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Articles for Category Tag - BT

Analogue UK Phone Switch Off Reportedly Facing 2 Year Delay

1st April, 2024 (50 Comments)

A new newspaper report has claimed that the ongoing work to withdraw BT and Openreach’s old copper-based analogue line services (PSTN phones and WLR), which was due to complete by December 2025, could be facing a delay of up to two years. But the delay may only apply to vulnerable users who remain dependent upon old telecare devices, which often haven’t been updated to function with IP-based digital alternatives.

The 2024 Electricity Costs of Big UK ISP Home Broadband Routers UPDATE

30th March, 2024 (43 Comments)

Some years ago we examined the electricity costs of running a modern Home Broadband connection (here), which largely reflected the price of keeping your wireless internet router (or modem) switched-on around the clock. Given the issue of energy costs, we thought it might be worth seeing how this has changed.

Smaller UK Broadband ISPs Beat BIG Providers in Which? Ranking

28th March, 2024 (20 Comments)

Consumer magazine Which? has today published the results of their latest 2024 ranking of home broadband providers, which found that smaller ISPs like CommunityFibre, Zen Internet and Hyperoptic topped the table and eclipsed the biggest providers that now mostly inhabit the bottom half of the table.

BT to Convert 2,000 More UK Payphones to Gigabit WiFi Street Hubs

27th March, 2024 (10 Comments)

Broadband and technology giant BT has today announced a new 10-year partnership with media group Global, which will jointly work to convert a further 2,000 of the operator’s legacy payphones and kiosks – across more than 200 UK towns and cities – into brand-new smart Street Hubs, starting in 2025.

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Openreach UK Extend FTTP Broadband to 97 Percent of N.Ireland

27th March, 2024 (12 Comments)

Network operator Openreach (BT) has today announced that their 1.8Gbps speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband ISP network in Northern Ireland is being extended to cover 97% of premises (currently they’re at 87%). As a result, a further £100m investment is being made to reach over 100,000 extra premises.

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BT Field Trials Fibre Network with Adtran’s Pluggable 100Gbps Transceiver

26th March, 2024 (8 Comments)

Network technology firm Adtran and UK broadband giant BT Group today revealed that they’ve conducted Europe’s “first successful field trial” of optical transport in a live research network, using Adtran’s Coherent 100ZR pluggable transceiver – achieving “high levels of spectral efficiency and low power consumption.”

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Ofcom Start Next Major Market Review to Boost UK Gigabit Broadband

26th March, 2024 (28 Comments)

The national UK telecoms, media and internet regulator, Ofcom, has today begun the early evidence gathering and development phase for their next major review of the UK’s wholesale telecoms market – Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR), which will look to make changes that “promote competition and investment” in gigabit broadband and business connectivity.

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Openreach to Pilot Alternative UK Analogue Phone Line in May 2024

22nd March, 2024 (32 Comments)

Openreach (BT) has informed ISPs and phone providers of their plan to pilot the new SOTAP for Analogue product from 1st May 2024, which is a phone line service that does NOT require broadband to function and will be targetted at vulnerable users who would otherwise struggle with migrating to an All-IP (internet) based phone service by 2025.

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Customers of UK ISP BT Experiencing Webmail Login Problems

22nd March, 2024 (11 Comments)

Customers of broadband ISP BT, specifically those who still use their email service (BT Mail), are this morning reporting login problems when trying to access their accounts via webmail. But access is currently still working for those trying to access the service via the App or third-party email clients, such as Outlook Express and Thunderbird etc.

Government Boosts Resilience of UK 999 Calls After BT Fault

21st March, 2024 (0 Comments)

The UK Government has today proposed a series of recommendations to help “bolster the resilience” of the 999 emergency call handling system, which is operated by BT, following a technical fault (“complex software issue”) last summer (here) that resulted in 11,470 unique emergency calls being “unsuccessfully connected“.

First of 86 UK Gov-Funded 4G Mobile Mast Upgrades Go Live in Wales

19th March, 2024 (1 Comment)

The Government has today announced that the first of 86 new state aid supported 4G mobile masts in rural parts of Wales have been upgraded and switched-on. The work forms part of the £1bn industry-led Shared Rural Network project (i.e. extending 4G mobile / broadband cover to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025) with EE, Three UK, O2 and Vodafone.

New Launch Date for Delayed Faster UK Broadband ISP Switching

12th March, 2024 (11 Comments)

The industry-led One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo), which is responsible for implementing Ofcom’s solution for faster consumer switching between UK broadband ISPs on different networks (aka – One Touch Switch), has announced that the now heavily delayed system will aim to go live on 12th September 2024.

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More UK Providers Commit to Protect Vulnerable Users During Digital Phone Switch UPDATE

11th March, 2024 (11 Comments)

The government has announced that seven UK broadband and phone operators, including Openreach, CityFibre, AllPoints Fibre, CommunityFibre, Ogi, KCOM and WightFibre, have today signed a charter that commits them to protect “vulnerable customers” (e.g. those with telecare devices) when upgrading phone lines to a new digital (IP) based network.

BT Setting Sights on Changes at UK Local Business Divisions

10th March, 2024 (9 Comments)

Sources have indicated to ISPreview that the BT Group are in the process of reviewing the BT Local Business (BTLB) division, which currently reflects a regional network of BT-backed independent businesses that help to service and support customers at a more local level. But LB’s future structure may be much more centralised.

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BT Win £26m Deal to Link 650 Primary Schools with Gigabit Broadband

5th March, 2024 (25 Comments)

Telecoms giant BT has today announced that they’ve secured a state-aid supported £26m contract under the UK Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit programme, which will see them connect over 650 primary schools in hard-to-reach (rural) places across England with gigabit broadband using full fibre technology.

BT and EE Hint at UK 5G Standalone Mobile Rollout for H2 2024

4th March, 2024 (14 Comments)

The Chief Security and Networks Officer of BT, Howard Watson, has hinted that EE may be in a position to begin their commercial deployment of 5G standalone (5G SA) mobile network technology during the second half of 2024. But they won’t have a better idea of the likely timing until this summer.

BT Shipping its Final Paper Phone Books to UK Customers

1st March, 2024 (16 Comments)

A small but important development is happening this month as BT finally ends the free distribution of a physical phone book on 31st March 2024. The move, which was announced last year, will bring to end a service that has been running since as far back as 1880. But these days, the vast majority of people use services like Google to find what they want.