PXC Host ISPA Conference 2024

This year, for the first time ever, PXC hosted the annual Internet Services Providers Association (ISPA) Conference at our offices in Manchester. Following the announcement of our partnership with ISPA, we were excited to be part of the regional conference that brings together ISPs to discuss ways the industry can work better together to promote collaboration and constructive dialogue among the wider internet community. 

Following recent changes in government and funding challenges in the market, this year’s conference came at a pivotal time. Discussions centred upon how we, taking these measures into account, can use connectivity as an enabler for growth. More importantly, how can we project this message across the nation to open the doors for connectivity to be used in this way? 

After a welcome address from Steve Leighton, Chair at ISPA and Voneus, who spoke to these goals, PXC’s Neil Wilson took to the stage to delve into his vision of the UK fibre market and where the opportunities for growth lie. 

While each connectivity provider is battling to be the number one, go-to provider, “the market simply cannot succeed with one standalone network” he said. Pointing to the need for competition among key players for the market to sustain, Neil continued “we don’t want to see just two players either. If we can get to a place where we have 3, 4 or 5 key players, that territory is a great place for the UK because that would drive innovation, standardisation and competition, which is exactly what the industry needs to grow.” 

However, given the market incumbent Openreach, and the vast number of alternative fibre providers spanning the UK – of all sizes – Neil was posed the question, how can we get to this place? “Consolidation of networks is inevitable” he said. We’ve already seen the consolidation of a number of fibre providers to create stronger, more scaled fibre networks that give businesses and consumers alike, choice. As a market we should expect this trend to continue. 

Neil went on to discuss how PXC intends to play their part in the future fibre market, and how we’re already working with, and aggregating fibre providers to be able to serve as many areas of the UK as we can. “We want to be the hub that offers choice in connectivity across the UK, where we can also offer valuable overlay services to make each connection more valuable for the businesses our partners serve.” Working with ISPA members, he said, will help us continue on this journey to realising how we can better serve the channel and support growth within the industry. 

Next on the agenda was a panel debate focused on how connectivity can boost growth and opportunity in digital Britain. Panellists focused heavily on the concept of digital inclusion and what’s standing in the way of this across the country. The consensus among the panel was that, as a nation without a digital inclusion strategy for almost a decade, we’ve lost our way. There are many individuals – whether due to lack of access, skills, or support, that are missing out on the opportunities provided by connectivity. By opening these up, the panel believed our country could thrive. 

"But with a digital inclusion strategy now in place, are the government thinking about it in the right way?", was the question posed to the panel. Some believed no, and that lots more could be done to provide affordable access, develop people’s basic technology skills and offer support where needed.  

Some also believed that digital inclusion is an infrastructure issue, particularly considering 30% of the UK are still without access to full fibre, impacting their ability to use technology to its full extent – arguably, what’s needed to thrive in the modern world. 

Next up, we heard from Lars Cavi, Co-Founder at Netskrt who looked at the growing demands on internet services and the ways to alleviate strain on the sector. Lars delved into streaming trends that can impact our viewing experiences and cause buffering, loss of connection and delays. Unsurprisingly, a large portion of this discussion explored weekly events like Premier League football and, while we’ve historically put the blame on the internet provider for slow connections, Lars used this session to shine a light on how quality issues often reside at the upstream peering points and content delivery networks used by the content providers. It seems we should be looking to the functionality at streaming service  when looking for who to blame. 

The penultimate session saw Donal Hanrahan, Director of Strategy, Strategic Imperatives discuss how we can shape the future of the UK fibre market, and looked into the role integration and software will play. Alike Neil, Donal believes consolidation of networks is inevitable. “We need consolidation and cooperation or else we’ll see business failures”, he said, alluding to the fact that, in today’s competitive market, if fibre providers don’t work together, amongst the larger players, they’ll likely cease to exist. However, he also said that achieving consolidation isn’t simple and straightforward either. To be successful you need to be open to integrating your systems and standardising your processes, which isn’t easy. 

Donal also touched on AI and how the future will be far more advanced than the chat bots and sentiment analysis we currently see. Strategic imperatives are now looking at machine network diagnostics to drive costs down and increase margin, to be able to invest in more products and drive more competition. 

In the final panel, which featured PXC’s Katie Crellin, ISPA attendees discussed how we can ensure the political environment supports future fibre rollout because, while we may be on track to achieve the 85% gigabit target set by the previous government, the UK currently ranks 32^nd out of 39 countries in terms of take up of full fibre products. 

Looking at the process of deployment throughout industry and our achievements regarding the 85% coverage target, the rollout appears successful, in part due to the various funding schemes in place via BDUK and project gigabit. However, the worry amongst the panel was that after the 85% coverage target is reached there remains a dead spot of non-gigabit capable coverage for a remaining 15% of the country which, in turn, increases the gulf in digital divide. 

The consensus from the group was that communications between government and industry need to continue for government to recognise the sector as an enabler to growth, and to ensure there is remaining funding within the sector to cover those hard to reach and, or universal service obligation premises and close that gulf in gigabit “haves and have-nots”. While the government are reliant on connectivity businesses to achieve the rollout, these providers are also reliant on government in much the same way.  

So, "how do we elevate our asks?", the panel were asked. The answer seemed to be a clear education piece around the sector and within government to truly understand where the issues lie so that we can overcome them with the right support in place. Together, we need a joined-up strategy to achieve our joint goals. 

To find out why PXC have chosen to become a member of ISPA, read our press release here.