Following the arrival on the statute book in 2021 of the Telecoms Security Act, both DCMS and Ofcom have now launched consultations about the implementation of the legislation.
Policy
Recent INCA policy work.
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All AltNets are being encouraged to participate in this year's INCA/Point Topic survey assessing the development of the UK’s independent networks, ahead of what may prove to be a pivotal year for the future of the country’s digital landscape.
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INCA has submitted a response on behalf of its members in relation to a recent Openreach consultation about planned exchange closures.
Openreach plans to close approximately 4500 of its 5000 exchanges by 2030, and this programme could have a substantial impact on AltNets if the closure programme is not handled carefully. Our response to the consultation sets out a series of recommendations to mitigate this potential impact, not least that a much broader and open consultation process be commenced asa matter of urgency, and that Ofcom should establish and oversee the framework for this consultation.
You can download the full response here.
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INCA is not surprised but is still disappointed with Ofcom’s decision today (Sept 30 2021). Our members are committed to meeting and surpassing the government’s targets for gigabit capable networks - so much so that £14bn of new investment has been brought into the sector to support this aim. Ofcom’s decision today puts that at risk and operators will now be seriously considering what steps to take next.
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Over 2.5m homes and businesses in the UK can now connect to an independent fibre broadband network, according to new figures published today (7 June 2021). This represents over 110 per cent year-on-year growth and confirms the major contribution the ‘altnets’ are making to the Government's target for delivering national coverage of gigabit capable broadband.
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On 3rd Feb 21, Ofcom published their statement on GPL Switching. It is here. They are now consulting on it until 31 Mar 21 and the consultation response form is on that page. INCA encourages all members to make their individual views known. INCA is also preparing a response and encourages members to get involved with SWSIG to provide their input. INCA issued a statement on 3 Feb broadly welcoming the proposals.
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Easier switching between broadband providers took a big step forward today as the regulator Ofcom published their statement in favour of “One Touch Switching” and the countdown to December 2022 for providers to become compliant with the new legislation.
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Today’s (Friday Jan 8 2021) report by the Public Accounts Committee highlights the challenges involved in meeting the Government’s gigabit broadband ambitions. Replacing the copper phone network with the full fibre and high speed wireless infrastructure of the future is a big project requiring co-ordination between government, industry, local authorities and other stakeholders.
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An INCA/Point Topic report shows over £1.76 billion worth of private funding related to the independent sector was announced between the start of 2019 and September 2020. These figures are on top of an estimated £5.7 billion of private investment-related announcements already made in the sector, bringing the total to over £7.6 billion. INCA CEO Malcolm Corbett welcomed the figures but warned against letting the momentum slow.
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BDUK has run a number of workshops on the planning for their Outside In deployment.
Outside In's Technical Specifications require an open access wholesale system and, if you are building infrastructure under this scheme, you will need to build enough not just for yourself but also enough to accommodate 3 competitive suppliers.