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Latest Key Developments

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New UK Law Set to Boost Broadband Rollouts and Device Security

24th Nov, 2021 (4 Comments)

The UK Government has today introduced their new Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill (PSTI), which among other things will make it easier for broadband and mobile operators to upgrade and share infrastructure. The bill will also aim to ensure that internet connected devices are more secure.

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Gov Targets Universal UK Gigabit Broadband Coverage for 2030

20th Nov, 2021 (49 Comments)

The UK Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit rollout programme appears to have quietly confirmed that they now aim to deliver “full” 1Gbps broadband coverage to the final 20% of hardest to reach premises by 2030 (effectively universal coverage), at least where it is “value for money to do so.”

openreach uk phone exchange engineer 2021

Openreach to Pilot National UK Exchange Closure Plan in 5 Areas

12th Nov, 2021 (14 Comments)

Last year Openreach (BT) began consulting on their plans to close 4,600 exchanges across the United Kingdom as part of their move from copper to fibre optic based broadband ISP lines. The operator has today begun to consult on the first 5 pilot exchanges to go through this new mass-migration process.

Ofcom and BT Adopt Changes to Help 10Mbps Broadband USO

11th Nov, 2021 (33 Comments)

Ofcom has today finalised the changes that were first confirmed in July to improve how BT handles delivery of the UK’s Universal Service Obligation (USO), which aims to bring faster broadband ISP speeds to those who can’t yet receive a 10Mbps+ capable download speed and aren’t planned to do so in the near future.

Fiber Optic cables connected to an optic ports and Network cables connected to ethernet ports

Headaches for UK ISPs as Telecoms Security Bill to Become Law

9th Nov, 2021 (15 Comments)

The UK Government’s new Telecommunications (Security) Bill (TSB) is set to become law after passing through both houses of parliament this month, but it goes much further than just banning Huawei from the UK’s 5G mobile networks. Broadband ISPs, both big and small alike, also face a cacophony of tedious new rules.

Ofcom UK Expands the Range of Indoor Mobile Signal Boosters

4th Nov, 2021 (5 Comments)

Ofcom has today confirmed that they will next year introduce new changes to help expand the range of licence exempt “mobile phone repeaters” for UK consumers to adopt, which can be used in locations where people want to boost mobile signals for indoor and in-vehicle (low gain) use.

CityFibre Hits Target of 1 Million UK FTTP Broadband Premises

3rd Nov, 2021 (27 Comments)

CityFibre, which is investing £4bn to cover 8 million UK premises with their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network by around the end of 2025, has today announced the successful completion of their first target by extending the network to cover 1 million homes and businesses before the end of 2021.

ISP BT and OneWeb UK Sign Satellite Broadband Distribution Deal

2nd Nov, 2021 (8 Comments)

UK ISP BT and satellite operator OneWeb, which is partly owned by the UK government, have today officially signed a Distribution Partner Agreement that could result in faster low-latency backhaul and broadband solutions for businesses. Further down the line, it may also help to cover rural homes by fuelling Fixed Wireless Access.

BDUK Publish New Evaluation of UK Superfast Broadband Project

29th Oct, 2021 (5 Comments)

The Government’s Building Digital UK team has today posted a new evaluation of the previous Superfast Broadband Programme (SFBB), which helped to boost the coverage of “superfast” (24-30Mbps+) ISP networks from c.76% (commercial) to around 97% of premises (i.e. an additional 5.5 million premises) across three phases.

BDUK Publish Phase 3 of UK Rural Gigabit Broadband Rollout Plan

29th Oct, 2021 (21 Comments)

The UK Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) team has today published details on Phase 3 of their £5bn Project Gigabit rollout programme, which will in this phase work to extend 1Gbps capable broadband ISP networks to a further 570,000 premises in rural and semi-rural areas.

Ofcom Adds Dark Fibre and Tweaks Rules for KCOM in Hull UK

28th Oct, 2021 (10 Comments)

Ofcom has today published the outcome of their latest Hull Area Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review 2021-26, which tends to largely influence what rules they set for KCOM’s dominant network in the Hull (East Yorkshire) area. The main changes this time reflect deregulation and a new Dark Fibre requirement.

Ofcom Tell UK Phone Operators to Block Foreign VoIP Scam Calls UPDATE

25th Oct, 2021 (23 Comments)

The UK telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, has reportedly taken radical action to curb the plague of scam calls, which it is attempting to achieve by “ordering” major phone operators to automatically block any “suspicious” Voice-over-Internet (VoIP) calls that come from abroad if they pretend to come from numbers in the UK.

Project Gigabit Expands Open Market Review for Phase 2 Areas

20th Oct, 2021 (7 Comments)

The Broadband Delivery UK team have today launched a second batch of Open Market Reviews (OMR) for additional parts of England covered by Phase 2 of the Government’s new £5bn Project Gigabit broadband roll-out. This aims to identify any existing or planned commercial coverage by gigabit ISP networks.

Gov Consults on UK’s Future Wireless Spectrum and 6G Needs

14th Oct, 2021 (12 Comments)

A new ‘Call for Evidence‘ is being launched by the Government today, which aims to inform their future Wireless Infrastructure Strategy (WIS). This attempts to understand the future wireless connectivity needs of the UK and how they can better support 5G mobile, as well as future satellite, IoT and 6G broadband technologies.

Rivals Sigh as Ofcom Clear Openreach FTTP Broadband Price Cut UPDATE3

30th Sep, 2021 (50 Comments)

Ofcom looks set to stoke anger among alternative UK network (AltNets) builders after the regulator today flatly rejected their concerns over Openreach’s “Equinox” offer, which will introduce a “major” price cut (details) to the incumbents wholesale Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband products for ISPs.

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Ofcom Finalise One Touch Switching for UK Broadband and Phone UPDATE

28th Sep, 2021 (5 Comments)

Ofcom has today decided to adopt the new ‘One Touch Switch‘ (OTS) process for customers of fixed line phone and broadband ISPs, which will make it easier for you to switch between providers on physically separate networks (e.g. Openreach’s full fibre to CityFibre or Virgin Media etc.). But you’ll have to wait until April 2023 to use it!

CityFibre trenching engineers fttp build

CityFibre Secure GBP1.1bn to Fuel UK FTTP Broadband Rollout

16th Sep, 2021 (6 Comments)

CityFibre, which currently aims to cover 8 million UK premises with their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network by around the end of 2025, has today secured another major investment boost of £1.125bn from the owner of Ikea (Interogo Holdings) and Mubadala (Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund).