LIGHTSPEED BROADBAND
DELIVERING DIGITAL EQUALITY
LIGHTSPEED BROADBAND
LIGHTSPEED BROADBAND
LIGHTSPEED BROADBAND IS WORKING TO ENSURE THAT ULTRAFAST INTERNET ACCESS IS NOT THE EXCLUSIVE PROVINCE OF BIG CITIES.
DELIVERING DIGITAL EQUALITY PROJECT MANAGED BY: ANDREW BOURKE
From its very beginning, LightSpeed Broadband was a company with a mission- to contribute to digital equality in Britain by unlocking the country’s full digital potential. It is contributing to this goal by serving as a full-fibre internet service provider to communities across the East of England. It is what is called an altnet provider, in that it provides an alternative broadband network to the one provided by companies such as Openreach or Virgin, offering services to underserved communities that are over 20 times faster than the existing services provided.
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Steve Haines, Deputy Chairman of LightSpeed Broadband.
he existing service is usually fibre to a cabinet at the end of the street, where the service is then provided over copper at 50 megabytes,” says Steve Haines, Deputy Chairman of LightSpeed Broadband. “What we provide is gigabit speeds, 20 times faster.” That speed is more critical than it has ever been before. “High-speed fibre is now an essential utility that everyone relies on because of the way we now work today,” Haines tells us. “The pandemic, in particular, has impacted the way we work from home.”
However, Haines insists that LightSpeed’s business is not just about providing fibre. It is about providing the entire customer experience. “It is about the complete experience in the home with your Wi-Fi. Every part of your home, the bedroom, the kitchen, in your garden shed, wherever you are you can still get that high-speed internet experience,” Haines says. “You can watch anything from anywhere from any device in your home. Bringing that complete end-toend customer experience is the thing that LightSpeed brings to the communities we serve.”
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VIAVI With the UK government targeting 85% full-fibre coverage of the country by December 2026, deploying FTTH at speed is critical to enable customers to buy into the many benefits offered by gigabit services. However, to ensure long-term viability for investors and customers alike, providers and network managers need to look beyond simply passing homes by the 2026 target. DEPLOYING AT SPEED & WITH QUALITY – THEY’RE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE As with any major deployment, building a solid foundation is key to the long-term success and financial viability. FTTH service providers, and the investment companies enabling their growth, need to ensure that they build with quality not only to attract and retain customers, but to certify the physical network being laid in the ground is built to last for decades to come. BUSINESS & TECHNICAL CHALLENGES – AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM There are several challenges that providers need to overcome to win the FTTH race, as speed alone does not guarantee success – you need the right equipment, the right processes, and the right teams of people. Business challenges include high targets for homes passed (HP), skillset shortage (especially if there are high failure rates and revisits), lack of visibility into HP/day. Technical challenges on the physical fibre include, but are not limited to: • NO LIGHT: Broken, degraded and/or dirty connections • LOW LIGHT: Dirty connectors, tight bends • WRONG LIGHT: Wrong connection (no service) • IN HOME ISSUES: Poor/no end-user service: e.g. provisioning issues The potential impacts include increases costs of time, money, and the environment, as well as high service failure rates which some providers have seen more than 30% failures for first time installs. MAXIMISING YOUR NETWORK’S ROI There are a number of simple steps that providers can take to be ready for the digital connectivity of today and for future generations. For FTTx networks to maximise RoI, full visibility and operational excellence are needed across the whole deployment: • Fast, easy to use tools and test equipment • Technicians with right tools & best processes • Ops team analysing the right test data
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LightSpeed Broadband has chosen trusted partners to provide the technology for its efforts, working with industry leaders such as SalesForce, Depotnet and Jorvik Design Group, Mills, Prysmian and Nokia as a prime technology partner. Haines adds, “Viavi Solutions have worked collaboratively with us to provide and help set up monitoring systems that ensure our network is running efficiently and always providing the best possible customer experience.” “It is Nokia’s equipment we are using in the telephone exchange. From end-to-end, we are using the best technology available and a very high-quality network,” Haines points out. . “As the largest privately-owned supplier of digital infrastructure, Mills are the ideal partner for LightSpeed, providing exceptional service and a ‘one-stop shop’ for digital infrastructure requirements. We want to build a robust and reliable network for the future, so we have chosen Prysmian fibre optic and connectivity equipment because they use leading-edge technology to create first-class quality products.” LightSpeed backs up that technological capability with the best service it can provide.
Lightspeed Broadband have invested in the VIAVI centralised PON test system (ONMSi) to help accelerate their FTTH deployment and ensure quality from the start of the network’s lifecycle. This allows providers like Lightspeed Broadband to have the right focus on their test processes to ensure they have clear, quick and easy to follow end-to-end automated procedures. For the build phase, VIAVI ONMSi allows the provider to certify if their network is built correctly and to efficiently fix any faults along the way. During the activation phase, this means correctly installing the hardware, testing, and recording to ensure the end user speed is correct. This is all working towards the goal of getting FTTH deployment right the first time, every time. By implementing automated test processes and systems throughout the network lifecycle, you are investing in the foundations to set your network up for success in the short and long term. www.viavisolutions.com
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“We provide an online service as well as a local call centre in the region to look after that vital customer experience,” Haines explains. “Customers can carry everything out as a digital endto-end journey, but we also have local centres to serve our customers.”
“HIGH-SPEED FIBRE IS NOW AN ESSENTIAL UTILITY THAT EVERYONE RELIES ON BECAUSE OF THE WAY WE NOW WORK TODAY.” DIGITAL EQUALITY FOR ALL
But what does digital equality mean? Why is it so important?
“Digital equality is very important for the community. It is a core policy of the UK government to level up the whole of the UK to make sure everybody has access to the gigabit services across the whole of the country,” Haines says. “The reason that is important is that people need access to modern communications. A good example is the way the pandemic required people to have the ability to work from home and use all the rich tools that are available, such as this very video call.” But as Haines tells us, in the 2020s one video call at a time simply is not enough. “Children need it for schooling, there may be a working couple in a family, so having that digital access
Earlier this year, the UK Government published its targets and policy for ‘Gigabit Broadband’, recognising the need for faster, more accessible broadband across the country. Its ambitious target to roll out full fibre broadband to every home nationwide by 2025 is making good progress. The latest report from Ofcom reveals that over eight million UK homes now have access to full fibre broadband , but there is still a lot more to be done, particularly in rural areas. Gigabit broadband is being built using private investment, with private companies deciding when and where to build infrastructure based on a number of commercial factors. Smaller operators are focusing on homes and businesses in particular geographical areas, for example, those in and around their local area. Prysmian Group, world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, has developed a new range of connectivity products and solutions, and is heavily investing in telecommunications innovation. As part of the company’s drive to improve connectivity, it will be supporting Spalding-based internet service provider LightSpeed Broadband who are aiming to serve local communities in the East of England with ultra-fast and reliable full fibre broadband. Prysmian Group is supplying, via its distributor Mills Ltd, a range of Prysmian’s fibre optic cables and connectivity solutions, including its CBT product (drop cables included), joint closures from the xMJ range such as the LMJ and CMJ, as well as the Mobra kits. Working alongside Mills Ltd, who are also supplying their own extensive range of telecoms tooling and overhead and underground infrastructure equipment, the collaboration aims to provide a one-stop shop solution for full fibre roll-out.
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and that equality across the country means that nobody is discriminated against because of where they live,” he says. “We will bring that service not just to big cities but market towns, and eventually villages as well. It is important nobody is disadvantaged by their postcode.” Currently, market towns across the East of England are the frontier LightSpeed is expanding into. The company is building out to 32 market towns in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, and Rutland, with populations averaging around 15,000 homes but without the high-speed broadband infrastructure to effectively serve them.
“We want to build a robust and reliable network for the future,” says Steve Haines, Deputy Chairman of LightSpeed Broadband. “So, we have chosen Prysmian fibre optic and connectivity equipment because they use leading-edge technology to create first-class quality products. “As the largest privately owned supplier of digital infrastructure, Mills are the ideal partner for LightSpeed, providing exceptional service and a ‘one-stop shop’ for digital infrastructure requirements.” Carlos Lopez, Telecom Business Director, Prysmian UK, commented: “We are proud to provide our partners Mills, and Lightspeed with the sustainable fibre optical cables and connectivity products they need to build a reliable and future-proofed network.” Elliot Mills of Mills Limited commented: “Mills are delighted to be working with our partners at Prysmian to support Lightspeed state-of-the-art full fibre network across the East of England.” As well as providing the country with faster and more reliable broadband, a nationwide, full fibre network could turbocharge the economic bounce back from the pandemic, levelling-up rural and urban communities, delivering up to £59 billion in increased productivity every year and enabling a million people to get back into employment. For enquiries please contact the sales team: Sales@millsltd.com
millsltd.com
0208 833 2626
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Building connections: Prysmian Group and Mills to support LightSpeed Broadband’s full fibre roll-out
CM J
LMJ
CBT
PIA
millsltd.com
uk.prysmiangroup.com
PROVIDING THE HIGHEST QUALITY FTTP SURVEY & DESIGN SERVICES ACROSS THE UNITED KINGDOM
WHO ARE JORVIK DESIGN GROUP
Jorvik Design Group was set up to provide the highest quality survey and design services to the telecommunications industry. A combined experience in design & planning, fibre and civil construction has enabled Jorvik Design Group to stand out from the competition. We look at every aspect of each project, with the ultimate goal of providing a service which is second to none.
Malvern Rd, Knottingley WF11 8EQ, UK
www.jorvikdesigngroup.co.uk
+44 (0)1977 671 168
JORVIK DESIGN GROUP Jorvik Design Group was established in July 2019 with the focus and vision being on providing the best design and surveying services to the telecommunications sector. The company quickly established itself in its own right as one of the leading design, planning, and surveying companies in the UK, working for a wide range of medium and large companies such as LightSpeed, Virgin Media 02, City Fibre, Gigaclear, and Airband. Jorvik Design Group has grown from an initial team of five employees to more than one hundred in the space of just under three years. This has enabled Jorvik to open a large second office based in Portugal, where resources and knowledge have been instrumental in successfully growing the business and client base. Our experienced team of surveyors all have extensive telecoms knowledge and come from both a civil and telecoms background. They work closely and collectively with the planning and design team to establish the best and most cost-effective designs which are also buildable. All Jorvik surveyors follow the latest standards and training in the market, allowing Jorvik to stay one step ahead of its competitors. Jorvik recently established itself within the wireless telecommunications sector, carrying out design work in the USA for clients such as T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T across New York, New Jersey, and Washington, incorporating rooftop designs and rawland designs. In an industry that is very fast-moving and ever-changing, Jorvik Design Group continues to adapt to client expectations and ensure that projects are not only delivered on time every time but are the most cost effective and competitive in the market. www.jorvikdesigngroup.co.uk
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LIGHTSPEED BROADBAND
The plan is to cover 200,000 homes over the next 12 months, on top of the 50,000 homes, LightSpeed has reached so far in only a year. “Our real purpose is to empower these communities to reach their full potential through this digital communication,” Haines says. While LightSpeed has noble goals, from the start it has faced obstacles in achieving them, as a brand-new company that is
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relatively late to the broadband market, arriving in the middle of a pandemic, it has been quite the journey. “So, the first challenge was to get investment. Fortunately, enough we had great investors including AtmosClear Investments and Kompass Kapital. Then subsequently we have had further funding from Sequoia Capital,” recalls Haines. “The second challenge was turning money into resources,
bringing people on board. We went on a big recruitment campaign and built up our leadership team and delivery teams to a point where we are employing over 120 people, over half of them locally. We created a service centre and a network operations centre in the heart of our region.” All of this was done under the conditions of Britain’s first and most stringent lockdown.
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LIGHTSPEED BROADBAND
“We bootstrapped a new business in a pandemic, so we did everything virtually,” Haines tells us. “We’re living proof that businesses can use the technology, and the network to create value and serve the communities.”
THE LIGHTSPEED WAY
LightSpeed Broadband has been able to do this because even as it has been working remotely, the firm has quickly established a firm, and unifying culture throughout the business.
“One of our aims from the beginning was to not only create a high impact team but to empower them to make decisions in the interests of customers and the business,” Haines says. “We have not been frightened of making mistakes. We have no blame culture. We enable people and give them the resources to deliver against the business plan. We captured it in what we call the Lightspeed Way. Creating a positive, empowered workforce is very important when starting
up a business, and we are really pleased we’ve been able to manage that.” Another facet of the LightSpeed way has been a foundational commitment to environmental sustainability.
“OUR REAL PURPOSE IS TO EMPOWER THESE COMMUNITIES TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL THROUGH THIS DIGITAL COMMUNICATION.” “The way we are building the network, we are not trying to dig up roads. We are trying to reuse existing telephone exchanges, telegraph poles, existing power sources and green energy,
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LIGHTSPEED BROADBAND
wherever we can” Haines explains. “Our principle from day one was to do this in the most environmentally conscious way we can, with a high degree of health and safety as a nonnegotiable method of working.”
NETWORKING THE NETWORKS
LightSpeed Broadband has been making astounding progress, connecting the East of England, but what is interesting is what is going to happen when it has achieved that goal. “There are several companies like LightSpeed and while we can all grow organically by building our own networks, at some point in the next 12-18 months there needs to be a coming together of companies like us,” Haines says. “If our mission is to be high quality, regional player that provides continuous service in
the East of England, there will be players like us in the West of England, the Midlands, up North. So, I foresee more collaboration between altnets in different regions to scale up towards a kind of national network.” It could start with strategic partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions. Haines compares it to the consolidation of the cable TV franchises 20 years ago. “I recognise that we have choices to make,” he says. “We could stay as a really good regional operator, or merge with other operators to become a
hyper scaler of broadband and compete with OpenReach and other national fibre players.” However, LightSpeed eventually ends up interacting with the wider network, what it has achieved here is unique. “We are building in a regional, contiguous way, plus we are vertically integrated. We are not just selling the network, but the end-to-end customer experience,” Haines says. “It’s unusual for an altnet to focus exclusively on a region but we believe that’s what customers want.”
“WE ARE BUILDING IN A REGIONAL, CONTIGUOUS WAY, PLUS WE ARE VERTICALLY INTEGRATED. WE ARE NOT JUST SELLING THE NETWORK, BUT THE END-TO-END CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.”
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