Connectivity

5G – Who’s Leading The Race?

8th February 2019 by admin

5G continues to be a major talking point in the technology world and with the public launch of 5G getting ever closer in the UK, it’s a race between providers to be the first widespread 5G network, whilst it’s also a race across the globe to have the first 5G capable phone.

Both Huawei and OnePlus are ahead of the pack in terms of creating a 5G capable phone – especially now that Huawei have announced that they will be releasing a phone in the first half of 2019!

This hasn’t come as shocking news to the mobile industry as Huawei have tended to be the first company to release innovative features as of recently; most notably, the in-screen fingerprint sensors.

However, many may be thinking ‘What about Apple?’

It’s almost guaranteed that we won’t see a 5G capable iPhone until at least the second half of 2020. But this is something that we’ve come to expect from Apple. The first iPhone launched without the capability of using 3G and 4G didn’t arrive until the iPhone 5.

The ‘wait and see’ strategy has worked for them in the past but that was because prices we’re lower, people more frequently upgraded their phones and there were less alternatives to the iPhone compared to now.

Apple’s silence on the topic have left some worried and now that the mobile industry has grown so much, Apple need to come up with something game-changing. If they don’t, what’s stopping people from moving on?

When it comes to providers, EE are the leading name in the UK. They’ve already released multiple 5G sites across London and are planning to have 16 5G cities in the UK by the end of 2019.

This will be a great achievement for EE, but they need to make sure that the roll-out of 5G is an evolution, not a revolution.

There are still many areas of the UK that have inconsistent or no 4G, plus we still don’t have the technology to utilise 5G yet.

Over half of EE’s customers have iPhones, so it will leave customers with a choice of 5G or loyalty to their handset choice and, whilst there are many alternative mobiles, 5G is unlikely to sway people’s vote unless they live in one of the 16 cities.

What is certain, is that 5G is a very exciting development and could open new doors in technology. If you want to learn more about how technology advancements could help your business, get in touch!

Project Loon – The future of internet connectivity?

23rd November 2018 by admin

In the UK, we have a robust broadband connectivity network that allows most of us in the country to access the internet at any time.

However, you may be surprised to hear that we are part of just a slight majority when it comes to internet connectivity. Reports show that only 55% of the world’s population has access to the internet as of June 2018 – meaning that well over 3 billion people are unable to connect to the world wide web!

Reaching those who are not yet connected is challenging for many different reasons, such as, a lack of funding, poor infrastructure or a remote location.

In 2011, Google X stepped in and began testing a system dubbed ‘Project Loon’. The idea behind it was to transmit an internet connection down to those who need it via a mini-satellite. The original prototype was made up of a weather balloon and a collection of off-the-shelf radio parts.

By 2013, Project Loon was an official Google Project, and the balloon technology had developed via the help of vigorous testing in New Zealand under stratospheric temperatures.

But how does it work…?

The technology developed can be broken up into three main parts:

1) Antennas

They transmit connectivity obtained from ground stations down to any LTE capable phone, much like the way a mobile network transmits signal.

2) Charging Equipment

A row of solar panels power the satellite when sunlight is present and an additional battery acts as a backup during the night.

3) Flight Capsule

This contains the electronics commanding the unit and the navigation system, which uses automated algorithms and predictive models on wind speeds and directions. This is continuously monitored by someone on the ground.

The balloons themselves are made from sheets of polyethylene – the material used to make some shopping bags – and contain helium. When fully inflated, they stand 39ft tall and 49ft wide and can travel for around 100 days.

Taking Flight…

The first to connect to one of the balloons were a family in Canterbury, New Zealand in 2013 and they connected via an internet antenna attached to their house.

The first LTE connection was made in 2014 by a school in Campo Maior, Brazil. It was the first time they had ever connected to the world wide web.

These balloons have since been used multiple times to provide internet coverage after natural disasters. In 2017, Project Loon teamed up with the FCC to provide connectivity to around 200,000 people in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

The Future…

As of July 2018, Project Loon graduated from Google X and has now become a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. It is clear that Project Loon now plays a massive role in supporting humanitarian issues but this new technology could become commercially beneficial in the future too.

Anti-Bullying Week 2018 – How to protect yourself and others online

9th November 2018 by admin

The week commencing 12th November 2018 marks the beginning of this year’s Anti-Bullying Week, the theme of which is ‘Choose Respect’.

The idea behind this theme is to show that bullying is a behavioural choice. From there, we can encourage people of all ages to be respectful instead of hurtful.

One of the biggest types of bullying in modern society is cyberbullying. It is almost commonplace with the new type of behaviours that have formed online, such as ‘trolling’ and ‘stan’ cultures.

Nowadays, it is very easy for someone to post hurtful content online without any repercussions because they can do so anonymously. It can also come from any person with access the internet at any time of the day – meaning that it can be difficult for people to escape online harassment.

However, modern technology can now help keep people away from harmful content, so we’re going to take you through some ways that you can protect yourself, your children or others. Whether it be routers, software or handsets, many technologies now often include screen time limits or application restriction features. Most notably, Apple’s iOS 12 now has a new Screen Time function which encompasses these elements.

Settings like this allow you to limit how much time is spent on devices and how much time is spent using individual apps. This is a great way to manage how much media you (or your children) are creating or exposed to.

Additionally, the content that is displayed when accessing the internet can also be restricted often using age ratings or by banning ‘explicit’ content.

If you have a child whom you feel is a victim of cyberbullying or is bullying others, you can limit their internet access with parental controls. This is a great way of making sure that either a person or device within your household can’t access the internet unsupervised.

It is great to see that businesses are taking into consideration some of the dangers of the internet and placing controllable limits on their products; take a look at the features your router and/or smartphone offers – it could all lead to a reduction in cyberbullying.

In the meantime, if there is anyone you know that may be being bullied, always remember to reach out and support them. Also, if you have noticed any online bullying, be sure to report it as most sites have policies against a cyberbullying.

The Ocean Plastic Crisis – How is broadband aiding the clean-up?

26th October 2018 by admin

A big topic in the public eye recently has been the ocean plastic crisis. Tonnes upon tonnes of plastic has been discarded into our oceans instead of being reused and recycled, which has resulted in numerous environmental problems.

It is estimated that 8 million tonnes of plastic are thrown into our oceans annually; that number is only set to increase as our plastic output is predicted to increase 10-fold by 2020.

Micro-plastics are bits of plastic that are smaller than a fingernail. This is the plastic ingested by animals and it kills an estimated 1 million sea birds and 100,000 sea mammals every year.

Coral can get diseases through plastic pollution; once a piece of plastic touches an area of coral, the likelihood of that coral becoming diseased increases from 4% to 89%!

There are 5 large gyres of plastic in our oceans, with one specific gyre called ‘The Great Pacific Garbage Patch’. This floats between California and Hawaii and is claimed to be 1.6 million square kilometres in size. Texas is around 700,000 square kilometres, so this gyre is over double the size of Texas!

How is this issue being tackled?

The non-profit organisation called The Ocean Cleanup is teaming up with the satellite communications company Iridium to speed up the ocean cleanup process.

The Ocean Cleanup will be sending out a fleet of sixty collectors into The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. These collectors are 600 metres long and have a screen underneath so that plastic can’t flow underneath whilst also avoiding wildlife.

Each one of these collectors will be equipped with two broadband satellites at each end. These satellites will be transmitting live data back to The Ocean Cleanup’s base in Rotterdam.

The data they will be receiving ranges from overflow detection, location data, pictures, 360° live video and system performance updates.

You may be wondering how they are able to send all this information from the middle of the ocean…

The data is transported from the broadband satellites on each of the collectors up to interconnected low-orbit satellites, specifically 66 of them across 6 polar orbiting planes! Therefore, there is no need for any ground infrastructure!

Iridium’s latest constellation of satellites is still being launched. They have already had 7 NEXT launches with help from SpaceX to get 65 satellites into orbit. They only have one launch left to get another 10 satellites up. 66 of those satellites will be used with the other 9 being used as backups. There is also another 6 spare satellites on the ground.

There are other pieces of technology on the collectors that will play a big part in the cleanup process.

Each one of these collectors is autonomous! Once they are placed in an optimal location for collection, they are left to roam around the gyre. The satellites will translate the path and current location of the collector back to Rotterdam so that they can track the progress of each one.

The Ocean Cleanup also wanted to make sure that their solution was as environmentally friendly as possible. So, their collectors are energy neutral.

What this means is that it only uses the waves and wind direction to move around. Also, all of electronics on the collectors, such as the lights, are solar powered.

All of these technologies teamed together should make for the most successful effort in the ocean cleanup yet!

5G testing has begun!

15th October 2018 by admin

5G is a highly popular topic at the moment, with many industry experts beginning to test and showcase what is possible with 5G.

Companies and individuals alike are preparing themselves for a 5G launch that was previously expected in 2020, however EE are now getting ready for a full 5G launch in the UK next year!

This is much sooner than some expected, including us, which puts us at the front of the pack for 5G release across Europe.

EE is currently testing it’s 5G network and part of this project involves them testing 5G in high capacity areas and hotspots within the UK.

As a result, the first 5G trial site has been switched on at Montgomery Square, Canary Wharf. Montgomery Square is estimated by EE to have 150’000 visitors and commuters every day.

This site is the first of 11 sites that will be launched across East London as the first phase of EE’s 5G launch program. But EE isn’t the only provider that is working on releasing 5G trial sites in the UK…

O2 is beginning it’s 5G testing by using their O2 Arena as a trial site, allowing visitors to experience 5G first hand before O2 plans to release it to the rest of the UK in 2020.

Vodafone has also stated that in the coming weeks they will be launching their own test sites across the UK after the testing that took place at their laboratory in Newbury. Vodafone is trailing 5G in a few different locations. Firstly, they’re opening trial sites in seven cities across the UK including Birmingham and Manchester. They will also be launching hotspots in holiday destinations such as the Lake District in 2019.

They will be the first UK provider to launch 5G outside of any UK city, barring any surprise launches from fellow service providers.

So, what exactly does 5G data mean for us when we’re using our phones?

5G speeds can equal anything up to 1Gbps, which is around 600 times faster than the UK’s average speeds! This means a full HD film that you could usually download in a couple of hours takes just a few seconds! The much larger bandwidth that 5G offers also means that many more people can access these speeds at once.

The O2 CEO Mark Evans explains the importance of 5G to the UK very well. He stated:

For more information on what 5G can offer us – have a read of our ‘5G – The Fifth Generation’ blog.

Connectivity – It’s all about options!

4th July 2018 by admin

It’s 2018 and you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to connectivity solutions. This is great, but the vast array of technology these days can leave you in a bit of a quandary when it comes to choosing your services, often leading to no decision being made at all.

With big differences in pricing, this can be a deciding factor in the services you opt for. In many cases this can lead you to taking out contracts in services that fall short of the mark, which is why we feel it’s important that you understand the options available before you sign on the dotted line and have no way out.

Generally speaking, more expensive means better quality but that doesn’t necessarily make it the best option for your business. So to make sure that you know exactly which connection you need, we’re here to outline some of the main features of each type.

Over and above the most widely available ADSL broadband and FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet), there are faster and more resilient offerings available and Direct Internet Access (DIA) is a term often thrown about to describe them. In broad terms DIA is an internet connection that offers significantly faster speeds. Although this is true, the term is an umbrella and encompasses specific connection types that vary.

So, what are the options?

EoFTTC (Ethernet over Fibre to the Cabinet) and GEA (Generic Ethernet Access) use existing fibre or copper wires to connect to the street cabinet and then fibre connects to the local exchange, before (unlike FTTC) handing data over to the ethernet network. Think of it as an entry level form of ethernet connectivity. This solution has the shortest install lead times (circa 18 working days) compared to some of the other options. It is a cost-effective choice for businesses looking for reliability, as it comes with SLA’s to protect you in the event of any issues.

Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM) is an affordable alternative to a leased line. It provides speeds determined by the number of bonded copper cables in the line. A box is installed on-site that ‘bonds’ the individual wires into a single service. 2 cables gives twice the former speeds, 4 cables provides quadruple and so on, regardless of whether it’s uploading or downloading. The speeds are lower than of a leased line, but it has much shorter installation lead times and offers the same reliable SLA’s. For smaller businesses using cloud technology, this is a great option.

G.fast is BT Openreach’s 330Mbps capable hybrid fibre technology. It was initially piloted in 20 locations around the UK and then rolled out to another 26. It works in a similar way to FTTC but is fitted with an extension ‘pod’ that houses the G.fast technology to increase speeds for the final leg of the connection – short loops of the copper wires to the premises. You need to be situated in one of the trial locations to benefit from this, but BT Openreach are planning to roll out further over the coming years.

FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) employs fibre optic cabling from the exchange right up to, yes you guessed it, the premises. The upload and download speeds of FTTP are significantly faster with some areas able to receive up to 1Gbps (or 1000Mbps if you wanted to compare) – the fastest speeds available anywhere in the UK.

A Leased Line offers uncontended bandwidth (i.e. they are occupied only by the customer, rather than sharing with others) and therefore consistent speed: even during peak times. You will also benefit from symmetrical upload and download speeds, fault thresholds and SLA’s for resolving any issues. Additionally, you can have built in resilience by opting for 2 leased lines on separate networks. One operates as a back-up for the other, to offer the most robust protection against downtime. Whilst this is the most expensive option, for commercial operations relying heavily on connectivity it is the most reliable solution.

If you’re struggling to find motivation to upgrade your internet connection, it is worth bearing in mind that by 2025 internet-based voice solutions will be the only available option as ISDN will have been phased out by BT Openreach. This along with the rapid movement to cloud-based services demands the need for better, more reliable, internet connectivity in all businesses, whatever their size or requirements.

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5G – Who’s Leading The Race?

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