Home » UK ISP News Archive » Monthly Archives: December 2025 (120 Posts Found)

ISP News Archives for December 2025

Virgin Media UK Add Two More Free FAST TV Channels to Service

8th Dec 2025 (3 Comments)

Customers of broadband provider Virgin Media (O2), specifically those who also take their Pay TV service via one of the current TV 360, Stream (Flex) or v6 box platforms, may like to know that the ISP has today added support for two new FAST channels to their TV service – Stingray Classica and Stingray DJAZZ – “at no extra cost“.

Broadband Altnet Fibrus Expand UK Full Fibre Network to 450,000 Premises

8th Dec 2025 (6 Comments)

Infracapital-backed alternative broadband ISP Fibrus, which is building a full fibre network across parts of Cumbria (England) and has already completed one in Northern Ireland, have revealed that their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) infrastructure now covers a total of 450,000 UK premises (up from 440k in Sept 2025).

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Vodafone UK’s CityFibre Broadband Users Can’t Upgrade to 2Gbps+

6th Dec 2025 (52 Comments)

Customers of Vodafone’s fixed home broadband packages, specifically those on their 910Mbps (1Gbps) or slower Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) packages with major UK altnet CityFibre, have complained that the ISP is preventing them from taking out the provider’s fastest 2.2Gbps package due to the lack of an upgrade process.

Three UK Finally Switch Off Remaining 3G Mobile Sites as 4G and 5G Boosted

5th Dec 2025 (25 Comments)

Mobile operator Three UK (VodafoneThree), which at the start of 2025 confirmed (here) that the “vast majority” of their 3G sites had now been switched off – save for a “small number” of sites were still live to avoid customers losing service, have now confirmed that those remaining sites were finally switched off at the end of November 2025.

Netgem TV PLEIO Streaming Box Back in Stock with 12-Months Free Sub UPDATE

5th Dec 2025 (30 Comments)

Digital entertainment platform Netgem TV has today announced that their recently launched (here) next gen IPTV box – PLEIO, which includes support for the UK’s new broadband-based live TV streaming service – Freely, will be back in stock for retail customers sometime today. The updated deal also includes 12 months free subscription to their premium content.

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SpaceX Hint at Launching Own 4G via LEO Satellite Based Starlink Mobile Service

5th Dec 2025 (0 Comments)

Mobile operators across the world, including some of Starlink’s own partners, have been put on notice of greater competition after SpaceX’s CEO, Elon Musk, hinted he might use his mega-constellation of ultrafast broadband satellites to launch his own mobile network. Musk has now filed to trademark the name “Starlink Mobile“.

Building Digital UK Agency to Change CEO in 2026 as Dean Creamer Exits

5th Dec 2025 (5 Comments)

The Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) organisation, which has responsibility for delivering gigabit broadband and better mobile connectivity across the nation (e.g. the £5bn Project Gigabit and Shared Rural Network schemes), have confirmed that existing boss (CEO) Dean Creamer is to be moved into a new role – his last day will be 9th January 2026.

Smart Meter UK Display for Energy by 123rf ID197070935

UK Homes with Out of Range Energy Smart Meters Get Reprieve from 2G Switch Off

5th Dec 2025 (21 Comments)

Some 46,000 consumers have been given extra time to resolve connectivity problems with their Energy Smart Meters, which were previously at risk of losing 2G based mobile data connectivity to the Data Communications Company‘s (DCC) wide area network on 1st January 2026. But Ofgem has now extended the service coverage until 1st June 2026.

Community Fibre 2025 engineers sitting down

London ISP Community Fibre Deploy New Linksys WiFi 7 Broadband Routers

4th Dec 2025 (5 Comments)

Alternative broadband ISP CommunityFibre, which has invested c.£1bn to deploy a 5Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across 1.342 million UK homes (inc. 185k businesses within 200 metres of their network) – mostly in London, have today announced that new customers on their fastest 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps package will now get a WiFi 7 capable Linksys router.

New HBO Max Streaming Service to Get UK Launch in March 2026

4th Dec 2025 (6 Comments)

Get ready for yet more online video content fragmentation as the CEO of American TV and Movie streaming giant HBO Max, Casey Bloys, has announced that its service will finally go live in the UK and Ireland during March 2026. But the platform will be going live in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein first, on 13th January 2026.

Freely’s UK Broadband TV Streaming Service Adds More Channels

4th Dec 2025 (21 Comments)

Broadband-based live TV streaming service Freely, which is supported by most of the major UK TV broadcasters (BBC, ITV etc.) and is an evolution – not (yet) a replacement – for the existing Freeview service (inc. Freeview Play and Freesat), has said they’re adding another 7 channels to the free platform via partnerships with Warner Bros. Discovery UK & Ireland and CNN.

Openreach 2025 engineer looking sideways at a fibre splicer

Openreach Reveal Annual 2025 UK Broadband and Ethernet Price Rises for ISPs UPDATE

4th Dec 2025 (0 Comments)

Network access provider Openreach (BT) has today started to unveil their usual round of annual price increases (and some decreases) for 2025 across their wholesale broadband and Ethernet products for UK ISPs, which touches on everything from full fibre (FTTP) to hybrid fibre (SOGEA), SOTAP and unbundled lines (LLU), among other products.

Questions as UK Study Claims Xmas Trees May Slow “internet speed” by 88 Percent

4th Dec 2025 (15 Comments)

A new piece of “research” from Broadband Genie has claimed that Christmas trees can slow your “internet speed” via WiFi by up to 88%. This is said to be due to how the tree’s “pine needles, branches, fairy lights, tinsel, and baubles can absorb and deflect your router’s Wi-Fi signals“, causing it to “slow and reduce its range” throughout the home. But it’s not always that simple.

TAL Acquires Some UK Customers from TalkTalk Owned Origin Broadband

4th Dec 2025 (3 Comments)

The Horsham-based Telecom Acquisitions Group (TAL), which is a holding company for a number of familiar internet service provider brands (Home Telecom, Eclipse Broadband etc.), has announced that they’ve just acquired a small base of 850 more residential broadband customers from the remaining part of TalkTalk owned UK ISP Origin Broadband.

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Ofcom UK Approve Short Duration 2.3GHz Licenses for Pop-up Mobile Cover

4th Dec 2025 (1 Comment)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has given its blessing to the “early 2026” introduction of short “notice, short duration licences” for outdoor and indoor use in the 2320-2340MHz radio spectrum band, which could support everything from pop-up 4G and 5G mobile (broadband) coverage to TV broadcasting etc.

Vitrifi Calls in the Administrators Over UK Wholesale Platform for Full Fibre AltNets

4th Dec 2025 (3 Comments)

The Fern Trading (Octopus Investments) backed company Vitrifi, which was first incorporated back in 2021 and offered a cloud-based software platform to help alternative network providers (altnets) offer wholesale products (details), appears to have filed a new notice stating their intention to appoint an administrator.

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Viral Video Sees Neighbours Argue Over Openreach Digging Up Garden

4th Dec 2025 (27 Comments)

A new set of TikTok videos have recently gone viral – after being viewed over 4 million times – for their depiction of two neighbours arguing over whether or not Openreach have dug up the wrong garden, while engineers are busy laying a new fibre optic broadband cable in the background. But there seems to be a key bit of context missing from the debate.