ISPA Feature
ISPA Awards 2023 are open for registration!
ISPA launched our 2023 ISPA Awards last week, with entries open across 15 categories. This year is a landmark year for the awards as we celebrate our 25th year anniversary as the leading ISP awards ceremony.
In what has been another big year for the sector, the 25th ISPA Awards offers the chance to celebrate the progress and achievements made across the year. In light of all the investment, innovation and progress of recent times, we are pleased to unveil a refreshed and revitalised set of categories in line with the buoyant market we are currently experiencing.
The list of categories for this year:
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Best Rural ISP
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Best Business ISP
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Best Consumer ISP – more than 250k customers – AMENDED
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Best Consumer ISP – 50k to 250k customers - NEW
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Best Consumer ISP – fewer than 50k customers - AMENDED
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Best Infrastructure – more than 250k premised passed - AMENDED
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Best Infrastructure - fewer than 250k premises passed - AMENDED
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Best Customer Experience – NEW
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Best Integrated Communication Campaign – NEW
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Best Channel Support - NEW
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Best Hosted Service
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Best Customer Protection - NEW
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Best VoIP
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ISPA 25th Anniversary Award - NEW
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Digital Inclusion Award
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Internet Hero
To participate, all entrants must register here by 28th April and then submit the written entry forms to awards@ispa.org.uk by 30th June. The 25th anniversary award, Internet Hero and Digital Inclusion award registrations will open later in the year.
The winners will be crowned at the gala ceremony on 9th November in new exclusive London venue in front of more than 400 guests from across industry.
As in previous years, several of the categories will undergo independent testing from thinkbroadband, a leading independent broadband information and data site.
If you would like to become part of the 25th ISPA Awards, sponsor a category and build your organisation’s brand at the event then please contact krystian@ispa.org.uk.
Policy Update
Telecoms joins new Government Department
The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has restructured Government Departments removing telecoms from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and into a new Government Department, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Michelle Donelan has been appointed as the Secretary of State with Paul Scully and George Freeman joining her as Ministers. While the portfolios have yet to be confirmed, it is likely another Minister will be appointed to the Department to take responsibility for technology.
House of Lords investigates digital exclusion
The House of Lords Digital and Communications Committee launched an inquiry into digital exclusion and the cost of living. The committee are calling for evidence on the impact of digital exclusion, the barriers to support and how existing industry initiatives are addressing digital exclusion.
Fraud Strategy expected ‘shortly’
The Home Office's Cyber Policy Unit has said that the UK's forthcoming fraud strategy is currently undergoing clearance within departments and is likely to be published in the next two months. As part of the strategy's broader scope of work, the Home Office stated that it has begun designing a new voluntary commitment for Internet Infrastructure Providers (IIPs) to tackle fraud and cybercrime. These new voluntary measures are expected to be similar in scope to the current fraud sector charter for telecoms.
Industry News
Openreach have announced their plans to close down the PSTN and ISDN telephone networks from now until 2025
This includes stopping the supply of any new PSTN and ISDN lines in 2023. By 2025, telephone calls will be made using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), using broadband and other network access services, such as Ethernet.What does this mean for you? It’s likely that members use their phone lines for more than just making and taking phone calls. Members are likely to have a wide range of equipment connected to their phone lines. Here are some common examples, but not an exhaustive list:
- Alarm lines
- ATMs
- Door entry systems
- Payment card machines
- CCTV
- Faxes
Any equipment connected to PSTN and ISDN lines will need to be compatible with IP for them to continue working after 2025. Anyone who supplies these products and services may need to carry out testing to make sure they continue to work on an IP network.
Where can BT help
Across BT they want to make sure that you are made aware of these changes, If you have any events planned, then they’d be happy to come and talk about these changes and what it means for you. And if you’re interested in sharing this information, they can provide you with newsletter content or any additional information you might need.
They’ve also opened a dedicated testing facility at their research and development site in Adastral Park, near Ipswich. Suppliers can come and test their equipment on BT’s VoIP network, free of charge, to make sure they’re ready to help their customers make the move. More details can be found on our website, Special services | BT Plc
What to do next
If any of ISPA members would like to test any of their equipment at BT's digital services lab, or you as a Industry would like some additional support, please reach out to their team enterprise.ip.
ISPA Partners
Keeping Customer Data Secure
Today, it’s a given that you need best-in-class security for your field service management solutions. Zinier recently added compliance with the ISO 27001:2013 data security standard to its existing security measures.
The standard ensures that customer data as well as any sensitive Zinier partner and employee data are secure.
Compliance with ISO 27001:2013 also ensures that we have robust controls in place to protect our systems against cyber threats and data breaches, all-too-real hazards for today’s SaaS systems.
For more information about the Zinier platform, contact Doug McCullen doug.mccullen@zinier.com
Finding the Right Utility Mapping Software for Your Needs
- User friendly with minimal training required
- Flexible data input options
- Interactive access to existing maps
- Automatic data sync and processing
- Software compatibility and integration
- Cloud based with offline access
Beating the Supply Chain Crisis: How an ISP Leveraged Open Networking to Upgrade their Network in Record Time
MetaLINK Technologies is one of the Top 20 Independent ISPs in North America. Within the first 2 months of lockdown, their orders increased by 400%. They needed to upgrade capacity on their network fast in the middle of a supply chain crisis.
EPS Global designed a solution that delivered 100G links, BGP & MPLS protocols, and Layer-2 VPN using IP Infusion-powered Edgecore switches which they had in stock. They installed the software on the switches and shipped them to point of use, ready for MetaLINK to power up.
“We were hearing lead times times from legacy vendors anywhere from a year to 2 years. EPS Global solved the lead time issue. It took 3 months to deploy this network from start to finish.”
Jeff Hummel, Technical Services Supervisor MetaLINK
Thanks to the availability, flexibility and scalability of the open networking solution, what would have taken 12-24 months to complete with a legacy vendor was completed in just three months. Also, with the lowered license and operating costs, MetaLINK was able to stay on budget while achieving their goals in record time, all while maintaining reliable performance and service uptime for their customers.
Read the case study here
ISPA Events
The Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) is delighted to launch our 16th annual Parliament and Internet Conference, held on the 29th March 2023 from 2pm to 6pm.
The 2023 Parliament and Internet Conference, hosted in Attlee Suite, Portcullis House, Westminster - will welcome 150 industry representatives, MPs, key stakeholders in government departments and regulators to discuss areas of focus for the UK internet sector, including governance, regulation and future market progression.
We are delighted to announce Hyperoptic are the sponsors of the 2023 Parliament and Internet Conference.
Commenting on their involvement in this year's conference, “We are delighted to be sponsoring the Parliament and Internet Conference 2023. The event presents a key opportunity for our industry to come together and engage in the policy issues that impact our customers and the wider UK economy. Most critically, at a time of a rising cost of living, it’s imperative that we reflect on what we can all do as providers of connectivity to support our customers as household budgets are squeezed.”
Join Hyperoptic and ISPA UK for an afternoon of critical discussions about UK internet - sign up today ⬇
In 2023, the UKs ISP market is set to go through a significant shift with increased market competition, more stringent investment and an increased focus on converting the premises passed into premises connected. As such, it is now more important than ever for service providers to explore the complimentary services and products on offer to enhance their services.
ISPA is delighted to launch its new ISPA marketplace series, educating the sector on the products and services available to enhance an organisation's network. In this first one hour webinar we are delighted to be joined by:
- Pelicancorp
- Viavi
- Calix
- Openreach
Please sign up today to learn more about the provisions available to support your network's growth.
Join us online at 3pm on Wednesday 15th March 2023 - Register here.
As we reach 50% deployment of FTTP and industry doubles down on take-up and revenues, this full day ISPA conference seeks to explore through a series of panel discussions and keynote speakers, how the broadband sector is set to fair over the next 12 months and beyond. Key areas of interest include:
- The state of the broadband nation
- The products and services essential to enhancing a network
- Education and awareness of gigabit capable broadband
- What customers are looking for
- Looking beyond premises passed and ways to encourage take-up
- Field services and supply chain shortages
- The expected mergers, acquisitions and investment in 2023
Last month
ISPA Articles
Driving growth in competitive markets: A case study of OTTC in the US
The Power of Open Networking
New Members
FibreNest (FN) installs FTTP and provides online connectivity
ISPA in the Press
The awards launch was picked by ISPReview and thinkbroadband. We also had mentions in New build connectivity piece in Gov.UK and our Internet Hero Helen Milner OBE was mentioned in UKFoundraising.
Partner Events
ISPA offers its members a variety of discounts for events that we partner with:
Communications Technology Expo - 21st and 22nd March at ExCel London
Channel Live - 29th-30th March, NEC Birmingham
Connected North - 17th -18th April, Manchester Central
IoT Tech Expo - 30th November - 1st December, Olympia, London