A Part Of Guernsey’s Digital Future

Taking Our Business Forward

A Perspective Of The Evolution Of Strategy In JT.

Sonal Kapasi

Strategy Director, JT Channel Islands

Sonal joined JT as a Strategy Director in November 2019. With 25 years of rich work experience behind her; she brings strong cross border, cross culture experience of working in one of the largest Global telcos, Bharti Airtel across India, South Asia and Africa. She took the lead in the companies business performance; strategy; governance & controls; planning, forecasting & reviews; corporate finance; investor relations and stakeholder communications.

Sonal has extensive understanding of telecom operations; technology; customer, market and regulatory environments; and played a key role across areas of leadership; process transformation and institutionalisation; financial & operations management and people and cultural integration. Prior to joining JT, she was CEO of Bharti Global, Jersey and brings a knowledge and experience of running the assets portfolio of a large sized family office. She’s also held various board positions; member of audit and compensation committee.

Sonal is a qualified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

One of the clear lessons to be drawn from our experiences over the last twelve months has been that organisations which continually ‘scan the horizon’ and prepare thoroughly for what they see there, are more stable, resilient and ultimately successful.

That ‘always looking forward’ perspective is particularly relevant in the telecoms sector, both because of the rapid speed of change, and because of how important technology – and specifically, connectivity - is becoming to the way we live, every day.

Jersey’s full-fibre broadband network is a prime example of that. When JT started work on it in 2012, some questioned the need; but in 2020, with the majority of the population working from home, the capacity and resilience of that network was clear to all.

Our business is one in which if you only focus on the requirements of today, then you will swiftly be left behind – the key is doing today what you actually need to do tomorrow.

Of course, as we go forward, the demands on JT’s network is only going to increase, and that’s why we need a clear strategy on how we are going to protect and develop it, in the future.

Increasingly, our lives are becoming ever more connected, and JT must be ready to deliver what our customers require.

The level of connectivity required by the Internet of Things, augmented and virtual-reality and artificial intelligence, provide telecoms operators with a huge opportunity to change the way their services are delivered to businesses and consumers.

5G will provide the means to exploit those technologies, but many operators lack the necessary infrastructure to be able to make it all work as it could. In Jersey, that pathway is much smoother, as the full-fibre network provides the perfect foundation for 5G, and subsequent technologies.

As noted, 5G networks are now being deployed around the world, and being tested in the Channel Islands, ahead of the necessary spectrum being allocated by the regulator – but we are already looking beyond that. Given the speed of change in this sector, we want to develop an advanced 5G network that is ready to switch to 6G when that becomes available to consumers.

We will, in effect, be ‘leap-frogging’ what many other telecoms operators are doing now, and getting us ready for new technologies as they emerge. Doing this will reduce the long-term costs of putting in a 5G network, and then replacing it only a few years later with the next-generation of technology.

As well as being a ‘facilitator’ by providing access to developing technologies, JT also has a responsibility to keep its networks secure.

As connectivity improves and the number of devices connected to our networks rises, concerns over security from cyber criminals, and other threats, increases. As an infrastructure business providing networks which are essential to our everyday lives, we take that security extremely seriously.

To deliver that, we work very closely with the governments in the Channel Islands, and with the relevant security agencies in the UK. We stay in close contact with them, and liaise on our approach to these critical issues.

Last year, we set out our position in relation to so-called High-Risk Vendors (HRVs), which is fully aligned with the UK’s approach.

In fact, we are actually going beyond the UK’s planned removal of any 5G equipment which might be linked to HRVs by 2027, in that we will also be removing such equipment in the 2G, 3G and 4G networks by the same date, as well.

When we introduce a commercial 5G network in the Channel Islands, it will not include any HRV equipment.

Any such equipment used in the existing 5G test network is isolated from our existing mobile and fixed networks and will steadily be phased out. That meets our commitments on sustainability by reducing replacement cycles and allows JT to buy a more efficient generation of network equipment, as it becomes available.

UK telecoms security

Given the speed of change in this sector, we want to develop an advanced 5G network that is ready to switch to 6G when that becomes available to consumers.

Our next steps

Our strategy in these areas is all about making sure every one of our customers can enjoy the benefits of greater connectivity in terms of convenience, access to products and services, time-saving and flexibility, whether they are at home, work or on the move; and to stay ahead of the exciting developments in this area as they rapidly emerge.

We also know that we have a responsibility to deliver all that as securely as possible, and by working closely with our partners in the Channel Islands, and the UK, we will be doing all we can to assess and mitigate any risks.