Home » UK ISP News Archive » Monthly Archives: March 2026 (138 Posts Found)

ISP News Archives for March 2026

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Openreach to Bring FTTP Broadband to Thousands of Flats in Enfield

24th Mar 2026 (0 Comments)

Network operator Openreach (BT) has reached a new access agreement with the London Borough of Enfield, which will enable them to deploy their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across “thousands of flats and apartments” in the area – initially starting with 1,500 properties across over 50 buildings.

Gov Set New Fixed Telecoms Charter for UK Analogue Phone and Exchange Closures

24th Mar 2026 (7 Comments)

The UK Government appears to have published a revised Fixed Telecoms Modernisation Charter (FTMC), which sets out the steps that fixed line broadband and phone providers must take to ensure that customers “remain safe” during the current switch-off of analogue phone (PSTN) services and future closure of thousands of Openreach’s legacy exchanges.

BT Sign £200m Deal with Northern Ireland Electricity Networks to Upgrade Connectivity

24th Mar 2026 (0 Comments)

Telecoms and broadband giant BT has today announced that they’ve signed a new deal worth “up to” £200m with Northern Ireland Electricity Networks (NIE Networks), which will see the operator deliver “enhanced connectivity, cyber security and IT to support critical services” for homes and businesses across the country.

Openreach Increases Ethernet Exemption from UK Excess Construction Charges

24th Mar 2026 (1 Comment)

Network operator Openreach (BT) has informed communication providers that, following Ofcom’s recent Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR), they’ve increased the exemption amount for Excess Construction Charges (ECC) on new Ethernet Access Direct (EAD) lines and Dark Fibre circuits (1-2 Access Link variants) from £2,800 to £3,680 ex. VAT.

London Full Fibre Broadband Provider G.Network Moves Forward “Debt-Free”

24th Mar 2026 (10 Comments)

Alternative UK network operator G.Network, which built a full fibre (FTTP) broadband network across parts of London and recently went into administration after being acquired by distressed debt specialist FitzWalter Capital (here and here), today say it’s “successfully reorganised through administration“. The company said they’re now moving forward on a “debt-free, well-capitalised, growth-oriented footing“.

Government Reveal Progress of UK Digital Inclusion Action Plan After 1 Year

24th Mar 2026 (1 Comment)

The UK Government has published its first annual progress report on their new Digital Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), which was launched in Feb 2025 alongside support from various broadband and mobile providers. The plan contained a series of “urgent actions” that it hoped would “begin fixing digital exclusion“ and the new report appears to be broadly positive.

Openreach to Fully Withdraw Multiport ONT on UK FTTP Broadband Lines

24th Mar 2026 (20 Comments)

Network access provider Openreach (BT) has informed UK broadband ISPs that they are now “fully withdrawing” the service option of a Multiport Optical Network Terminal (ONT / ONU) device and the related Box Swap service (i.e. replacing an existing / older ONT with a new Multiport ONT) on full fibre lines. The move follows last year’s complaints about “technical issues” with the service.

Why the UK fibre market must deliver on commercialisation in 2026

24th Mar 2026 (0 Comments)

2026 is a defining year for the UK fibre market. After more than a decade of accelerated deployment, full-fibre infrastructure is now a familiar part of the national landscape rather than an emerging ambition. 83% of UK premises have access to full fibre, while gigabit-capable broadband is available to 90%. From a rollout perspective, the transformation has been remarkable.

LONDON, UK: British Airways A380 on final approach into London Heathrow on 06 July 2017(Picture by Nick Morrish/British Airways)

First Starlink Broadband Equipped British Airways Flight Takes Off with Free WiFi

23rd Mar 2026 (7 Comments)

British Airways has revealed that it’s just become the first airline in the UK to launch the fastest onboard Wi-Fi in the sky, which occurred after their first Starlink equipped flight took to the skies at the end of last week. The flight marks the first of many to harness Elon Musk’s massive constellation of broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

fibre optic red and blue broadband cables 2018 by 123rf

Digi Comms Acquires 51 Percent Stake in UK Broadband Altnet Whyfibre UPDATE

23rd Mar 2026 (7 Comments)

Romanian multinational telecommunications and mobile operator company Digi Communications N.V. has entered the United Kingdom’s fibre optic broadband market by acquiring 51% of the share capital of alternative network provider WhyFibre, which was conducted via Digi’s subsidiary Fiber One Limited. A pilot of their new FTTP network is now in the works.

Virgin Media O2 Smart Support Broadband Service

Virgin Media UK Deploys Free Smart Support Service to All Broadband Users

23rd Mar 2026 (7 Comments)

Customers of UK ISP Virgin Media’s (O2) fixed broadband packages have today been told that the internet, TV and phone provider is now rolling out their new Smart Support diagnostics service – a 24/7 broadband speed and connection monitoring solution – to all of its customers “as standard and at no extra cost“. Initially only 330,000 customers had been able to benefit from it.

iPhone Air from Apple 2026 with C1X 5G modem

Ookla Benchmarks Apple’s C1X Mobile Broadband Modem in the iPhone Air

23rd Mar 2026 (1 Comment)

Network testing firm Ookla, which collects broadband performance data from consumers via their popular Speedtest.net service, has today published a report that examines the mobile broadband (5G) performance of Apple’s new custom C1X modem in the iPhone Air. The results are then compared against the Qualcomm X80-based iPhone 17 Pro Max and the previous C1 modem in the iPhone 16e.

Former Freedom Fibre Exec Awarded £105k After Exposing Engineer Trespassing UPDATE

23rd Mar 2026 (14 Comments)

The former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of alternative UK broadband operator Freedom Fibre, Shawn Nolan, was recently awarded £105,500 in compensation by an Employment Tribunal after he raised concerns that the company’s engineers were frequently carrying out fibre optic work on private land without consent.

BT Switch 3 Million UK Homes to Digital Voice Ahead of Legacy Phone Switch Off

20th Mar 2026 (51 Comments)

Broadband and phone provider BT (EE) has today revealed that the majority of its landline phone using customers, over 3 million UK households, have now successfully switched to its IP-based Digital Voice service. But there’s still more to go ahead of the analogue phone switch-off in January 2027. Some 80% of BT’s business voice customers have also switched.

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Rural UK FTTP Broadband ISP Fibrus Donates £1m to Community Projects

20th Mar 2026 (1 Comment)

Alternative network operator and ISP Fibrus has today revealed that they’ve surpassed the £1 million mark in terms of how much investment they’ve put toward community projects across Northern Ireland and Cumbria (England). This usually occurs in the locations where they’ve been rolling out their new gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) broadband network.

Subsea Cable Break Knocks Out Broadband and Mobile for Part of Orkney UPDATE

20th Mar 2026 (20 Comments)

A BT subsea fibre optic cable that runs between Evie on the Orkney Mainland and nearby Westray, which forms part of an archipelago off the northeastern coast of Scotland, has suffered a “major” break that’s disrupting both broadband and some mobile (Vodafone / Three UK and O2) connectivity for over 500 customers in the North Isles (inc. Eday, Stronsay and Sanday).

Confused uk broadband and mobile customer - 123rf ID246128118

Business Broadband ISP B4BC Raise Concerns Over UK Rival One Connectivity UPDATE

20th Mar 2026 (2 Comments)

Birmingham-based business broadband and UK communications provider Best 4 Business Communications (B4BC) appears to have contacted customers of Derby-based rival One Connectivity in order to raise concerns over the stability of the business, which recently became the subject of a winding-up petition by HMRC.