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Latest Key Developments

Ofcom Tells BT to Improve 10Mbps UK Broadband USO Quotes

16th Jul, 2021 (32 Comments)

Ofcom’s investigation into BT’s compliance with their obligations under the new Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband has concluded that “some customers have been asked to pay materially higher amounts than they should have been.” As a result, they’ve asked the ISP to make a few improvements.

EE and BT Aim to Offer 5G Mobile Anywhere in the UK by 2028

14th Jul, 2021 (18 Comments)

Mobile operator EE and broadband ISP giant BT have today pledged to offer ultrafast 5G mobile solutions “across the entire UK” by 2028 and to “fuse” their mobile, Wi-Fi and fibre broadband infrastructures to realise the potential of the country’s “first fully converged network.” But this isn’t quite universal coverage.

Openreach Unveil Major FTTP Pricing Offer for UK Broadband ISPs UPDATE

1st Jul, 2021 (50 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has today unveiled a “major” change to the pricing of their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband products, which aims to give UK ISPs not only cheaper services but also “long-term price certainty” through a series of new commitments. But in return, providers must push FTTP wherever they can.

Gov Updates on UK 4G Shared Rural Network Rollout Progress

29th Jun, 2021 (6 Comments)

The UK Government has today published somewhat of a progress update on their £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) project, which reveals that Scotland, Wales and North East England will benefit most from the expansion of 4G based mobile network (mobile broadband) coverage into rural areas.

BT Sign OneWeb Deal to Tackle UK Rural Broadband Slow Spots

27th Jun, 2021 (21 Comments)

UK ISP BT and satellite operator OneWeb, which is partly owned by the UK government, have reached an agreement that will see the two working together to bring ultrafast low-latency broadband speeds to some of the hardest to reach rural parts of the country, where even their £5bn Project Gigabit programme would struggle to go.

Ofcom Requires UK ISPs to Offer Emergency Video Relay Service

22nd Jun, 2021 (10 Comments)

Ofcom has today finalised their decision to force all UK broadband and phone providers – oddly including those that may not even deliver phone services – to offer a free (inc. zero-rated data usage), 24/7 video relay service for British Sign Language (BSL) users to contact the emergency services, via a dedicated mobile app and website.

Value for Money Concerns Raised Over N.Ireland Broadband Projects

17th Jun, 2021 (10 Comments)

The Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) has today published a new report into two recent state aid supported broadband rollout projects in Northern Ireland, which questions whether they delivered value for money, highlights a lack of contract bidding competition for BT and warns about a reliance on the contractor to self-certify its costs.

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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.