffic – excluding traffic generated by fixed wireless access – reached around 67 exabytes per month by the end of 2021. This is projected to quadruple to reach 282 exabytes per month in 2027. Demand for data shows no signs of slowing and network operators are challenged every day with the need to deliver massive scale and new services — all at lower costs and lead time challenges.
One solution which is proving successful is a switch to open disaggregated networking. So why exactly are Service Providers, Operators and Telcos making the switch?
Damage Prevention Partner
LSBUD has very much enjoyed its first year of partnership with ISPA and is delighted that several companies have already taken advantage of our preferential discount for ISPA Members. These special offers for ISPA Members included discounted rates for LSBUD Membership, project set up fees and free analysis of the amount of third part works taking place around your network. Full details can be found here: https://www.ispa.org.uk/lsbud-offer/. We wish all ISPA Members a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous 2023.
Get in touch with the LSBUD team
CPE Partners
Linksys is providing connectivity in the home through a wide range of WiFi solutions which can be customised depending on the needs of the ISP. With a customer-first philosophy, Linksys’ commercial offering suits the demand. The product portfolio consists of affordable options like the SPNMX20 (AX3000 WiFi speeds) all the way to higher-end solutions like the SPMX42 (AX4200 WiFi speeds) and SPNMR75 (AXE6600 WiFi speeds) – a WiFi 6E multi-gig solution. The newer models in circulation are either Dual-Band or Tri-Band and WiFi 6 to support the high performance needed for fibre infrastructure. Intelligent Mesh™ technology is also a crucial component to delivering gigabit WiFi speeds to cover every corner of your home. Advanced technology and intuitive interface for easy set-up and usage enhances the overall customer experience.
With 30+ years as global leader in wireless networking technology and a recently formed strategic partnership with Fortinet to deliver enterprise-level security and compliance, Linksys is leading the charge in in-home connectivity.
TP-Link Unveils the World’s 1st Complete Wi-Fi 7 Networking Solutions for Home and Enterprise
Ever since the first IEEE 802.11 project was launched 32 years ago, there has been a profound impact on the way human beings connect with each other.
802.11n Wi-Fi 4 (64 QAM) first introduced the 5 GHz band and MIMO technology. We have since moved to Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E. The latest 6 GHz band has taken a great leap forward for Wi-Fi to the next generation Wi-Fi 7.
Today, with the higher networking performance demands and a more responsive connectivity environment, Wi-Fi 7 represents the next step into the future. Wi-Fi 7 is the latest Wi-Fi standard, also known as IEEE 802.11be Extremely High Throughput (EHT).
As the world's first vendor to develop & release a full Consumer, Enterprise & ISP Wi-Fi 7 product range, we are proud to have introduced our new Deco, Omada, and Aginet Wi-Fi 7 products covering all usage scenarios at our launch event on 14 November.
At the launch event, TP-Link showed several devices equipped with state-of-the-art technology as well as their never-before-seen designs.
TP-Link is at the forefront of Wi-Fi 7, unlocking the potential of what's possible with this cutting-edge technology and continuing to have a profound impact on the way human beings connect & interact with information and each other
You can see the full event here and below and how Technology will enhance our lives by 2030.
Get in touch with the ISP team to learn more about Wi-Fi 7 Business products & solutions.
Kalam Meah, ISP Director, TP-Link UK & Ireland, Mobile: +44 7802 466 121, Email: kalam.meah@tp-link.com
TV & Smart WiFi Partner
Netgem TV, the TV service that never stops giving
All year round, Netgem TV helps ISPs to get direct access to their customers using TV as a window into their user’s living room.
We regularly use notifications to inform viewers about new channels & apps, live events and other updates. In doing so, Netgem boosts customer engagement and satisfaction (In April, our overall NPS score was 7.11)
So this Christmas, Netgem saw things in a big way by running a virtual advent calendar on the UI for all customers. Prizes include a fully paid trip to Bali, an iPhone 13, hampers and vouchers - courtesy of our content partners.
If you are interested in bundling your internet offer with TV and be part of our next campaign, get in touch with Aziz Laouir aziz.laouir@netgem.com
Infrastructure Partner
Smart full fibre build tool makes planning quicker and smoother
Openreach has created an Application Programmable Interface (API) for use by its Public Infrastructure Access (PIA) Communications Provider (CP) customers to help them plan and reserve their chosen fibre route. The easy-to-use API details where our ducts, poles and cable chambers are located, and allows CPs to build their internal system to directly integrate.
A number of CPs have Openreach’s network data imported onto their own systems so they know where our ducts, chambers and poles are. This has given them a huge saving on resource as they’ve shaved off an hour’s worth of time for every NoI they put on the system which in turn reduces employee time and costs.
The API supports more than NOIs, other features that are broadly used include
- Request Inventory Data – CPs can request and receive inventory feature details from Openreach’s inventory systems
- Network Adjustment – CPs can create, view, amend and cancel network adjustments
- Evidence Capture (uploads) – CPs can upload evidence files from their own systems and directly push them to Transflex
- Whereabouts - CPs can record where their engineers are working on the network, when and what they’re doing
- Build Complete – CPs can get a detailed bill of all rental products in their NoIs independently.
For more information contact your Openreach Business Development Manager (BDM).
CX & Smart WiFi Partner
5 reasons why CSPs should move service delivery to the cloud: new technologies, the digitization of services, changing consumer demands, and increased competition are disrupting the landscape for Communications Services Providers (CSPs), to remain competitive and differentiate in this evolving market, CSPs can no longer rely on existing business models or legacy hardware and software solutions. With the commoditization of basic connectivity services, CSPs face both challenges and opportunities. By embracing digital transformation, they can harness the power of the cloud and create new sources of revenue.
ISPA IN THE PRESS
ISPReview published stories about our awards Internet Hero shortlist and winners. Awards were also mentioned in Telecompaper, thinkbroadband and News & Star.
ISPA MEMBERSHIP
In November, ISPA welcomed Link Broadband into its membership fold.
LinkBroadbands.com is here to make getting online a simpler and more affordable process. Our team is committed to bringing you all the information you could possibly need when making the right purchasing decision for your home or business.
PARTNER EVENTS
ISPA offers its members a variety of discounts for events that we partner with:
Communication Technology Expo is taking place on 15th and 16th March 2023 at ExCel London. You can register here.
If you would like to advertise your events here and on our website, please contact Michaela@ispa.org.uk