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Articles for Category Tag - Internet Law

Vodafone UK Hit by £120m Legal Claim from Current and Former Franchisees

10th December, 2024 (15 Comments)

Broadband and mobile operator Vodafone has this afternoon been hit by a £120m+ legal claim (CL-2024-000663), which was filed by 61 current and former UK franchisees who claim to be challenging the “financial, mental, and physical impacts of the retail giant’s “irrational” business decisions“. Something Vodafone “strongly refute“.

O2 UK Deploying Free AI-Powered Scam Call Detector Service

28th November, 2024 (4 Comments)

Mobile network operator O2 (Virgin Media) has today expanded upon their existing partnership with Hiya by integrating the company’s AI-powered scam detection service to help combat fraud and nuisance calls, which sees them claiming to be the “first and only UK mobile operator to provide this service to customers at no extra cost“.

High Court Rejects LetterOne Appeal Over Forced Sale of UK Broadband Biz

21st November, 2024 (9 Comments)

The High Court in London has dismissed an appeal by investment firm LetterOne, which had been asking the court to rule that it was unlawfully ordered, under the new National Security and Investment Act (NSIA), to sell Upp’s full fibre broadband network by the UK Government. The company is now considering whether or not to challenge the outcome.

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Mobile Operators Fear UK 5G Rollout At Risk from Dispute with Leasing Firm

19th November, 2024 (10 Comments)

Mobile network operators (e.g. EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three UK) appear to be increasingly raising concerns over the impact that leasing firm AP Wireless is having on their already sluggish deployment of 5G based mobile broadband technology. This is said to be pushing up their build costs and thus allegedly threatening the viability of future deployments.

Internet Danger Websites with Scam Ads and Malware

Virgin Media O2 Says UK Gov Must Get Serious with Tackling Fraud

4th November, 2024 (7 Comments)

Broadband ISP and mobile giant Virgin Media and O2, which invests millions in counter fraud measures each year and blocked more than £250m worth of fraud in 2023, has called on the UK Government to take “urgent action” to address the “epidemic” levels of fraud. The ISP is seeking stronger police powers and the appointment of a dedicated minister.

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Essex UK Gang Jailed for £1m Theft of Openreach Broadband Cables

1st November, 2024 (10 Comments)

The Essex Police, which had been investigating thefts of copper broadband and phone cables from Openreach (BT) across several counties in England, have announced that a gang of four men have been jailed for a combined total of 14 years. The men were responsible for stealing almost £1m worth of the operator’s telecoms cables.

Historic UK Fibre Tax Case Resurfaces After VOA Criminal Summonses UPDATE

25th October, 2024 (10 Comments)

A historic legal case, which challenged the fairness of the Government’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and how it was choosing to tax fibre optic broadband cables between different UK network operators, has reared its head again after several criminal summonses were issued for members of the VOA, HMRC and others for alleged “perjury and fraud“.

Broadway Residents Get Date for Judicial Review of Broadband Poles Rollout

17th September, 2024 (7 Comments)

The Lifford Gardens and the Sands Residents Association, which represents part of Broadway in Worcestershire (England), has been informed by the Birmingham High Court that their Judicial Review hearing into the local council’s decision to allow deployment of a new FTTP broadband network using wood poles is to take place on 22nd October 2024 at 10:30am.

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ISP Equity Networks Add Paid Security Feature to UK Users Without Consent

6th September, 2024 (11 Comments)

Business broadband ISP and managed service provider Equity Networks has recently become the latest company in a growing list to irritate some of their UK customers, which it did by automatically adding a paid (£12.99 a month) internet security feature – ‘SafeWeb’ – to their accounts, without first getting explicit consent.

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Mobile Operators Face Higher Rents for UK Masts on Rural Land

23rd August, 2024 (11 Comments)

A recent ruling by the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) in London means that UK mobile and broadband operators will effectively have to pay landowners of rural greenfield mast sites significantly more to place their masts, with the typical rental for such sites being expected to rise from £750 to £1,750 per year.

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Fibre Cable Maker Prysmian Win Trade Secrets Case Against Sterlite

19th August, 2024 (0 Comments)

Italy-based Prysmian, which specialises in the global manufacture and supply of fibre optic cables (inc. related kit), has won $96.5 million (£74m) in a trade-secrets lawsuit that took place in South Carolina (USA) against India’s rival Sterlite Technologies (STL). But STL plans to appeal the verdict.

Trenches Law Closes Wayleave Division Setup to Help UK FTTP Builds UPDATE

7th August, 2024 (2 Comments)

Telecoms focused legal firm Trenches Law has revealed to ISPreview that, “due to industry conditions”, they’ve taken the decision to close Trenches Wayleave Ltd, which is the branch that was set-up to help various UK full fibre broadband operators to simplify and manage the often complex wayleave process (legal land/property access agreements).

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Landowners Score Key Win in Battle Over UK Mobile Cell Sites and Rents

6th August, 2024 (1 Comment)

A new ruling by the Scottish Lands Tribunal, which could have significant industry-wide ramifications, has re-opened the contentious issue of land ownership and rent reductions on UK mobile masts (inc. rooftop sites), such as those that may occur when mobile or wireless broadband operators attempt to renew an existing lease at a much lower rent.

Broadband Infrastructure Company Ltd Wound Up After Court Order

2nd August, 2024 (0 Comments)

The Broadband Infrastructure Company Ltd (formerly British Fibre Networks), which was once part of the i4 Technology Group, has been ordered to wind up its UK operations by the courts. The development comes after the company, which was previously run by CEO Elfed Thomas, found itself being hit by challenges from former staff over unpaid wages.

LetterOne Appeal Forced UK Sale of Broadband Network Upp to Nexfibre

10th July, 2024 (3 Comments)

LetterOne, the investment firm behind alternative network provider Upp’s £1bn project to deploy a new full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP network across 1 million premises in the East of England (here), has asked the High Court of Justice in London to rule it was unlawfully ordered to sell the network by the UK Government.

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Rural Broadband ISP Airband Fined £11k for Roadworks Offences

12th June, 2024 (4 Comments)

Alternative network operator Airband, which aims to reach 400,000 UK premises in rural areas via a mix of fixed wireless access (FWA) and full fibre (FTTP) networks by 2026, has been hit with fines and charges totalling more than £11k in Somerset for “failing to ensure the safety of the public while doing work” in the County.

Fiber Optic cables connected to an optic ports and Network cables connected to ethernet ports

Competition Watchdog Goes Soft on Structural Remedies for UK Cloud Market

10th June, 2024 (1 Comment)

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued a technical update on their investigation into the UK’s public cloud infrastructure services market, which is currently dominated by Amazon (AWS) and Microsoft (Azure). As part of this, the CMA hints that they’re “not currently minded to prioritise further consideration of structural or operational separation remedies” (e.g. divestment).