What is your name and your organisation?
Lucy Elder-Bowles, Magrathea
What is your role at Magrathea?
Network Manager
How long have you been working for Magrathea/been in the industry?
Just short of 15 years.
What is Magrathea’s USP/key focus areas?
I think that one of our main areas of expertise is our simplistic approach to running a well-connected, reliable network that has been developed over many years, built on inhouse knowledge and experience, without the complications of external vendors. This allows for both mainstream and bespoke offerings for our customers to build their own product and service portfolio from.
What achievement is Magrathea most proud of?
Personally I think that Magrathea’s ability to evolve and flex in an ever-changing sector is something to be very proud of.
What are the key trends that you are experiencing currently in the market?
For me, from my network management corner of the business, the migration to full IP in the lead up to TDM switch-off is a big focus and I should think that is mirrored across the market.
What do you see as the main industry challenges at present?
I think one of the biggest challenges currently for the industry is the introduction of surcharging on UK networks with seemingly minimal regulation and uniformity, allowing for confusion and pricing mishaps, which is potentially harmful to both networks and end users.
If there was one thing in the industry you would change or want to resolve, what would it be?
See above! I would really like to see some regulation, or at least guidelines published to bring the pricing more in line, making it easier to filter down to end users.
What opportunities do you foresee for the sector?
Slightly broken record here but going back to the shift to all IP again, I think this is a great opportunity for some of the previously unfair market dominance and pricing to be shaken up and evened out more, allowing for fairer pricing across the industry.
What benefits do you get out of Comms Council UK membership?
I think that having a platform for like-minded industry folk to voice opinions, ask for advice, offer support to one another, and stand shoulder to shoulder on issues are all fantastic benefits of membership.
