Ofcom has unveiled new regulations for wholesale telecoms markets used to deliver broadband, mobile, and business connections in the UK, which aim to promote competition and investment in gigabit-capable networks.

This includes regulating the impact of Openreach, which holds the biggest share of the UK’s broadband market, by examining the level of current or prospective competition in a given area. The BT subsidiary will be prevented from offering geographic discounts on its full-fibre wholesale services.

However, Ofcom will also freeze the wholesale fees Openreach charges for providing data speeds of up to 40Mbps using technologies such as FTTC (copper links via fibre to the cabinet) or ADSL, which uses copper links only. The regulator has also decided not to place a pricing cap on Openreach’s fastest fibre services, allowing the company to better fund a faster rollout.

Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said that, despite the huge demand for network connectivity due to continuing lockdown restrictions, “millions of homes are still using the copper lines that were first laid over 100 years ago”.

Ofcom is “setting the right conditions for companies to step up and invest in the country’s full-fibre future,” said Dawes, adding that “now it’s time to ramp up the rollout of better broadband across the UK”.

The new regulations will go into effect starting next month and remain in effect until at least March 2026.

Openreach CEO Clive Selley said that Ofcom’s new regulations will allow the provider “to ramp up to 3 million premises per year providing vital next-generation connectivity for homes and business right across the UK”.

The company has by now managed to extend the FTTP rollout to “almost 4.5 million premises”.

Virgin Media CEO Lutz Schüler welcomed Ofcom’s announcement, describing it as a “resounding sign of support and longer-term clarity from Ofcom for those rolling up their sleeves to build the nation’s next-generation digital infrastructure”.

Last month, Virgin Media announced plans to create more than 400 new graduate, intern, and apprenticeship roles over the course of 2021 to assist the company in building and maintaining its gigabit infrastructure, as well as continuing to expand its network to connect new homes and businesses as part of its ‘Project Lightning’ programme.

“Ofcom’s focus is in the right place, and we urge the regulator to maintain this trajectory so that more of the country can benefit from competing gigabit networks that deliver long-lasting economic, societal and environmental benefits,” he added.

CCS Insight’s consumer and connectivity director Kester Mann described the ruling as “a huge boost for the deployment of full-fibre broadband that will benefit millions of UK homes and businesses for years to come”.

“It comes at a time when the value of connectivity has never been more appreciated as the pandemic triggers major change in how people live and work. The UK’s over-reliance on using dated copper lines for 21st-century connectivity has held back its aspirations to become a world-leading digital economy. Today’s news sets fresh conditions to help accelerate full-fibre broadband deployment to help it move out of the slow lane.”

Mann added that “the news caps a great week for BT following a successful outcome in the 5G spectrum auction”.

“Rolling out fibre infrastructure is a costly and time-consuming venture with a pay-back measured in decades. CEO Phillip Jansen recently declared that BT is «ready to build like fury» and while it would have preferred a longer period free from regulated pricing, the announcement still brings much-needed certainty to make a return on investment. The news may not be so appreciated among service providers that rely on Openreach and other infrastructure. But this was always a delicate decision for the regulator which had to tread a fine line between encouraging long-term investment and maintaining fair competition. It may have got it about right.”

DCMS secretary Oliver Dowden said that he welcomes Ofcom’s new regulations, adding that they “strike the right balance between encouraging commercial investment and protecting consumers”.

He also announced that the government will tomorrow publish its “plan to drive the rapid rollout of gigabit broadband across the whole of the UK, including the first places to benefit from our £5bn investment in hard to reach areas”.

Microsoft was aware of the Exchange Server vulnerabilities two months prior to the attack orchestrated by state-backed hackers, having confirmed that it was initially notified in “early January”.

The tech giant made the statement to cyber security journalist Brian Krebs, who has compiled a basic timeline of the hack on his blog. 

Krebs’ research shows that, on 5 January, Microsoft was first notified of two of the four zero-day vulnerabilities by a researcher at security testing firm DevCore. On 2 February, cyber security solutions provider Volexity also reported the same two vulnerabilities to Microsoft, having witnessed attack traffic going back to 3 January.

Warnings also came from Danish cyber security provider Dubex, which first witnessed clients being hit on 18 January. The company reported their incident response findings to Microsoft on 27 January.

In a blog post, Dubex detailed how hackers took advantage of the ‘unifying messaging’ module in Exchange, which allows organisations to store voicemail and fax files, as well as emails, calendars, and contacts in users’ mailboxes, in order to install web shell backdoors.

“A unified messaging server also allows users access to voicemail features via smartphones, Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Web App. Most users and IT departments manage their voicemail separately from their email, and voicemail and email exist as separate inboxes hosted on separate servers. Unified Messaging offers an integrated store for all messages and access to content through the computer and the telephone,” Dubex revealed.

However, Dubex’s CTO Jacob Herbst told KrebsOnSecurity that the company “never got a ‘real’ confirmation [from Microsoft] of the zero-day before the patch was released”.

The four zero-day vulnerabilities were ultimately patched on 2 March, a week earlier than previously planned. However, only a day later it was revealed that tens of thousands of Exchange servers had been compromised worldwide, with the number of victims increasing by the hour.

Krebs questioned Microsoft’s response timing, saying that the timeline illustrates that the company «had almost two months to push out the patch it ultimately shipped Mar. 2, or else help hundreds of thousands of Exchange customers mitigate the threat from this flaw before attackers started exploiting it indiscriminately”.

IT Pro has contacted Microsoft for comment but is yet to hear back from the company.

The number of victims is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands, with the European Banking Authority (EBA) becoming the latest major public body to be compromised by the hack.

In a statement, the EBA said that it “is working to identify what, if any, data was accessed”, adding that it had “decided to take its email systems offline” as a “precautionary measure”. 

Chinese state-sponsored hacking group Hafnium is believed to be behind the attack.

WhatsApp has updated its desktop app with new video and voice calling features, adapting its offering to the age of remote working.

The new tools will make it easier for users to answer or make calls directly from their computers, without having to reach for their mobile phones.

In order to enable desktop calling, users will be asked to grant WhatsApp permission to access their computer’s microphone and camera. They will also need to own an operating system no older than Windows 10 64-bit version 1903 or macOS 10.13.

Desktop video calls will also work “seamlessly for both portrait and landscape orientation”, appearing in a resizable standalone window.

A company spokesperson told us that the desktop app will be linked to users’ mobile app, with conversations still being based on phone numbers and requiring an active internet connection on the computer and phone alike. Although the call won’t go through the user’s phone, it will need the phone to be online to establish the call.

WhatsApp Business app users will also be able to make desktop calls, the company’s spokesperson added. However, group calls will not be supported on WhatsApp Desktop for the time being.

The company also announced that, on New Year’s Eve, it had broken “the record for the most calls ever made in a single day with 1.4 billion voice and video calls”.

The announcement comes almost a year after reports that the company was trialling a beta version of WhatsApp Web, which would let users create a group video call using Facebook Messenger Rooms. The feature, which was spotted as one of the shortcuts in the beta’s WhatsApp menus in the 2.2019.6 Web update, would allow users to make calls with up to 50 people – a significant increase from the eight-way video calls which came with WhatsApp’s April 2020 update.

April of last year also saw the release of Facebook’s Messenger Rooms, which was launched in an attempt to capitalise on the heightened demand for video conferencing during the pandemic lockdown.

Cloud-based accounting software firm Xero has announced the acquisition of workforce management platform Planday for €183.5 million (£158.5 million), considered the biggest deal for the company yet.

The sum includes an upfront payment of €155.7 million (£134.5 million), as well as a subsequent earnout payment estimated at €27.8 million (£24 million), based on product development and revenue milestones. Approximately half of the payment is to be settled in Xero Limited shares, with the remainder being “settled in cash”.

The acquisition is expected to be finalised before the end of the month, and is subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions.

Denmark-based Planday, which is a cloud-based open platform, provides businesses with a real-time view of staffing needs and payroll costs, alongside key business performance metrics. As a mobile app, it lets employers and employees communicate, collaborate on scheduling, track time, and attendance, as well as manage payroll, vacation, absence, and other labour-related compliance needs.

When integrated with accounting solutions such as Xero, it also provides additional insights which facilitate the adjustment of staffing levels to match trading conditions and control labour costs. With the acquisition, Planday is expected to expand its presence into other markets where Xero operates.

Commenting on the announcement, Xero CEO Steve Vamos said that the acquisition “aligns with [Xero’s] purpose to make life better for people in small businesses and their advisors”.

Planday CEO Christian Brøndum said that the company is “beyond excited for this next step in [its] journey”.

“Our mission is to make our customers’ day work, and make life easier for both employers and employees,» said Brøndum. «This mission fits perfectly with Xero’s passion for small businesses, for people, for growth and for communities.

«We’re looking forward to working within the Xero family to build a strong launchpad for businesses and employees to manage their time and joint potential,” he added.

The news comes less than a year after Xero announced plans to acquire Waddle, a lending platform that specialises in helping small businesses gain access to capital, for around £44 million.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has unveiled a new organisation that aims to help telcos and enterprises take advantage of the wide range of opportunities offered by the 5G market.

The newly-formed Communications Technology Group (CTG) was created by combining HPE’s Telco Infrastructure team with its Communications & Media Solutions (CMS) software arm. The latter alone has generated more than $500 million (£355m) of revenue in the fiscal year 2020, with orders growing by 18% and revenue increasing by 6% sequentially in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2020, according to HPE.

CTG comprises over 5,000 professionals who aim to provide consultancy, integration, installation, and support services tailored to the telecoms market.

Commenting on the announcement, CTG SVP and GM Phil Mottram said that “HPE aims to become the transformation catalyst for the 5G economy”, building on “more than 30 years of experience designing, building and tuning telco-grade infrastructure and software”.

“CTG’s founding principle is to drive innovation from edge to cloud through secure, open solutions. We are collaborating with customers and partners to build open 5G solutions that deliver efficiency, reduce risk and complexity, and future-proof the network across the telco core, the radio access network and the telco edge,” he added.

Mottram also unveiled two solutions which he described as foundational to HPE CTG, the first one being the HPE Open RAN Solution Stack, which features the industry’s first Open RAN workload-optimised server – the new HPE ProLiant DL110 Gen10 Plus. The Open RAN Solution Stack aims to enable the commercial deployment of Open RAN at scale in global 5G networks and includes infrastructure with RAN-specific blueprints, as well as orchestration and automation software.

The second “foundational” solution is the HPE 5G Core Stack, first announced in March 2020, which provides telecoms firms with 5G tech at the core of their mobile networks.

CTG’s portfolio is expected to play a crucial part in advancing HPE’s edge-to-cloud platform as a service strategy, providing enterprise and telco solutions alike, such as open, cloud-native, and flexible solutions which aim to facilitate the rollout of 5G services or modular aaS solutions that use cloud economics in order to help businesses manage demand and future-proof their enterprise.

“I am confident that with such a solid foundation and common purpose, we will strengthen our thought leadership in the telecoms sector and are set on a path for innovation and growth,” said Mottram.

WhatsApp has said that a controversial change to its privacy terms that would see the creation of a limited data sharing agreement with its parent company Facebook will now going ahead as planned.

The update to WhatsApp’s privacy policy, which would allow the messaging platform to share some user data with Facebook, was supposed to come into effect on 8 February. However, public backlash prompted WhatsApp to delay the implementation by three months, to 15 May, in order to clarify the details of what the agreement would entail.

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Under the new privacy policy, WhatsApp will be able to share limited user data with Facebook and its group firms in order to allow businesses to use the platform for customer service purposes.

However, the company said that this would not affect users’ personal conversations and that it will be up to the user to decide whether they «want to engage with businesses, or not»,  according to a blog post on Thursday. It also added that it will «clearly label chats» in order to make users aware when businesses are managing their conversations using Facebook, and the implementation of the update will first result in the displaying of banners providing additional information on the new terms.

Accepting the new terms will be compulsory in order to continue using the messaging platform, a rule that last month led to millions of users downloading alternative apps such as Telegram and Signal.

As a result. WhatsApp fell from being the eighth most downloaded app in the UK at the start of the year, to the 23rd most downloaded by 12 January, when discussion around the update started gaining momentum.

By contrast, Telegram and Signal gained 25 million and 7.5 million users respectively during the same period, resulting in a brief crash of Signal’s servers. However, it’s unclear how many of these users still have WhatsApp installed, so it’s difficult to assess how many users WhatsApp lost entirely as a result of the move.

WhatsApp acknowledged that it “could have done better” and told users that it will be “doing much more to make [its] voice clear going forward” by using its app’s Status feature to share information on updates and company values directly to its users.

It also addressed the mass uptake in Signal and Telegram downloads, saying that it understands that “some people may check out other apps to see what they have to offer”.

“We’ve seen some of our competitors try to get away with claiming they can’t see people’s messages – if an app doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption by default that means they can read your messages,» the company stated in its blog post. «Other apps say they’re better because they know even less information than WhatsApp. We believe people are looking for apps to be both reliable and safe, even if that requires WhatsApp having some limited data.

«We strive to be thoughtful on the decisions we make and we’ll continue to develop new ways of meeting these responsibilities with less information, not more,” it added.

Chrome OS users will now be able to record their screens in meetings, as part of a slew of new features and devices announced by Google.

Although mostly aimed at children and teenagers confined to remote learning as schools remain closed, the new tools are likely to be found useful by a wider audience.

The screen recording tool will be rolled out in March with the latest Chrome OS update, and other new video conferencing features will follow.

For instance, Google Meet is providing teachers with increased control over the virtual classroom, soon giving them the option to end meetings for everyone on the call, which will prevent students from staying on after the teacher has left — including in breakout rooms. They will also be able to prevent interruptions with a new “mute all” tool, which will become available in the next few weeks.

Over the next few months, Google will also be adding a tool which will allow meeting hosts to control when other participants can unmute themselves, as well as provide better access to key moderation controls when using iOS or Android devices.

The newly-announced features are all part of Google’s efforts to increase the safety of underage users, bettering their quality of education as well as preventing major security incidents such as ‘Zoom-bombing’.

To coincide with the release, the company also announced that it will be launching over 40 new Chromebooks, many of which will be 2-in-1 devices that combine the features of laptops and tablets.

The new devices are to be equipped with a stylus, touchscreen, as well as dual-cameras, making it easier for users to take notes, edit videos, record screencasts, and create a range of media, from podcasts to books and illustrations.

Google also announced that it will roll out a range of Chromebooks that can better support students with limited access to a Wi-Fi connection. The “Always Connected” devices will be equipped with LTE connectivity, allowing users to access the internet using their preferred mobile network provider. It’s currently unclear when these devices will become available – IT Pro has sought clarification on this.

Chromebook shipments between October and December 2020 hit an all-time high of 11.2 million shipped units, an increase of 287% from the same quarter in 2019.

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Investing in digital technology could increase the UK’s GDP by almost 7%, delivering a £232 billion boost to the economy by 2040.

That’s according to new research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) and Virgin Media Business. 

The study examined how focusing on digital ways of working, which has been magnified by lockdown restrictions, could help the UK recover from the economic effects of the pandemic. The report claims that investing in digital technology could boost the economy by £74 billion in the next four years, and by £127 billion by the end of this decade.

By 2040, if these investments are sustained, digital technology is expected to add £232 billion to the national economy – equivalent to 6.9% of the UK’s GDP.

Digital processes in the public sector will create efficiency gains and cost-savings of £75 billion, according to the report, while investments in digitising health and social care, as well as the justice, central, and local government sectors could add £33 billion and £32 billion to the UK economy, respectively.

Cebr also found that digital investment in private sectors such as retail, professional services, and construction, could be worth an additional £40 billion by 2040, with other parts of the economy also predicted to experience similar gains.

Cebr director of Economic Analysis, Cristian Niculescu-Marcu, said that the economic impacts of the pandemic alone “fall far short of capturing the scale of the pandemic’s toll on people’s lives and wellbeing”. 

“Within this research we have examined the potential economic impact of a wave of digital transformation, driven by the rollout of new ways of working and connecting,” he said, adding that “this could create an economic high road over the coming decades, helping the UK economy to grow while also having the flexibility to deal with future challenges”.

Commenting on the Virgin Media Business managing director Peter Kelly said that “the UK has a £232 billion opportunity ahead of it which we must now grasp with both hands”. 

“By continuing to invest in new digital ways of working, we can seize this moment and help UK businesses to bounce back better. Moves to accelerate digital adoption are driving extraordinary outcomes across private and public sector organisations, helping them to revolutionise how they work, deliver for customers, and provide vital services for our communities,” he added.

The release of Virgin Media’s report comes days after the company announced that it is planning to create more than 400 new graduate, intern, and apprenticeship roles over the course of 2021.

The Post Office has announced plans to launch a free-to-use app that will use biometrics to authenticate customers and prevent fraud.

The new app will be based on software supplied by London-based company Yoti, which launched in 2014 and specialises in digital identity technology. It will take advantage of biometric-face matching and liveness detection in order to ensure the privacy of Post Office customers and prevent potential imposters from obtaining sensitive information.

The app could help to ensure social distancing by enabling customers to be identified for passport and driving licence renewals from the safety of their homes, without the need to attend a post office in-person.

Set to launch in the spring, the app will also enable customers to use their digital identity to carry out a range of online and in-person transactions such as one-click bank account applications, job applications, mortgage applications, picking up parcels and for travel purposes.

Along with this will be new in-branch services for customers who do not have access to a smartphone, or who prefer face-to-face contact when asked to confirm their identity.

As part of this partnership with Yoti in July, a pilot, initially at around 750 Post Offices, will offer these new in-branch services. This will enable those people without a smartphone, secure internet access, or photo ID to complete their identity verification at a Post Office. Those who simply prefer face-to-face transactions will also be able to have their identity verified by a Postmaster in-branch.

Post Office chief executive Nick Read said that he is “delighted that Post Office and Yoti are joining forces” in order to expand the former’s identity services.

“We have an ambitious strategy to deliver a unique offer to the market that integrates digital and physical identity verification at scale benefitting both individuals and businesses,” he added.

“Post Office is embracing new technologies and this partnership will enhance our reputation as the trusted go-to destination for identity solutions. Whether it’s proving your identity on a smartphone or face-to-face with a Postmaster, we will make transactions faster and simpler than ever before.”

Yoti CEO Robin Tombs said that the company had “already invested over £85m creating a world-leading ID platform that removes the friction from outdated ID processes, puts individuals in control of their identity, preserves privacy and helps reduce identity fraud”. 

“Together with the Post Office, we will help drive the UK’s digital transformation, making life simpler and safer for individuals and businesses online, in-branch and on the high street,” he added.

Commenting on the partnership, Cabinet office minister Julia Lopez said that “products that help digitally to verify a person’s identity are becoming increasingly important as more areas of our work and home lives move online”. 

“Creating a common trust framework will give greater clarity and certainty to organisations who want to work in this field about what is expected of them. More importantly, however, it will help to deepen users’ trust and confidence in digital identities and the standards we expect in the safeguarding of their personal data and privacy.”

Google Cloud has reported a loss of $5.61 billion (£4.1bn) for the fiscal year 2020, which ended on 31 December.

The cloud business brought in revenue of $3.83 billion (£2.8 billion) and recorded a loss $1.24 billion (£900 million) for Q4 2020, Google revealed on Tuesday. This marks the first time the company has announced the operating income metric for Google Cloud.

With 2020 dubbed as the year of the cloud due to the fact it’s helped keep people connected during the pandemic, an operating loss of $5.61 billion may seem like a grim result for Google. 

However, the company also managed to deliver $13 billion (£9.53 billion) of revenue during 2020, a steady increase from $5.8 billion (£4.25 billion) in 2018 and $8.9 billion (£6.53 billion) in 2019. Despite mounting losses over the year – $4.3 billion in 2018 and $4.6 billion in 2019 – this has been attributed to investment in new data centres as Google Cloud expands its operations. 

In 2020, the cloud giant launched four new cloud regions in Indonesia, South Korea, and the US, and announced another four to come in Qatar, Spain, Italy, and France.

On an earnings call with investors, CEO Sundar Pichai said that Google Cloud will continue to invest going forward.

“The market dynamics and our momentum in the context of the market is the framework in which we are thinking about the scale of investments – and the pace of investments,” he said, adding that the cloud giant is “definitely investing ahead” in order to ensure that the company is “able to serve the customers globally across all the offerings they are interested in”.

When it comes to Google as a whole, the tech giant reported Q4 revenues of $56.9 billion (£41.73 billion) which, according to CFO Ruth Porat, “was driven by Search and YouTube, as consumer and business activity recovered from earlier in the year”.

Porat also touched on Google Cloud’s results, adding that Workspace is experiencing strong growth among larger businesses, “which are signing meaningful, long-term commitment agreements”.

Google Cloud competitor AWS reported revenues of $12.74 billion (£9.34 billion) and an operating income of $3.56 billion (£2.6 billion) for Q4 alone. For 2020, AWS’s operating income was $13.5 billion (£9.89 billion).