Telford, 24 November 2016 – Entanet, one of the UK’s leading wholesale communications providers has dismissed the announcement in yesterday’s Autumn Statement that £400 million is to be invested in a new Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund, as ‘a damp squib’ and little more than political manoeuvring.
It has also called for much more detail to be provided on what the fund aims to achieve, how and on what basis funds will be allocated, and what assurances will be given that investment will be committed to projects. The company has further concerns over the relatively small scale of the funding, which is to be spread over four years, and points out that it is unlikely to do anything to bridge the so-called ‘digital divide’ or deliver new services to rural areas.
In an opinion piece on its website, the company states: “Overall the Autumn Statement was something of a damp squib. The measures suggested don’t go far enough, lack depth and detail and will, in our view, have little impact on long-term investment in fibre infrastructure. In the end, it looks rather too much like political manoeuvring and posturing, when what’s needed is decisive and effective support. Currently, only two percent of UK premises have access to full-fibre connections compared to an EU average of about 20 percent. This is not going to change anything fast.”
Entanet wants to see more realistic and definitive support and a complete suspension of rates on fibre investment to help encourage investment. “It needs to be easier and less expensive for companies to invest in long-term communications infrastructure projects. Without that, the UK has little hope of becoming the digital leader it aspires to be in the 2020s”, it concludes.
To read the article, please go to: https://www.enta.net/opinion/2016/11/24/digital-infrastructure-investment-fund/
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About Entanet
Entanet is a leading wholesale voice and data communications provider and operates via a network of wholesale and resale channel partners. It was founded in 1996 and employs over 80 staff at its offices in Telford, Shropshire.
In February 2014, mid-market equity investor Mobeus Equity Partners made an initial £6 million investment to support a £14 million management buyout.
Entanet offers an extensive portfolio of connectivity services, including wholesale and packaged broadband, leased lines, EFM, IP VPNs, hosting and co-location, VoIP and traditional telecoms. The company operates its own fully-resilient nationwide next generation network which enables it and its partners to provide up to 10Gbps capacity to customers right across the UK. In addition, it has further connectivity into Amsterdam and Frankfurt and over 900 peering relationships across Europe.
The quality of Entanet’s services and its commitment to partners has been widely recognised. The company was recently named ‘Wholesale Provider of the Year (Large)’ in the 2015 Comms Business Awards and received the 2015 ISPA award for ‘Best SME Business Broadband’ and CRN Sales and Marketing Award for ‘Best Vendor Account Management Team’. The company has also been listed on a number of occasions in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100, Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA and other listings of fast-growing, privately-held UK companies.
For more information contact:
Darren Farnden, Head of Marketing
Entanet International Ltd
Tel: 0333 101 0000