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Latest Key Developments

BT Phone Box payphone booth evolution 2021

Ofcom Moves to Protect Essential UK BT and KCOM Phone Boxes

8th Jun, 2022 (12 Comments)

Ofcom has today introduced new rules to protect public UK phone boxes (payphones) – specifically those built by BT and KCOM – when they exist in areas with “poor mobile signals or high accident rates“. In addition, payphones will now require battery backup so that they can keep working after going digital (all-IP).

cityfibre engineer over reel of purple fibre

CityFibre Sign GBP4.9bn Debt Raise to Boost UK Full Fibre Rollout

3rd Jun, 2022 (14 Comments)

CityFibre has announced “one of Europe’s largest ever Full Fibre financings” by completing a debt raise worth a staggering £4.9bn. The deal enables them to complete their plan to cover 8 million UK premises with gigaibt-capable FTTP broadband and to bid on contract’s under the Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit scheme for rural areas.

Project-Gigabit-Spring-2022-Progress-Map

Gov Issue Spring 2022 Update on UK Project Gigabit Broadband Rollout

30th May, 2022 (12 Comments)

The Government’s Building Digital UK team has today published a Spring 2022 progress update for their £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout, which among other things adds new regional procurements in Norfolk and Suffolk and two local supplier procurements in Cornwall, potentially extending 1Gbps speeds to c.190,000 premises.

2022 Full Fibre Country Ranking Sees UK Overtake Germany

24th May, 2022 (12 Comments)

The FTTH Council Europe has today released their annual ranking of the European countries with the strongest subscriber penetration and annual growth of gigabit-capable “full fibre” (FTTP/H/B) broadband ISP networks. Happily, the UK continues to show exceptional growth, and has managed to leapfrog over Germany.

Ofcom Spring 2022 Study – Gigabit Broadband Covers 66 Percent of UK

20th May, 2022 (16 Comments)

Ofcom’s latest Spring 2022 report into fixed broadband and mobile coverage has revealed that “full fibre” (FTTP) now reaches 33% of the UK (up from 28% in Sept 2021), while 19.3 million homes (66%) are within reach of a gigabit-capable network (up from 47%). Geographic 5G coverage has also improved.

BT Issues 2022 Progress Update on the UK 10Mb Broadband USO

17th May, 2022 (28 Comments)

UK ISP BT has today issued their latest biannual study into the progress they’ve made toward delivering the 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband, which reveals that they’ve so far built a USO connection to over 4,600 premises, with more than 2,300 further builds in progress.

Openreach Reveal 56 New UK FTTP Broadband Rollout Areas

17th May, 2022 (74 Comments)

In an unexpected move, Openreach (BT) has today added 56 new locations (towns and villages) to their £15bn rollout for a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network. The operator’s full fibre network has now covered 7.2 million UK premises (inc. 2.3m in the hardest to reach “final third” of the country).

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

New Rules for Utility Firms to Benefit UK FTTP Broadband Rollout

13th May, 2022 (1 Comment)

The Government has announced changes that are designed to improve the quality of street works, not least through more inspections, better quality resurfacing and tougher fines for poor quality road works and leaving behind potholes. But the new rules also include changes to help support the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband.

Ofcom UK Propose Small Improvements to Broadband Speed Code

11th May, 2022 (14 Comments)

Ofcom has proposed to tweak their 2019 voluntary Code of Practice for Broadband ISP Speeds, which will extend the current ‘Right to Exit‘ (i.e. when an ISP fails to correct a problem with broadband speeds) to the latest definition of service bundles. It will also require FTTP and cable ISPs to provide details on observed line speeds.

Three UK Confirms Plan to Switch-Off 3G Mobile Service by 2024

11th May, 2022 (40 Comments)

Mobile operator Three UK has today become the latest provider – after Vodafone and EE – to announce that it aims to completely switch off their legacy 3G (mobile broadband) network by the end of 2024. The move will free up resources to allow Three to focus on improving the 4G experience and rolling out 5G to more parts of the UK.

ISP Sky Broadband and NOW Launch Cheaper UK Social Tariff

12th Apr, 2022 (12 Comments)

Good news. UK ISP Sky Broadband and sibling NOW Broadband have today become the latest internet providers to launch a cheaper “social tariff” for home broadband and phone connectivity, which is being offered to consumers who are claiming Universal Credit or Pension Credit.

327,174 Premises in Wales Need Help to Get Gigabit Broadband

9th Apr, 2022 (14 Comments)

The Building Digital UK team has published a new Public Review (PR) consultation for Wales, which reveals that some 327,174 premises might need state aid help under the Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme in order to access 1Gbps speeds (rising to 984,806 if including ‘Under Review‘ premises).

Trial Runs UK Fibre Broadband Cable via Yorkshire Water Mains

6th Apr, 2022 (13 Comments)

The UK Government has today announced the start of their new “Fibre in Water” trial, which will test the deployment of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband cables through 17km of live drinking water mains between Barnsley and Penistone (Yorkshire). In theory, this could help to cut the cost of rural broadband delivery and reduce leaks.

Five More Broadband ISPs Sign Scotland’s Full Fibre Charter

4th Apr, 2022 (1 Comment)

The Scottish Government (SG) has announced that five more broadband network providers have committed to supporting Scotland’s Full Fibre Charter, including Borderlink, Cloudnet, Hyperoptic, Lothian Broadband and Virgin Media (VMO2). The charter consists of a series of pledges to help extend full fibre coverage.

ISP BT Pause UK Digital Voice Rollout After Consumer Complaints

29th Mar, 2022 (64 Comments)

Broadband ISP BT has paused the national UK rollout of their new Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) style Digital Voice product after complaints due to recent service outages. The service is designed to replace their old analogue phone service and is typically offered alongside broadband packages.

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Gov Commits Gigabit Broadband for All England Schools by 2025

23rd Mar, 2022 (17 Comments)

The Government’s Education Secretary, Nadhim Zahawi MP, has today made a new commitment for “every school across the country” to be able to access “high speed internet” by 2025, which is said to complement the wider £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout programme. Funding will also be provided for related WiFi upgrades.

Internet Censorship Beckons as UK Online Safety Bill Hits Parliament

16th Mar, 2022 (29 Comments)

The UK Government’s controversial Online Safety Bill, which will task Ofcom with clamping down on “harmful” online content (hate speech, bullying, terrorism, conspiracy theories etc.) by threatening such providers with web-blocks, fines and possibly even jail – if they don’t enforce the rules, has today been introduced to parliament.