AboutWe are different...
Find out what drives us to
truly transform the UK's
internet landscape
Our Story
AllPoints Fibre is on an ambitious and exciting path to transform internet connectivity in the UK, with a new deployment method that minimises customer disruption and streamlines the fibre installation process.
We build and operate wholesale fibre networks using an open access architecture that is underpinned by next generation design principles and precision timing. Whilst we are building our networks to support the future digital requirements of the UK market, our primary goal is to exceed customer expectations for internet speeds with an ethos of fairness and community partnership, anywhere the AllPoints Fibre network serves an Internet Service Provider (ISP) customer.
The open access nature of our network fosters true equivalence across the retail ISP market, creating a level playing field where competition will surround value and customer service, which means technically that our AllPoints Fibre infrastructure is available to many competing ISPs simultaneously on equal terms, thus creating a genuinely competitive market framework to compete for end-user (home or business subscriber) business.
This competitive environment ensures that the end-user gets the best possible price and the best possible service out of their chosen ISP, offering speeds of up to 10 Gigabits (10,000Mbps) per second as well as faster options for enterprise customers and mobile providers along the route of the network.
The Changing Landscape of Open Access
FTTP is rapidly becoming the principal fixed access infrastructure across the UK. In the race to build, new infrastructure providers and investors, competing alongside the larger established operators have fuelled an increasingly competitive landscape. This has made the relationship between infrastructure provision and service provision looser, while at the same time fostering a larger and more commercially intense wholesale market.
Operational autonomy for Retail Service Providers (RSPs) historically entailed spiralling investment, with Service Providers having to invest in ever-more active network equipment and ever-more physical infrastructure in order to attain that operational autonomy.
For the wholesaler, this meant selling ever-simpler services. The approach that we have taken for Open Access Wholesale is to steer away from the traditional models adopted and focus on the virtualisation of networks onto a software platform, which will enable an alternative network-as-a-service approach where autonomy and agility do not come at the expense of capex-intensity.
Traditional Access Models
Fibre networks can be seen as having 3 layers: Passive, Active and Services. These correspond to the Passive Infrastructure (physical assets e.g. optical fibre and ducts), Active Infrastructure (switches, software, routers etc. for operating the network), and the Services that are offered to end-users (e.g. High Speed Internet).
- Retail Services
- Active Infrastructure
- Passive Infrastructure
Fully/Vertically Integrated
Provider owns & operates all 3 layers
Passive Sharing/Wholesale
Service Providers directly lease fibre into each premise
Active Sharing/Wholesale
The Wholesale Provider owns and operates the network with competing Service Providers offering services
Full Separation - Passive & Active Sharing/Wholesale
All 3 layers are separated
Monopoly
Open access
Level of competition
Our Next Generation
Open Access
Fibre Networks
Current software defined network (SDN) deployments, most specifically across incumbent and established players’ networks are facilitated by the core of the network. This means that the operator is in charge of that SDN, is controlling the traffic and making more efficient traffic flows across their network. But with a properly designed network that needs to be extremely high bandwidth, we can actually expose that orchestration layer, that SDN, to the end-user and let them dictate traffic patterns and traffic flows.
Essentially when a subscriber chooses their provider or when they choose where they want their traffic to go – they’re effectively creating a local area network on top of our network – this can all be done through SDN. Our approach provides a path for network applications that do not exist today, that will emerge in the future and will change the way we look at the internet and how we use it.
Our Approach:
to wholesale open access focuses on providing a more active set of services, thereby helping our Retail Service Provider (RSP) customers overcome obstacles to timely, agile and effective use of our fibre access infrastructure. We offer active wholesale services in a way that appeals commercially to all retail market segments.
Fuelling the Digital Economy:
fibre dense infrastructure, that is open access, neutrally operated and powered by software, is the optimal way to fuel the digital economy, facilitate national growth and drive prosperity.Transforming the UK’s Internet:
we believe that to truly transform the UK’s internet, there needs to be a powerful combination of these components, to drive ubiquitous coverage and stimulate competition. This is the catalyst for societal change and fundamental to addressing the digital divide.How We Deliver
Whilst the journey begins at the design and planning stage, working to ensure only the most accurate geospatial data feeds our intelligent systems and partner interfaces, this is all predicated on people and integrated processes. Of critical importance is the understanding of end-user needs and behaviours relating to the benefits of fibre use in order to support exceptional end-to-end customer experience, mostly delivered by providers such as: ISPs, OTT players, media and content providers.
Finance
The AllPoints Fibre model is fully funded and does not require capital or investment from the community/local authority (unless part of a government-[co]-funded project). To fund our networks we work with our institutional investors who are looking for long term, stable returns, and with an interest in the underlying social purpose of bringing future-proof digital infrastructure to communities across the UK.
Design
Through data science, network architecture excellence and on-the-ground conversations, AllPoints Fibre designs and engineers open access networks specific to the needs and priorities of each community. Together with our partners, we create detailed designs, manage permitting processes, and submit as-builts to facilitate network build and operation within legal and regulatory parameters.
At the same time, conversations with elected officials, business leaders, residents and other stakeholders ensure consistent alignment with current and future connectivity needs and determine best practice for permitting and collaborative build options.
Build
AllPoints Fibre networks are based on Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP), Software Defined Network (SDN) design. To deliver these open access networks, we leverage the experience, knowledge and success track record of the UK’s leading Engineering, Procurement and Construction organisations. AllPoints Fibre specialises in managing this entire process, with adherence to strict health and safety protocols, coupled with metric-driven workforce management processes and procedures to provide real-time production visibility and accountability.
Operation
Traditionally, network infrastructure projects of this scope and size require a vast organisation of service-based personnel to facilitate a variety of tasks, from scheduling a subscriber’s install for our Service Provider partners to troubleshooting and dealing with network outages. With the SDN approach, much of this can occur virtually, reducing the need to ramp-up and scale human capital teams. This approach means that subscribers have more control over their service than ever before. For example, an AllPoints Fibre network can switch Service Providers virtually with the click of a button (subject to Service Provider contract terms with the subscriber), compared to the industry norm of calling Customer Service, braving long hold times, and then waiting for a Engineer to travel out to facilitate the switch in-person. This improves efficiency across the board, reducing wait times and disruption for subscribers and eliminates unnecessary capital expenditure.Focusing on
Long Term Benefits
As local authorities and emerging companies contemplate solutions for deploying fibre into communities, it can be tempting to optimise for the lowest short-term cost. But there is an important question to ask: what kind of network will optimise long term economic, social and technological growth? With a 50-year asset in fibre, it is a missed opportunity not to design and construct networks to ensure maximum benefit over that lifespan.
The networks we put in place today must be future-proof, and provide the necessary capacity, stability, security and reliability to fulfil current needs and be ready to facilitate new solutions for new needs and requirements.
This is why AllPoints Fibre implements networks designed to be Open Access, Software Defined (Fully Automated), Neutrally Operated and Fibre Dense.
