Home » UK ISP News Archive » Monthly Archives: May 2020 (105 Posts Found)

ISP News Archives for May 2020

ISP Virgin Media UK Reports Mild Broadband Customer Growth

6th May 2020 (5 Comments)

Cable ISP Virgin Media UK (Liberty Global) has today published their Q1 2020 results, which saw them add +8,200 new broadband customers in the first quarter (up vs +1,900 in Q4 2019) to total 5,279,200. Meanwhile the coverage of their 1Gbps capable broadband and TV network grew by another 93,000 premises.

Openreach Sees Better Broadband Install and Repair Performance

6th May 2020 (0 Comments)

A new update from Ofcom appears to show that the Quality of Service levels (i.e. minimum standards for repairs and new line provision) they imposed upon Openreach (BT) a few years ago are continuing to deliver improvements, which have also resulted in “more reliable” broadband services for UK consumers.

Vodafone UK Extend NHS Unlimited Data Offer to Care Workers

6th May 2020 (4 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone UK has announced that their offer of free access to unlimited mobile data (mobile broadband) for NHS workers and vulnerable customers has been extended to run for 6 months (originally 30 days). On top of that they’ve also added care workers to those eligible to claim the offer.

SSE Enterprise Telecoms Win £10.5m Aberdeenshire Full Fibre Project

6th May 2020 (1 Comment)

The Aberdeenshire Council in Scotland has awarded a £10.5 million UK Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) contract to the Enterprise Telecoms division of SSE (SSEET), which will be tasked with building a new “gigabit-capable” Dark Fibre network to connect 189 local public sector sites (hospitals, council buildings, schools etc.).

COVID-19 – Three UK Reveals Impact of Crisis on Network Traffic

6th May 2020 (17 Comments)

Mobile operator Three UK has published a brief update on the impact of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) on their national 4G and 5G based network, which among other things has seen data (mobile broadband) usage increase by 12% and calls grow by 8% to 2.5 billion in March 2020.

N.Ireland FTTP Broadband ISP Fibrus Acquired by Infracapital

6th May 2020 (5 Comments)

Belfast-based UK ISP Fibrus, which recently started the £85m+ roll-out of a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband network in Northern Ireland and aims to cover 145,000 premises by around 2024 (here), has been acquired by the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G Plc – Infracapital.

UK Ranks 59th Out of 228 Countries for Price of 1GB Mobile Data

6th May 2020 (1 Comment)

A new study has analysed 5,554 mobile data (mobile broadband) plans across 228 countries this year in order to compare the cost of a 1GB (GigaByte) data allowance, which found that the United Kingdom has significantly improved its rank to 59th (up from 136th in 2019) with an average price of $1.39 USD per GB (down from $6.66).

O2 UK Survey Forecasts Rise in Home Working After COVID-19

6th May 2020 (1 Comment)

A new report commissioned by the business division of mobile operator O2, which is based on two recent surveys of UK workers, has found that 45% of respondents predict a permanent change in their employers’ approach to flexible working when the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) lockdown lifts.

Colchester Green Lights Dark Fibre and 1Gbps Broadband Rollout

5th May 2020 (5 Comments)

The Colchester Borough Council (CBC) in Essex and its commercial arm, Colchester Amphora Trading, has – after 2 years of planning and negotiations – been awarded £3.3m from the UK Government’s Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) fund in order to start building a new Dark Fibre network. But local homes are also set to benefit.

Virgin Media to Supply Fibre Capacity for Three UK’s 5G Network

5th May 2020 (31 Comments)

The business division of broadband ISP Virgin Media (Liberty Global) has this morning confirmed that they’ve signed a new deal with mobile network operator Three UK, which will see VMB’s fibre optic lines being harnessed to supply capacity (backhaul) to fuel over 3,000 of the mobile firm’s new ultrafast 5G sites.

Scottish Wireless Build 1Gbps FTTP Broadband to Loch Lomond

5th May 2020 (6 Comments)

Businesses, visitors and residents in part of Scotland’s remote rural Loch Lomond National Park area may in the future be able to benefit from a new 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network, which is being supported by a Glasgow-based UK ISP and telecoms consultancy firm called Scottish Wireless.

Software Update for BT TV YouView Box Adds BritBox App

5th May 2020 (4 Comments)

Customers of UK broadband ISP BT, specifically those taking their YouView (IPTV) powered Pay TV service, may like to know that a new software update has just been released – (Manufacturer software: v32.45.0 and Component software: v3.6.190) – that makes the new BritBox streaming service and content app available them.

Ofcom’s Next UK 5G Auction Faces Legal Challenge from O2

5th May 2020 (4 Comments)

Mobile operator O2 (Telefonica UK) is today in the news for a second time this week after they issued a “letter before claim” (legal challenge) against Ofcom’s forthcoming auction of the 5G (ultrafast mobile broadband) friendly 700MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz radio spectrum bands, which demands more harmonisation of the spectrum.

COVID-19 – Lockdown Homes Going Online for 41 Hours a Week

5th May 2020 (1 Comment)

A new Opinium survey of 2,002 UK adults, which was conducted between 9th to 14th April 2020, has revealed that UK homes in lockdown during the COVID-19 crisis are spending 41.3 hours online a week (up 29% since pre-lockdown). Time spent working from home is up by 67% and broadband use for school work climbs by 35%.

Ofcom Records Drop in UK Nuisance Calls, But Problems Remain

4th May 2020 (6 Comments)

A few years ago Ofcom nudged UK broadband ISPs and mobile operators to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Nuisance Calls, which committed them to develop technical measures for “reducing the impact of unlawful nuisance calls on consumers.” The latest data shows an improvement, but not as much as we’d like.

O2 Officially Confirms Merger Talks with UK ISP Virgin Media

4th May 2020 (33 Comments)

The parent of mobile operator O2 UK, Telefonica, has this morning confirmed last week’s speculation – via a brief filing to Spain’s market regulator – that they’ve officially opened merger talks with the parent (Liberty Global) of UK cable broadband ISP and TV operator Virgin Media. But no deal has been agreed and the talks could still fail.

Openreach’s FTTP Broadband Covers 2.5 Million UK Premises

2nd May 2020 (61 Comments)

Several industry sources have enabled us to confirm that Openreach’s new gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband ISP network has now reached an official coverage figure of just over 2.5 million UK premises (end of March 2020 / Q4 financial), which leaves 1.5 million left to do in order to hit 4m by March 2021.