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Latest Key Developments

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Wales to Close Top Up Scheme for Gigabit Broadband Vouchers

16th Mar, 2022 (3 Comments)

The Welsh Government (WG) has confirmed that its top-up funding for the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS), which offers grants to help rural homes install gigabit-capable internet connections, will end on 31st March 2022 because “budget pressures” mean they can no longer afford to continue to “underwrite the UK Government“.

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Ofcom UK Sets Out Approach to LEO Broadband Satellites

15th Mar, 2022 (2 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today published their proposals for a new ‘Space Spectrum Strategy’, which among other things sets out their approach to supporting the growth of satellite broadband services, such as via the new mega constellations of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) platforms from SpaceX (Starlink) and OneWeb.

Mystery ISP Becomes First to Adopt Number Porting Flexibility

12th Mar, 2022 (7 Comments)

The Office of the Telecoms Adjudicator recently revealed that a “major” UK ISP had become the first to adopt the new ‘Right to Port‘ requirement for fixed line phones, which introduces some useful extra flexibility for phone users who want to switch (port) their number between operators. But none of the big players will confirm it.

Ofcom UK Tweak Geographic Phone Numbering and Local Dialling

11th Mar, 2022 (20 Comments)

Ofcom has today set out their final changes to the rules that govern the use of phone numbers in the UK, which has opted to retain the existing rules on geographic numbering and remove the obligation on telecoms providers and broadband ISPs to provide local dialling to customers.

New Rules and Taller Masts to Boost 5G Mobile in Rural England

7th Mar, 2022 (17 Comments)

The Government has today confirmed their intention to introduce a series of changes to Permitted Development (PD) rights for mobile infrastructure, which aims to help extend 5G and 4G (mobile broadband) coverage in rural areas of England via key changes (e.g. allowing taller masts of up to 30 metres).

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Gov Consults on New UK Telecoms and Internet Security Code UPDATE

1st Mar, 2022 (2 Comments)

The UK Government has today begun to consult on draft regulations for their new Telecommunications (Security) Act which, aside from banning Huawei inside 5G mobile networks (and restricting their involvement with FTTP broadband), will also impose a cacophony of tedious new security rules on telecoms operators.

Ofcom Crackdown on Number Spoofing to Tackle UK SPAM Calls

23rd Feb, 2022 (11 Comments)

Last year the national telecoms regulator, Ofcom, estimated that 44.6 million UK people may have received scam calls and text messages during just the three months of summer (here), with 2% of recipients being duped by them. In response, the regulator has today proposed changes to tackle the use of fake phone numbers.

Scotland Start Open Market Review for Gigabit Broadband Rollout

21st Feb, 2022 (9 Comments)

The Scottish Government has today launched a new Open Market Review (OMR), which forms part of the UK Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout and aims to identify which areas will need state aid support to help spread the availability of gigabit speed networks “nationwide” by 2030.

Gov Consult on Legal Measures to Ban Huawei from UK FTTP and 5G Mobile

18th Feb, 2022 (28 Comments)

The Government has today launched a new consultation, which sets out their proposed legal instruments to control the use of Huawei’s telecoms equipment in UK networks. The move reflects both their BAN on the company’s kit for ultrafast 5G mobile platforms and related restrictions in gigabit broadband ISP networks etc.

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Virgin Media O2 to Cover 23 Million UK Premises with FTTP Broadband UPDATE

18th Feb, 2022 (41 Comments)

Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2) have today published their combined results for Q4 2021, which finally confirmed their long-awaited plan to extend the operator’s Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cover around 23 million UK premises by 2027 (7 million more than today) via a new Joint Venture.

Ofcom Sets Initial Views on Future of UK Mobile and Spectrum

9th Feb, 2022 (13 Comments)

The telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today published two new discussion papers that set out their “initial thinking” on how UK mobile markets might develop and how networks may need to evolve to meet future demand. But they do not currently propose any major new regulatory interventions or new consumer pricing rules.

Project Gigabit Updates on Start of First Live UK Procurements

9th Feb, 2022 (17 Comments)

The UK Government’s Building Digital UK team has published an update on the start of their first procurements under the £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout, which is now inviting bids for contracts worth up to £292m to upgrade rural premises across Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland, Cambridgeshire, Dorset and Teesdale.

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Gov Ponders Approach to Gigabit Broadband in Remote UK Areas

8th Feb, 2022 (12 Comments)

The UK Government has just published a response to its consultation on the question of how significantly faster broadband ISP networks can be extended to reach the final 0.3% of the country (i.e. under 100,000 premises), which are too expensive for their new £5bn Project Gigabit programme to reach in its current form.

BDUK Publish New Phase 2 Gigabit Broadband Coverage Reviews

5th Feb, 2022 (11 Comments)

The Broadband Delivery UK team have just published a new batch of Public Reviews (PR) and Open Market Reviews (OMR) for additional parts of England – mostly covered by Phase 2 of the Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout. Both aim to identify which areas need state aid support for future builds.

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Gov Levelling Up Plan Confirms Nationwide Gigabit Broadband for 2030

2nd Feb, 2022 (30 Comments)

The government will today publish their “flagship” Levelling Up White Paper, which sets out their “plan to transform the UK by spreading opportunity and prosperity to all parts of it” and also confirms their revised broadband target – that “by 2030, the UK will have nationwide gigabit-capable broadband.”

Openreach Publish Next 113 UK FTTP Broadband Rollout Areas UPDATE2

25th Jan, 2022 (72 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has this morning published the first update of 2022 to the £15bn rollout plan for their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network, which adds 113 new locations (towns and villages) to their coverage plan. The operator aims to reach 25 million premises (80% of the UK) by December 2026.

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BDUK Start National Rolling Open Market Review for Project Gigabit

6th Jan, 2022 (25 Comments)

The UK Government’s Building Digital UK team has today “soft launched” a new “Rolling National Open Market Review” (RN-OMR) process for their £5bn Project Gigabit broadband scheme, which aims to do a better job of identifying areas that will benefit from a commercial rollout so that they can more effectively target public money towards those who will miss out.