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Latest Key Developments

Government Confirms UK Internet Social Media BAN for Children Under 16 UPDATE2

15th Jun, 2026 (39 Comments)

The Prime Minister of the UK Government, Sir Keir Starmer, has today confirmed that they will introduce an internet Social Media Ban for children under the age of 16 against ten popular platforms (TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, X, Threads, Facebook and Kick). But that’s not the only restriction they’ll be introducing.

Ofcom Close UK Broadband ISP Switching Enforcement Programme

11th Jun, 2026 (7 Comments)

The UK telecoms, media and internet content regulator, Ofcom, has closed their enforcement programme for the newest consumer broadband and phone switching system (One Touch Switching). The regulator found that, despite some initial problems, the majority of customers are now successfully switching providers using OTS.

BDUK Publish Annual 2026 UK Gigabit Broadband Rollout Progress Report

11th Jun, 2026 (1 Comment)

The Government’s Building Digital UK agency has today published an annual progress report on their publicly subsidised gigabit broadband rollout schemes. The data reveals that some 1.42 million premises have now received coverage under BDUK’s gigabit programmes since their inception, including 192,570 premises in 2025/26 alone.

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NAO Finds Ofcom Must Improve UK Broadband Regs for Vulnerable Consumers

10th Jun, 2026 (4 Comments)

The National Audit Office (NAO), which acts as an independent public spending watchdog for the UK, has today published a new report that examines the work done by Ofwat, Ofgem and Ofcom to ensure that residential consumers of water and energy supplies and broadband services – particularly vulnerable users – receive good outcomes. Needless to say, some improvement required.

Ofcom UK Shut Enforcement Programme for Checking 999 Calling Access

10th Jun, 2026 (0 Comments)

The telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has closed the own-initiative compliance programme that it opened in October 2025 (here) for assessing whether regulated UK phone providers were meeting their obligations concerning the need to ensure access to emergency calls (e.g. 999 and 112). The good news is they found no major issues, but they have still proposed a few changes.

Ofcom Study Finds Mobile Networks on UK Trains Offer Poor Quality UPDATE

3rd Jun, 2026 (10 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today published a new study that measured mobile (4G / 5G) network performance across 24 segments of key railway lines covering England, Scotland and Wales. The results found that performance was poor on between 58% and 83% of tests carried out on trains, depending on mobile operator.

Government Unveil Plan to Protect UK Subsea Internet Cables from Sabotage

29th May, 2026 (10 Comments)

The UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT / DCMS) has today proposed “tougher fines and prison sentences” for those who damage subsea infrastructure essential for UK broadband access and trade, with consultation planned to take place later this year.

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CityFibre Reduce UK Project Gigabit Broadband Rollout Due to Expanded Commercial Cover

26th May, 2026 (27 Comments)

One of the country’s largest alternative networks, CityFibre, has announced that they’ve reached an agreement with the Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency to “re-scope” the contracts they hold under the Project Gigabit broadband roll-out programme due to the “accelerated rollout of commercially funded full fibre” across their contracted areas.

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Community Fibre Resume UK FTTP Broadband Build – Targets 2 Million+ Premises

21st May, 2026 (8 Comments)

One of the UK’s largest alternative network operators, CommunityFibre, has today reported their annual accounts to the end of 2025, which reveals that revenues jumped 48% in the year to £113m and adjusted EBITDA surged by 530% to £50m. But the biggest news is that they’re resuming the build of their 5Gbps FTTP broadband network, targeting “beyond” 2 million premises by 2028-2029.

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New Draft Ofcom Code Brings UK TV Video Streaming Under their Gaze

14th May, 2026 (14 Comments)

The UK telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, has today published a new Draft Code of Practice for internet and broadband based video streaming services (e.g. Netflix, Amazon / Prime, Disney+ etc.), which will require them to follow new rules, including around harm and offence, due impartiality and accuracy, fairness and privacy, and accessibility.

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2026 Kings Speech – New UK Cyber Security Laws and Broadband Rights for Leaseholders

13th May, 2026 (4 Comments)

The State Opening of Parliament – often referred to as the “King’s Speech” – took place today, which once again saw the new UK Government set out their agenda for the coming session. The speech included mentions of several bills related to telecoms network security and broadband connectivity, which we’ve summarised a bit below.

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Ofcom Predict 95 Percent of UK Covered by Gigabit Broadband by Jan 2029

13th May, 2026 (7 Comments)

The telecoms regulator has today published the fifth edition of their forecast for Planned Network Deployments, which has again revised down its prediction of future UK broadband coverage after many network operators slowed their rollouts. The report predicts that full fibre (FTTP) lines will reach up to 92% of homes by January 2029 – rising up to 95% for gigabit-capable networks (i.e. FTTP and Cable).

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Gov Detail First Public Funding to Boost Gigabit Broadband for Urban UK Areas

11th May, 2026 (0 Comments)

The UK Government has this morning confirmed that their recent modification to Openreach’s (BT) Call Off 5 contract for Essex and North East England (here) will be the “first Project Gigabit contract to target pockets of poor connectivity in towns and cities“, as well as the countryside. Over 9,500 extra premises in Essex “burdened with older broadband” will benefit from the £8.3m expansion (public subsidy).

Vodafone UK Takes Full Control of VodafoneThree as CK Hutchison Exits Stake

5th May, 2026 (47 Comments)

The recently merged mobile and broadband operator VodafoneThree (Vodafone and Three UK) have today announced that Vodafone has reached an agreement to “buy out” CK Hutchison (Three) from the joint venture for £4.3 billion (€4.9bn) in cash via a cancellation of shares. The deal will increase Vodafone Group’s pro forma net debt, but give them full control.

Openreach Pilot Emergency UK Phone Lines for 2027 Analogue Switch-Off

27th Apr, 2026 (19 Comments)

Network access provider Openreach (BT) has today begun to inform UK broadband and phone providers about a new pilot called Emergency Voice Access (EVAc), which is intended to be a basic voice-only fallback service for copper lines (WLR) that fail to be migrated in time for the switch-off of analogue phone (PSTN / WLR) services.

Public Accounts Committee Launch Inquiry into Regulation of UK Broadband

27th Apr, 2026 (0 Comments)

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is responsible for examining the value for money of UK Government projects, programmes and service delivery, has announced the launch of a new inquiry that will examine the effectiveness of current regulation when applied to the water, energy and broadband internet connectivity sectors.

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CMA Begin UK Competition Probe of Netomnia’s Acquisition by VMO2’s Owners UPDATE

23rd Apr, 2026 (11 Comments)

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has this morning launched an initial review of the proposed £2bn acquisition (here) of alternative full fibre UK broadband operator Netomnia (Substantial Group) by the parents of nexfibre and Virgin Media (O2) – Liberty Global, Telefónica and InfraVia.