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Latest Key Developments

FTTP External Wall Box Install by Openreach Engineer 2022

Openreach Unveil FTTP Broadband Price Cuts for UK ISPs – Equinox 2 UPDATE3

14th Dec, 2022 (31 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has today responded to pressure from their ISP customers by unveiling a new round of major discounts (aka – “Equinox 2“) to the wholesale price of their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband products, which aims to keep the operator competitive and reduce prices on consumer packages.

Cityfibre Files UK Full Fibre Competition Complaint Against Openreach UPDATE2

6th Dec, 2022 (25 Comments)

Network builder Cityfibre has today announced that they’ve formally submitted a Competition Act complaint to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Ofcom against Openreach (BT), which accuses the operator of “undertaking an aggressive strategy to foreclose infrastructure competition in the UK fibre broadband market“.

Ofcom Undecided on Releasing Upper 6GHz Band for Mobile or WiFi

6th Dec, 2022 (7 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today issued an update on its position with respect to whether the upper 6GHz radio spectrum band (6425 to 7125MHz) should be released for use by either higher-power licensed 5G mobile networks (mobile broadband) or lower-power Wi-Fi (e.g. home WiFi).

Price Hikes in UK Telecoms and Broadband

Ofcom UK Probes Transparency of Mid-Contract Broadband Price Hikes UPDATE

1st Dec, 2022 (14 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today launched a new industry-wide enforcement programme, which will monitor and examine whether in-contract price rises were being set out clearly enough by broadband ISP and phone providers before customers signed up.

Project Gigabit Autumn UK Contract Map 2022

Autumn 2022 Update on UK’s Project Gigabit Broadband Rollout

1st Dec, 2022 (14 Comments)

The Building Digital UK team has published their latest quarterly Winter 2022 update for the Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme, which summarises some good progress, but also reveals that procurements for Lancashire, Surrey and Oxfordshire and West Berkshire have had to be deferred.

Pound sterling broadband voucher by 123rf (100296328)

Government Triples Value of UK Gigabit Broadband Vouchers

30th Nov, 2022 (10 Comments)

The Government’s Building Digital UK team has today confirmed that they’re tripling the value of the vouchers they issue to homes under their Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS), which helps those in rural areas to get a gigabit-capable internet connection installed. Businesses will also see a smaller boost.

Gov Campaign to Raise Awareness of UK Social Broadband Tariffs

29th Nov, 2022 (9 Comments)

After meeting with ISPs, the Government has today launched a UK-wide public awareness campaign as part of its Help for Households programme, which aims to help people through the cost-of-living crisis and will also work to improve the uptake of cheaper social tariffs from broadband and mobile providers (available to those on benefits).

Softened Online UK Internet Censorship Bill Returns to Parliament

28th Nov, 2022 (18 Comments)

The UK Government has confirmed the mess of confusing legislation that is the Online Safety Bill (OSB), which attempts to clampdown on “harmful” internet content (i.e. via fines, website blocks by broadband ISPs and other sanctions), will return to Parliament “next week” (5th Dec) with some key changes.

British sterling one pound coin currency by 123rf

Consumer Pricing Bill Might Ban Discounts for New UK Broadband Customers

25th Nov, 2022 (46 Comments)

The Consumer Pricing Bill (CPB), which seeks to “prohibit the practice of offering preferential pricing to new customers compared to existing customers“, will today get its second reading in the House of Commons. The Private Members Bill (PMB) could, if passed, effectively prevent first term discounts on broadband ISP and mobile packages.

Red Road Closed road sign in a UK city street. 123rf

New Rules to Aid UK Full Fibre Builds and Network Security Become Law UPDATE

25th Nov, 2022 (2 Comments)

The UK Government’s new Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill (PSTI) is finally set to become law after passing through both houses of parliament this week. The new law will, among other things, make it easier for full fibre broadband and mobile operators to upgrade, share and deploy new infrastructure.

Telecoms Providers Join UK Landowners in Connectivity Alliance

23rd Nov, 2022 (1 Comment)

A new National Connectivity Alliance (the NCA) has been launch today, which for the first time brings together UK telecommunications providers (mobile and broadband), infrastructure providers, landowners and their professional advisers. The goal is to collaborate on areas of mutual interest and that may boost the rollout of new networks.

Parliament UK Building at Dusk in London 2021

UK Chancellor Protects Gigabit Broadband and Mobile Funding UPDATE

17th Nov, 2022 (8 Comments)

The UK Government’s latest Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has today used his Autumn Statement 2022 to, among other things, allay fears that he might cut funding for major national gigabit broadband and mobile infrastructure projects by committing to ensure that such projects remain “funded as promised“.

Ofcom Tells UK Phone Providers to Identify and Block Spoofed Calls

15th Nov, 2022 (13 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today introduced new rules that will require phone providers to crackdown on “fake phone numbers” by identifying and blocking “spoofed calls“, where feasible. The move aims to tackle a problem that, during the summer, resulted in 40.8 million people being targeted by suspicious calls and texts.

Ofcom-UK-Satellite-Broadband-Illustration

Ofcom UK Gives Capacity Boost to Satellite Broadband Services

10th Nov, 2022 (0 Comments)

Ofcom has today published a refreshed strategy for managing radio spectrum used by the space sector, which among other things will make more spectrum frequency in the 14.25 – 14.5GHz “Ku band” available to satellite broadband operators (capacity boost) and approve new earth stations for use by Starlink and Telesat.

Openreach Launch Pilot of 1.2Gbps and 1.8Gbps FTTP Broadband Tiers

1st Nov, 2022 (96 Comments)

Openreach has today officially announced the launch of their new pilot for UK broadband ISPs, which will test faster download speeds of 1.2Gbps and 1.8Gbps on their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) lines. The service will also be accompanied by two new optical modems (ONT) from Nokia G-010G-T and ADTRAN SDX 611Q.

Ofcom Wants to be Notified of More UK Network and Internet Disruption

1st Nov, 2022 (1 Comment)

Ofcom has proposed to update their existing Network and Information Systems (NIS) guidance in order to require that UK Operators of Essential Services (OES), such as top-level domain name registries, DNS (domain name systems) providers and IXP (internet exchange) operators, inform them of less severe outages.

Bill Proposed to Improve UK Consumer Telephone Service Standards

27th Oct, 2022 (21 Comments)

The Conservative MP, Robert Halfon, has proposed a new Private Members Bill that seeks to clampdown on utility providers (broadband ISPs, energy etc.) and “certain other services” that run telephone support lines, specifically those that make it difficult or force you to wait for ages before being able to speak with a human.