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Openreach List 163 More UK Areas for Copper to FTTP Switch – Tranche 19 UPDATE

17th Jan, 2025 (31 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has released the next January 2025 batch of 163 exchanges (Tranche 19) in their “FTTP Priority Exchange Stop Sell” programme, which reflects areas where over 75% of premises are able to get full fibre lines and will thus stop selling copper based analogue phone and broadband products (i.e. FTTP becomes the only product option).

Ofcom Propose to Make More Wireless Devices Licence Exempt

17th Jan, 2025 (0 Comments)

Ofcom has today launched a new consultation that proposes to exempt lots of additional devices (equipment) from needing a wireless telegraphy licence, such as 5G handsets and dongles on an aircraft or ship and 5.8 GHz (5725-5850 MHz) Fixed Wireless Access kit – used by many wireless broadband ISPs to offer rural connectivity.

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Three UK Picks Ericsson to Build New Cloud Native Core Network

17th Jan, 2025 (14 Comments)

Mobile operator Three UK has this morning announced that they’ve selected Ericsson to build their new cloud-native core network, which it claims will be the “largest in Europe” and one that will end up “more than tripling its core capacity” to 9Tbps (Terabits per second).

Sky UK Shifts Sky Cinema Customers to Paramount+ Basic (with ads) Plan

17th Jan, 2025 (24 Comments)

Customers of Sky’s TV (Sky Broadband) service, specifically those with their Sky Cinema plan, have been told that their included Paramount+ subscription will be “moved” to the lower value Paramount+ Basic (with ads) plan from 21st January 2025. Some customers will no doubt see this as a downgrade, given that the overall plan price remains the same.

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Zen Internet Claim a Third of Brits Unaware of Analogue Phone Switch-off

17th Jan, 2025 (39 Comments)

A new Censuswide survey conducted on behalf of broadband ISP Zen Internet, which involved 2,000 nationally representative UK consumers aged 16+, has revealed that 34% of respondents are still “unaware” of the upcoming switch from the old Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to IP-based digital phone (VoIP etc.) services.

Three UK Provide Brief Progress Update on 3G Mobile Switch Off

17th Jan, 2025 (18 Comments)

Mobile operator Three UK, which was previously aiming to complete the process of switching off their old 3G (mobile broadband) network by the end of 2024 (here), has told ISPreview today that the “vast majority” of their 3G sites were switched off in September 2024. But a “small number” of sites are still live to avoid customers losing service.

Dorset UK Council Celebrate Completion of £23.6m Broadband Project

16th Jan, 2025 (4 Comments)

After 11 years and £23.6m of public investment, the Dorset Council in the South of England has today celebrated the completion of their Superfast Dorset project (now part of the wider ‘Digital Dorset’ scheme), which helped to extend “superfast” and “ultra-fast” broadband networks to an additional 85,000 premises.

BT Confirms Revised Annual Mid-Contract Price Hikes Policy for 2025

16th Jan, 2025 (20 Comments)

Broadband, TV, phone and mobile provider BT (inc. EE) has today reiterated their policy on annual UK price increases, which readers may recall was first introduced last year (here and here). This is intended to align with Ofcom’s ban on mid-contract price hikes that are linked to confusing inflation and percentage-based changes (here).

Netgem TV Adds Sports Channels via Supporting UK Broadband ISPs

16th Jan, 2025 (5 Comments)

Digital entertainment platform provider Netgem TV has today announced that their IPTV box and service, which is typically bundled by broadband ISPs like Brsk, TalkTalk, Connect Fibre, CommunityFibre and a few others, will benefit from a new partnership with Sports Studio that adds more than 40 free sports channels from its Free Live Sports streaming platform their TV Guide.

Report Examines Customer Take-up of Openreach vs AltNet Broadband ISPs UPDATE

16th Jan, 2025 (4 Comments)

Strategic consultancy firm Eight Advisory has today launched a new Takeup Tracker, which examines the steady rise in take-up across the UK’s many alternative full fibre broadband (altnet) networks and compares it with that of incumbent operator Openreach (BT). The new tracker paints a mixed picture, albeit one with some positives to share.

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Ofcom Begin Process of Imposing Age Verification on UK Internet Sites

16th Jan, 2025 (52 Comments)

The UK telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, has today moved forward with implementation of the government’s tedious new Online Safety Act (OSA) by publishing industry guidance on how websites and social media services should introduce “effective age checks“. The goal is to prevent children from encountering online porn and protect them from other harmful content.

BT’s First Real-World UK Deployment of 5G Standalone Network Slicing

16th Jan, 2025 (2 Comments)

Telecoms giant BT has today said they recently conducted their “first real-world deployment” of a 5G Standalone (5GSA) mobile broadband network using network slicing technology, which formed part of a trial that brought “superfast payments” to the Belfast Christmas Market last month.

Neos Networks Helps LightSpeed Expand UK FTTP Broadband Network

16th Jan, 2025 (1 Comment)

Alternative network operator and ISP LightSpeed Broadband, which has built a gigabit-capable (FTTP) network across 250,000 premises in the East of England, has today signed a new agreement that will enable them to expand their services by gaining access to Neos Networks dark fibre, 100Gbps and 10Gbps optical links, and backhaul services etc.

BT Scrap Pilot to Convert Openreach UK Broadband Cabinets to EV Chargers

16th Jan, 2025 (11 Comments)

Only a few months have passed since BT’s awkwardly named UK digital incubation team, Etc., “powered up” their first Electric Vehicle (EV) charger under a 2-year pilot, which was one of potentially tens of thousands that could have been established by repurposing Openreach’s old broadband street cabinets. But it’s now being powered down and the whole scheme shelved.

Ofcom Enforce BAN on Some Mid-Contract UK Broadband Price Hikes

16th Jan, 2025 (19 Comments)

Ofcom will tomorrow begin enforcing a new rule that bans UK phone, mobile, pay TV and broadband providers from doing mid-contract price hikes that are linked to inflation (CPI or RPI) and percentage-based changes. The change will make pricing clearer for new customers, but some consumers could still pay more than under the old model.

Millions of VPN Servers and Routers Exposed to New Tunnelling Protocol Vulnerabilities

15th Jan, 2025 (14 Comments)

Security and VPN researchers Simon Migliano and Mathy Vanhoef have published a new report today that warns “over 4 million internet hosts“, including VPN servers and private home broadband routers, were found to be vulnerable to being hijacked to perform anonymous attacks and provide access to their private networks – thanks to “new vulnerabilities in multiple tunneling protocols“.

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Altnet ISP Lightning Fibre Refreshes UK Broadband Plans and Prices

15th Jan, 2025 (1 Comment)

Eastbourne-based alternative network operator and UK ISP Lightning Fibre, which is building a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across parts of Sussex and Kent in England, has today announced a package refresh for the New Year that delivers some speed boosts and pricing changes.