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Openreach Trial Broadband Speed Limits to Nudge Users Off Copper UPDATE2

27th Jan, 2023 (121 Comments)

Openreach has announced that, as part of their plan to retire older analogue UK phone services by December 2025, they will conduct a trial that “responsibly [adjusts] the performance of the remaining analogue services” (i.e. blocking out-bound calls and limiting broadband ISP speeds) to “encourage” customers to upgrade. OUCH.

Scientists Find Way of Using WiFi to Monitor People Through Walls

27th Jan, 2023 (4 Comments)

Researchers working out of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pennsylvania (USA) have demonstrated a new way of using Machine Learning / AI and a deep neural network to map the position of human bodies, including through walls, by analysing the phase and amplitude of WiFi (wireless network) signals.

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CityFibre Expands Full Fibre Broadband to 2.5 Million UK Premises

27th Jan, 2023 (11 Comments)

Network operator CityFibre has announced that their gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP network now covers 2.5 million UK premises (up from 2m in September 2022) and 2.2 million of those are considered to be ‘Ready For Service’ (up from 1.8m), which means that residents can place an order with one of their 36 ISPs (up from 30).

Shell Energy Ponders Exit from the UK Broadband ISP Market

27th Jan, 2023 (15 Comments)

Customers of Shell Energy, which is a retail provider of energy and broadband services to UK consumers, could be facing an uncertain future after Shell launched a “strategic review” of the business due to “tough market conditions“. Shell is known to be considering several options, including an exit from the sector.

BT to Recruit 400 More UK Apprentices and Graduates

26th Jan, 2023 (5 Comments)

Broadband ISP and telecoms giant BT has tonight announced that they intend to recruit another 400 apprentices and graduates this year (down from 600 in 2022), which will form part of their usual September 2023 intake. This will reflect roles spanning areas such as engineering (5G and FTTP etc.), customer service, research and security.

Devon and Somerset UK Issue Jan 2023 Airband FTTP Build Update

26th Jan, 2023 (6 Comments)

The Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme in England and UK ISP Airband have today issued a new January 2023 update on their Phase 2 contract to deploy a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across the region, which reveals some of the next areas to benefit.

Fern Trading Fuels Vitrifi’s Wholesale Platform for Full Fibre AltNets

26th Jan, 2023 (2 Comments)

Fern Trading, which is part of Octopus Investments’ portfolio and backs a number of UK full fibre broadband projects from Giganet, Jurassic Fibre, Swish Fibre, AllPoints Fibre and Vorboss, is also supporting another company called Vitrifi that has just launched a new technology to help AltNets offer wholesale products.

FarrPoint Highlights Broadband Priorities and Challenges for UK Councils

26th Jan, 2023 (0 Comments)

Technical UK consultancy firm FarrPoint has today published a new report, which surveyed 100 digital leaders at local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales to discover the priorities and challenges they face in upgrading digital infrastructure (e.g. gigabit broadband, 5G mobile etc.).

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Shell Energy Still Attracting Most UK Broadband Gripes in Q3 2022

26th Jan, 2023 (3 Comments)

The latest Q3 2022 Ofcom survey of UK consumer complaints has, once again, named ISP Shell Energy as attracting the most consumer gripes for both fixed line broadband and landline phone services, while BT and Virgin Mobile did the same for Pay Monthly Mobile services and Virgin Media for Pay TV.

Virgin Media UK Confirm Price Hikes for Broadband, TV and Phone

26th Jan, 2023 (50 Comments)

Customers of UK ISP Virgin Media (VMO2) – specifically those that take their fixed line broadband, phone and pay TV services – are today being informed about the operator’s annual price hikes, which “on average” are set to increase by 13.8% on either 1st April or 1st May 2023 (price changes will vary according to your package).

Hampshire County Council Slashes Rural Broadband Funding

26th Jan, 2023 (13 Comments)

The Hampshire County Council (HCC) in England appears set to slash its spending on rural broadband upgrades for the coming year, which will see it falling sharply from £130,000 in 2022/23 to just £5,000 in 2023/24. But this change perhaps isn’t as surprising as it might first appear.

Salmon Farming Helps HebNet Extend Faster Broadband in West Scotland

26th Jan, 2023 (1 Comment)

Back in 2018 we reported (here) on how community ISP HebNet CIC had worked with Scottish Sea Farms (SSF) to extend a 30Mbps+ capable Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) broadband network to serve homes near to two Salmon farms on the Isle of Skye and Knoydart in rural Scotland (Highlands). The good news is that this network is being extended.

EE Expand 5G Cover to 60% of UK and Adds 19 New Locations UPDATE

25th Jan, 2023 (30 Comments)

Consumer broadband ISP and mobile operator EE (BT) has today announced that their ultrafast 5G based (mobile broadband) network now covers 60% of the UK’s population (up from 50% in May 2022) and, on top of that, they’ve named 19 new locations where the network has just gone live.

Cross-Party MPs Criticise Weakness of “Rushed” UK Infrastructure Bank UPDATE

25th Jan, 2023 (5 Comments)

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is responsible for examining the value for money of Government projects, has today criticised various flaws in the “rushed” UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) that has so far only been used to provide financing to deliver gigabit broadband and build solar farms.

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RootMetrics Benchmark the Top UK Mobile Networks for H2 2022

25th Jan, 2023 (5 Comments)

Mobile testing firm RootMetrics (Ookla) has today published their latest biannual H2 2022 study of mobile network (4G and 5G) and broadband performance across the United Kingdom, which once again sees EE (BT) come top of every single ranking category. But Three UK is still delivering the goods in terms of 5G speed.

ISP Grain Launch Social Tariff for UK FTTP Broadband Network

24th Jan, 2023 (0 Comments)

Cumbria-based broadband ISP and network builder Grain (Grain Connect), which is busy deploying a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) service across various parts of the UK, has today become the latest provider to launch a cheaper Social Tariff package – ‘Grain Social’ and ‘Grain Social Plus’ – for those on benefits.

ISP Gigaclear to Extend FTTP Broadband Cover in Surrey UK

24th Jan, 2023 (2 Comments)

Rural-focused UK ISP Gigaclear has announced that they’re planning to extend their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across a further 7,000 premises (homes and businesses) in Surrey, England. The first location to benefit from this expansion will be the large village of Chilworth.