Companies news June 2017

BT/Openreach technology/service developments:

• ISP Review reported on Openreach’s publication of the technical details for its Dark Fibre Access (DFA) trial, which will run in August and September 2017 with the service launching by 1st October 2017.
• BT announced the launch of “new digital street units providing ultrafast speeds of up to one gigabit per second - the UK’s fastest free public Wi-Fi service” in London. The units, called InLinks, will start to be rolled out to other major cities throughout the country this year (more background here).
• BT announced a technique developed in partnership with Huawei which combines multiple 400Gbps wavelengths over a single fibre. BT’s researchers are confident that speeds of more than 13Tbps can be achieved via this technique.
• Openreach launched the world’s first ever live demonstration of a 100Gbps or ‘hyperfast’ broadband service at BT’s R&D centre at Adastral Park.
• Several Openreach G.fast updates from ISP Review this month: Openreach announced details of the locations in the G.fast pilot areas where the service will shortly be available to order. Openreach also announced that the trial of their standalone G.fast broadband service (which does not require a phone/voice service) will run from July to December 2017 and that it is testing a fibre to the distribution point (FTTdp) model for G.fast deployments (also this month the Broadband Forum launched the G.fast Council and also the first six G.fast certified products).

BT/Openreach rural broadband developments:

• Highlands and Islands Enterprise announced the installation of wireless to the cabinet (WTTC) technology by Openreach on the Hebridean island of Scalpay.
• ISP Review reported that Openreach is funding fibre to the premise (FTTP) deployments in remote parts of Scotland where local residents are helping to dig part of the network.
• BT issued a press release illustrating the techniques employed to bring broadband to the most remote areas of Northumberland.

Other companies news:

• The Telegraph reported that SSE is exploring major investments in ultrafast broadband network infrastructure.
• Hyperoptic announced that over 20 property developments across Croydon are now live with gigabit broadband and that A2Dominion, a leading residential property group in London and the South East, will soon offer gigabit broadband connectivity in its homes.
• CityFibre announced full ISO certification for all its core management systems.
• Gigaclear announced network builds and expansions in West Berkshire, Gloucestershire, North Wiltshire and North East Essex.
• ISP Review reported that G.Network has secured a £4.6m investment to build a fibre to the premises (FTTP) network serving small businesses in central London.
• The Financial Times reported that by the end of 2017, between 150,000 and 180,000 of Hull’s 210,000 buildings will be using the city’s super-fast fibre broadband network operated by KCOM. As a result the company is considering decommissioning its copper network, which would make it one of the first places in Europe to do so. Also see coverage from Silicon.