Tech
‘Significant’ fibre gaps threaten datacentre expansion | Computer Weekly

The massive acceleration in the use of AI across industries has been a key driver in the necessity of mass build out of datacentres, yet research from Neos Networks warns that such plans may not come to fruition as mass availability fibre remains the critical bottleneck that could slow the UK’s digital growth.
The study, carried out in August 2025 in partnership with Censuswide, surveyed the opinion of 100 datacentre decision-makers, 100 large enterprise tech/IT decision-makers (with at least 1,000 employees), and 100 local government stakeholders. To add to the research findings, Neos also conducted qualitative interviews with UK-based datacentre operator Kao Data and global property consultancy Knight Frank during August and September 2025.
Across all three parties, there was an overwhelming consensus that core fibre networks do and will form the foundation of the UK’s AI infrastructure, and 95% of the operators surveyed said that access to new high-capacity fibre networks will now influence their expansion plans.
Fundamentally, the survey observed that AI was reshaping the UK’s datacentre and digital strategy. It acknowledged that the UK government has set out its ambition to position the country as a global leader in AI, with initiatives such as AI Growth Zones in the AI opportunities action plan central to this vision.
The research showed these policies were already shaping investment and strategy across the ecosystem. Some 96% of datacentre operators said AI Growth Zones were influencing expansion and site selection, with 44% citing them as a strong influence. Just over two-thirds of enterprises viewed AI Growth Zones as a strong driver of change in their infrastructure planning.
Neos said this momentum was fuelling growth corridors beyond London. While 23% of datacentre operators still expect investment in Greater London, a greater share pointed to the North of England and the Midlands (39%), signalling a shift towards regional hubs of AI activity. Neos added that such diversification was mirrored in the way compute is being deployed. Almost all (97%) datacentre operators expected up to half of their UK compute to move to the edge of the network by 2030, underlining the need for high-performance, resilient fibre across every region.
Yet somewhat worryingly, the survey discovered that as many as 82% of UK datacentre operators have delayed site builds or expansion due to fibre availability, and almost half (45%) of enterprises cited fibre as the key bottleneck holding back AI and digital infrastructure. One in six companies (16%) doubted the ability of the UK’s current fibre infrastructure to support their AI ambitions. 41% of datacentre leaders believed the UK’s fibre networks were only partially prepared to support regional AI workloads, and more than 70% of enterprises felt the UK’s attractiveness for datacentre investment needed improvement (53%) or was lagging (17%).
Looking at local government stakeholders, 89% of the cohort reported that fibre gaps have delayed infrastructure projects in their regions with almost half (46%) of local government authorities highlighting that their region’s fibre infrastructure was not fully ready to support AI datacentres.
Yet the report also highlighted a way forward by unlocking opportunity through new fibre backbone projects which were seen as critical to unlocking growth. Nearly all respondents agreed that investment in high-capacity fibre corridors will transform confidence in the UK’s ability to attract and scale AI projects.
Moreover, 95% of datacentre operators, 96% of enterprises and 96% of local authorities said new fibre corridors into underserved areas would positively impact AI and datacentre growth. More than half of local authorities (53%) regarded such projects as potentially transformative for their regions.
Assessing the core trends revealed in the research, Neos Networks CEO Lee Myall said that while the UK has the ambition, the demand and the regional readiness to lead in AI, if the country did not address fibre gaps, it risks losing out on one of the “greatest economic opportunities” of a generation.
“Over the past decade, we’ve seen a huge amount of investment in last-mile fibre builds, but core fibre networks across the country have received much less attention. Without them, workloads cannot move between datacentres, data cannot be trained and investments stall,” he remarked.
“AI is no longer a future ambition, it’s here today, reshaping how businesses, communities and governments operate. But the UK cannot lead in AI on yesterday’s infrastructure, and we need continued investment in the fibre backbones that connect every region of the country. At Neos, we’re committed to building those foundations so the UK can not only keep pace but compete and thrive in the global AI race.”
Tech
What Is Google One, and Should You Subscribe?

Courtesy of Simon Hill
In the unlikely event that 2 terabytes is not enough, you can increase your storage. The option to upgrade to an even larger plan is available only for current subscribers and in select countries.
- 5-TB Plan: For $25 per month or $250 per year (£20 or £200 in the UK), you get 5 TB with family sharing and the same perks as the Premium Plan.
- 10-TB Plan: For $50 per month (no annual plan) (£40 in the UK), you get 10 TB with family sharing and the same perks as the 5-TB plan.
Google One Benefits
The main benefit of a Google One plan is the extra cloud storage you can share with up to five family members. While families can share the same space, personal photos and files are accessible only to each owner unless you specifically choose to share them. Everyone in the family can also share the additional benefits (provided you all live in the same country). Let’s take a closer look at those benefits:
Unlimited Magic Editor Saves in Google Photos
Courtesy of Simon Hill
Magic Editor enables you to delete unwanted people or objects from the background of your photos, tweak the look of the sky, change the position of people and objects, and more with the help of generative AI. All features work with eligible shots in your Google Photos app. Without a subscription, you are limited to 10 saves per month. These features are available on Google Pixel phones, even if you don’t subscribe to Google One.
Cash Back on Purchases
The 2-TB plan nets you 10 percent back in Google Store credit for any purchases. This could prove useful if you’re thinking about buying multiple Google devices. The credit can take up to one month to get after your purchase, and it will have an expiry date attached.
Google Workspace Premium
The Premium plan includes Google Workspace Premium, which gives you enhanced features in Google Meet and Google Calendar. For example, you can have longer meetings with background noise cancellation or create a professional booking page to enable other people to make appointments with you.
Gemini Pro
Offering access to Google’s “most capable AI models,” Gemini Pro offers help with logical reasoning, coding, creative collaboration, and more. You can also create eight-second videos from text prompts using Veo 2, access more features like Deep Research for your projects, and upload 1,500 pages of research, textbooks, or industry reports with a 1 million token context window for analysis.
Flow Pro
This AI filmmaking tool employs Google’s AI video model, Veo, to enable you to generate stories, craft a cohesive narrative, find a consistent voice, and realize your imagination on the screen. You get 1,000 monthly AI credits to generate videos across Flow and Whisk.
Whisk Pro
You can use Whisk to turn still images into eight-second video clips using the Veo 2 model. You get 1,000 monthly AI credits to generate videos across Flow and Whisk.
NotebookLM Pro
This offers more audio overviews, notebooks, and sources per notebook to make information more digestible, allows you to customize the tone and style of your notebooks, and enables you to share and collaborate on notebooks with family and friends.
Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Vids & More
In Gmail and Docs, Gemini can help you write invites, resumes, and more, helping you brainstorm ideas, strike the right tone, and polish your missives. Gemini can also create relevant imagery for presentations in Slides, enhance the quality of video calls in Meet, and produce video clips based on your text prompts.
Project Mariner
This agentic research prototype is in early access and only part of the AI Ultra plan for now. Google says it can assist in managing up to 10 tasks simultaneously, handling things like research, bookings, and purchases from a single dashboard.
Gemini in Chrome
AI Ultra subscribers get early access to Gemini in the Chrome browser, which can understand the context of the current webpage, summarize and explain, or even complete tasks and fill out forms for you.
YouTube Premium
Subscribers get access to Google’s music streaming service, YouTube videos are ad-free, and you can save videos for offline viewing, among other YouTube Premium perks. Included as part of the AI Ultra plan, this perk is for an individual YouTube Premium plan.
Nest Aware
Only included in the UK so far, a Nest Aware subscription that includes extended storage of video from home security cameras is now part of the 2-TB Premium plan and above, starting from £8 per month or £80 per year. Considering Nest Aware costs £6 per month or £60 per year on its own, this seems like a great deal.
Fitbit Premium
Again, only included in the UK so far, Fitbit Premium is now included as part of the 2-TB Premium plan and above, starting from £8 per month or £80 per year. Considering that Fitbit Premium currently costs £8 per month or £80 per year on its own in the UK, this deal is too good to pass up.
Extra Benefits
A couple of things fall into this category:
- Google Play Credits: You will occasionally get credits to redeem in the Play Store for books, movies, apps, or games. The amount and frequency vary.
- Discounts, Trials, and Other Perks: You may get offers for discounted Google services or hardware, extended free trials of Google services, and other perks (for example, Google offered everyone upgrading to a 2-TB plan a free Nest Mini). These offers pop up and disappear seemingly at random.
How to Subscribe to Google One
If you want to sign up, it’s easy. Create or log in to a Google account, then visit the Google One website or install the Android or iOS app.
Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting that’s too important to ignore for just $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year. Includes unlimited digital access and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe Today.
Tech
Dutch tech giant ASML posts stable profits, warns on China sales

Dutch tech giant ASML warned Wednesday of a steep fall in its China business next year, as it booked flat net profits in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
Traders appeared to see the glass half-full, with ASML shares opening more than 3% higher in Amsterdam, buoyed by solid sales and orders for its cutting-edge semiconductor production machines.
ASML has faced growing pressure from US and Dutch export curbs for its most advanced chipmaking tools to China, as Beijing and Western nations are locked in a battle for the key sector.
“We expect China customer demand, and therefore our China total net sales in 2026, to decline significantly compared to our very strong business there in 2024 and 2025,” said CEO Christophe Fouquet in a statement.
The firm announced net profits of 2.13 billion euros ($2.5 billion), after 2.08 billion euros in the third quarter of last year.
Net sales in the third quarter of 2025 came in at 7.5 billion euros. ASML had forecast a figure between 7.4 billion euros and 7.9 billion euros.
“Our third-quarter total net sales… were in line with guidance, reflecting a good quarter for ASML,” said Fouquet.
In July, the firm had warned that geopolitical and trade tensions had clouded the near-term outlook for its growth.
ASML said then that it could not confirm it would be in the black in 2026.
But on Wednesday, Fouquet said, “We do not expect 2026 total net sales to be below 2025,” adding that the firm would give more details on next year’s outlook in January.
“I think we have seen a flow of positive news in the last few months that has helped to reduce some of the uncertainties we discussed last quarter,” said Fouquet.
The CEO said he expected sales in the fourth quarter to come in between 9.2 billion and 9.8 billion euros.
For the full year 2025, the firm predicts a 15% increase in total net sales.
Net bookings, the figure most closely watched in the markets as a predictor of future performance, reached 5.4 billion euros, compared to 5.5 billion in the second quarter.
According to a presentation posted on the firm’s website, sales to China represented 42% of ASML’s overall business in the third quarter, up from 27% in the second quarter.
Geopolitical battleground
Longer-term, ASML believes that the rapidly expanding AI market will push up its annual sales to between 44 billion and 60 billion euros by 2030.
ASML is a critical cog in the global economy, as the semiconductors crafted with its tools power everything from smartphones to missiles.
Semiconductors have become something of a global geopolitical battlefield.
Washington has sought to curb exports of high-tech chips to China, worried they could be used to fuel Beijing’s military.
Last week, a US Congressional committee report said five companies, including ASML, had sold $38 billion worth of critical tech to China in 2024, including to firms flagged as US national security threats.
“China is striving with all its might to build a domestic, self-sufficient semiconductor manufacturing industry,” the report said.
Earlier this week, chip-related tensions grew between China and the Netherlands after the Dutch government took control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, citing national security concerns.
That meant while the company—based in the Dutch city of Nijmegen—can continue production, the Dutch government can block or reverse its decisions.
Parent company Wingtech said it was appealing to Chinese authorities for support and discussing legal action with international law firms.
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Tech
Singapore Transport Authority enhances critical railway infrastructure with optical LAN | Computer Weekly

For modern transport systems, operating a real-time surveillance system that is highly available, reliable and secure is vital to ensuring the safety of those travelling. To achieve these objectives in Singapore, the local transit authority has deployed Nokia IP/MPLS and fibre optical local area network (LAN) solutions.
The Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) spearheads land transport developments in the city state, with the stated responsibility to plan, design, build and maintain land transport infrastructure and systems. Since the inception of LTA in 1995, the land transport network has transformed significantly, with more than 160km of expressways spanning the island, an MRT network of more than 200 km, over 600 km of cycling paths and park connectors and increasingly varied commuting options.
The LTA said it aspires to strengthen Singapore’s land transport connectivity and integrate a greener and more inclusive public transport system complemented by walk and cycle options, using technology to strengthen its rail and bus infrastructure and develop “exciting” options for future land transport.
The technology installation is part of video surveillance upgrade to its critical railway infrastructure for which CCTV cameras are regarded as playing a crucial role within the LTA railway system. With CCTV cameras placed across more than 50 stations, the LTA needed a network infrastructure that could meet its growing capacity demands providing real-time monitoring and video surveillance services that ensure public safety, help spot illegal activities and manage traffic patterns.
Working in partnership with Hitachi Rail, Nokia was confident that its solutions will enable the LTA to significantly enhance its CCTV network used across Singapore’s heavily used railway system serving millions of passengers per day.
To support its expanding network cameras and growing bandwidth requirements, the LTA deployed Nokia’s fibre optical LAN including hardened optical network units (ONUs) and optical light terminals (OLTs) capable of supporting data transmission speeds of 25Gbps. The optical LAN requires up to 70% less cabling and 40% less power compared with traditional copper-based LAN networks. Nokia claims that its IP/MPLS deployment also enables LTA to more effectively backhaul the network data traveling to its operations control centre where live video streams are viewed and stored.
Commenting on the deployment, Stuart Hendry, vice-president of enterprise sales and network infrastructure for Asia Pacific at Nokia, said: “Fibre is being used to connect everything, including video systems that are critical to monitoring transportation hubs around the world. Partnering with Hitachi Rail, we were able to deliver a complete solution for LTA that would ensure they had the video capacity needed to serve their expansive CCTV surveillance and broader network operations for years to come.”
Joaquim Santos, vice-president of integrated communication and supervision solutions (ICS) at Hitachi Rail, added: “We are pleased to have selected Nokia to collaborate with Hitachi Rail in enhancing passenger safety and security across Singapore’s railway network, which is a continuation of Hitachi’s long-term relationship with LTA. This project will play a key role in upgrading the transport infrastructure.”
As it was making the Singapore LTA optical LAN deployment, Nokia announced the launch of its 1830 Photonic Service Switch-High Capacity (PSS-HC) shelves, a next-generation addition to the 1830 PSS optical transport platform family. The new shelves are designed to deliver up to three times higher density with up to 60% lower power consumption per bit, enabling service providers to more cost-effectively scale their networks.
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