Pj Farr

🚀 Why now is a defining moment to invest in Gigabit IQ 👉 Already 85% funded on private live on Seedrs (Republic Europe) 👉 Going public live next week 👉 Limited allocation | EIS eligible 🔗 https://lnkd.in/evwrFMv3 The UK broadband market is at a once-in-a-generation inflection point — and Gigabit IQ is positioned right at the centre of it. We’re not just building fast broadband. We’re building what we believe is the UK’s safest and most intelligent broadband provider, designed for the regulatory, social, and technological realities shaping the next decade. Here’s why this moment matters: • Full Fibre adoption is accelerating nationwide, driving mass migration away from legacy connections • The PSTN switch-off is forcing millions of homes and businesses to upgrade • Online Safety regulation is no longer optional — Ofcom and the Online Safety Act are redefining ISP responsibility • The Cybersecurity Bill is raising the bar on how networks are actively managed and protected These changes don’t favour legacy ISPs built on volume and call centres. They favour providers built around managed Wi-Fi, proactive security, and family protection — exactly where Gigabit IQ is already operating. Our model combines: ✔️ Full Fibre performance ✔️ Network-level online safety ✔️ Managed Wi-Fi and cybersecurity ✔️ Community-led growth and trust If you’re looking to invest at the intersection of infrastructure, safety, and long-term regulation-driven demand, this is the moment. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/evwrFMv3 #InvestInGigabitIQ #Crowdfunding #EIS #BroadbandInvestment #FullFibre #OnlineSafety #CyberSecurity #FutureOfBroadband

8

Yesterday we held Women in Telecoms Group 3rd Anniversary!! It has been a busy 3 years for the group and we are immensely proud of what we have achieved as a collective but also what we have each achieved as individuals. Nicola Kemp did a fab job showcasing this in the video uploaded, so a big shout out to you! Part of our celebration we were joined by Irina Iovita, who presented to the group the findings from 2025 Lovelace Report; Unlocking £2-3.5 Billion The Value of keeping Women in Tech. I would like to say, that I wouldn't be shocked by their findings but I was, that figure is HUGE!! Change has to happen for the following reasons from the report they ran, these are the figures: 📈 7% of women leave the industry compared the +11.5% of men 📈 80% of women have recently switched roles or are interesterd in exiting their tech role 📈 60% earn less then £100k compared to the male average of £150k 📈 25% see limited direction and opportunity in their career pathway 📈 Surprisingly, as this has been the narrative in the past, only 3% cited caring commitments the reason for leaving. The takeaway from this, more needs to be done to attract, retain and progress women in the tech industry. Especially given it is estimated that 98-120,000 more tech professionals are needed to meet the UK's AI and Digital demands. We then had Ruth Sloss to give our group a interactive coaching session on; Seeing the Value in Ourselves. We may not be able to impact the above immediately within the industry but we can impact it for ourselves. I found this session fun but extremely useful for future tips, that I will definitely use. ☀️ We can develop our EQ ☀️ Low self confidence should not hold back your career ☀️ Remember your posture ☀️ Breathe ☀️ Be conscious of the words you use, "Just" and "Sorry" ☀️ What if Imposter was actually a critical friend? ☀️ Listen , Evidence and Learning It really was a fantastic afternoon, spent with the best women! You all inspire me everyday with everything you achive and do in your careers and personal life, We love celebrating this, which we did with our "Shout Outs" so keep them coming! Shout Out to Maisie Taylor Allie Pennington Obiageli (Obii) O. for your new roles Nicola Kemp Jen Kierce for your hard work on the podcasts and Fiona Kearns for your contimued support and hard work on our Career dev group to create the mentoring group. Here's to year 4 which we foresee to be bigger and busier than the last so remember to get involve! Natalie Strange and I want you all to be part of this and join us in our conitnued support and impacting for change! Remember, Our voices together are louder and stronger! #womenintelecoms #ccuk

48

7 Comments

Speed has diminishing returns, and this is what makes the move from 1Gbps to 10Gbps very different from the move from 100Mbps to 1Gbps, and very very different to move from 10Mbps to 100Mbps broadband provision. The key use case for the move from 100Mbps to 1Gbps is simultaneous usage, reliability and moving the bottleneck on your Internet access outside of your home infrastructure. The use case for 500Mbps upwards is actually very very weak today, and there is a lack of visible use cases that would drive consumers to buy faster speeds, so the key problem with CityFibre's plans is that they don't have grounded and real use cases identified...

1

5 Comments

Is the UK government's Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) plan going to have delivered on its objectives? It's currently being evaluated, and according to the evaluation framework: "By improving access to gigabit capable broadband, the LFFN programme is designed to deliver significant benefits ... For households, take-up of an enhanced connection should lead to improved access to online services, including essential services such as healthcare, government portals, and digital education. Faster broadband also facilitates the increased use of the internet for education, work, or leisure, supporting activities such as remote working, online learning, and entertainment." We'll see what the evaluation report says, but we can get some insight from Ofcom's Technology Tracker, which asks people about their use of services like those above, and which ISPs they use. If full fibre was important for these services, we might expect usage to be higher in altnet households, which will by definition be using full fibre. However, this isn't what the data shows. As you can see in the chart, usage of these various services is the same in the altnet and the other households. Indeed, it is higher in the other households for a number of services, though this is likely statistical noise. [A couple of notes of caution. The Technology Tracker only asks respondents about Hyperoptic, Gigaclear and Community Fibre, so these are the 'select ISPs'. And there will be full fibre connections (both from other altnets and from BT, Sky etc) in the other ISPs. Thus this isn't a clean, FTTH vs FTTC comparison, just a proxy]. None of this should be a surprise to anyone. Much of the industry has long acknowledged (at least in private) that the vast majority of consumer needs are met very well with FTTC. Indeed, filing your tax return, say, is possible with dial-up. Whether the government will recognise this is another question.

7

4 Comments

Broadband myths we hear all the time Broadband is full of assumptions that sound right — but often aren’t. A few we hear regularly: • “Faster speed automatically means better performance” • “If the speed test looks good, everything’s fine” • “Residential and business broadband are basically the same” • “Full fibre means no problems” In reality, day-to-day performance is about reliability, consistency and how a connection behaves at busy times — not just headline speeds. Clearing up these myths usually leads to better decisions and fewer frustrations down the line. If your broadband hasn’t been reviewed in a while, it may be worth a calm, jargon-free look at how it’s actually performing. 📞 01482 291292 ✉️ rod@ktgl.co.uk Rod Walker #BroadbandMyths #BusinessInternet #Connectivity #ReliableBroadband #VoIP #CloudWorking

1

The world of Telecoms and IT loves a bit of jargon. SIP trunks, DDI's, leased lines, VPNs, RMMs and MDM… sounds clever, but half the time people don’t even know what they’re paying for. At Chrome Telecom, we keep it simple. No tech talk without translation, no complex setups without someone explaining it in plain English. Just clarity, so you actually know what you’re using, why it matters, and how it helps your business perform better and grow. Because when you understand your systems, whether it’s VoIP, UC (Unified Comms), RMM (Remote Monitoring & Management) or cybersecurity, you make better decisions faster. Those “wait… how does that work again?” moments disappear. And so does the confusion that costs businesses time and money. What’s the one telecom or IT term that made you scratch your head? #Telecoms #ITSupport #RMM #UnifiedCommunications #CyberSecurity #ChromeTelecom

15

Across the UK, loyal customers are often paying more each year for the same service, while new customers are offered lower teaser rates. Annual price hikes tied to CPI or fixed increases have quietly become the norm across much of the broadband industry. At Rebel Internet, we’ve chosen a different approach. While many of the largest providers have increased their prices year after year, Rebel's prices have remained the same for four years. We believe loyalty should be rewarded — not penalized. UK consumers deserve transparency, price certainty that their bill won’t keep creeping up every spring. The Broadband Loyalty Tax doesn’t have to be the status quo.

26

1 Comment

Business owners, directors and office managers, please check with your broadband supplier that you are on an IP-based broadband service. A giveaway is to check your bill, if you have a phone number associated with your broadband line then you are likely on a PSTN connection. If you are on a PSTN connection... These will be turned off by 2027, and you may find yourself without internet at short notice! We recommend switching to an IP-based broadband service ASAP to avoid the risk of your broadband being cut off with limited notice.

8

2 Comments

Next Level Fibreoptics Ltd Is Expanding Into New Utility Sectors At NLFO, we’ve built a strong reputation for delivering high-quality fibre infrastructure projects safely, efficiently, and on schedule. As part of our continued growth, we are now looking to diversify into additional utility sectors and collaborate with companies seeking experienced, reliable delivery partners. We are particularly interested in supporting projects within: 🔋 EV Charging & Renewable Energy 💧 Water Utilities 🏗️ Civil Engineering 🚧 Multi-Utility Developments Our teams bring: -Proven project delivery experience -Skilled operatives and experienced management -A strong health & safety culture -Scalable workforce solutions -A commitment to quality and performance If your business is delivering projects in these sectors and requires trusted subcontract support or an experienced infrastructure partner, we would be delighted to start a conversation. 🌐 https://lnkd.in/duZ2qbYE 📧 info@nextlevelfibreoptics.co.uk 📧 Deran.stewart@nextlevelfibreoptics.co.uk Let’s build the next level — together. #Utilities #CivilEngineering #RenewableEnergy #EVCharging #MultiUtility #Infrastructure #Partnerships

51

2 Comments

The analogue switch-off isn’t optional. The UK’s analogue landline network is being withdrawn as part of a national transition to digital services. This change is driven by several key factors that organisations need to understand before making decisions: 1️⃣ Ageing infrastructure that is increasingly difficult to maintain 2️⃣ Reduced manufacturer and supplier support for analogue systems 3️⃣ Improved reliability offered by modern digital networks 4️⃣ The need to support future services beyond voice alone This is not a supplier-led decision - it is a nationwide programme. Understanding what relies on analogue lines is essential before change, helping reduce risk and avoid disruption. 🦆 Start the conversation before the switch-off starts. #digitaltransition #analogueoff #telecomchange #infrastructuremodernisation #telecomclarity

5

Big milestone yesterday for Zen Internet's partnership with Freedom Fibre. After great collaborative working, integration, and testing, we are now fully live with selling Zen's award-winning full fibre broadband over Freedom Fibre's network via our Consumer sales team. Over the coming weeks, we'll launch in our Fibre Hub, so our channel partners can benefit from access to this new full fibre footprint at market-leading pricing. We'll also launch shortly in our online order journey. In addition to Consumer FTTP, we'll also shortly launch Business FTTP, E/O FTTP, and EAD-equivalent over the Freedom Fibre network, giving us and our partners a full suite of B2B connectivity services. Focus now is on ramping up volume! Big thanks to the many people within both Zen and Freedom Fibre who have worked hard to get us to this point, on schedule. #fullfibre #broadband #altnet #partnership

258

12 Comments

Struggling with patchy connectivity, but unsure why? Our latest blog on our website gives an in-depth explanation on how signal boosters genuinely enhance mobile reception: - Why real mobile signal boosting is superior to broadband-dependent options like Wi-Fi calling. - Understanding uplink and downlink signals - why both matter for call quality and data speed. - Overcoming common signal challenges posed by building structures and materials. - Case study insights, including fibre-linked multi-building connectivity (like our project with Firmdale Hotels!). This is a perfect read for tech-focused professionals looking for great, reliable connectivity solutions. https://lnkd.in/eYfBh_fa #ConnectivityTech #MobileSignalBoosting #TechSolutions #SignalSolutionsUK

5

Today Fibrus submitted its views to the Ofcom Telecoms Access Review. Meanwhile, yesterday, Chancellor Rachael Reeves demonstrated the pressure on funding for rural Broadband for Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Building Digital UK (BDUK) by refusing to extend the commitments made in the previous (2020) spending review. Times are hard and funding is a challenge. One simple way to make funding go further is to fix the madness that is rural pole rental costs. Regulatory rules currently force rural operators to incur regulated costs up to 20 times higher than others and mean fibre network builders pay Openreach for copper they will never use. Fixing this could reduce the subsidy required to deliver the same outcome by as much as 25%. We have a confluence of events here and if we don't act - rural fibre simply will not happen.

94

1 Comment

When complexity scales, measurement becomes strategy. On 22nd January in London, I’ll be speaking at the SCTE ® (the Society for Broadband Professionals) event about Testing and Measurement and why it has become one of the quiet foundations of modern service delivery rather than a technical afterthought. Today’s offerings are no longer built around a single channel or platform, but around vast portfolios of content and services sourced from multiple providers, using different formats, standards, and delivery models. At Bridge Technologies, we focus on expanding capacity and flexibility: monitoring more services in parallel and supporting as many formats, protocols, and workflows as possible. Finally, I’ll talk about QoE in a budget-conscious world and why monitoring should be designed in from the start rather than bolted on later in order to become a strategic tool that supports quality, competitiveness and trust in markets where viewers are less forgiving than ever. Looking forward to the conversations in London and to exchanging perspectives with others facing the same challenges from different angles. Here's the registration link: https://lnkd.in/eKutaZqk Bridge Technologies #SCTE #testing #measurement #monitoring #networks #media #broadcastmedia #london #speaker #register

44

2 Comments

One of the UK’s largest alternative full fibre broadband operators, Netomnia (inc. retail ISPs Brsk and YouFibre), has deployed a Smartoptics ROADM-based core network across the UK that should deliver scalable IP over DWDM at 100G and 400G wavelengths and is even classed as being “800G-ready by design” (800Gbps if you prefer). Just for some context.  Netomnia’s 10Gbps speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network currently covers 2.4 million UK premises (RFS) and has connected 310,000 customers. But they’re also aiming to expand their network to reach 3 million premises by the end of 2025 and then 5 million by the end of 2027 (inc. 1 million customers by 2028). Read more: https://lnkd.in/eizHqaAu UKFCF: https://www.ukfcf.org.uk/ #UKFCF #FullFibre #FibreConnectivity #GigabitBroadband #DigitalConnectivity #FibreBroadband #UltrafastBrandband #ProjectGigabit #UKConnectivity #DigitalInclusion #ConnectCommunities

19

1 Comment

📡 SAFETY ALERT: Hidden Dangers in Mast & Tower Maintenance - Poor Design and Incorrect Installation Can Cost Lives!    💧 Real-World Case Study   💧 Recent collaboration with Beeline Broadband in Ryedale, North Yorkshire highlights a critical safety issue every infrastructure operator needs to know about.    📍 The Discovery: During a tower assessment for a broadband upgrade project, the Beeline team identified a serious water accumulation issue in a tubular tower leg. What happened next was eye-opening...    🎯 The Solution: We checked that a small 3mm hole wouldn't have a negative effect on the structural integrity of the tower leg prior to the leg being drilled. The results? Watch the video to see the shocking amount of trapped water!    ⚠️ Why Should You Care? When water gets trapped in tower legs:  ➡️ Winter freezing causes expansion  ➡️ Internal pressure builds dramatically  ➡️ Tubes can split catastrophically  ➡️ Structure integrity becomes compromised  ➡️ Emergency repairs = Major costs    ✅ Professional Installation Matters: At Radio Structures Ltd, we ensure:  ➡️ Comprehensive risk assessments  ➡️ Professional height safety protocols  ➡️ Use of proper equipment (harnesses, fall arrest systems, jib sticks, cranes)  ➡️ Detailed method statements with rescue plans  ➡️ Annual inspection services    💡 Industry Insight: Our engineering team uses advanced Tekla Towers software for precise structural analysis. Every design includes carefully planned water egress solutions - because prevention is better than cure.    ⚡️ Quick Fact: While proper design and installation takes just 4-8 weeks, poor execution can lead to years of issues or catastrophic failures!    🛠️ Professional Best Practices:  ➡️ Schedule regular structural inspections  ➡️ Implement proper drainage solutions  ➡️ Use certified installation teams  ➡️ Maintain routine check protocols    🤝 Special Thanks: Huge appreciation to Beeline Broadband for sharing this valuable learning opportunity!    📍 Local to Ryedale? Beeline Broadband provides:  • High-speed wireless & fibre internet  • Specialized rural area coverage  • Latest radio & fibre technologies  • Strong, reliable connections  • Outstanding customer service    🌐 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e9UXYfSz    📹 Video Credit: Beeline Broadband    #TowerSafety #Telecom #Infrastructure #Engineering #RuralBroadband #BeelineBroadband #RadioStructures #QualityControl #SafetyFirst #TelecomIndustry #HeightSafety #StructuralIntegrity

8

2 Comments

The Financial Times calls it “the surprising success story of British fibre broadband.” Recommended reading for all those who toiled in the early days of FTTP deployment in the UK and who helped "reshape an entire industry": A remarkable transformation—from just 12% to over 78% of UK premises passed in five years. Well done! But is it too soon to declare mission accomplished? The next test lies ahead: winning even more fibre customers, whilst building sustainable businesses. #FibreBroadband #Telecoms #Infrastructure #makingBritainfaster #ufo

45

5 Comments

Thought for the day: too many people lazily assume that "telecoms" just means "mobile", and that Telco = MNO. I see this from commentators on LinkedIn and Substack, policymakers, investors and various industry associations and forums. In reality, it's the fixed and fibre marketplaces that are currently more vibrant and innovative in much of the world, both for residential #FTTX #broadband, and for enterprise access and #WAN connectivity. Other branches of telecoms are also often overlooked in this mobile-centric view of the world. The industry includes wholesale and interconnect, UCaaS, enterprise MSPs, CPaaS, InfraCos, CableCos, SatCos, PSTN-style telephony and VoIP, subsea cables and various others - plus MVNOs in addition to MNOs in the mobile world. Common (but wrong) statements I see: - "Telco CAPEX investment is falling". Maybe for #5G RAN infrastructure, but not for fibre in much of the world - "Telecom APIs are being driven by #CAMARA and #OpenGateway". Nope - fixed, WAN and VoIP telecom APIs have been around for years - "Telecom markets are too fragmented & consolidation from 4-to-3 operators is a good idea". Yet every fixed broadband national market has its own structure and competitive dynamics, and transnational fibre is different again. - "Telcos will deploy AI-RAN". Well, only if they actually *have* a RAN... - "Telcos must learn XXX or do YYY". Usually the writer just means MNOs - Telecom R&D funding or government-run projects over-index on mobile Partly, this reflects the power and homogeneity of the mobile industry. Members of GSMA are mostly similar in type, just varying by country and size. There are very few wholesale-only or enterprise-only MNOs. Conversely the fixed world is hugely diverse, with open-access infracos, vertically integrated ISPs, national/metro backbone players and others. There is no GSMA equivalent, although Broadband Forum comes closest and TM Forum covers the whole industry. Once you start looking, you'll notice the "mobile hubris" effect everywhere...

130

15 Comments