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Latest Key Developments

Scotland Reveal R100 Full Fibre Broadband Rollout Plan to 2023

9th Jan, 2020 (21 Comments)

The Scottish Government‘s Minister for Connectivity, Paul Wheelhouse, has today issued an update on the progress of their much delayed £600m R100 (Reaching 100%) project, which confirms how many premises will benefit in each area and what technologies will be used. Sadly the rollout will complete in 2023, rather than 2021.

fibre optic red and blue broadband cables 2018

Ofcom Start Major Review to Boost UK Full Fibre Broadband Market

8th Jan, 2020 (20 Comments)

The national telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today launched their first combined Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review 2021-26 (FTMR), which proposes major changes to help boost investment in “full fibre” broadband and high capacity Ethernet (leased line) services for both the residential and business connectivity markets.

consumer switching uk broadband and phone

Big Ofcom Changes to Help Broadband ISP and Mobile Switching UPDATE

17th Dec, 2019 (8 Comments)

The national telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed to make switching between broadband ISPs on physically separate UK networks easier (e.g. BT to Hyperoptic) and they also intend to ban mobile operators from selling “locked” handsets (i.e. Smartphones that cannot be used on other networks unless they are unlocked).

ISP TalkTalk Trial UK FTTP Ultrafast Broadband via Openreach

10th Dec, 2019 (32 Comments)

Last month UK ISP TalkTalk promised that they would launch a new range of ultrafast broadband packages “before the end of the calendar year“, which for the first time would be based off Openreach’s (BT) new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network. The first customer trials are now quietly going live.

Wales Considers Spending More on Mobile than Fixed Broadband

27th Nov, 2019 (9 Comments)

The National Infrastructure Commission for Wales (NICW) has issued a call for evidence on its priorities for 2020 as it develops a future infrastructure plan for Wales, which among other things includes a proposal to spend a “greater proportion of public funds” on mobile (4G / 5G) rather than to fixed broadband ISP networks.

Ofcom and Openreach Trial Cheaper UK FTTC Broadband Upgrades UPDATE

25th Nov, 2019 (14 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has begun a consultation on the proposed introduction of a new “bulk upgrade process,” which requires an exclusion in Openreach’s (BT) quality of service regulation but would make it more efficient for them to upgrade slower lines to FTTC (VDSL2) based broadband ISP connections.

BT to Scoop LOT 1 of Scotland’s R100 Superfast Broadband Rollout

21st Nov, 2019 (20 Comments)

The Scottish Government has awarded BT (Openreach) the final LOT 1 contract – as preferred bidder – to deliver their new £600m R100 (Reaching 100%) project, which originally (here) aspired to make “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) ISP networks available to “every single premises in Scotland” by the end of 2021.

Labour Party Pledge £20bn to Deploy FREE Full Fibre for All UK UPDATE3

15th Nov, 2019 (112 Comments)

The UK Labour Party has set out their broadband pledge for the General Election on 12th December 2019, which includes a commitment to invest £20.3bn into rolling out “full fibre” (FTTP) by 2030, nationalising Openreach (BT) into public ownership and if that wasn’t quite radical enough then access to this will be.. FREE.

Welsh Government Quietly Unveil £10m Rural Broadband Fund

13th Nov, 2019 (3 Comments)

The Welsh Government (WG) yesterday announced – during a debate on Digital Connectivity – a new £10 million fund that will be targeted to help bring “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) ISP networks to poorly served communities in the mostly rural final 5% of Wales.

ISP Vodafone UK Extends FTTP Broadband with Openreach Deal

11th Nov, 2019 (18 Comments)

Mobile operator and ISP Vodafone UK has today moved to mix the on-going rollout of their new 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based “Gigafast Broadband” network with Cityfibre by striking a new commercial deal with Openreach (BT), which gives them access to the latter’s “full fibre” network too.

Virgin Media UK Says Goodbye to BT, Signs Vodafone for Mobile UPDATE

6th Nov, 2019 (45 Comments)

Cable TV and broadband ISP Virgin Media UK (Liberty Global) has today made the surprise announcement that their long-running Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement with BT (EE) will be coming to an end. Instead they’ve signed a new 5-year partnership deal for Virgin Mobile with rival operator Vodafone.

Ofcom Consult on Funding for the 10Mbps UK Broadband USO

5th Nov, 2019 (10 Comments)

Ofcom has today opened a new consultation on the funding (compensation) arrangements for BT and KCOM’s forthcoming Universal Service Obligation (USO), which is due to begin on the 20th March 2020 and aims to ensure that everybody can request a minimum broadband speed of “at least” 10Mbps (1Mbps upload).

Ofcom’s New 5G Mobile Auction Plan for 700MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz

28th Oct, 2019 (5 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today confirmed that they will proceed to auction of the 700MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz radio spectrum bands in spring 2020 to boost new 5G networks to potentially Gigabit-capable (1000Mbps+) mobile broadband speeds. But in light of last week’s Shared Rural Network deal (here), the coverage obligation is gone.

Government in £1bn Deal for 95% Geographic UK 4G Mobile by 2025

25th Oct, 2019 (11 Comments)

The Government has today announced a new £1bn deal with Three UK, Vodafone, O2 and EE (BT) to establish a new Shared Rural Network (SRN), which will see the mobile operators working cooperatively together in order to extend the geographic coverage of 4G (mobile broadband) services to 95% of the UK by 2025.

O2 UK’s Unlimited 5G Mobile Network Goes Live At No Extra Cost

17th Oct, 2019 (2 Comments)

O2 (Telefonica) has today become the last of the four primary UK operators to switch-on a commercial ultrafast 5G based mobile broadband network, which is initially live across several key hubs in busy areas of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Slough and Leeds. Plus it comes at no extra cost on “Custom Plans.”

ISP UK Internet Porn Ban Stalled and Shifted to Online Harms Bill

16th Oct, 2019 (6 Comments)

Confusion reigns today after the Government confirmed that its controversial new internet Age Verification (AV) system, which was due to be implemented by commercial websites and “apps” that contain pornographic content (broadband ISPs would be forced to block sites that fail to comply), “will not be commencing.” But there’s a catch.

2019 Queen’s Speech Sets Out UK Gigabit Broadband Plans UPDATE

14th Oct, 2019 (12 Comments)

The Queen has today carried out the annual State Opening of Parliament, which as per usual included a list of policy plans that the Government intends to put forward over the coming years. As expected this included some planned legislation for broadband and internet safety related matters.