Plum was engaged by a leading fibre network telco operator in the UK, to review the threats and opportunities brought with developing wireless technologies such as fixed wireless access, mesh networks, and cellular systems including 5G. Our work included a review of both technology and commercial developments in the UK wireless market, and a corresponding[…]
As operators start planning their 5G deployment, one important question that should not be overlooked is what should be done about existing 2G and 3G networks. The rationale for phasing out legacy networks is to ensure that spectrum is refarmed to the most efficient technology and by doing so reduce operating costs and optimise the[…]
Access to affordable and adequate broadband services is becoming increasingly important, as the digital component of national economies continues to grow. In this paper, we focus on the question as to how policy and strategy can be developed to enable efficient rollout of broadband services meeting the needs of rural areas, using the UK as[…]
This paper provides a case study on how the UK is attempting to incentivise full fibre rollout (whereby every premises has a direct fibre connection), and the challenges which these proposals pose. In the past, the UK was the first to introduce the ideas of anchor product pricing and wholesale pricing freedoms. These were subsequently[…]
Connected consumer devices – such as smart TVs, smart thermostats and connected appliances – are becoming increasingly common. Yet the cybersecurity measures on these devices are often lacking: many such devices contain serious vulnerabilities that leave them open to attack. This imposes costs not only on the owners of such devices, but upon third parties[…]
Adding connectivity to physical devices can significantly enhance their usefulness: for instance, it can allow remote operation or monitoring of the device, improve user convenience, or increase energy efficiency. As a result, the number of connected devices has grown extremely rapidly. This growth has been accompanied by increasing concerns about cybersecurity and privacy, and nowhere[…]
Plum undertook a study for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB), Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The purpose of the study was to review the existing telecommunications infrastructure capacity in Hong Kong. It comprised identifying a set of assessment indicators to assess its adequacy; development of benchmarks to assess the supply[…]
The Taiwanese regulator NCC has taken a decision to adopt a cost-oriented approach for the regulation of next generation wholesale leased line services. To support the NCC in deriving appropriate wholesale prices for these services, Plum was commissioned to build a bottom-up long run incremental cost (LRIC) model. Plum, working alongside the Telecom Technology Center,[…]
The UK’s Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) currently provides voice services to millions of households in the UK, and the underlying analogue technology also supports a range of data services for both domestic and non-domestic applications. However, the analogue/electrical based network technology that currently enables the PSTN is coming to the end of its life[…]
Despite continuing growth in mobile network coverage, there are many areas where enterprise users suffer from no, or poor, connectivity. Manufacturing, agricultural and transport industries in these regions suffer from their remote locations, and they often find that their ability to benefit from Industry 4.0 – the automation through connected machines – is limited. This[…]