Press Release

Cornerstone Unveils Industry-Leading Policy Reform Blueprint to Propel UK’s Digital Infrastructure Transformation

Cornerstone, the UK’s leading digital infrastructure company, has unveiled its focused “6-Point Connectivity Blueprint,” aimed at spearheading the UK’s digital transformation. This strategic framework, born out of real use cases across the UK, outlines targeted policies and actions across six critical areas to accelerate progress towards a digitally enabled society. A detailed copy is available to download at the end of this article.

“At Cornerstone, we are committed to driving innovation and fostering inclusive development through enhanced digital connectivity,” remarked Pat Coxen, CEO at Cornerstone. “Our 6-Point Connectivity Blueprint represents a landmark initiative to address key challenges and unlock the full potential of digital infrastructure across the UK.”

The cornerstone of the blueprint lies in its comprehensive approach, encompassing:

1. Planning for Prosperity: Advocating for enhanced funding and resource support for local planning authorities to expedite telecommunications infrastructure planning applications.
2. Digital Integration Mandate: Proposing a mandate for local authorities to incorporate digital connectivity plans into development processes, ensuring future-proofed infrastructure.
3. Local Digital Champions: Empowering and funding Digital Champions within local authorities to facilitate the rollout of telecommunications infrastructure and align with digital and economic development strategies.
4. Unified Planning Framework: Harmonising planning regimes between central and devolved governments to promote regulatory coherence and streamline infrastructure development.
5. Digital Access Act: Calling for legislative changes to streamline access procedures under the Electronic Communications Code, facilitating efficient deployment of critical infrastructure.
6. PSTI Implementation Act: Urging the implementation of provisions under the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act (PSTI) to enhance investment and industry consistency.

“Our proposal for policy reform offers substantial benefits to both Government, industry stakeholders, and investors” added Belinda Fawcett, General Counsel and Director of Property and Estates. “By supporting enhanced funding for local planning authorities and advocating for streamlined legislative changes, we aim to expedite infrastructure development while promoting economic growth and job creation.”

Cornerstone’s commitment to designing, building, and deploying industry-leading shared digital infrastructure underscores its dedication to facilitating seamless connectivity nationwide. As a trusted partner in digital infrastructure transformation, Cornerstone stands ready to collaborate with government and industry stakeholders to drive transformative change for the benefit of all.

For media inquiries or further information, please contact: media@cornerstone.network

Editor’s Note:

Cornerstone is the UK’s leading digital infrastructure services company with approximately 15,500 sites across the UK. With a focus on enabling seamless mobile and digital connectivity, Cornerstone brings together land, property, infrastructure, and technology for positive change.

6 Point Connectivity Blueprint Proposal for Policy Reform

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Now more than ever, legal teams are required to deliver a reliable and efficient way to get documents signed. The Legal and Compliance team at Cornerstone identified a need to overcome some of the challenges they faced with their manual-based paper signature process. Hear how the team accomplished this by implementing a Sharper Solution.

The challenge

As a business with an extensive estate portfolio, Cornerstone produces many documents (thousands) for signature. In addition to all those legal documents, our contract approval process also requires signatories from various teams to complete the procedure.

Often, the signing process would take longer than expected because it was paper-based and very manual, with documents often having to be manually passed around in person or via a scanned copy on email. With the process very paper-based, there was a heavy reliance on printers, scanners, paper and administrative resources.

Recognising the need to improve and work smarter, Cornerstone’s Legal and Compliance team looked for a solution that would help overcome some of these challenges.

The solution

The team identified that an electronic signature product that we could easily implement with Cornerstone’s current systems – would be the right solution to make the signatory process more quick, efficient and reliable. There was also a requirement to have a solution that we could access in real-time and remotely.

Trials with different products took place to test the best solution, and after a thorough review, Cornerstone chose Adobe Sign as our e-signature tool.

The project took about a year from the initial brief to the implementation. With support from Cornerstone’s IT team, Adobe Sign was seamlessly integrated. This Sharper Solution has been in use for a year and has delivered tangible benefits already.

Adobe Sign has made a significant difference to our document signing process. It’s a real game-changer – especially given the current climate we’re all working in! It now only takes us minutes to sign documents when it used to take days, and that makes a huge difference. With the drive for organisations to work more remotely, the ability to sign documents electronically enables us to carry out this key part of our legal activities better, faster and more securely.

Phil Warren, Head of Legal & Compliance, Cornerstone

Benefits

Since the introduction of Adobe Sign, we have experienced the following benefits:

• Improved Productivity – we have saved time by sending documents digitally to signatories, therefore reducing manual-based administration – what was taking days/weeks, is now taking minutes/hours.
• Better Governance and Security – we have improved our governance through enhanced audit trails and electronic data storage and can now securely move documents across teams for signing 24/7.
• Cost-savings – we have saved money through the reduction of paper, printing and postage costs.
• Become Greener – by reducing our need for paper and ink; we’ve made a better contribution to our ISO Environmental objective.
• Better Information – we have reporting to help us analyse performance and continue to improve our procedures.

• Cornerstone awards Mitie a new national network maintenance contract, following a competitive retender process
• The contract covers maintenance and engineering for all of Cornerstone’s managed estate of 20,000 UK telecoms sites
• The new contract supports Cornerstone’s ongoing business transformation and maintains its position as the UK’s leading mobile infrastructure services company.

Cornerstone, the UK’s leading mobile infrastructure services company, which owns and manages an estate of over 20,000 telecoms sites for its customers, primarily Vodafone and Telefónica, has awarded Mitie a new national contract.

The contract supports Cornerstone’s ongoing business transformation as the market leader in providing best in class connectivity, across the UK’s critical national infrastructure, to tens of millions of mobile network users.

Mitie will provide maintenance and engineering services across Cornerstone’s UK footprint. They will deploy industry leading technology solutions such as dynamic task scheduling software to better manage resources and generate more uptime in the network.

It is anticipated that these technology solutions will also bring a positive environmental impact by optimising planned maintenance visits, minimising reactive works and reducing the number of engineer site visits, or ‘truck rolls’, each year.

Cornerstone is determined to contribute to the growth of a stronger industry, particularly when it comes to recruiting the next generation of talent. Having already run a work placement scheme for under 21-year olds, Cornerstone will be working with Mitie and Dael Telecom to create the first Cellular Telecoms Engineering Apprenticeship, complimenting Mitie’s forthcoming Telecoms Academy; to find, inspire and hire future telecoms talent.

Following the contract award to Mitie, Denis Coakley, Chief Operating Officer from Cornerstone commented:

“Cornerstone is pleased to partner with Mitie who understands our goals and determination to deliver excellence in telecoms infrastructure management in a sharp way. Our combined industry expertise and our shared ambition will accelerate a step change in the management of mobile passive infrastructure in the UK. We look forward to a successful partnership in the years ahead”.

About Cornerstone Cornerstone (company registered name of Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited) was created as a joint venture by Vodafone and Telefónica in 2012 to own and manage their combined mobile infrastructure estates.

For more information visit www.cornerstone.network or email news@cornerstone.network