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Latest Key Developments

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.

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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).

Internet and UK Telecoms Security Picture

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.

Virgin Media O2 Engineer Talking to Woman

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.