Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 27 | Page 18

NEWS Ofcom tightens regulations for UK telcos P hone and broadband customers in the UK must be warned when their current contract is ending and what they could save by signing up to a new deal, under Ofcom rules that came into force on February 15. Around 20 million customers are already out of contract – including 8.8 million broadband customers – and many are paying more than they need to. Ofcom research reveals that every day, 25,000 broadband customers come to the end of their contract – usually leading to an automatic price rise. People can earn big savings on their monthly bills if they take advantage of discounts available when signing a new deal. But 16% of broadband customers don’t know if they are in contract, rising to 21% of over-55s. So, Ofcom is introducing rules to ensure people can see whether they are on the best deal. Phone, broadband and pay-TV companies will have to warn customers between 10 and 40 days before their contract comes to an end. Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s Consumer Group Director, said: “Millions of people are out of contract right now and paying more than they need to. These new rules make it easier to grab a better deal. “But you don’t need to wait to hear from your provider. Just a few minutes of your time could save you hundreds of pounds today.” ////////////////// Orange and Telxius to connect the US to France with Dunant submarine cable O range, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators and a major investor in over 40 submarine cables, has teamed up with Telxius, the communications infrastructure company of the Telefónica Group, to collaborate in Europe and the US on backhaul extensions for the Dunant cable, a Google project. The Atlantic is one of the world’s busiest network routes and the Dunant cable will address the massive growth in data and content needs between Europe and the US. This 6,600km-long transatlantic cable will connect the US to the French Atlantic coast and aims to launch services in late 2020. Under this agreement, Orange and Telxius offer co-location services at their respective Cable Landing Stations in Saint-Hilaire-de- Riez (France) and Virginia Beach (US) and operate them. 18 INTELLIGENTCIO Both are strategic locations as they are located near main connectivity hubs on both sides of the Atlantic. From its Saint-Hilaire- de-Riez Cable Landing Station, Orange will enable terrestrial connection to Telxius up to Paris, while Telxius will connect Orange to Ashburn from Virginia Beach. Jerome Barré, CEO of Orange Wholesale and International Networks, said: “We are pleased to announce this agreement with Telxius, which will allow us to provide our customers with very high capacity end-to- end services, as well as network redundancy, on the strategic transatlantic route.” www.intelligentcio.com