A new “massive” undersea transatlantic communications cable has been brought ashore on a beach in Cornwall.

The Google data cable, called Grace Hopper, was landed in Bude on Tuesday.

Once operational, it would have the capacity to handle “17.5 million people streaming 4K video concurrently”, Google bosses said.

The cable has been laid between New York in the United States, Bilbao in Spain and Bude over several months, and is expected to be operational in 2022.

It was part of a “new generation” of lines that “connect continents along the ocean floor with an additional layer of security beyond what’s available over the public internet”, Google said.

The tech giant has named it Grace Hopper after the American computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral.

It is about 7,000km (4,350 miles) long and is the company’s fourth privately-owned undersea data cable, which transport 98% of international internet traffic around the world.

An earlier attempt to land the cable in Bude failed in July because of poor weather conditions. 

The third leg of it was landed in Bilbao earlier this month.

Google said it was one of the first undersea cables to connect the US and UK since 2003 and would allow connection with another new cable between Europe with Africa.

Jayne Stowell, who oversees construction of Google’s undersea cable projects, said: “This is really needed for the UK in particular, where most of the cables were landed in the early 2000s, with the newest one in 2003. 

“Those cables are running out of their useful and economic and technological life. They are not going to support the transatlantic growth that is needed to keep all of us online 24/7.

“This is a massive new cable. It has 16 fibre pairs, where the previous technology was a maximum of eight fibre pairs. 

“Think of 17.5 million people streaming 4k videos concurrently, and this is what Grace Hopper will be able to do.”

The location of Bude was chosen because it was “an ideal, nicely protected beach and adjacent to a lot of the terrestrial infrastructure needed”, she added.

Total Tele recently caught up with Mike Knott, Market Development Manager, FTTH, Corning to discuss key challenges faced by UK Alt-Nets in FTTH deployment and Corning’s supporting role ahead of Connected Britain 2021 next week in London.

Where is the UK positioned relative to the rest of Europe for FTTH deployments?

The most recent IDATE FTTH/B Market Panorama Report painted a positive picture for European FTTH growth, with 52.5% of homes able to subscribe to a fibre broadband connection at the end of September 2020.

Slowly but surely, the UK has grown into a real hotbed for FTTH activity. Access to a “full fibre” network for UK homes and businesses has risen from 14% in May 2020 to around 21% at the start of this year, representing coverage of circa six million premises passed. 

In recent years, the rate of build in the UK is, along with France, the highest in Europe. Much of this is owed to our growing number of Alt Nets which cover the full range of build strategies. From dense urban builds, mid-sized towns and cities to low density rural construction.  

Read the full interview.

Broadband ISP and mobile giant Virgin Media (VMO2) has announced a new partnership with infrastructure developer Light Source, which looks set to help with the ongoing expansion and upgrade of their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across the United Kingdom.

At present VMO2 is expected to continue their existing Project Lightningdeployment until their UK network coverage reaches around 16 million UK premises – this mostly reflects existing Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) technology, but in the past two years their builds have been dominated by “full fibre” FTTP.

However, as a result of the recent merger between O2 and Virgin Media, the combined company has proposed to invest £10bn over the next 5-years in order to expand their 5Gand FTTP broadband coverage even further. In terms of the latter, they’ve previously spoken of an ambition to reach another c.7 million homes (some of those would be in rural and semi-rural areas).

VMO2 has also recently announced that they intend to upgrade their existing HFC network – some 14.3 million premises – with FTTP by the end of 2028 (here). Suffice to say, they’ll need more civil engineering contractors for all this and the new deal with Light Source will no doubt help.

At the time of writing, neither company has put out a full press release on this agreement, but Light Source have issued the following comment.

Steve Hill, Light Source Managing Director, said:

“We are privileged to add Virgin Media to our client base and look forward to a strong alliance. Myself and many of the Light Source SMT started our career in the ‘Cable Industry’ and this partnership brings us full circle. Many thanks to all parties that contributed through this process.”

We should point out that Light Source also works with various other broadband ISPs and alternative networks, such as KCOM, Netomnia (YouFibre) and Airband etc. Apparently, Light Source’s work with VMO2 will be focused on the Midlands, the North West and East of England regions.

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) announced today that WPD Telecoms, Western Power Distribution’s telecoms division, selected Infinera’s XTM Series metro optical platform for its high-capacity network, enabling delivery of next-generation high-speed services to its customers across South West England.

WPD Telecoms offers a diverse range of connectivity and colocation services throughout South West England, South Wales, and the Midlands. Leveraging Infinera’s XTM solution, WPD Telecoms is currently rolling out new optical infrastructure to build an advanced 100G/200G optical transport network, positioning the company for a smooth transition to the latest generation of 400G pluggable optical technology.

WPD Telecoms’ new network enables the company to meet the increasing demand for optical and packet-based high-speed services. With Infinera’s XTM solution, WPD Telecoms is equipped with a compact, flexible, and efficient platform that is flexible grid-ready and features Raman amplification to overcome long spans, providing efficiency on its network footprint. Once deployed, WPD Telecoms can offer customers new and reliable 10G, 100G, and 200G connectivity services.

“WPD Telecoms invests in the latest leading-edge technology. That is why we selected Infinera’s XTM Series for this major new network,” said Richard Slane, WPD Telecoms Commercial Manager. “We have always found that Infinera’s metro and regional solutions have provided the capacity and functionality we’ve needed, while also being easy to use and very power efficient. We are confident the XTM will provide our network with the capacity required now and will scale easily to 400G when we’re ready.”

“Enhancing WPD Telecoms’ network with Infinera’s latest XTM Series will enable the company to continue offering its customers reliable, high-capacity, low-latency bandwidth using the latest technology in the industry,” said Nick Walden, Senior Vice President, Sales at Infinera. “WPD Telecoms’ longstanding relationship with Infinera and its ongoing selection of Infinera’s metro and regional solutions underscore the value Infinera’s platforms deliver to network operators.”

Digital network integrator STL has announced a strategic collaboration with Openreach, the UK’s largest digital network business for the supply of optical cable solutions for a ‘Full Fibre’ broadband network.

Under the agreement, STL will be responsible for delivering millions of kilometres of optical fibre cable to support the build over the next three years. The collaboration with Openreach strengthens a 14-year-old technology and supply relationship between the two companies and further reinforces STL’s commitment to the UK market.

Openreach plans to use STL’s Opticonn solution – a specialised set of fibre, cable and interconnect offerings designed to drive performance improvements, including a claimed up to 30% faster installation. It will also have access to STL’s Celesta – a high-density optical fibre cable with a capacity of up to 6,912 optical fibres. STL says the compact design is 26% slimmer compared to traditional loose tube cables, allowing 2000 metres of cable to be installed in under an hour. The high density cable will also help minimise the use of plastic across Openreach’s new network.

Kevin Murphy, MD for Fibre and Network Delivery at Openreach, said, “Our Full Fibre network build is going faster than ever. We need partners like STL on board to not only help sustain that momentum, but also to provide the skills and innovation to help us go even further. We know the network we’re building can deliver a host of social and economic benefits – from boosting UK productivity to enabling more home working and fewer commuting trips – but we’re also trying to make this one of the greenest network builds in the world. So, it’s good to know that STL’s compact and efficient designs will contribute to this in a significant way.”

Commenting on the collaboration, Ankit Agarwal, CEO Connectivity Solutions Business, STL, said, “We are extremely excited to join hands with Openreach as a key optical solutions partner to build Full Fibre broadband networks for millions in the UK. Our customised, 5G-ready optical solutions are ideally suited for Openreach’s future-proof network requirements and we believe they will enable next-gen digital experiences for homes and businesses across UK. This partnership will be a major step towards our mission of transforming billions of lives through digital networks.”

The announcement comes as Openreach continues to ramp up the build rate for its Full Fibre broadband programme, which aims to reach 20 million homes and businesses by the mid-to-late 2020s.

For more information, visit www.stl.tech

Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) announced today that it has expanded its portfolio of open optical networking solutions with a suite of coherent optical pluggables designed to seamlessly address point-to-point and point-to-multipoint transport applications from the network edge to the core. Leveraging innovative XR optics technology, Infinera’s new suite of vertically integrated ICE-XR pluggables will offer network operators the performance, scale, and efficiency critical to the delivery of differentiated 5G, enhanced broadband, and next-generation cloud and business services. ICE-XR pluggables will support a range of transport rates, including 100G, 400G, and 800G, and utilize industry-standard form factors such as QSFP-28, QSFP-DD, and CFP2 to enable ease of deployment in a wide variety of router and transport devices.

“We have been engaged with 100+ network operators globally and the feedback that we have received has surpassed anything I have seen in my 35+ years of experience in successfully bringing game-changing technologies to market,” said Dave Welch, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Infinera. “Leveraging the innovative capabilities of XR optics, ICE-XR will enable Infinera to create a completely new market with functionality that is uniquely positioned to address the point-to-multipoint traffic demands at the rapidly growing network edge and provide TCO savings of as much as 70%. Additionally, with Infinera’s deep vertical integration, ICE-XR will enable us to address the rapidly growing market for point-to-point pluggable coherent applications with a differentiated and cost-reduced solution.”

ICE-XR builds on Infinera’s history of delivering innovative, highly differentiated, and vertically integrated coherent optical engines. ICE-XR can be seamlessly software configured between point-to-point and point-to-multipoint operations. When used in point-to-point applications, ICE-XR can enable network operators to benefit from seamless generational upgrades, enhanced performance in capacity and reach, and the ability to utilize pay-as-you-grow service activation. In multipoint applications, ICE-XR can enable network operators to reduce the total number of transceivers in their networks by 50% or more and simplify their network architectures by eliminating electrical aggregation points and driving down capital expense and operational complexity. 

XR optics is an open technology initiative with the support of network operators, equipment manufacturers, and subsystem manufacturers. 

Initial ICE-XR pluggables are scheduled for release in 2022.

Read the full story on the Infinera website.

Ofcom has published their 2021 survey of UK broadband ISP and mobile service quality, call waiting times, complaints and install times among the largest providers. Overall TalkTalk attracted the lowest satisfaction for broadband (77%), while Three UK did the same for mobile (86%). Generally, customer service has taken a COVID-19 hit.

As usual this annual report is based on data that the industry regulator has gathered via a combination of consumer research (survey of people and social media posts etc.), submitted complaints and some new statistics that have been obtained directly from broadband, landline phone and mobile operators.

Overall 80% of fixed broadband ISP consumers claimed to be satisfied with their service (down from 85% last year), which compares with 90% for mobile (down from 93%) and 77% for landline phone (down from 85%). Subscribers to EE reported the highest levels of satisfaction with broadband (82%), while TalkTalk scored the lowest (77%).

Read the full story here.

Oxbotica and Navtech have launched Terran360, the world’s first all-weather radar localisation solution for industrial autonomous vehicles, with the pioneering technology typically accurate to <10cm on any vehicle, in any environment.

Combining Navtech’s patented FMCW radar sensor and Oxbotica’s autonomy software platform, Terran360 is an entirely new offering to the off-road autonomy market. It utilises a single long-range, high-definition radar sensor to give a detailed 360o picture of a vehicle’s surroundings, allowing it to work alongside conventional systems and be deployed in GPS-denied environments or in harsh conditions not suitable for LiDAR or vision while maintaining full pinpoint localisation at all times. 

Navtech’s high-resolution radar sensor is able to operate in the harshest conditions – such as in rain, fog, dust, or dirt and in complete darkness. The vibration resistant and IP67-certified sensor is designed to be maintenance free for 10 years, helping to reduce disruption to operations with no compromise to precision, reliability, or safety.

Terran360’s output can be fused with other sensor feeds or used as a standalone system, and is also able to provide independent and highly accurate vehicle motion. Terran360 operates on any vehicles, from slow moving to speeds of up to 120kph (75mph) and has been comprehensively tested on different vehicle platforms and in dramatically different environments, including in mines, on urban roads, on railways and in marine settings.

Paul Newman, Founder & CTO at Oxbotica, said: “We are delighted to launch Terran360 in collaboration with Navtech. We are bringing a game-changing localisation system to market that gives operators and manufacturers a new way to answer the crucial autonomy question of “Where am I?” – and one that is unimpeded by environment or place.”

Phil Avery, Managing Director at Navtech Radar, commented: “We are extremely proud to launch this outstanding product for commercial use, offering a radar localisation solution never seen before. Thanks to decades of experience in delivering radar solutions for safety and mission critical applications, and together with Oxbotica’s world-leading autonomy software platform, Terran360 is trusted to answer the fundamental question for autonomous vehicles: “Where am I?”, everywhere, every time.”

The UK fibre market is a hive of activity, with altnets securing investment while the operator of the country’s rail network is looking for £1 billion to upgrade its telecoms network.

Network Rail on Monday issued an invitation to private sector companies in invest in the rail telecoms network in return for the right to commercialise spare capacity on that network. Essentially, the rail infrastructure operator needs to upgrade its telecoms network, but says it doesn’t require all of the capacity that fibre would bring, therefore it wants to someone else to pay for the work and use the extra capacity.

“There will be sufficient capacity for a third-party to run its own telecoms services – making use of the significant geographical reach of the national rail network to meet demand for improved fibre connectivity across Britain, and taking advantage of the lower cost of fibre deployment along the railway when compared with other deployment methods,” Network Rail said, in a statement.

It has 16,000 km of cables adjacent to the railway lines, which carry information needed for running the railway: signalling for trains, trackside sensors, CCTV, and Internet for trains, depots and offices. These cables are due an upgrade, and this way the firm aims to do it without either government funding or subsidies from passengers. You could write reams on the price of rail tickets in the UK and the impact asking passengers to fund the new network would have, but we’ll resist that temptation. Suffice it to say that, taking this plan at face value, it seems like a good idea.

Whether or not the economics of it stack up well enough to attract third parties remains to be seen; the firm is looking for £1 billion, and while that is not a king’s ransom in the context of fibre network rollout, it’s not small change either.

“This proposal makes good business sense for all parties,” said Network Rail CEO Andrew Haines. “We get a cutting-edge, future-proof telecoms infrastructure; the investor gets a great business opportunity; train passengers in Britain get an improved service for years to come; and the taxpayer saves a significant amount of money.”

Network Rail also believes that if its plan works out it could be beneficial for consumers living in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

We should find out if there are any takers later this year. Network Rail said it aims to review expressions of interest and finalise a deal with its preferred bidder before the end of 2021.

In the meantime, there is plenty more going on in the market.

Late last week Lincolnshire’s Lightspeed Broadband announced the start of its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) rollout across 10 towns in South Lincolnshire and West Norfolk: Boston, Bourne, Holbeach, King’s Lynn and South Wootton, Long Sutton, Market Deeping, Skegness, Sleaford, Spalding and Stamford.

“We are looking forward to working in partnership with Plancast and RCU Solutions, who both have extensive experience in designing, planning and building telecoms infrastructure in a sustainable, efficient and high-quality way. Significant investment in digital mapping tools, and the strength and scalability of our partners, has enabled us to move rapidly, mobilise more than one hundred engineers and deploy simultaneously across ten towns,” said Dave Axam, Operations Director for Lightspeed Broadband. “We will be collaborating with the local authorities and communities in each town to build the network and to minimise disruption and environmental impact.”

The firm aims to cover 100,000 homes and businesses across the East of England by 2022, rising to 1 million homes by 2025.

Meanwhile, neighbouring operator Quickline, which serves Lincolnshire and Yorkshire with fibre and wireless-based high-speed broadband, announced that funds managed by Northleaf Capital Partners have agreed to acquire a majority stake for an undisclosed sum. Existing owners, the company’s management team, Bigblu Broadband and Harwood Capital will retain minority stakes, it said.

Quickline, which secured four grants under the UK government’s BDUK scheme last year, said it hopes the deal will help it to reach its target of passing 500,000 premises with its 5G and FTTP infrastructure in a the rather vague timeframe of “the coming years.”

And in one final news snippet, London-based broadband provider Cuckoo announced that it has raised US$6 million in a funding round that attracted RTP and JamJar as new investors. The company is not rolling out network: its mission, which it launched in July last year, is to provide a simple broadband tariff to customers. It says it will use the new investment to reach more customers and hire new staff, although it is not just about the cash: it clearly hopes that JamJar, which has backed brands like Bulb and Deliveroo, will help it to create a strong challenger brand in the market.

Trying to differentiate yourself in a crowded market for broadband provision? You’d have to be Cuckoo…

The 400G optical capabilities encompass a variety of formats, including Infinera’s point-to-multipoint XR optics.

Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) says it now offers the ability to use pluggable 400G coherent optical transceivers with its XTM Series and GX Series compact modular platforms. The 400G optical capabilities encompass a variety of formats, including Infinera’s point-to-multipoint XR optics (see “Infinera unveils XR optics single-source coherent point-to-multipoint transmission technology”).

The company has developed the XTM Series Enhanced 400G Flexponder module and GX Series CHM1R Open ROADM-compliant dual-400G sled to bring the coherent 400G pluggable options to market. Optical module options include 400G ZR+ as well as the XR optics modules.

Network operators appear ready to use the new capabilities. “The move to 400G in metro/regional optimized DWDM platforms is a major step that we welcome,” said Dave Eddy, COO at Neos Networks via an Infinera press release. “Our extensive UK network is built on the XTM Series, and 400G capabilities provide Neos Networks with another option for those segments in our network that see the highest demand. We look forward to capitalizing on this technology in our network to enable the company to maintain its position of running one of the most advanced optical networks across the UK.”

“Pluggable optics have always been at the heart of our metro strategy, and over the years we have achieved many industry firsts with the use of pluggable optics in transport platforms,” asserted Glenn Laxdal, senior vice president, global product line management at Infinera. “Expanding our capabilities to include the latest generation of 400G optics, combined with our industry-leading 600G/800G optics, provides customers with best-in-class solutions to address applications across their networks.”