M12 Solutions and Intouch Systems Plan UK Full Fibre Rollouts

Broadband ISPs M12 Solutions (Giganet) and fixed wireless provider InTouch Systems (Redshelf, ITSwisp and WiSpire) appear to be separately planning for a new or faster deployment of “gigabit-capable” Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology, although at present the details remain few and far between.

As usual the first hints emerged after both companies put in separate requests for Code Powers from Ofcom (here and here), which can help to speed-up the deployment of new networks and cut costs by reducing the number of licenses needed for street works.

At present M12 Solutions usually works with existing networks like Cityfibre and Openreach for their ultrafast and gigabit broadband connectivity, but their submission to Ofcom also expressed a desire to roll-out their own FTTP broadband and this would be “supplemented by fixed wireless access (FWA) in areas where fibre deployment is more difficult.”

The focus for M12 is said to be on “small towns and rural communities where [M12] believes it can avoid over-building other fibre based alternative network providers,” although no specific areas, coverage targets or time-scales are mentioned. But they do state that this network would be “deployed initially” in Southern England (funnily enough they use to do this via Wessex Internet before the Ranston Estate acquired their share).

Meanwhile InTouch Systems, which is perhaps better known as a fixed wireless broadband (FWA) ISP (mostly around the East of England with c.2,500 premises covered), appears to be interested in expanding the tiny FTTP network that they’ve already setup in Norfolk (as well as using this to support their wireless systems).

The plan is to deploy a 1Gbps service to serve rural homes and businesses in the East of England area (focusing upon locations with no existing fibre provision) with “competitively priced” services. Sadly no specific targets or time-scales have been revealed for this operator either.

Nevertheless that’s two more operators with FTTP plans on the brain to add into our database, which is nice to see even if the market for alternative networks does seem to have become quite crowded.