Home » UK ISP News Archive » Key Developments (746 Posts)

Latest Key Developments

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.

Old footbridge and traditional Cotswold cottages, Bibury, England, UK.

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.

uk map broadband mobile isp computer network

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.

Project-Gigabit-UK-Gov-Investment-Scheme-2025

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.

New UK Home Building Rules Set to Mandate Gigabit Broadband

21st Dec, 2021 (17 Comments)

After a long wait, the UK Government has today finally tabled a consultation on changes to the existing Building Regulations (2010), which will effectively make it mandatory for property developers to ensure that almost every new home is built with support for “gigabit” speed broadband ISP connections.

Ofcom Bans UK Mobile Operators from Locking Phones

17th Dec, 2021 (29 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today begun to enforce a number of new consumer protection measures on mobile operators, which in practice means that they can no longer supply locked phones and are now limited to a maximum contract term of 24-months on bundles (mobile plans and handsets).

Connected Nations 2021 – UK Gigabit Broadband Cover Hits 47%

16th Dec, 2021 (15 Comments)

Ofcom has released their Connection Nations 2021 UK digital infrastructure report, which reveals that the coverage of “gigabit-capable” (1Gbps+) broadband ISP networks has jumped from 27% last year to 47% now (13.7 million households). Plus, around half of UK properties are in areas where 5G mobile is available outside.

Parliamentary Committee Sets Out Plan for UK Internet Regulation

14th Dec, 2021 (24 Comments)

The Joint Committee on the controversial Draft Online Safety Bill (OSB), which was setup to help establish the regulatory framework to help Ofcom tackle “harmful” content online (e.g. hate speech, bullying, terrorism, conspiracy theories etc.), has today published its report. But the tougher rules and tighter offences may not all be workable.

Audit Office Casts Doubt Over Value of N.Ireland Broadband Contract UPDATE

14th Dec, 2021 (8 Comments)

The Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) has today raised concerns over the number of properties that will be covered by the £165m state aid supported Project Stratum rollout in Northern Ireland, which highlights that some premises may have been “commercially viable” for FTTP broadband delivery without subsidy.

Ofcom Reports Good UK Progress on Openreach’s Split from BT UPDATE

8th Dec, 2021 (8 Comments)

Ofcom has today published their annual monitoring report, which finds that Openreach continues to “operate with a high degree of strategic and operational independence” from BT and there has been positive progress in take-up of their Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product by rival broadband ISPs. Only a few small issues remain.

telecommunication tower a falling signal on the city 123rf

All Public 2G and 3G UK Mobile Services Switched Off by 2033

8th Dec, 2021 (37 Comments)

The Government has unveiled a new agreement with the four primary mobile network operators, including Vodafone, EE (BT), O2 (VMO2) and Three UK, which among other things will see existing 2G and 3G signals being “phased out” by 2033 (benefitting 4G / 5G services and mobile broadband) and a new target for OpenRAN adoption.

ISP Virgin Media O2 Completes UK Gigabit Broadband Rollout UPDATE

7th Dec, 2021 (61 Comments)

Broadband ISP Virgin Media (VMO2) has today switched-on their last batch of DOCSIS 3.1 network upgrades, which has put an additional 1.1 million homes within reach of “gigabit” download speeds (1130Mbps down and 52Mbps up) and means that c.65% of UK premises should now be covered by “gigabit-capable broadband.”

Government Turns Building Digital UK into Executive Agency

3rd Dec, 2021 (22 Comments)

The Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) team, which is part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & and Sport (DCMS) and has responsibility for delivering broadband networks across the nation (e.g. the £5bn Project Gigabit rollout scheme), is to become an Executive Agency from April 2022.

Scotland Extends Interim Rural Broadband Voucher Scheme

1st Dec, 2021 (5 Comments)

The Scottish Government has announced that their Interim Broadband Voucher Scheme, which forms part of the £600m Reaching 100% (R100) project and is designed to help rural premises in the hardest to reach areas get a faster connection installed, has been extended to 31st March 2022 (it was previously due to finish this month).