Home » UK ISP News Archive » Monthly Archives: October 2019 (116 Posts Found)

ISP News Archives for October 2019

Virgin Media UK Finish FTTP Build to 4800 Premises in Inverclyde

28th Oct 2019 (0 Comments)

Cable ISP Virgin Media has announced that their network extension in Inverclyde (Scotland) has now completed, which means that 4,800 extra homes and business can now access their soon-to-be 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband network (currently 500Mbps+).

Three UK Fire Mast Monopoly Concern at Arqiva Sale to Cellnex

28th Oct 2019 (0 Comments)

Mobile operator Three UK has warned that investment in future 5G based ultrafast mobile broadband networks could be hurt by Arqiva’s recently agreed £2bn sale of their UK masts and rooftop sites to Cellnex (here), which they say would give the new owner a “monopoly” over 80% of independent mobile sites.

Ofcom’s New 5G Mobile Auction Plan for 700MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz

28th Oct 2019 (5 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today confirmed that they will proceed to auction of the 700MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz radio spectrum bands in spring 2020 to boost new 5G networks to potentially Gigabit-capable (1000Mbps+) mobile broadband speeds. But in light of last week’s Shared Rural Network deal (here), the coverage obligation is gone.

RootMetrics Benchmarks 5G Mobile Speeds in Birmingham UK

28th Oct 2019 (5 Comments)

RootMetrics has today published their first tentative report into the initial availability and mobile broadband performance of 5G Mobile networks in the West Midlands city of Birmingham, which sees EE delivering the fastest data speeds and strongest coverage.

Vodafone UK First to Jump on London Underground 4G Network

25th Oct 2019 (15 Comments)

Vodafone UK has become the first UK operator to confirm that they will help Transport for London (TfL) to pilot a new 4G (mobile broadband and voice) network through tunnels and at station platforms on the London Underground (tube trains), which will start with the eastern half of the Jubilee line from March 2020.

Stoke-on-Trent Build Citywide 1Gb Full Fibre Broadband Network

25th Oct 2019 (2 Comments)

The City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire UK has announced a new project worth £19.2m with Swedish operator VXFIBER (including subsidiary LilaConnect), which aims to create a publicly-owned and operated, open-access and gigabit-capable, 60 mile long full fibre broadband network with “citywide” coverage by spring 2021.

Government in £1bn Deal for 95% Geographic UK 4G Mobile by 2025

25th Oct 2019 (11 Comments)

The Government has today announced a new £1bn deal with Three UK, Vodafone, O2 and EE (BT) to establish a new Shared Rural Network (SRN), which will see the mobile operators working cooperatively together in order to extend the geographic coverage of 4G (mobile broadband) services to 95% of the UK by 2025.

O2 UK Offer 4G and 5G Mobile Plans from Inside Clothing Stores

25th Oct 2019 (3 Comments)

Mobile firm O2 (Telefonica UK) has today announced a curious new partnership with high street fashion chain NEXT, which will see the operator trial pop-up stores (Shop-in-Shop) in four of NEXT’s superstores across the country (Warrington Gemini, Southampton Hedge End, Swindon Orbital and Nottingham Giltbrook).

Mayor to Spread Full Fibre Over London by Going Down the Tube

24th Oct 2019 (11 Comments)

The Mayor of London UK, Sadiq Khan, has today announced a new £10m project that aims to boost “full fibre” broadband coverage in the city by running optical fibre cables using the Tube network and public buildings. The work is considered to be the “first step” in their effort to “support faster connectivity for 400,000 homes.”

£3m Reinvestment to Extend Openreach FTTP Over Highlands

24th Oct 2019 (31 Comments)

The Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has announced that a reinvestment of £3m from BT will soon enable Openreach to build more “ultrafast broadband” capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) ISP networks across the rural region of Scotland, although it’s unclear how many extra premises will benefit.

Full Fibre ISP TrueSpeed Snatch Virgin Media UK’s Ex-Head of Build

24th Oct 2019 (2 Comments)

Rural full fibre ISP TrueSpeed, which is rolling out a new Gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across parts of South West England and aims to cover 75,000 premises by 2021, has appointed Virgin Media’s former Head of Build on Project Lightning – Simon Wall – to be its new Director of Operations.

Scientists Use Software Tweak to Boost WiFi Range by 67 Metres

24th Oct 2019 (8 Comments)

At present most of today’s WiFi wireless networks, which usually come from your broadband ISP router, tend to require extra hardware (extenders or mesh repeaters) in order to boost their coverage around your home. But scientists in the USA have found a way to significantly improve wireless reach via software, albeit with a catch.

KCOM Scraps Rental Charges for Landline Phone Handsets

24th Oct 2019 (5 Comments)

The incumbent phone and broadband ISP for Hull and East Yorkshire, KCOM, has announced that they’re ending rental charges for landline phone handsets from 1st November 2019. Instead the ownership of such devices will be switched to the customer or, alternatively, it’s suggested that they could chuck it (recycling centre).

ISP BT Sharply Cuts UK Ultrafast Broadband and Phone Prices

23rd Oct 2019 (32 Comments)

UK ISP BT has introduced a significant reduction worth up to £10-£15 off the monthly price of their two fixed line “ultrafast broadband” packages, which are sold via the hybrid fibre G.fast and full fibre FTTP technologies. The catch is that you now have to take out a lengthy 24 month contract term.

Update on IPv6 Plans for Virgin Media, TalkTalk and Vodafone UPDATE2

23rd Oct 2019 (12 Comments)

Over the past few years many of the broadband ISP market’s smallest and biggest UK players, such as BT and Sky Broadband, have deployed the “new” IPv6 internet addressing standard. Sadly the same cannot be said for Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Plusnet. We asked each for an update and here’s what they said.

North Yorkshire UK Starts Build of £15.1m Full Fibre Network

22nd Oct 2019 (1 Comment)

The North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) has announced that they’ve started the build phase of their £15.1 million project to deploy a new Gigabit capable “full fibre” network, which will be used to help connect some 370 public sector sites (e.g. council buildings, hospitals etc.) across the county over the next 18 months.

ISP Vodafone UK Set to Increase Home Fibre Broadband Prices

22nd Oct 2019 (47 Comments)

Mobile operator and ISP Vodafone UK has started to inform their existing customers that the standard price of their fixed line home broadband packages will be increasing from December 2019, with the underlying monthly cost being set to rise by £2.50 extra per month.