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Latest Key Developments

Ofcom Move to Protect UK People from Mobile Roaming Bill Shocks

20th Jul, 2023 (13 Comments)

Ofcom has today proposed new rules to force mobile network operators, such as Three UK, Vodafone, EE and O2 (inc. MVNO operators), to protect consumers who travel abroad from mobile BILL SHOCKS on data (broadband), call and text charges by introducing new roaming alert protections for consumers and small businesses.

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Ofcom UK to Publish Take-up of Social Tariffs by Provider

13th Jul, 2023 (9 Comments)

Ofcom has published an update on its action plan to support broadband and mobile customers during the cost-of-living crisis, which once again calls on UK ISPs to take “immediate action” to boost the take-up of cheaper social tariffs (available to those on state benefits) and promises to publish take-up data for each provider.

BT Group Confirm UK CEO Philip Jansen to Exit Within 12 Months

10th Jul, 2023 (30 Comments)

Broadband and phone giant BT Group (inc. Openreach, Plusnet and EE) has this morning announced that the operator’s current CEO, Philip Jansen, is to leave the business “at an appropriate moment over the next 12 months“. Since taking on the role in February 2019, the operator’s share price has fallen from around 230p to 122p.

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Summer 2023 BDUK Update on UK Project Gigabit Broadband Build

3rd Jul, 2023 (18 Comments)

The Building Digital UK agency has published their latest quarterly update (June 2023) on the Government’s £5bn rural Project Gigabit broadband rollout progress, which has so far awarded rollout contracts worth a total of £589m (state aid) to help extend coverage to an extra 378,450 of the hardest to reach premises.

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CityFibre Win Three Major UK Project Gigabit Broadband Rollout Contracts

1st Jul, 2023 (48 Comments)

The UK Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme has announced that CityFibre have secured three major build contracts for Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk in England. The combined award is worth £488m (£318m state aid and £170m private) and will see the operator extend 10Gbps capable FTTP to 218,000 premises (500k inc. commercial build).

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New UK Ad Rules to Tackle Mid-Contract Broadband Price Hikes UPDATE2

15th Jun, 2023 (22 Comments)

The UK Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP and BCAP) – sister bodies to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) – have today set out new guidance for how broadband ISPs and mobile operators should communicate mid-contract prices hikes to consumers, which will make such policies clearer and more transparent.

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Vodafone and Three UK Sign Agreement for Mobile Mega Merger

14th Jun, 2023 (73 Comments)

Mobile network operators Vodafone and Three UK (CK Hutchison) have today confirmed that they’ve reached a formal merger agreement, which is said to be worth an estimated £15bn and will see the former party owning a 51% slice of the business (CKH will hold 49%). But they’ll still have to satisfy the regulators, and that may require concessions.

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85,504 Premises in N.Ireland Need Help to Get Gigabit Broadband

6th Jun, 2023 (4 Comments)

The Building Digital UK agency and Department for the Economy (DfE) have published a new Public Review (PR) consultation for Northern Ireland, which reveals that some 85,504 premises might need state aid help under the £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme in order to access 1Gbps speeds.

Gov Launch New £7m Fund to Test UK Rural Broadband Solutions UPDATE

6th Jun, 2023 (8 Comments)

The UK Government will today launch a new £7 million fund as one part of their wider Unleashing Rural Opportunity strategy, which will be used to “test out new ways” of bringing together satellite, wireless (FWA and mobile) and fixed line broadband ISP solutions to help “support farmers and tourism businesses” in rural areas.

Ofcom to Stop Publishing UK Home Broadband ISP Speeds Study

1st Jun, 2023 (28 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed to stop publishing its annual summary of fixed line home broadband ISP speeds after the next report is released later this year (due Q4 2023). Mainly because they deem that it’s no longer needed as the market has changed.

Ofcom APPROVE Openreach’s Equinox 2 UK FTTP Broadband Price Cuts UPDATE4

24th May, 2023 (65 Comments)

Ofcom has this morning announced that it will NOT block Openreach’s proposed “Equinox 2” discount scheme for their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband ISP products from being introduced, which came after rival networks raised competition concerns over the plans.

Wales 2023 Map of Broadband Slowspots Sub 30Mbps

Wales Hints at £70m Broadband Upgrade for 84,000 Premises

11th May, 2023 (11 Comments)

The Welsh Government has put out a Prior Information Notice (PIN) on a future project for “Extending High Speed Broadband Reach in Wales“, which indicates that they’re preparing to procure a contract worth around £70m (state aid) to upgrade broadband for 84,000 premises (i.e. those that can’t yet get “superfast” speeds of 30Mbps+).

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First of 120 Planned UK Gov Funded 4G Mast Upgrades Goes Live in Scotland

3rd May, 2023 (1 Comment)

The first UK government-funded rural 4G mobile mast upgrade has today been completed in the Lockerbie area in Scotland, which forms part (£75m) of their industry-led £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) project with EE (BT), Vodafone, Three UK and O2 (Virgin Media). A further 120+ masts in Scotland are also set for upgrades.

Openreach 2023 Two FTTP Engineers on Doorstep

Openreach Add 10 New UK Locations to FTTP Broadband Rollout

2nd May, 2023 (76 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has today issued another update to their £15bn UK rollout of a new multi-Gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network, which adds 10 new locations to their deployment plan – covering an additional 124,000 homes and businesses in places across England, Wales and Scotland.

Ofcom UK Test New Way to Detect and Block Spoofed Numbers

28th Apr, 2023 (13 Comments)

Ofcom has today begun seeking feedback from the industry on the potential future adoption of Calling Line Identification (CLI) authentication, which – once the UK has fully transitioned to digital landlines – could be adopted as a new approach to detecting and blocking “spoofed” (fake) phone numbers.

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New Bill to Boost Consumer Protection on UK Broadband and Mobile

25th Apr, 2023 (6 Comments)

The Government will today introduce their new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill (DMCCB), which among other things also promises several new protection measures that could benefit customers of broadband ISPs and mobile operators (e.g. clearer contract information and making it easier to exit a contract).

Smart Data Council Looks to Tackle Broadband ISP Loyalty Penalties

17th Apr, 2023 (17 Comments)

The UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has today launched a new “Smart Data Council“, which aims to help cut consumer bills, such as by finding ways to make it easier for consumers and businesses to find the tariffs best suited to their needs, or reduce the “loyalty penalty” that customers face when switching providers.