Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Internet Law (449 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Internet Law

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).

Budget Broadband ISP TalkTalk Probes Possible UK Data Breach

25th January, 2025 (9 Comments)

Customers of debt-troubled UK internet provider TalkTalk have been given an uncomfortable reminder of the 2015 cyberattack (here), which came after the ISP admitted that it was “investigating” reports on a cybercrime forum that alleged the provider had suffered a new data breach.

Police Arrest After Protestors Cut Vital Fibre Optic Cables in UK Cities

25th January, 2025 (34 Comments)

The City of London Police (CoLP) have arrested a 29-year-old man after a climate protest group claimed to have “[disrupted] the wifi systems of hundreds of insurance companies across the UK“, which they achieved by cutting key fibre optic cables in London (similar events are also said to have occurred in Leeds, Birmingham and Sheffield).

Big UK ISPs Ordered to Block More Pirated Book and Journal Websites

20th December, 2024 (18 Comments)

The Publishers Association (PA) has convinced the High Court to force most of the major broadband ISPs in the United Kingdom (BT, Sky Broadband, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, EE and Plusnet) to extend and expand their existing block of websites, focusing on those that were found to facilitate internet copyright infringement (piracy) of books and journals.

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Court Dismisses Class Action Claim Over BT’s Alleged UK Landline Overcharging UPDATE

19th December, 2024 (6 Comments)

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has today dismissed a £1.3bn class action claim by the Collective Action on Land Lines (CALL) campaign against national broadband ISP and phone provider BT, which alleged that the UK telecoms giant had overcharged 2.3 million of its landline-only phone customers between 2015 and 2018.

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Ofcom Publish New Online UK Internet Safety Codes of Practice

16th December, 2024 (20 Comments)

Ofcom has today published the “first edition” of its new online UK safety codes of practice for “tech firms” (e.g. social media) and smaller websites under the government’s Online Safety Act (OSA). Providers now have 3 months to ensure they’re able to tackle “illegal harms” (content), such as terror, hate, fraud, child sexual abuse and assisting or encouraging suicide.

Court Sides with Wychavon Council in Judicial Review of Broadband Poles

14th December, 2024 (22 Comments)

The Lifford Gardens and the Sands Residents Association, which represents part of Broadway in Worcestershire (England), has lost its Judicial Review case against the local council’s decision to allow the deployment of a new FTTP broadband network using wood poles. The Birmingham High Court ruled that the council had acted lawfully.

Vodafone UK Hit by £120m Legal Claim from Current and Former Franchisees

10th December, 2024 (15 Comments)

Broadband and mobile operator Vodafone has this afternoon been hit by a £120m+ legal claim (CL-2024-000663), which was filed by 61 current and former UK franchisees who claim to be challenging the “financial, mental, and physical impacts of the retail giant’s “irrational” business decisions“. Something Vodafone “strongly refute“.

O2 UK Deploying Free AI-Powered Scam Call Detector Service

28th November, 2024 (4 Comments)

Mobile network operator O2 (Virgin Media) has today expanded upon their existing partnership with Hiya by integrating the company’s AI-powered scam detection service to help combat fraud and nuisance calls, which sees them claiming to be the “first and only UK mobile operator to provide this service to customers at no extra cost“.

High Court Rejects LetterOne Appeal Over Forced Sale of UK Broadband Biz

21st November, 2024 (9 Comments)

The High Court in London has dismissed an appeal by investment firm LetterOne, which had been asking the court to rule that it was unlawfully ordered, under the new National Security and Investment Act (NSIA), to sell Upp’s full fibre broadband network by the UK Government. The company is now considering whether or not to challenge the outcome.

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Mobile Operators Fear UK 5G Rollout At Risk from Dispute with Leasing Firm

19th November, 2024 (10 Comments)

Mobile network operators (e.g. EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three UK) appear to be increasingly raising concerns over the impact that leasing firm AP Wireless is having on their already sluggish deployment of 5G based mobile broadband technology. This is said to be pushing up their build costs and thus allegedly threatening the viability of future deployments.

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Virgin Media O2 Says UK Gov Must Get Serious with Tackling Fraud

4th November, 2024 (7 Comments)

Broadband ISP and mobile giant Virgin Media and O2, which invests millions in counter fraud measures each year and blocked more than £250m worth of fraud in 2023, has called on the UK Government to take “urgent action” to address the “epidemic” levels of fraud. The ISP is seeking stronger police powers and the appointment of a dedicated minister.

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Essex UK Gang Jailed for £1m Theft of Openreach Broadband Cables

1st November, 2024 (10 Comments)

The Essex Police, which had been investigating thefts of copper broadband and phone cables from Openreach (BT) across several counties in England, have announced that a gang of four men have been jailed for a combined total of 14 years. The men were responsible for stealing almost £1m worth of the operator’s telecoms cables.

Historic UK Fibre Tax Case Resurfaces After VOA Criminal Summonses UPDATE

25th October, 2024 (10 Comments)

A historic legal case, which challenged the fairness of the Government’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and how it was choosing to tax fibre optic broadband cables between different UK network operators, has reared its head again after several criminal summonses were issued for members of the VOA, HMRC and others for alleged “perjury and fraud“.

Broadway Residents Get Date for Judicial Review of Broadband Poles Rollout

17th September, 2024 (7 Comments)

The Lifford Gardens and the Sands Residents Association, which represents part of Broadway in Worcestershire (England), has been informed by the Birmingham High Court that their Judicial Review hearing into the local council’s decision to allow deployment of a new FTTP broadband network using wood poles is to take place on 22nd October 2024 at 10:30am.

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ISP Equity Networks Add Paid Security Feature to UK Users Without Consent

6th September, 2024 (11 Comments)

Business broadband ISP and managed service provider Equity Networks has recently become the latest company in a growing list to irritate some of their UK customers, which it did by automatically adding a paid (£12.99 a month) internet security feature – ‘SafeWeb’ – to their accounts, without first getting explicit consent.

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Mobile Operators Face Higher Rents for UK Masts on Rural Land

23rd August, 2024 (11 Comments)

A recent ruling by the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) in London means that UK mobile and broadband operators will effectively have to pay landowners of rural greenfield mast sites significantly more to place their masts, with the typical rental for such sites being expected to rise from £750 to £1,750 per year.

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Fibre Cable Maker Prysmian Win Trade Secrets Case Against Sterlite

19th August, 2024 (0 Comments)

Italy-based Prysmian, which specialises in the global manufacture and supply of fibre optic cables (inc. related kit), has won $96.5 million (£74m) in a trade-secrets lawsuit that took place in South Carolina (USA) against India’s rival Sterlite Technologies (STL). But STL plans to appeal the verdict.