july aug | Page 5

Openreach : SHE tech saves £ 10m PA in build costs

According to UK digital infrastructure provider Openreach , its roll-out of Full Fibre technology saved £ 10m (€ 11.6m ) in build costs in Fiscal Year 22 / 23 , while extending Full Fibre broadband to remote communities that were previously out of commercial reach .

The company is deploying ‘ SHE ’ ( Subtended Headend ) where new fibre-optic cables can be built out from specially-adapted existing green roadside cabinets . Ultrafast broadband optical signal boosting equipment , normally housed in a main exchange building , is installed at the cabinet .
Engineers have now deployed around 100 individual SHEs , across the UK , connecting up around 160,000 homes and businesses that would otherwise have been beyond commercial reach , and avoiding the need to build over 1,262km of new fibre cabling or ‘ spine ’.
By ‘ piggy-backing ’ on the existing VDSL copper based cabinet network in this way –
Engineers have now deployed around 100 individual SHEs , across the UK , connecting up around 160,000 homes and businesses
Openreach ’ s new Full Fibre cables can potentially be extended three times their normal reach , over 200km - with the capacity to connect up to a thousand additional homes and businesses from a single SHE location , while cutting up to six months in build time and the costs involved in deploying new fibre cables or ‘ spines ’ all the way from an exchange to a property .
The technology can also be installed the same way in small remote exchange buildings that are served by a main exchange – helping to extend the reach of Openreach ’ s Full Fibre network further still .
“ Openreach has a strong track record of investing more than any other company into rural broadband upgrades ,” stated Andy Whale , Openreach ’ s chief engineer . “ We ’ re rolling out Full Fibre to reach 25 million homes and businesses and a quarter of that – around 6 million premises - will be in the hardest to reach third of the country .”
“ We ’ ve already built Full Fibre to around half of those harder to reach homes and businesses and this innovation is helping us to build faster and further into these more remote parts the country – especially in more rural areas , on a very large scale but more efficiently and at a much lower cost ,” he added .
UK cracks down on illegal online ads
Social media platforms ,
websites and other services
will have to take tougher
action to stop children seeing
age-restricted adverts for
products such as alcohol
or gambling . Fake celebrity
scams and pop-up malware
from hackers will also be
clamped down on as part of
new rules to make advertising
regulation fit for the digital
age .
The plans are published
by the UK government
in response to its Online
Advertising Programme .
Online advertising includes
the banners or displays which
appear around the content of
a website , results prioritised
at the top of search engines ,
and pop-ups on a user ’ s screen . It helps businesses grow by reaching targeted audiences and can be cheaper and quicker than traditional advertising formats . In 2022 , it accounted for three quarters (£ 26.1 billion ) [€ 30.3bn ] of the £ 34.8 billion spent on advertising in the UK .
Its rapid development , combined with changes in technology and complex supply chains between marketers and platforms , make it difficult to stop illegal ads appearing .
People frequently encounter fraudulent celebrity endorsements for financial scams , legitimate-looking pop-ups containing hidden malware , and promotions for products prohibited under UK
law - such as weapons , drugs , counterfeit fashion and fake ticketing .
Children can be exposed to ads for age-restricted products such as alcohol , gambling and adult-rated films and games . “ Advertising is a huge industry in which Britain is a world leader ,” stated Creative Industries minister Sir John Whittingdale . “ However , as online advertising has taken a steadily bigger share , the rules governing it have not kept pace and so we intend to strengthen them to ensure consumers are properly protected . Our plans will shut down the scammers using online adverts to con people out of their cash and will stop damaging and inappropriate
products being targeted at children .”
“ We will make sure that our proposed regulation helps keep people safe while supporting and enhancing the legitimate advertising industry so it can maximise its innovation and potential .”
There is currently a selfregulatory system for the content and placement of online adverts in the UK , overseen by the Advertising Standards Authority ( ASA ). The ASA has a strong record of delivering consistent , effective results and holding legitimate advertisers accountable . However , regulators are not empowered to act to address illegal harms in the same way as harmful advertising by legitimate businesses .
EUROMEDIA 5