Home » UK ISP News Archive » Monthly Archives: March 2020 (124 Posts Found)

ISP News Archives for March 2020

Vodafone UK Bumps Home Broadband Contracts to 24 Months

27th Mar 2020 (12 Comments)

Vodafone UK will today join some of the other major ISPs (e.g. BT) by increasing the minimum contract term of their “superfast” FTTC broadband and phone packages from 18 to 24 months. At the same time they’ll also discount the Superfast 1 (35Mbps) package to be priced the same as Superfast 2 (63Mbps) from £20.95 a month.

Vodafone UK to Hit Brits Stranded in Turkey with Roaming Hike

26th Mar 2020 (50 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone UK appears to have picked a lousy time to inform customers in Turkey, many of whom will have been left stranded by the mass cancellation of flights until at least June 2020, that they’re about to impose a £6 per day charge for them to continue using their text, call and data allowances.

ISP Aquiss Discounts FTTP Broadband Switches for 4 Months

26th Mar 2020 (3 Comments)

UK ISP Aquiss has launched a new offer for consumers who already have an Openreach based Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ONT or active line installed in their property, which offers free activation (saving £100) and a large discount on the first 4 months of service (starting from £5 a month) if you migrate to them.

COVID-19 – O2 UK Zero Rates Data Usage on Help Websites

26th Mar 2020 (16 Comments)

Customers of mobile operator O2 may be pleased to know that they’re zero rating access to key websites that are providing financial, health, emotional guidance and other support during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis, which means that accessing them via mobile broadband won’t count toward your data allowance.

Three UK is First Mobile Operator to Shut Most Call Centres UPDATE

26th Mar 2020 (35 Comments)

Mobile operator Three UK has become the first of the major Mobile Network Operators (MNO) to shut most of their call centres due to the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), which occurred shortly after they closed all of their retail stores. Instead customers are being redirected to online chat that is often unable to resolve key issues.

Vodafone Says Fears of Network Overload “categorically untrue”

25th Mar 2020 (16 Comments)

The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of mobile and broadband provider Vodafone UK, Scott Petty, has blasted mass media reports as “categorically untrue” for claiming that their network(s) won’t be able to cope with the increase in voice and data traffic due to the impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

COVID-19 ISPs Uno and County Broadband Remove Data Caps

25th Mar 2020 (2 Comments)

Customers of national UK ISP Uno and rural provider County Broadband, specifically those on legacy packages that still apply usage allowances, may be pleased to know that both providers have now removed their data caps in order to help people through the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.

A Snapshot of UK and EU Broadband Speed During COVID-19

25th Mar 2020 (10 Comments)

Internet speed testing giant Ookla (Speedtest.net) has updated a report that looks at the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on global broadband speeds, which largely confirms that the impact on service performance has, so far, only been very mild and traffic in the UK remains some of the most stable.

COVID-19 – Virgin Media Onshoring Brings 500 Jobs Back to UK

25th Mar 2020 (11 Comments)

Broadband ISP Virgin Media has confirmed that they will attempt to rapidly bring 500 customer support (call-centre) jobs back to the UK in order to help counter Coronavirus (COVID-19) related lock-downs in countries where they’ve previously outsourced such roles, including India and the Philippines.

Three UK Advert Banned for Misleading “Real 5G” Mobile Claim

25th Mar 2020 (26 Comments)

Complaints by BT (EE) and Vodafone have today prompted the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to ban two adverts for Three UK’s new ultrafast 5G based mobile (mobile broadband) network, which they found had “misleadingly” claimed “If it’s not Three, it’s not real 5G.”

COVID-19 – Openreach Limit UK Broadband ISP and Phone Work UPDATE

24th Mar 2020 (78 Comments)

In a significant development Openreach (BT) has issued a status of Matters Beyond Our Reasonable Control (MBORC) across a variety of popular products, which from 23:59 tonight will effectively stop, limit or delay many new broadband and phone provisions (installs), repair jobs and engineer appointments on a “national basis.”

COVID-19 – Ofcom Put the Brakes on New Broadband Regs

24th Mar 2020 (8 Comments)

The UK communications and media regulator, Ofcom, has today responded to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis by, among other things, confirming that they’re suspending all existing consultation deadlines and may need to allow for delays in the implementation of new obligations.

COVID-19 – Mobile Operators Close UK Retail Shops and Kiosks

24th Mar 2020 (0 Comments)

Last night’s decision by the UK Government to order the immediate closure of all shops selling “non-essential goods” has begun to hit, with mobile operators Three UK, O2 and BT (EE) all confirming that their high street outlets have been shut and must remain that way until told they can reopen.

Virgin Media is First UK Pay TV Provider to Add BBC Sounds App

24th Mar 2020 (0 Comments)

Broadband ISP Virgin Media has today become the first Pay TV provider in the United Kingdom to add the BBC Sounds app, which via their v6 set-top-box (STB) platform will give customers access to listen to all of the broadcasters live and on-demand radio, music and podcast content.

COVID-19 – KCOM Won’t Disconnect Users for Non Payment

24th Mar 2020 (4 Comments)

Hull-based UK ISP KCOM, which last week introduced some changes to help their broadband and phone customers through the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis (here), has this week gone one step further and committed NOT to disconnect subscribers for non-payment of bills.

COVID-19 – A Look at Monday’s UK Internet Traffic and ISP Speeds

24th Mar 2020 (14 Comments)

Yesterday was an important day for broadband ISPs in the United Kingdom because it was the first working Monday after the mass closure of schools, which has concentrated the demands of both home (remote) working and family internet traffic on to residential connectivity. But as expected the day was busy, albeit uneventful.

COVID-19 – Facebook and Instagram Reduce Video Quality

23rd Mar 2020 (7 Comments)

Facebook and Instagram have today become the latest internet content provider to “temporarily reduce” the quality (lower bitrates) of their video streams in order to help UK and EU broadband ISPs cope with demand during the Coronavirus outbreak. Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV, Amazon and Disney+ have already made such a move.