Full fibre rollout set to give Newcastle £440 productivity boost

A report commissioned by CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has identified that Newcastle stands to be a huge beneficiary from the rollout of future-proof full fibre infrastructure which is now well underway across the city.

The study by the consultancy Hatch, (Economic Impact of Full Fibre Infrastructure from CityFibre’s Network), estimates that, over a fifteen-year period, the positive impacts of CityFibre’s £62m investment in Newcastle will...

Singtel partners with SK Telecom for its first metaverse event

Singtel has partnered with SK Telecom (SKT) to hold its first metaverse event.

The event, ‘Destination:ifland’, was held at the Singtel Comcentre in Singapore. Users were able to design their own digital avatars to take part in a range of activities.

Anna Yip, CEO, Consumer Singapore at Singtel, commented:

“The evolution of the internet is shifting towards a creator economy and immersive virtual worlds. This requires an ultra-low latency network with...

Huawei: Current infrastructure can’t support the metaverse

huawei metaverse web3 blockchain networks infrastructure telecoms

Huawei’s chief strategist in the Middle East believes that current infrastructure cannot support the metaverse.

Most current “metaverse” experiences are just online games capitalising on the hype around the term. Long term, the ambitious vision for the metaverse is a series of decentralised interoperable virtual worlds. 

True metaverse experiences will allow users to take their avatars and items from one to another, control real world devices, conduct...

Ericsson completes $6.2B acquisition of Vonage after clearing hurdles

Ericsson has finally completed its $6.2 billion acquisition of cloud communications provider Vonage after clearing some major hurdles.

The Swedish vendor first announced its biggest-ever acquisition in November last year.

Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson, said: “The core of our strategy is to build leading mobile networks through technology leadership. This provides the foundation to build an enterprise business. The acquisition of Vonage is the next step...

Jurassic Fibre unveils fibre network growth plans as Rishi Sunak visits headquarters

Rushi Sunak being given a tour of Jurassic Fibre's HQ.

Jurassic Fibre, a broadband internet network developer, has announced ambitious plans to increase the rollout of its ultrafast fibre network to cover 500,000 homes and businesses across 30 towns and villages in the South West by 2026.

The announcement coincided with a visit from The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak MP to Jurassic Fibre’s Devon headquarters in Honiton.

During the Chancellor’s visit, Michael Maltby, CEO of Jurassic Fibre, outlined the...

BT inks deal with Ericsson to provide commercial private 5G networks

BT has inked a multi-million pound deal with Ericsson to provide commercial private 5G networks in the UK.

The agreement – the first of its kind in the UK – will combine BT’s expertise in building converged fixed and mobile networks with Ericsson’s 5G network technology and enterprise solutions.

Katherine Ainley, CEO of Ericsson UK & Ireland, said:

“This groundbreaking agreement with BT means we are together taking a leading role in ensuring 5G...

How cloud-based tech allows you to control security from your phone

Security technology is only as good as it is reliable and functional. When systems go down and employees can't access offices because access control key cards aren’t working, it can cause frustration at the least, and be a sign of larger vulnerabilities within the security system.

Issues like this clearly demonstrate the importance of secure cloud-based technology, and why it’s necessary to give security teams the capacity to receive alerts and respond to threats...

Prodapt to invest £100m in UK connectivity industry

UK & India

Global consulting and tech services provider Prodapt, part of India’s 120-year-old Jhaver Group, is doubling its investment in the UK market to £100 million.

The increased commitment comes following UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s April visit to India to discuss trade and national security with the country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

Prodapt plans to invest the amount over a number of years and anticipates creating more than 500 jobs. Earlier this year, the...

Vodafone partners with Ericsson for on-demand 5G network slicing

Vodafone and Ericsson have partnered up to deliver the UK’s first on-demand 5G network slicing.

Network slicing enables multiple virtual network “slices” to be created. These slices operate across the same physical network but are isolated from other traffic to ensure high performance for specific use cases.

Andrea Dona, Chief Network Officer at Vodafone UK, said:

“Network slicing is an incredibly valuable step forward. By segmenting our network, and...

HTC uses private 5G and edge computing for high-fidelity wireless VR

HTC is harnessing the power of private 5G and edge computing to achieve high-fidelity wireless VR for its VIVE Focus 3 all-in-one headset.

VR users currently have to choose between physically connecting to a powerful PC for low-latency and high-fidelity, or compromise on performance for a wireless, all-in-one experience.

High-fidelity wireless VR is the ultimate goal to achieve mainstream adoption for both work and play. At CES 2021, HTC announced its first portable,...