Home » UK ISP News Archive » Monthly Archives: January 2026 (136 Posts Found)

ISP News Archives for January 2026

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World Broadband Lines Top 1.56bn as UK Full Fibre Growth Slows in Q3 2025

27th Jan 2026 (1 Comment)

New research from Point Topic has revealed that global fixed broadband lines grew by 1.46% or 22.42 million in Q3 2025 (up from 1.12% in Q2 2025) to total 1.56 billion connections. The subscriber growth rate of “full fibre” (FTTP/B) networks also remained strong in the UK at almost 7%, but this is down from 11.7% in Q4 2024.

Manhattan TV to Launch Cheap Freely Capable Aero 4K TV Streaming Box

27th Jan 2026 (17 Comments)

British device manufacturer Manhattan TV has just become the latest such firm to announce the imminent launch of their next generation IPTV box – the Manhattan Aero, which is another one that includes support for the new broadband-based live TV streaming service – Freely. Best of all, it’ll only set you back £69.99 (RRP).

BBC Considers Linking Online iPlayer TV Accounts to UK Home Addresses

27th Jan 2026 (73 Comments)

The endlessly vexed question of TV licence fee evasion has come up in the press again after it was today reported that the BBC were considering a change to the iPlayer video streaming service. The change would essentially involve linking people’s online BBC accounts to their home addresses for the first time (i.e. to see if anybody is using the service without a licence).

AI Chat and Support System by 123rf ID233196570

Ofcom Examines Impact of AI on the Experience of UK Telecoms Customers

27th Jan 2026 (8 Comments)

The UK communications and media regulator, Ofcom (Office of Communications), has today kicked off a new consultation that aims to gather feedback in order to examine the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the experience of broadband and mobile customers – both its positives and negatives.

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Mobile Operator Spusu Continues UK Price Freeze Until 2027

27th Jan 2026 (5 Comments)

The SIM-only UK mobile provider spusu, which holds a virtual operator (MVNO) agreement via BTWholesale to harness EE’s national 4G and 5G network, has today confirmed that it will continue its existing price freeze for the third consecutive year until at least 2027.

Exascale to Launch UK Home Broadband Plans via CityFibre’s FTTP Network

27th Jan 2026 (2 Comments)

Internet provider and UK network builder Exascale, which has deployed their own gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to a few thousand premises in part of Telford and Wrekin, has expanded on the recent launch of their consumer broadband brand (here) by making full fibre packages available to homes via CityFibre’s national network.

Football Drives London Internet Exchange to Hit 12Tbps of Global Data Traffic

27th Jan 2026 (1 Comment)

The not-for-profit London Internet Exchange (LINX), which handles a large chunk of UK and global data traffic through their switches via around 900+ members (broadband ISPs, mobile and CDN providers etc.), has revealed that last week’s UEFA Champions League, European League and Conference League games drove a new global internet traffic peak of over 12.069Tbps across the UK, US, Africa and Middle East.

Community Helps EE UK Bring 4G Mobile to Rural Village of Penmachno

27th Jan 2026 (6 Comments)

Telecoms giant EE (BT) has just become the first UK operator to deliver a “reliable” 4G mobile (mobile broadband) signal to around 600 residents in the remote upland Machno valley (Conwy) village of Penmachno in North Wales. The project was strongly supported by the local Bro Machno Community Council, which helped with planning, placement, and local acceptance.

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Jan 2026 Contract Delivery Progress for UK Project Gigabit Broadband Rollout

26th Jan 2026 (7 Comments)

The Government’s Building Digital UK agency has published their January 2026 update on the delivery progress of contracts that have been awarded under their £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme. The update reveals that some 202,270 contracted premises (up from 183,380 in Dec 2025) have so far been covered out of a planned total of 1,002,500.

Illustration of a VPN Virtual Private Network on UK Computer by 123rf ID184214833

House of Lords Votes to Ban UK Children from Using Internet VPNs

26th Jan 2026 (64 Comments)

Last week saw the House of Lords pass a vote that would, if approved by the Government, introduce an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (CWSB) that aims to “prohibit the provision” of Virtual Private Network (VPN) services to children (under 18s) in the UK. The goal is to stop children allegedly using VPNs to bypass age verification systems.

CBNG VectaStar NR wireless broadband hardware

CBNG Launch UK Next Gen 5G-based Fixed Wireless Broadband Platform

26th Jan 2026 (2 Comments)

The Cambridge Broadband Networks Group (CBNG), which develops network tech for mobile and wireless broadband operators, has launched the latest generation of their Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) platform – VectaStar NR. The new kit is said to be designed to “deliver ‘fibre like’ broadband [performance] using 5G-based technology … without the time, cost and disruption of fibre rollouts“.

Virgin Media O2 Engineers Digging Trench

Virgin Media UK and Nexfibre Build 2Gbps Broadband to 5,000 Strathaven Homes

26th Jan 2026 (5 Comments)

UK ISP Virgin Media (O2) and network partner nexfibre, which share some of the same parentage, have today announced that they’ve expanded the reach of their 2Gbps (symmetric) speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to reach more than 5,000 homes in the South Lanarkshire (Scotland) market town of Strathaven for “the first time.”

CommunityFibre Allegedly Discouraged from G.Network Bid Over.. Rodents?

26th Jan 2026 (12 Comments)

The CEO of alternative UK broadband ISP and network builder CommunityFibre, Graeme Oxby, appears to have suggested that one of the reasons they opted not to make a bid for troubled rival G.Network stemmed from fears that rodents had chewed through its fibre optic cables. But the key issue may be more related to the general cost of maintenance than rats.

Altnet Broadband ISP Gigabit IQ Starts UK Crowdfund to Raise £270,000

26th Jan 2026 (9 Comments)

Internet access and online security provider Gigabit IQ (formerly Grayshott Gigabit) has officially launched their promised crowdfunding campaign, which aims to raise fresh investment of £270,000 to help grow and expand the business via the “next generation of safe, reliable broadband for the country“.

Strathaven Openreach Exchange Screenshot by Google Streetview

Openreach Exchange Fire Disrupts Broadband Services in Strathaven

26th Jan 2026 (10 Comments)

Broadband internet connectivity, phone and some Ethernet services being delivered by the Strathaven Telephone Exchange in South Lanarkshire (Scotland) have been disrupted after the site was hit by a serious fire. Approximately 1,500 customers on Openreach’s (BT) local network are understood to have been impacted.

New Map of UK Cellular Coverage Goes Live to Help Examine Mobile Masts UPDATE2

26th Jan 2026 (37 Comments)

A group of friends in the UK cellular (mobile networks) community have launched a new interactive map – UKCellNet RF Map – that allows hobbyists and professionals to access public cellular data (e.g. location and data on mobile phone mast sites etc.) for free – sourced from places like SiteFinder, Ofcom, planning applications and council FOI / EIR requests etc.

Broadband ISP Group TalkTalk Starts Talk Talking to Potential UK Bidders

23rd Jan 2026 (18 Comments)

A new report has this afternoon claimed that the debt strained TalkTalk Group, which last year reportedly appointed advisers PJT Partners to help sell off its remaining operations (here), have now allegedly begun talks with several prospective bidders for their various divisions.