Jansen’s prayers are answered
This years Autumn statement was watched closely by the UK telecoms industry.
Philip Jansen, the outgoing BT Group CEO, called for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to extend the “full expensing” tax policy that Jansen claimed helped BT increase its fibre rollout by 5 million homes and increase investment by £300 million a year.
Full expensing is a capital allowance scheme, that allows companies to fully deduct the “plant and machinery”, or the equipment and tools that keep their business running, from their taxable profits.
Jansen said that putting these measures in place long-term would give businesses like BT, that require significant capex investment to monetise new opportunities, to invest with more security.
Jansen’s calls were answered by Hunt, who has extended the policy permanently.
Sustainability should be incentivised
Darren Pearce, CEO of one of BT Group’s vendors and partners that provide the company with second life telecom equipment told Capacity he believes that the UK government needs to incentivise British companies, and particularly telcos, with tax incentives based on sustainable practices as well.
“While incentives and funding to support the expansion of connectivity in the UK will always be welcome, the Government must consider policies that ensure our networks are built with sustainability front-of-mind,” Pearce said.
Pearce believes we are currently undergoing a once-in-a-generation network evolution that is seeing older technologies in both fixed and mobile networks rapidly replaced by future-ready 5G and fibre.
As things stand, there is no requirement for operators to do this sustainably.”
Pearce encouraged the government to consider a holistic strategy that means replacing network technology and building more fibre is done “through a circular economy lens, not just incentivising more shovels in the ground”.
PSTN switch off gets emitted.
One such network evolution that Pearce refers to is the PSTN (public switched telephone network), which will be replaced by a fully digital network by 2025.
“The PSTN switch-off is the biggest shake-up of the telecoms sector in a long time, it will help the UK to maintain its position as the third-largest tech country in the world,” Simon Hochhauser, CEO of corporate mobile app company PiPcall.
“That’s why it’s incredibly worrying that the Government has not set out more measures to ensure a smooth transition. Lots of businesses are still yet to realise how the switch will impact them; with many using legacy technology like fixed-line office phones, they could be left without sufficient communication if they aren’t careful,” Hochhauser said, imploring companies to begin looking for mobile solutions.
Regulation around permitting to be explored
Hunt also mentioned plans to begin a consultation on telecom regulation to support deployment of mobile networks.
Reforms to the planning system will in theory speed up the deployment of digital infrastructure and other types of investment.
Council’s that meet prompt deadlines would be able to expense the cost of the application.
This move was welcomed by Jonathan Freeman, strategic growth & regulatory director at digital infraco Cellnex, which owns over 8,000 towers in the UK and over 100,000 across Europe.
““You cannot tackle the country’s productivity challenges without paying close attention to infrastructure. We wholeheartedly support the view that any modern economy needs good 5G infrastructure to unlock economic growth, provide opportunity and position the UK as a leader in digital technology,” Freeman told Capacity.
“This is especially pertinent when you consider how digital poverty in terms of access and availability continues to be a growing issue in the UK. Without efficient deployment of mobile networks, we risk a lack of equal opportunity, reduced social mobility as well as forgone economic benefits”.
Freeman said Cellnex would engage in the consultation process announced yesterday.
Quantum gets a special mention
Hunt outlined five ambitious quantum missions for the UK, that were unveiled following the release of the National Quantum strategy in march this year, and subsequent consultation with the industry.
Mission five stated that “by 2030, mobile, networked quantum sensors will have unlocked new situational awareness capabilities, exploited across critical infrastructure in the transport, telecoms, energy, and defence sectors.”
The government said this will transform the way the UK secures, transmits and computes its data.
The mission will focus on achieving the following outcomes:
Scale computing: A quantum network in 2035 will see clusters of quantum processors networked together within and between data centres to scale computing power, turbocharging our ability to unlock high impact applications. This outcome will be integrated with Mission 1.
Nationwide connectivity: The UK will be able to connect researchers and users in major cities and locations across the whole of the UK, enabling them to share information in a quantum state to facilitate secure, trustworthy, and remote access to capabilities and data.
Early commercialisation: This mission will support further testing, demonstration, and evaluation of near-term commercial opportunities in quantum communications and component technologies. This will build the supply chain and operational learnings, providing the stepping-stone needed for future networks.
International: The opportunities are global and the UK will work with at least five other countries to collaborate on developing underpinning technologies and connectivity with international quantum networks, including through satellite links. The UK will also take a leadership role in developing quantum networking standards.
Future Quantum Internet: At the end of the mission, the UK will have the capability to send quantum information from the local to the global scale and to exploit this for the benefit of our economy and society. This will be year 0 for what will become known as the quantum internet.
To learn more about Quantum Communications, read Capacity’s new guide to the technology, published today.
