Policy Update
Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) bill passed
On 25 April, the Department of Business and Trade tabled the long-waited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill. The wide-ranging legislation is the first major proposed reform of the UK's digital markets and competition regimes since Brexit, and parallels the initiatives of the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act in the EU. Whilst the main focus of the Bill is to strengthen competition regulation around Big Tech, there are other elements of more relevance to ISPA members (eg: subscription traps).
ISPA is currently drafting a summary of the legislation. Should you be intersted in this, please contact the policy team.
Government commits to 5G for all by 2030
On 11 April, the Department for Science, Technology & Innovation (DSIT) published its Wireless Infrastructure Strategy. It includes a national ambition to deliver nationwide coverage of standalone 5G to all populated areas by 2030, encouraging take up and investment by supporting certain use cases for 5G (such as rail and hospitals), investing £40m in new ‘5G Innovation Regions’, a new approach to managing Spectrum and looking to future innovation with £100m research funding for 6G.
Ofcom research shows increase in social tariff awareness and take-up - but there's still more to do
Ofcom published the latest summary of results from its ongoing research into the affordability of communications services in the UK. There are now 220,000 households on a social tariff - up from 55,000 in January 2022 - having quadrupled since last year. Awareness of social tariffs was also found to have improved, with 47% of eligible customers reporting of being aware, up from 16% in January 2022.
However, Ofcom pointed to 53% of benefits claimants remaining unaware of social tariffs as of February 2023 and has urged providers to improve awareness and offer one if not already doing so.
Online Safety Bill continues its Committee Stage in the HoL
The Online Safety Bill continued its parliamentary progress as it moved to detailed scrutiny at the House of Lords Committee Stage. The debate centres on some of the most contentious parts of the Bill, including weakening encryption through Ofcom technical notices, age assurance and age verification and overall scope of the Bill.
Deadline for One Touch Switch Passes
Ofcom's deadline for One Touch Switch (OTS), 3rd April 2023, has passed with as of yet no implementation of a unified one touch switch platform. As a result Ofcom released their enforcement bulletin outlining that certain ISPs are potentially in breach of their general conditions.
The industry itself insists that the technical requirements of OTS mean that it needs time to be put into effect. Till Sommer, head of policy at the Internet Service Providers' Association trade body, said: 'Our members have been engaging constructively with the One Touch Switch process and there continues to be a strong push to get One Touch Switch implemented as soon as possible'.
In the same month, TOTSCo, the organisation tasked with being the central hub made a movement towards implementation selecting their preferred vendor for the TOTSCo Hub - Tech Mahindra.
Partners
LSBUD NATIONAL DAMAGE PREVENTION DAY 2023
As well as improving the broadband that people use on a daily basis, the upgrade is set to improve the quality of UK public services. We are really excited to announce that our National Damage Prevention Day is being held on 22nd June at the FA Training Centre, Staffordshire. With a jam-packed agenda spanning both User and Member perspective, our interactive day will promote vital industry conversations and networking.
A first at this year’s event will be the introduction of our first ever industry awards – The Larries, which will be presented by our keynote speaker, Will Carling OBE, Past England Rugby Captain. For more information please click here (https://lsbud.co.uk/lsbud-awards/)
ISPA Members can claim discounted tickets to the event here. Using code : INDUSTRYMEMBER
SONiC Express by EPS Global Launch
Unlock Flexibility & Comprehensive Support
SONiC Express by EPS Global provides a complete and cost-effective solution for building reliable, flexible and secure high-performance networks. It includes Edgecore switch hardware, firmware, SONiC (network operating system based on Linux), and 24/7 technical support all in one bundle.
Key advantages:
No vendor lock-in
Pre-configured switches
24/7 technical support
Compatibility with multiple switching platforms
A single point of contact for hardware and software support.
Advanced mapping tools to mitigate risk
According to the Utility Strike Avoidance Group (USAG), the UK sees more than 14,000 daily works occurring, stressing the importance of minimizing risks and learning from mistakes. The UK's 1.5 million km utility networks are fundamental to our daily lives but are becoming increasingly prone to strikes that cost millions annually, primarily caused by outdated infrastructure maps.
Advanced mapping tools like Geolantis.360 can facilitate efficient planning, timely updates, and as-built documentation to increase safety and save time and money for asset owners while decreasing the risk of strikes caused by rapidly changing industry infrastructure.
Self-support to enhance customer experience
Today, about two-thirds of consumers want the ability to self-diagnose and resolve WiFi issues, but less than one-third of service providers offer this ability. Most solutions enable the customer to simply change network settings, rather than troubleshoot and solve their connectivity problems.
When done right, self-support provides a better customer experience and helps internet service providers (ISPs) reduce inbound demand and support costs.
RouteThis Self-Help empowers subscribers to diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve WiFi issues. Designed for the everyday homeowner, it’s easy to use, can be implemented into existing applications, and works with any brand of CPE – delivering an improved customer experience.
We help close digital equity gaps in Telecom Field Service operations
Are you struggling to scale your operations?
Zinier’s no-code customizable software helps the Telecom and FTTH organizations scale their operations by streamlining the entire process - from customer sign-up to service turn-up.
Back-office teams in field service often have better software and training than frontline engineers due to a digital equity gap. This gap results in low morale, high turnover, decreased customer satisfaction, missed performance targets, and missed market opportunities.
Read the four practices that can help your organization close this digital equity gap. Get in touch to empower your workforce to reach new heights of productivity, creativity, and success.
ISPA Events
ISPA Awards 2023 - announcing the headline and welcome reception sponsors
We are happy to announce that Strategic Imperatives has become headline sponsor of the landmark 25th ISPA Awards.
Commenting on Strategic Imperatives and it's new Fibre Cafe, Managing Director Wail Sabbagh, "Strategic Imperatives is a UK market leader in SaaS provisioning, billing, and monetisation solutions for the telecom industry. We strive to set ourselves apart by making innovation a cornerstone of our company's mission and values. We don't just talk about innovation - it's part of our DNA."
"The Fibre Café combines innovative technology with unparalleled domain expertise and extensive industry collaboration to address the go-to-market challenges AltNets, connectivity and service providers face. It solves pain points that are barriers to a connected Digital Britain by creating the building blocks of an integrated, equal and cost-effective fibre wholesale market in the UK."
Full Fibre came on board as welcoming drinks reception sponsor, find out more about them next month. ISPA would like to share our thanks to them and all our other awards sponsors - Magrathea, Calix, Adtran, EPS Global, CityFibre, Viavi Solutions, Zinier, PelicanCorp, Clarity, Openreach, Linksys, TP-Link, Netgem TV & Wifi and Linesearch Before U Dig - we will be able to produce a truly phenomenal award ceremony on 9th November. Keep your eyes peeled on the major announcement coming up this month!
The registration for 13 of the 16 categories is now closed but if you missed out and would still like to participate, please contact awards@ispa.org.uk. The 25th anniversary award, Internet Hero and Digital Inclusion award registrations will open later in the year.
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. Opportunities available can be found in the pack here.
Capacity is limited at this year's ISP Business Summit, with tickets selling out fast and many senior representatives already attending. Don't miss out on the your chance to join us by registering today. Event info below:
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
Looking beyond premises passed and ways to encourage take-up
Field services and supply chain shortages
The expected mergers, acquisitions and investment in 2023
Join ISPA and leading industry representatives for a day of engaging discussions and healthy debate on Thursday 8th June 2023, 9am-6pm at the DLA Piper offices, London. This will be accompanied by ample networking opportunities with your peers from across industry over refreshments served throughout the day.
Some of the panels include:
Join ISPA for the second instalment of our ISPA Marketplace webinar series, which shines a light on the products and services available to help ISPs thrive in an increasingly competitive UK market.
In this one hour showcase, we are excited to be joined by:
EPS Global's Mark Downey, Head of Sales EMEA - EPS Global specialises in open disaggregated solutions that are based on open standard, bare-metal hardware with a choice of open software for Software-Defined Networking, virtualization, and cloud orchestration.
Zinier's Doug McCullen, VP of EMEA sales - Zinier helps the companies building and maintaining the world’s infrastructure with software solutions to automate and optimize every aspect of their field service operations.
Micah Gold-Uttin, Sales Director at RouteThis - a leading WiFi in-home connectivity platform provider that is transforming the way ISPs and smart home brands deploy, manage, and support the connected home.
The webinar will be hosted via Zoom on Wednesday 24th May, 15.30 - 16.30, sign up below to gain access to the meeting link.
ISPA Articles
How Hull’s Connexin Frees Subscribers From Monopolized Internet With Differentiated Value From Calix
Speed and pricing are not enough to win subscribers
New ISPA Members
In April, we welcomed two new members.
County Broadband provides hyperfast broadband for communities across the East of England.
We provide 4G + 5G Internet to the Whole of the UK for residential, self-employed and business customers and pride ourselves on our high level of customer service.
Partner Events
ISPA offers its members a variety of discounts for events that we partner with:
Working From Home Live is back for 2023, returning to the ExCeL in London on the 22nd & 23rd of November!
IoT Tech Expo - 30th November - 1st December, Olympia, London
ISPA Partners 2023
