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Latest Key Developments

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Government Evaluation of UK Flexi-Permits Trial Opts to Sit on the Fence

10th Apr, 2026 (2 Comments)

The Government has published an evaluation of recent flexi-permit trials, which is a process that UK mobile and broadband operators have been requesting for some years. But despite most of the feedback being positive, the number of caveats involved meant the evaluation was “not able to make a definitive recommendation either in favour of or against proceeding with flexi-permit legislation“.

Openreach, Fibrus, Wifinity and Airband to Secure Wales Broadband Contracts UPDATE

30th Mar, 2026 (1 Comment)

The Welsh Government (WG) has appointed several network operators, including Openreach (BT), Fibrus, Wifinity and Airband, to deliver their £70m (public subsidy) Extending High Speed Broadband (EHSB) project – extending “high speed broadband” across a total of around 29,000 premises in poorly served areas of Wales (i.e. places that can’t yet access 30Mbps+ speeds).

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KCOM in Hull UK Reach Agreement to Restructure its Current Capital Structure

27th Mar, 2026 (8 Comments)

Telecoms network operator KCOM, which is the incumbent broadband provider for Hull and has also deployed their full fibre (FTTP) network across other parts of East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (England), has revealed that they’ve reached an agreement with their lenders and shareholders to restructure their current capital structure.

Ofcom Sets Out Changes to UK Wholesale Landline and Mobile Call Markets

26th Mar, 2026 (0 Comments)

The UK telecoms and internet content regulator, Ofcom, has today revealed its final decisions on how they regulate the wholesale markets that enable landline and mobile calls (inc. calls to 070 numbers) – covering the period from 1st April 2026 to 31st March 2031, as well as removing an access‑related obligation that has applied to BT.

Gov Set New Fixed Telecoms Charter for UK Analogue Phone and Exchange Closures

24th Mar, 2026 (7 Comments)

The UK Government appears to have published a revised Fixed Telecoms Modernisation Charter (FTMC), which sets out the steps that fixed line broadband and phone providers must take to ensure that customers “remain safe” during the current switch-off of analogue phone (PSTN) services and future closure of thousands of Openreach’s legacy exchanges.

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Ofcom Set Out 2026 Market Review Changes to Boost UK Gigabit Broadband UPDATE3

17th Mar, 2026 (15 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today published the outcome of their major Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR), which largely tweaks their existing approach to market regulation in order to help promote competition and investment in gigabit broadband (1000Mbps+) and business connectivity. But not everybody is going to be happy.

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UK Gov Launch Address Checker for Project Gigabit Broadband Rollout UPDATE

13th Mar, 2026 (35 Comments)

The Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency has today launched a new address checker, which enables homes in England and Wales to see whether they’ll be able to benefit from the roll-out of gigabit-capable broadband networks under their publicly funded £5bn Project Gigabit programme. But at the time of writing it’s “currently unavailable due to a technical problem“.

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TOTSCo Set Plan to Improve Performance of Broadband and Phone Switching

12th Mar, 2026 (8 Comments)

The One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo), which is the industry-led company responsible for delivering Ofcom’s process – One Touch Switching (OTS) – for quicker and easier UK switching (migration) between home broadband and phone providers, has today set out details of how they plan to improve the system’s performance and monitoring.

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INCA – Alternative Full Fibre Broadband Networks Cover 19.7 Million UK Premises

11th Mar, 2026 (6 Comments)

The Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA) and Point Topic have today released their 2026 report into the impact of alternative “full fibre” (FTTP/B) broadband networks in the UK. The study reveals that their coverage grew by 20% in 2025 to top 19.7 million premises (up from 16.4m or 27% in 2024) and there are more than 3.5 million live connections (up by 32%).

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Milestone as Gigabit Broadband Coverage Reaches 90 Percent of UK UPDATE

27th Feb, 2026 (30 Comments)

The latest independent data has revealed that 90.04% of premises across the United Kingdom can now access a gigabit-capable broadband ISP connection (1000Mbps+) via fixed lines, which is up from 85% in October 2024 and 80% at the end of 2023. But the figure does drop a little to 82.71% when only looking at full fibre (FTTP) lines.

Openreach Takes on Project Gigabit Broadband Contract for Cheshire UK

27th Feb, 2026 (5 Comments)

The Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency has today confirmed that the previously stalled Project Gigabit broadband roll-out contract for Cheshire (Lot 17), which was originally held by Freedom Fibre until they “mutually agreed to terminate” it in March 2025 (here), has now been picked up by Openreach (BT). But it’s changed a bit in the process.

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Ofcom Find 532,000 UK Consumers Taking Social Broadband and Mobile Tariffs

26th Feb, 2026 (13 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today published their annual Pricing Trends Report for 2026, which among other things confirms that the take-up of cheaper social broadband ISP and mobile tariffs for those on state benefits has jumped to 532,000 customers in June 2025 (up from 506,000 last year). But that’s still just 8.6% of eligible households (e.g. those on Universal Credit) and awareness remains low.

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Virgin Media O2 Satellite Service Goes Live with 4G Mobile from Space

26th Feb, 2026 (17 Comments)

The United Kingdom will today become one of the first countries in Europe to go live on Starlink’s latest Direct to Cell (DtC) and satellite based 4G mobile data (broadband) connectivity, as mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media) switches-on its new O2 Satellite service for customers. Better yet, it’ll only set most customers back an extra £3.

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Broadband and Mobile Providers Adapting to New UK Price Transparency Rules

23rd Feb, 2026 (4 Comments)

A subtle but very important change is slowly happening behind the scenes of the UK’s consumer telecoms industry, as broadband and mobile providers start realising they need to adapt to the Competition and Markets Authority‘s (CMA) new guidance on unfair commercial practices, particularly around the complex issue of “price transparency“.

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Netomnia Agree UK Broadband Merger Deal with Owners of Virgin Media O2 UPDATE2

18th Feb, 2026 (147 Comments)

Alternative network operator Netomnia (Substantial Group), which has deployed their own full fibre broadband (FTTP) network to cover 3 million UK premises RFS (inc. 460,000 customers), have today confirmed that they’ve been acquired by the owners of Virgin Media (O2) and nexfibre (i.e. InfraVia, Liberty Global and Telefónica) for £2bn. But rival bidder CityFibre may yet raise a competition complaint.

Ofcom Give Virgin Media O2 UK Green Light for Mobile Calls via Satellite

17th Feb, 2026 (15 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today approved a request by the parent of mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media) to vary its spectrum licence to allow for the launch of their imminent O2 Satellite service, which will harness Starlink’s satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to connect with standard smartphones in the UK.

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Government Set to Restrict UK Children’s Use of Internet VPNs and Social Media UPDATE

16th Feb, 2026 (52 Comments)

The UK Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, has today proposed last minute amendments to two Bills that will enable the Government to set a minimum age limit for social media (i.e. greater use of Age Verification), as well as options to age restrict or limit children’s use of Virtual Private Networks (VPN), where it “undermines safety protections and changing the age of digital consent“.