One example is Gigaclear, a new UK-based fibre broadband network operator that focuses on rolling out fibre networks across rural areas in England. It has been able to fund its business expansion with the support of equity funds. In February 2015, the company secured GBP 6.5 million from investors such as CF Woodford Equity Income Fund and Forward Private Equity84.Providers of Internet services such as Google and Facebook have also been involved in large-scale investments in broadband infrastructure. Both companies’ business growth depends on people having adequate Internet access. The yearly revenue growth generated by these types of companies allows them to bear the risk of participating in large-scale investments. Case study: SIGFOX, France This case study demonstrates how a hedge fund might invest in a start-up global cellular technology developer, as opposed to investing in broadband infrastructure. Elliot Management is a hedge fund founded in 1977 in the United States. The company invests in debt and equity securities, with a focus on companies undergoing restructuring.In 2015, Elliot Management participated in SIGFOX’s Series D funding round85. SIGFOX is a French start-up that has developed a cellular connectivity technology for the \"Internet of Things\". It pioneered a very low-power, long-range, low-message-size RF protocol that operates in the bands below 1 gigahertz (GHz). This could enable a number of smart intiatives, but the technology is new and the applications are still evolving.Elliot Management signaled its intention to support the expansion of the SIGFOX network in the United States, based on its belief that SIGFOX could provide a high return on investment in future years. The Series D investment round raised USD 115 million86 from several investors, including Elliot Management, which was the only financial institution involved. Other investors included leading mobile operators (Telefonica, SK Telecom and NTT DOCOMO) and industrial partners (GDF SUEZ, Air Liquide and Eutelsat). The funding was earmarked for accelerating SIGFOX’s worldwide network roll-out programme in Europe, Asia and the Americas, in association with international telecommunication operators.The investors collectively stood to benefit from the development of \"smart\" applications in energy management, energy efficiency, sustainable cities, Internet-of-Things and machine-to-machine technologies. SIGFOX has signed a contract with TDF, continental Europe’s biggest owner of broadcast and telecommunication masts, to expand TDF’s national coverage. In 2014, SIGFOX partned with broadcast tower provider Arqiva to build a UK network dedicated to the Internet of Things. A year later, SIGFOX announced that it was Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2016 25 Chapter 1 Box 1.9: Key lessons: Google Fiber (Uganda)• Local operators may be deterred from investing in broadband infrastructure by fear of assisting their competitors – particularly if required to offer parts of their network on a wholesale, open access basis. • This concern can be reduced if regulators offer incentives such as a limited period of exclusivity, allowing the operator to recuperate their intial deployment investment before offering the network for wholesale access.• Local governments in developing markets have a central role in attracting new providers. As in the previous case study, it is very important for new entrants to be clear about which infrastructure (e.g., ducts, poles) is available to them and where it is located.• Google Fiber succeeded in installing the network in Kampala when the Ugandan government failed to do so in 2006. This indicates that a service provider motivated by end-user revenues can be more successful than a government-funded deployment project using a third party.