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Latest Key Developments

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GigaTAG Tells UK Gov How to Boost Gigabit Broadband Adoption UPDATE

16th Jun, 2021 (39 Comments)

The new Gigabit Take-Up Advisory Group (GigaTAG), which is supported by Which?, Ofcom, the FSB, CBI and other groups, has today set out their final report on what they think the UK Government needs to do in order to boost take-up of 1Gbps capable broadband services. Expect clearer labelling and more advertising campaigns.

Q1 2021 Progress Update on Wales BT FTTP Broadband Rollout

15th Jun, 2021 (16 Comments)

The Welsh Government has released a Q1 2021 progress update on their £52.5m Phase 2 Superfast Cymru contract with BT (Openreach), which reveals that 19,919 premises (up from 15,649 in Q4 2020) have now gained access to the operator’s gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network.

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Gov Consults on Code to Spread Faster Broadband into Big Buildings

9th Jun, 2021 (3 Comments)

The UK Government has published a new consultation to help set the terms and code for implementation of the new Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act 2021, which aims to make it quicker and cheaper for gigabit broadband ISPs to access big buildings (e.g. apartment blocks) when “rogue landlords” fail to respond.

Merged Broadband and Mobile Giant Virgin Media O2 Launches

1st Jun, 2021 (30 Comments)

Following last month’s approval by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the full completion of its £31bn merger, a “new” UK company called Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) was officially launched today that has combined the fixed line broadband, phone, TV and mobile network businesses from both operators.

Openreach Boost Rural FTTP Broadband Build to 6m UK Premises

28th May, 2021 (98 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has today announced that, as a result of the BT Group raising their rollout target for 1Gbps+ Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP technology, they now expect to reach 6.2 million UK premises across rural villages and market towns (up from the previous target of 3.2m) by December 2026.

Scotland Gives Rural 4G Mobile Infill Project a GBP3.75m Boost

25th May, 2021 (1 Comment)

The Scottish Government‘s (SG) 4G Infill Programme (S4GI), which via WHP Telecoms aims to improve rural mobile voice and broadband coverage by building new mast sites (mostly tackling notspots across the Highlands and Islands), has been given a £3.75m boost to construct a further 12 masts.

BT Raises FTTP Broadband Target to 25 Million UK Premises

13th May, 2021 (38 Comments)

The BT Group has published their latest Q4 2020/21 results today, which reveals that Openreach has further expanded their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network rollout target from 20 million UK premises to 25 million by December 2026. The extended target will support an additional 7,000 jobs.

UK Grows But Fails to Climb 2021 Full Fibre Country Ranking

12th May, 2021 (2 Comments)

The FTTH Council Europe has published their annual 2021 market panorama, which ranks the countries with the strongest subscriber penetration of “full fibre” (FTTP/H/B) based ultrafast broadband ISP networks. The good news is that the UK has continued to show strong growth, but we remain stuck at third from the bottom.

Gov Publish UK Online Safety Bill to Censor “Harmful” Content UPDATE

12th May, 2021 (23 Comments)

After much delay the UK Government will today publish a draft of their new Online Safety Bill (Online Harms), which among other things hands Ofcom a new “legal duty of care” that can be used to force websites into removing “harmful” internet content. Failing to do so may risk being fined or blocked by mobile and broadband ISPs.

2021 Queens Speech Touts Online Safety Bill and Broadband Boost

11th May, 2021 (0 Comments)

The Queen has today carried out the first State Opening of Parliament since the pandemic began, which sets out the UK Government’s agenda for the coming session. As expected this included various references to gigabit broadband and mobile connectivity, as well as their plans to publish the controversial Online Safety Bill.

Ofcom Preps Strategic Review of UK 4G and 5G Mobile Networks

11th May, 2021 (7 Comments)

Ofcom has today set out the terms of reference for their future UK mobile strategy review, which will examine how the regulator can adjust their approach in order to improve 4G and 5G based mobile (mobile broadband) network connectivity for consumers and businesses over the next 5 to 10 years.

ISP BT to Launch Cheap New UK Fibre Broadband Social Tariff

3rd May, 2021 (64 Comments)

BT has today announced their intention to launch a new social tariff called “Home Essentials” for UK people on Universal Credit (and other means-tested benefits), which will give eligible customers a 36Mbps “fibre broadband” (FTTC / FTTP) service and 700 minutes of included phone calls for just £15 per month.

Ofcom Reveal Final Results of UK 5G Mobile Spectrum Auction

27th Apr, 2021 (23 Comments)

The telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today published the final results from their recent £1.38bn auction of 5G friendly radio spectrum in the 700MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz frequency bands, which includes a few key changes from last month’s principal stage. Better mobile broadband coverage and speeds are expected.

Ofcom Will Stop Requiring UK Phone Providers to Offer Local Dialling

23rd Apr, 2021 (29 Comments)

Ofcom has today launched a second consultation on the future use of UK telephone numbers, which among other things proposes to remove the obligation on phone operators to provide a “local dialling” facility (this requirement is less relevant on modern internet based networks) and to prohibit “cash for calls” schemes.

New Government Changes to Boost 5G Mobile Cover in England

20th Apr, 2021 (20 Comments)

The Government has today begun a consultation on their proposed changes to Permitted Development (PD) rights for mobile infrastructure, which seeks to 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 and softening planning permission).

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Openreach Update on Solutions for UK FTTP Pole Capacity Issues

17th Apr, 2021 (40 Comments)

Earlier this year we reported on an increasingly common example of how network capacity problems on Openreach’s UK telegraph poles can prevent people from ordering a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband service via their ISP (here). Today we share a little more detail on the operator’s plan for tackling this.

CMA Provisionally Clears Virgin Media UK and O2 to Merge

14th Apr, 2021 (16 Comments)

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has today “provisionally” cleared the proposed £31bn (total enterprise value) mega merger between broadband provider Virgin Media (Liberty Global) and mobile operator O2 (Telefonica), which will light the fuse on a major £10bn project to extend “full fibre” FTTP and 5G mobile services.