All INCA articles
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Weekly Briefings
Infrawatch Weekly: fibre ups and downs; telcos lean into data centre deals
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK and beyond, including a DC sale in Ireland; UK fibre altnet plans from new INCA CEO Paddy Paddison; another Project Gigabit stumble; a world-first satellite claim from One NZ; plus strategic executive moves and plenty more…
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: ‘in transition’ BT ends year on a high
Latest from BT as new Wholesale MD lays out her priorities; Sprinklr tie-up bears first fruit; asset-light international strategy picks up; and BT walks away unscathed from landmark £1bn+ class action case…
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Interview
New INCA CEO tells UK altnets to mobilise against common enemy
Industry body recce’d under new CEO, with collaboration and communication identified for rework — including potential Openreach hotline upgrade — despite cloud of consolidation.
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Strategy & Change
Zzoomm: capital costs holding back build and consolidation
At INCA Summit Zzoomm’s CEO Matthew Hare predicted a bright future for the sector, but current cost of capital is impeding expansion plans and complicating the path to consolidation.
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Weekly Briefings
BTwatch Weekly: BT falls back from venturing foray
Latest from BT, including the sale of an equity stake in startup Distributed; Marc Allera’s imminent exit; the introduction of a ‘common language’, in the words of Campbell McClean; and another boardroom newcomer…
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Weekly Briefings
Infrawatch Weekly: Ofcom spectrum plans, open RAN wins, INCA treasure
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK and beyond, including Nokia wins DT open RAN deal; Ofcom weighs SatCom opportunities; altnets debate wireless options; and plenty more…
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Network & Infrastructure
Special report: When UK fibre hits its limit, do altnets go wireless?
INCA Summit 2024: debate spills from panel to panel as altnet leaders target the last 2% of ultra-rural premises where fibre is too costly to deploy without massive subsidies. Wireless re-enters the room with new spectrum, enhanced technology…
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Weekly Briefings
Infrawatch Weekly: UK altnets chase funding, DTCP backs Ireland for datacentres, physical infra sparks objections
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK and beyond, including CityFibre exceeds 2023 expectations; Atlantic Hub datacentre expansion in Ireland; Huawei UK increases security test spend; Italy bids for strategic subsea assets, and plenty more…
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Weekly Briefings
Infrawatch Weekly: telco politics across Europe, infra sell-offs, new UK fibre leader pops up
Latest from the digital infra scene in Europe and beyond, including: Draghi’s plans for Euro consolidation; One Touch Switch impact; another LEO constellation funded; $40bn data centre IPO looms; people moves; plenty more…
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Interview
UK altnet Quickline pitches ‘patchwork’ solution to rural full-fibre challenge
Quickline CEO Sean Royce tells TelcoTitans not everyone needs a gigabit right now and full fibre is not the only way to improve broadband services in the most remote parts of the UK.
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Network & Infrastructure
Trooli CEO: UK’s Project Gigabit scheme will ‘come into its own’
Talking to Zen’s Richard Tang, Trooli CEO Andy Conibere praised the work of the government’s BDUK in stimulating an altnet industry.
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Network & Infrastructure
Openreach enters Project Gigabit fray at near-£1bn scale
Openreach handed its first Project Gigabit contracts, more in discussion. UK government ‘redoubles’ rural infill efforts, including first few in Wales…
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Network & Infrastructure
Short-term delays in NI, but Project Gigabit readying for leap forward across devolved nations
Northern Ireland Executive confirms slight delay in procurement, but confident Project Stratum success can be replicated as paths cleared for Project Gigabit progress in Scotland, Wales…
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Network & Infrastructure
Project Gigabit future: UK FibreCos say yes to expansion, but with caveats
Mooted bundling of Project Gigabit mega-contracts gets firm ‘no’ from altnet INCA gathering, but most on board for programme extension. New Labour government urged to protect and evolve rural fibre build to reach final few per cent of rural premises, learn from ‘zany’ Scotland, or risk missing FTTP targets. And then there’s that Type C elephant (not) in the room, Openreach…
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Venturing & Investments
Infracapital: UK FibreCo fundraisers must graft to overcome global ‘bad rep’, new gov showing ‘green shoots’
INCA event provides platform for investors and altnets including Octopus and Netomnia to review early weeks of Labour government, with broad optimism on show despite still rocky funding environment. The capital exists, but what will Downing Street do to bring it to the UK? Read more…
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Network & Infrastructure
Openreach initiates infra-sharing crackdown as altnets told to get compliant
So-called ‘whereabouts’ compliance must reach 90% for altnets to avoid potential eviction from Openreach networks, with three-month grace period before any action taken. Altnets also unhappy with current failings, and investors wary of compliance weakness. Read more…
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Public Affairs
nexfibre joins calls to tighten Openreach infra choker, ensure lasting UK fibre competition
UK fibre wholesaler calls for new and improved regulation to provide platform for altnet competition as attention turns to Ofcom’s next five-year framework. Echoes broad consensus among INCA members that more could be done to limit Openreach dominance, encourage altnet investment…
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M&A
UK fibre M&A ‘easy’ (compared to challenges of compatibility, integration, compliance)
Challenger leaders at INCA gathering call out lack of industry standards as key obstacle to more M&A. Integration and migration are costly and complex, making compatibility a consideration for prospective buyers. Compliance also increasingly important in valuations. More positive is XGS-PON embrace, deemed a “damn fine standard for a starting place”, but beware legacy tech. Learn more…
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M&A
Altnets Netomnia-Brsk merging into UK FibreCo unicorn tier
This weekend sees confirmation of top-ten FibreCos combining into top-five integrated challenger with uprated three million footprint target, wholesale differentiation, prep’d for further M&A. Read more, including our updated market overview…