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Latest Key Developments

More Spectrum Opens for UK Ultrafast Fixed Wireless Connectivity

8th Nov, 2018 (2 Comments)

Ofcom has today announced that they will be imminently releasing more radio spectrum in the licence exempt 57-71GHz bands, which they suggest could be used to help deliver fixed wireless broadband and 5G style connections at potentially “fibre-like speeds“.

Hyperoptic Get £500m to Bring Forward 1Gbps UK Broadband Rollout

7th Nov, 2018 (17 Comments)

City focused “full fibre” (FTTP/B) broadband ISP Hyperoptic has announced a significant equity raise with the investment arm of the Government of Abu Dhabi (Mubadala Investment Company), which in total means they will now have £500m to help them bring forward their roll-out to reach 2 million UK premises by 2021.

Ofcom Try Again for Openreach UK Dark Fibre and Unrestricted PIA

2nd Nov, 2018 (13 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today begun consulting on their new Business Connectivity Market Review 2018/19 (BCMR), which among other things is proposing “unrestricted access” to Openreach’s (BT) cable ducts / telegraph poles to boost fibre broadband. It will also try again to impose a Dark Fibre Access (DFA) product.

Autumn UK Budget 2018 Confirms £200m+ for Rural Full Fibre

29th Oct, 2018 (30 Comments)

The Government’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond MP, has today set out his autumn 2018 budget and confirmed that he will inject an “additional” £200m+ to help “full fibre” broadband ISP networks reach rural areas. He also set out policy proposals to encourage FTTP for new build homes and existing apartments.

Openreach Slash FTTP Broadband Prices for More New Build Homes

25th Oct, 2018 (14 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has announced that they will drop the price of their 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based ultrafast broadband ISP network infrastructure by 75% for new homes in the UK (focus on smaller developers), which aims to “encourage house builders to provide all new homes with full fibre“.

Scotland Seek Narrow Trenching Standard for Broadband Rollout

24th Oct, 2018 (1 Comment)

The Scottish Government is consulting on changes to Section 130 of the New Road & Street Works Act 1991, which seeks to create a uniform technical standard for “narrow trenching“. This could encourage greater use of the technique by broadband network builders and better safeguards across Scotland’s 33 road authorities.

Cityfibre Get £2.5bn to Build FTTH Broadband to 5 Million UK Homes

24th Oct, 2018 (46 Comments)

They’ve done it. Fibre optic network builder Cityfibre has announced that their backers have agreed to establish a £2.5bn fund, which will help the operator extend their 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH/P) broadband ISP network to cover 5 million premises in 37 UK cities and towns by 2025.

Welsh Government Award £13m Fibre Broadband Contract to BT UPDATE5

23rd Oct, 2018 (18 Comments)

The Welsh Government has today announced that BT (Openreach) have won LOT 1 and LOT 3 of the new Phase 2 Superfast Cymru contract, which will initially work to expand “fast broadband” (FTTP dominated) ISP network coverage to reach an additional 16,000 premises by the end of March 2021.

Cambridge, Leeds and Southend-on-Sea to Get 1Gbps Broadband

9th Oct, 2018 (11 Comments)

Cambridge, Leeds and Southend-on-Sea have today been named as the next 3 UK cities and towns to be covered via Cityfibre and Vodafone’s joint deployment of a new Gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband ISP network by the end of 2021. The rollout is being supported by an investment of £171m.

Competition Complaint Investigates the High Price of Provider Loyalty

28th Sep, 2018 (10 Comments)

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has opened a “super-complaint” into broadband ISPs, mobile and financial (savings etc.) providers, which will examine how consumers who remain loyal (e.g. stay with the service at the end of their contract) can end up paying “significantly more” than new customers.

Ofcom Clamps Down on Pricing for UK Mobile and Handset Bundles

26th Sep, 2018 (19 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed a number of measures that will seek to tackle concerns over airtime packages (e.g. bundling the cost of a Smartphone and Mobile plan together), which can result in consumers continuing to pay the same monthly charge even after their contract has ended.

CLA, NFU and Openreach Wayleave Deal Means Fast Rural Broadband UPDATE

25th Sep, 2018 (4 Comments)

Good news. A newly negotiated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and wayleave (access) agreement between key UK landowners and Openreach (BT) has today been announced, which means that the telecoms giant should find it easier to extend their superfast broadband ISP network(s) into rural areas.

UKWISPA Creates Quality Accreditation for Fixed Wireless ISPs

20th Sep, 2018 (5 Comments)

The UK Wireless Internet Service Providers Association, which is the official trade body for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) broadband providers, has today launched a new Quality Accreditation Programme that aims to help ensure that providers deliver the “very highest standards of service and reliability to their customers“.

Ofcom Proposes Options to Improve UK Mobile Network Coverage

14th Sep, 2018 (9 Comments)

Ofcom has today published the technical advice that they recently submitted to Government, which proposes a number of ways in which near universal UK Mobile (3G, 4G, 5G) coverage might be achieved (public subsidy, rural wholesale access etc.), beyond what will be established via their forthcoming auction of the 700MHz band.

Five ISPs Express Interest in Delivering 10Mbps UK Broadband USO

13th Sep, 2018 (22 Comments)

Ofcom has revealed that only BT (Openreach), KCOM, Hyperoptic, Quickline and Broadway Partners have expressed a formal interest in becoming suppliers for the new Universal Service Obligation (USO), which from 2020 will make it possible for anybody in a slow speed area to request a broadband speed of at least 10Mbps.

ISP Sky Broadband UK to Sell Openreach G.fast and FTTP Broadband

10th Sep, 2018 (32 Comments)

After a period of uncertainty it’s today been revealed that Sky Broadband has done a new wholesale deal with Openreach (BT) to sell the operator’s range of “ultrafast broadband” (G.fast and FTTP) services on to UK customers, which will come at a hefty price discount of up to 40%. Sky now hope to double their customer base.

Openreach to Scale Back G.fast Broadband Rollout – Focus on FTTP

9th Aug, 2018 (82 Comments)

Industry sources have informed ISPreview.co.uk that Openreach (BT) are to revise down their UK rollout plan for 330Mbps capable hybrid fibre G.fast broadband ISP technology from 10 million to nearly 6 million premises. The aim is to refocus on their new Gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) deployment.