Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Europe (306 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Europe

Vodafone UK Updates on Changes to Roaming and Basics Plans UPDATE

9th February, 2022 (7 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone UK has informed us of some changes they’ve made to their SIM-Only “Basics” plans from 6th and 9th February 2022, which relates to the introduction of new roaming options (costs), the removal of data capping (not quite what it sounds like) and the enabling of a spend manager.

Virgin Media O2 UK Commits to Retain Free EU Mobile Roaming

9th January, 2022 (37 Comments)

Customers of O2 and Virgin Mobile (VMO2) may be pleased to learn that the mobile operator has just said they “will not be reintroducing roaming fees in Europe.” The move is likely to afford them a distinct competitive advantage for travellers over rivals at EE (BT), Three UK and Vodafone, where inclusive EU roaming is due to end (example).

Vodafone UK and EE Delay Reintroduction of EU Roaming Charges

6th January, 2022 (31 Comments)

Mobile operators Vodafone and EE (BT) have moved to mildly delay the planned reintroduction of EU roaming charges, which will eventually see most customers being charged £2 per day to use their UK allowances (calls, texts and data / mobile broadband) across related countries. Previously, you could do this at no extra cost.

european union including united kingdom map

The EU Publishes 2021 Broadband Connectivity Progress Study

12th November, 2021 (10 Comments)

After a long delay due to COVID-19, the European Commission has today published their annual 2021 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which reveals how the EU’s fixed line broadband ISP and mobile networks compare. The UK was removed from this edition due to Brexit, so we’ve used Ofcom’s data to compare.

Colt and Getlink to Deploy New Fibre Optic Network via Channel Tunnel

1st September, 2021 (3 Comments)

Colt Technology Services and Getlink have today signed an exclusive new 25-year agreement to install and operate a new multi-Terabit speed fibre optic IQ Network through the Channel Tunnel, which runs between the UK (Folkestone, Kent) and France (Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais) under the English Channel sea.

O2, Vodafone and Three UK Respond to EU Roaming Concerns

24th June, 2021 (31 Comments)

The controversial decision today by UK mobile operator EE to reintroduce EU roaming charges for new and upgrading customers (here) has resulted in some concern that other operators would follow suit. In response, we asked O2, Vodafone and Three UK to clarify whether they’re planning to do something similar.

Supporters Named for New DNS Resolver Policy to Improve Privacy

13th May, 2021 (0 Comments)

The recently proposed ‘European DNS Resolver Policy‘, which aims to foster better standards for privacy and transparency across resolver services for the internet’s Domain Name System (e.g. those run by UK ISPs and third-party providers), has today secured support from several leading organisations.

New Resolver Policy Proposed to Improve Internet DNS Privacy

30th March, 2021 (0 Comments)

A new industry initiative – the ‘European DNS Resolver Policy‘ – has been established that aims to foster better standards for privacy and transparency across resolver services for the internet’s Domain Name System (DNS), such as those run by UK or European broadband ISPs and third-party services (e.g. Google Public DNS).

Ofcom to Review UK Net Neutrality Rules Following ISP BT Moan

14th March, 2021 (22 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has confirmed that, over the course of the next year, it will begin a review of the existing Net Neutrality rules (i.e. these ensure no serious blocking or slowing of access to legal websites or internet services by broadband ISPs and mobile operators). The move follows a call by BT for greater flexibility.

BT Consumer CEO Seeks Softening of Existing UK Net Neutrality Rules

9th March, 2021 (22 Comments)

The CEO of BT’s (EE) UK Consumer broadband and mobile division, Marc Allera, is attempting to resuscitate the age-old debate over Net Neutrality (i.e. treating all internet traffic on their networks equally) by calling for the rules to be changed because “there are very good reasons to enable preferential access to certain platforms.”

UK Mobile Operators Confirm No Change to Free EU Roaming

29th December, 2020 (32 Comments)

As expected all four of the UK’s primary mobile network operators, including Three UK, Vodafone, O2 and EE (BT), have now confirmed that they have “no plans” (yet) to remove free roaming when the UK fully leaves the European Union on Thursday 31st December 2020 this week.

Study Finds Full Fibre is the Most Energy Efficient Broadband

26th November, 2020 (21 Comments)

A new study from the Prysmian Group, which was commissioned by cable manufacturer Europacable, has found that Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband ISP networks are the most energy efficient of consumer fixed line technologies, compared with FTTC (VDSL2) and Hybrid Fibre Coax (DOCSIS 3 networks, like Virgin Media).

EU Court Ruling Challenges Mobile Operators Zero Rating Plans UPDATE

15th September, 2020 (18 Comments)

A new ruling by Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has today, for the first time, interpreted the EU regulation enshrining “internet neutrality” (this was also adopted in the UK), which appears to restrict mobile and broadband operators when offering zero rating plans (i.e. unlimited data on certain services).

Just 2 UK Municipalities Win EU Funds for FREE WiFi Networks

9th July, 2020 (3 Comments)

The European Commission has revealed the winners from their final call-up for vouchers under the €120m WiFi4EU initiative, which includes just 2 municipalities in the United Kingdom that should now receive vouchers worth up to €15K (£13.42K) to help them install FREE public WiFi broadband hotspots by the end of 2020.

UK Ranks 8th in 2020 EU Broadband Connectivity Progress Study

12th June, 2020 (6 Comments)

The European Commission has today published their annual 2020 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which reveals how the UK’s fixed line broadband ISP and mobile networks compare with the rest of the EU. Overall the UK ranks just 20th for “Connectivity” (up from 21st in 2019), but we do better in other areas.

EU Court Overturns 2016 Block of O2 and Three UK Merger

28th May, 2020 (7 Comments)

The European Court of Justice (General Court) has today annulled a decision by the European Commission’s competition authority, which in 2016 blocked mobile operators O2 and Three UK from merging. The ruling found that the decision to block the £10.45bn deal had failed to prove that such a merger would damage competition.

Most EU Countries and UK Set to Miss Targets for Fibre Access

28th May, 2020 (12 Comments)

New research from Analysys Mason, which was commissioned by Chinese technology firm Huawei (vested interest), has today warned that the United Kingdom and most EU countries will miss the European Commission’s (EC) future broadband targets unless they tackle the remaining challenges and barriers being faced by operators.