COMMUNICA | Issue Five so we asked Point Topic to crunch the numbers and estimate the sector’ s growth. By early 2018 they calculated that INCA’ s members reached nearly 1m premises with full fibre- twice as many as Openreach- and up to 2m with wireless services. Furthermore INCA’ s members are bullish about the future, by 2025 they plan to reach more than 14m premises with full fibre, nearly 50 % of all premises in the UK. Our argument is that the sector has become the‘ third competitor’ alongside BT / Openreach and Virgin Media. In addition to policy and regulatory advocacy, one of INCA’ s most important roles is to bring together the altnet community with policymakers, regulators and funders through our conferences and workshops. INCA’ s events are also a great opportunity for vendors, service providers and others supporting the sector to get together with movers and shakers from the key companies. This has been reflected in a marked growth in INCA’ s membership. We now bring together more than 80 organisations including many vendors, consultants and other suppliers, alongside the operators. As the sector grows the scope for collaborative projects grows too. For the past year we have been working with J6, a UK company, to develop an online procurement platform- the INCA Marketplace. This aims to facilitate business between operators and their suppliers. It’ s a great project that can really transform day-to-day transactions, promoting greater efficiency and faster project deployment. More recently we have started working with a group of members to develop the Quality Mark project- a series of quality standards that we hope will demonstrate that INCA members‘ deliver what it says on the tin’. We think this is much needed in an industry where the typical consumer perception is that you never get what you pay for( up to speeds) and that service quality is generally poor. INCA’ s members are young companies, building new networks to a high standard that should help to change these perceptions. We want to help transform our industry into one that delivers on its promises and by doing so generates enormous customer satisfaction. We see fixed and wireless networks as being part of the overall need for connectivity. One of INCA’ s most ambitious projects in 2018 is to persuade Ofcom that fixed wireless operators, the WISPs, have an important role to play in delivering better broadband services in rural areas and should be afforded access to suitable licensed spectrum to support their businesses. It’ s a big ask and we are working together with UKWISPA, the association of local wireless operators, to make the case. 5G is the coming technology ecosystem in wireless. Fixed wireless access with the right spectrum, could become an important part of the rural 5G mix- and deliver an early win for government policy supporting 5G deployment.
“ We want to help transform our industry into one that delivers on its promises and by doing so generates enormous customer satisfaction”
We anticipate that next year consumer switching between infrastructures( as well as between ISPs) will become a much bigger issue. A number of INCA members have identified switching as an important part of the jigsaw in the development of the market. Today it is relatively easy for consumers to switch between ISPs using Openreach infrastructure. But there are no standard processes to help consumers- or ISPs- switch from Openreach to altnet networks whether CityFibre, Hyperoptic or B4RN. Fixing this will be a big challenge involving significant work with Ofcom, policy makers and industry. Getting it right means that we will be on track to deliver on the ambitions we hope to see in the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, along with continued investment in this dynamic and fast moving sector. Overall the sector has moved from being a small group of tiny companies( many of which didn’ t exist when INCA started) to major players in an industry that holds one of the keys to the UK’ s future prosperity. We have worked our way around many challenges and setbacks- and are still working on smarter ways to design and build new networks and overcome the nitty gritty barriers that get in the way- wayleaves, street works, access to Openreach ducts and poles etc. Now it is time for the industry as a whole to focus on building a more collaborative approach between the different players to speed up delivery of the digital infrastructure that will serve the country for decades into the future. INCA’ s job is to help make that happen. For more information about INCA, please visit their website at: www. inca. coop- John Henry Group is proud to be an INCA member.
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