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Vodafone UK Still Tackling Issue of 200Mbps FTTP Speed Caps

19th Aug, 2023 (37 Comments)

Some of Vodafone’s broadband ISP customers, specifically those covered by Openreach’s gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network, have been unable to take a package faster than 200Mbps because of capacity problems, which for some of those affected has been going on for several years. But some issues are getting resolved.

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Ofcom UK Propose More 28GHz Spectrum to Boost Satellite Broadband

18th Aug, 2023 (9 Comments)

The UK telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed to make 448MHz of the spectrum frequency in the 28GHz band (27.5–30GHz) available to satellite broadband services, specifically their Earth station gateways, which could help to boost data speeds and further expand coverage into remote communities.

Doorstep Scammers Posing as Council Reps to Sell UK Broadband

18th Aug, 2023 (8 Comments)

Residents in the West Midland’s city of Wolverhampton have been warned by the local city council to be on the lookout for doorstep scammers, some of which have recently been posing as council employees in an attempt to entice people to switch their ISP for free broadband.

Broadband ISP EE Quietly Launch UK Digital Home Phone Service

18th Aug, 2023 (45 Comments)

Mobile operator and broadband ISP EE appears to have finally and quietly launched their IP-based Digital Home Phone service this month, which will ultimately replace their old analogue phone service and, perhaps unsurprisingly, is largely just a re-branded variant of BT’s existing Digital Voice product.

Netomnia UK Start FTTP Broadband Rollout in Hitchin

17th Aug, 2023 (31 Comments)

Some 85,000 homes and businesses across the Hertfordshire (England) town of Hitchin will soon benefit after Netomnia, supported by UK ISP YouFibre, started a significant £25.5 million project to deploy their new 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / XGS-PON) broadband network across the area.

CityFibre Begin FTTP Broadband Rollout in Wath Upon Dearne

17th Aug, 2023 (25 Comments)

Network operator CityFibre has today announced that they’ve begun a £31.2m project to deploy their 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / XGS-PON) broadband ISP network across the South Yorkshire town of Wath Upon Dearne, which is home to a local population of around 12,000. But it’ll go further than that.

Full Fibre Broadband ISP GoFibre Sign Emtelle Supply Deal for Scottish Borders

17th Aug, 2023 (6 Comments)

Rural focused UK broadband ISP GoFibre (BorderLink), which is deploying a 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across the North of England and Scottish Borders area, has today signed a new supply deal with Emtelle UK, which is a global manufacturer of blown fibre and ducted network solutions.

Thousands of Orbit’s Homes to Gain Access to Lightning Fibre FTTP Network

17th Aug, 2023 (6 Comments)

Blocks of flats across the South East of England, specifically those from UK housing group Orbit, look set to benefit from a “new” plug-and-play solution to full fibre (FTTP) broadband deployment, which is to be delivered by fibre installations specialist Complete Fibre – supported by broadband ISP Lightning Fibre.

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BT Reveals 1,000 of its Old UK Payphone Kiosks Up for Grabs

17th Aug, 2023 (11 Comments)

Telecoms giant BT has announced that, ahead of its iconic red phone box turning 100 years of age next year, around 1,000 of its 20,000 remaining kiosks (payphone boxes) are currently up for grabs across the United Kingdom (down from a historic peak of 92,000). Some 7,200 have already been adopted by communities across the country.

Mobile giant Vodafone UK and Sky (Comcast) have reportedly two among several "groups" that have approached budget conscious fixed broadband ISP TalkTalk about a potential deal (most likely an acquisition), which in theory could create a much larger provider with more influence over the industry. Just to recap. In 2020 TalkTalk became the subject of a £1.1bn takeover by Toscafund - controlled by hedge fund tycoon Martin Hughes (here), which including debt valued the broadband provider at around £1.8bn. The deal took the ISP private and gave them more financial flexibility for their future plans. Since then, they've backed Freedom Fibre (here) and this week made the notable acquisition of Ethernet provider Virtual1 (here). According to the FT (paywall) and Sky News, TalkTalk is now said to have asked investment bank Lazard to review its options after allegedly being approach by several groups, including Vodafone and Sky (Sky Broadband). Lazard is a logical choice as they recently acted as Financial Advisor to TalkTalk on the Virtual1 transaction. Some industry analysts have reportedly suggested that TalkTalk itself could now be worth "at least" £3bn. But this seems rather optimistic for an ISP that doesn't have any significant fixed line broadband infrastructure to call its own (excluding their old unbundled LLU network) and largely just piggybacks off Openreach (BT), CityFibre and Freedom Fibre. But TalkTalk do have a strong business and wholesale side. Funnily enough, Sky Broadband are in a similar position with their own fixed line base, while Vodafone also likes to piggyback off Openreach and CityFibre. At present, Vodafone has a fixed broadband base of 991,000 customers, while Sky Broadband is estimated to be home to around 6.7 million and TalkTalk has approximately 4.2 million. Suffice to say, anybody gobbling up TalkTalk would instantly become a much larger provider, giving them a greater say in how the UK broadband market develops and more opportunities for convergence (Vodafone with mobile, and Sky with mobile and TV). Crucially, TalkTalk's consumer base is mostly made up of those on older copper and hybrid fibre lines (i.e. ADSL and FTTC / VDSL2), which are ripe for a future migration to FTTP. At the time of writing, all of the aforementioned operators have decline to comment on the reports, and TalkTalk has yet to receive any serious formal offers. In other words, we strongly suspect that this is largely just an exercise in spin to help TalkTalk drum up some more productive interest in the idea. But at the same time, it's not unreasonable to suspect that they might succeed, as the interest seems genuine. On the other hand, we see reports like this every year or so and only a very few ever convert into a serious offer. Time will tell. Much may depend upon whether or not TalkTalk’s new owners are more flexible and pragmatic about doing a deal than the previous lot. Arguably, TalkTalk might have gone much further by now had they taken some different decisions a few years ago (e.g. co-investing in FTTP instead of Pay TV).

Complaints Prompt UK ISP TalkTalk to Suspend Doorstep Sellers in Newcastle

17th Aug, 2023 (4 Comments)

Budget focused broadband ISP TalkTalk has “suspended all door-to-door sales activity” in the Newcastle area after residents complained about cold calling occurring in parts of the city designated as a No Cold Calling Zone (NCCZ), which should be fairly self-explanatory to everybody, if not so much the sellers themselves, apparently.

EE and BT TV Customers to Lose AMC Channel Next Month

17th Aug, 2023 (12 Comments)

Customers of UK broadband ISP BT and EE, specifically those taking their pay TV platform, may be unhappy to learn that the provider will be removing the premium AMC channel, and all catch up content, from all BT TV platforms from 28th September 2023 next month.

The Top UK Locations by Alternative Full Fibre Network Cover

16th Aug, 2023 (6 Comments)

The latest independent data from Thinkbroadband‘s database has revealed that alternative full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP networks (AltNets) now cover over a quarter (25.14%) of the UK, which is up from 23.64% at the end of June 2023. In terms of the top 10 locations where such networks dominate, Peterborough (84%) comes first.

Job Losses Strike UK Full Fibre ISP Truespeed as Build Expected to Slow

16th Aug, 2023 (38 Comments)

Sad news today as another alternative builder of full fibre broadband, Truespeed, has confirmed to ISPreview that a good chunk of its workforce are now facing redundancy (possibly c. 150) and the rollout of their 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to homes in the South West of England is due to slow.

MS3 Works to Offset Carbon Footprint of UK Broadband Network

16th Aug, 2023 (15 Comments)

Hull-based network builder MS3, which is working to roll out a 10Gbps capable full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP network to cover 500,000 premises across the North of England by the end of 2025 (here), has today announced a partnership with Carbon Neutral Britain (CNB) to help them “offset their carbon footprints“.

ASA Bans Ads for UK ISP 6G Internet Over 6G Mobile Confusion

16th Aug, 2023 (22 Comments)

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned several adverts for UK fixed wireless broadband ISP 6G Internet (IX Wireless) after they were found to have caused confusing by “misleadingly implying that a sixth-generation mobile network existed and was able to be used by consumers.” Awkward.

Business ISP Connectus Secure Safe Contractor Accreditation for Fibre Build

15th Aug, 2023 (4 Comments)

Business focused UK ISP and Managed Service Provider (MSP) Connectus, which is also busy building a gigabit-capable full fibre broadband network to several sites, has been awarded Safe Contractor accreditation following a lengthy and detailed audit of all their existing safety systems.

Truespeed Grows Full Fibre Cover to 91,000 Premises in England

15th Aug, 2023 (29 Comments)

Rural UK broadband ISP Truespeed, which is deploying a 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to homes in the South West of England (mostly in Devon, Wiltshire and Somerset), has revealed that they’ve now covered 91,000 premises (up from 75k in May 2023) and have over 17,000 customers (up from 15k).