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Latest Key Developments

Project to Extend UK Rural 4G Mobile Cover Faces 2 Year Delay

23rd Oct, 2023 (23 Comments)

Mobile operators Three UK, O2 (VMO2) and Vodafone have reportedly warned the government that the first phase of their £1bn industry-led Shared Rural Network project, which aims to extend geographic 4G (mobile broadband) coverage (aggregate) to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025, is at risk of being delayed by 2 years.

Ofcom May Change How Spectrum is Allocated for UK Wireless Broadband Networks

18th Oct, 2023 (0 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today begun a discussion that could result in a change to how radio spectrum for the next generation of wireless broadband networks is allocated, which in the future may place greater emphasis on spectrum sharing (we’ve already seen a lot of this via private and local 5G networks etc.) and flexible access.

EE Becomes BT’s Main UK Broadband Brand – Launch 1.6Gb FTTP UPDATE

18th Oct, 2023 (93 Comments)

The big branding change continues. Some 18 months have passed since UK telecoms giant BT announced (here) that EE would – over time – gradually become their “flagship brand for our consumer customers” (i.e. converged broadband ISP and mobile plans etc.) and another shift begins today, alongside the launch of their 1.6Gbps package.

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Ofcom Predict 94 Percent of UK Covered by Gigabit Broadband in May 2026

17th Oct, 2023 (31 Comments)

Ofcom has today published the latest edition of their forecast for Planned Network Deployments, which predicts that the full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP lines are on course to cover 91% (27 million premises) of all UK properties by May 2026 – rising to 94% for “gigabit-capable” networks (i.e. FTTP and Cable).

Gov to Review UK Rural Broadband Options and 10Mbps USO

2nd Oct, 2023 (24 Comments)

The UK Government has today launched two interesting new consultations, including one that is seeking views on a looming review of the legally-binding 10Mbps+ Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband and another that will help better understand how to improve broadband for “Very Hard to Reach” areas.

Eutelsat Complete Merger with UK Satellite Broadband Operator OneWeb

28th Sep, 2023 (2 Comments)

European satellite operator Eutelsat has today announced the completion of their all-share combination with London-based broadband satellite operator OneWeb, which had been partly owned by the UK Government but will now become a subsidiary of the Paris-based operator.

Ofcom UK Sets Plan to Auction 26GHz and 40GHz for Faster 5G Mobile

27th Sep, 2023 (7 Comments)

The UK media and telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today revealed more details about their proposed plan to auction off a large chunk of millimetre wave (mmW) radio spectrum frequency across the 26GHz and 40GHz bands, which will be used by mobile operators to deliver even faster 5G (mobile broadband) services in urban areas.

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Autumn 2023 BDUK Update on UK Project Gigabit Broadband Rollout

21st Sep, 2023 (22 Comments)

The Building Digital UK agency has released their latest September 2023 progress update on the Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme, which is now running live contracts and procurements worth over £2bn in state aid (up from £1.4bn in July) to help extend coverage to an extra 1.1 million hard to reach premises.

Scotland Consult on Gigabit Broadband for All New Build Homes

20th Sep, 2023 (8 Comments)

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on new proposals that closely mirror those recently introduced across England (here and here), which would effectively mandate that property developers ensure their new build homes are constructed with support for gigabit-capable broadband connections.

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Internet Censorship Galore as UK Online Safety Bill Becomes Law

19th Sep, 2023 (86 Comments)

Get ready, it’s going to be a rocky ride. The UK Government’s new Online Safety Bill (OSB) is finally set to become law after passing through both houses of parliament today, largely unopposed. The goal is to tackle “harmful” content online, but the result may be a regime that has a chilling effect on freedom of expression.

New Smart Data Scheme to Help UK Broadband and Mobile Users

19th Sep, 2023 (7 Comments)

The UK Government (DSIT) has begun to consult on the potential introduction of a new Smart Data scheme – ‘Open Communications‘, which would require broadband ISPs and mobile operators to provide their customers (on request) with more data about their service (price, speeds, reliability, data usage etc.).

Britain’s Broadcasters Prep New Free Live TV Service via Broadband

18th Sep, 2023 (73 Comments)

The BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 have today announced what seems to be an “evolution” of the existing Freeview (inc. Freeview Play) IPTV platform. Called ‘Freely’, the new platform will be a free TV service that delivers live TV over your UK home broadband ISP connection (probably mobile too).

Fern Trading Finalise Consolidation of its UK Full Fibre Networks

14th Sep, 2023 (34 Comments)

After a significant number of redundancies and a long period of silence, investment group Fern Trading – part of Octopus Investments – has finally revealed the structure of their UK fibre optic network following the consolidation of FTTP broadband ISPs Jurassic Fibre, Swish Fibre, Giganet and AllPoints Fibre.

Ofcom UK Consult on Changes to Electronic Communications Code

12th Sep, 2023 (0 Comments)

The UK telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, has today launched a consultation on their proposals to update the Electronic Communications Code (ECC), which aims to introduce the government’s recent changes that are intended to make it easier for broadband and mobile networks to upgrade, share and deploy new infrastructure.

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Openreach Name 19 New UK Locations for FTTP Broadband Build

12th Sep, 2023 (35 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has today named the next batch of 19 new locations to benefit from their ongoing roll-out of a new multi-Gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network, which together will cover around 200,000 extra premises. The new exchanges are all within their existing build areas (i.e. infill and further expansion).

Virgin Media O2 UK Reveals Plan to Switch Off 3G from 2025

7th Sep, 2023 (37 Comments)

Mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media / VMO2) has today become the final operator to reveal their plan for switching off the old 3G mobile (mobile broadband) network, which unlike their rivals is a process that won’t actually begin until 2025. The withdrawal will then occur in phases, with completion by the end of that same year.

Openreach Complete Build Phase of Wales Full Fibre Contract

7th Sep, 2023 (5 Comments)

The Welsh Government (WG) has released a new update on the £52.5m Phase 2 Superfast Cymru contract with Openreach (BT), which confirms that the “build phase of the contract has now concluded” and a total of 37,497 extra premises (up from 36,869 in Q1) have gained access to their full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP network.