Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Mobile Broadband (1978 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Mobile Broadband

Three UK Pauses 4G Home Broadband Sales in Some Areas

8th February, 2021 (51 Comments)

Mobile operator Three UK has confirmed to ISPreview.co.uk that new customers in “some areas” are “temporarily” unable to order the 4G home broadband service via their coverage checker. Instead customers doing this will be told that it isn’t available, even if the service still works for existing users.

Virgin Media’s Unlimited Mobile Data Plan Now Available to All

8th February, 2021 (45 Comments)

Cable broadband ISP Virgin Media UK has quietly made an important little change to their top unlimited mobile data plan, which removes the requirement for those who take it out to be an existing customer of their current pay TV, fixed line internet or home phone products.

MPs Warn UK Gov’s 5G Diversification Strategy Lacks Clear Targets

4th February, 2021 (9 Comments)

The cross-party UK Science and Technology Committee has warned that the Government’s 5G Supply Chain Diversification Strategy, which aspires to ensure that mobile operators have a better choice of suppliers after Huawei’s ban, lacks “clear milestones” and detail. The strong focus on OpenRAN is also not “guaranteed” to succeed.

BT Group Build 1Gb FTTP Broadband to 4.1 Million UK Premises

4th February, 2021 (78 Comments)

The BT Group’s latest Q3 2020/21 results reveal that Openreach’s G.fast and Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based “ultrafast broadband” (100Mbps+) network now covers a total of 6.88 million UK premises, with 4.05m coming from FTTP alone (up from 3.5m last quarter). The take-up rate for their full fibre services has also improved.

Virgin Media UK Offer Laptops and Mobile Data to Disadvantaged Kids

3rd February, 2021 (3 Comments)

Cable broadband ISP and TV provider Virgin Media UK has today become the latest operator to launch their own “Help for Home Learners’” initiative, which will provide 1,500 laptops and 4G mobile dongles (inc. 25GB of Mobile Data) to “disadvantaged schoolchildren” across the country to help during lockdown.

Vodafone Tops 876,000 UK Broadband Customers as Mobile Shrinks

3rd February, 2021 (10 Comments)

UK ISP and mobile giant Vodafone have today published their latest results to the end of 2020 (financial Q3 FY21), which saw their fixed broadband base grow to 876,000 customers (up by +38k in the quarter vs +45K in Q2 FY21), while their mobile base slowed its decline to total 17,337,000 (down by -43k vs -200k in Q2 FY21).

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BT Launch Halo 3+ to Combine WiFi, Mobile and FTTP Broadband

3rd February, 2021 (23 Comments)

UK ISP BT and EE has today combined to launch their new converged Halo 3+ package (add-on), which is a hybrid solution that is intended to give customers the “best” all-in-one broadband (e.g. full fibre FTTP as standard), WiFi coverage (“the UK’s only unbreakable Wi-Fi connection“) and mobile (mobile Broadband) connectivity.

OneWeb UK Confirms BT Talks – Possible Rural Broadband Fix

2nd February, 2021 (21 Comments)

Satellite broadband operator OneWeb, which is partly owned by the UK government and aims to build a mega constellation of “high-speed” broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), has confirmed that they’re in early-stage talks with BT about the use of their network to help connect remote rural areas.

EE UK Sees 5G Mobile Broadband Usage Growing by 40%

2nd February, 2021 (10 Comments)

Mobile operator EE (BT) has today published their latest UK Mobile Network Index for Q4 2020, which among other things shows that data traffic over their 5G network (mobile broadband) grew by 40% month on month from October to December. Video streaming services also saw a 30% month on month increase.

PwC Study Claims 5G Mobile May Add £43bn to UK GDP by 2030

2nd February, 2021 (1 Comment)

New research from professional services firm PwC has forecast that the productivity and efficiency gains enabled by the rollout of ultrafast 5G (mobile broadband) technology will drive business, skills and service change worth £43bn to UK GDP by 2030. The healthcare sector is also expected to see the biggest impact from this.

4G Based Broadband ISP Haven Wireless Closing Service in Wales

26th January, 2021 (8 Comments)

A little known ISP called Haven Wireless, which helped to connect rural homes in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire (Wales) by harnessing a mobile broadband connection from EE (BT) and other operators, is set to close on 31st March 2021 after running into “acute capacity issues on the frequencies used by the 4G masts covering our area.”

Ofcom UK Delays Start of 700MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz 5G Auction

25th January, 2021 (22 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has today confirmed that the new COVID-19 lockdown will delay the start of their auction for the 700MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz radio spectrum bands, which was previously due to start this month. The new bands should help to improve the coverage and speed of 5G mobile (mobile broadband) networks.

Virgin Media’s 5G Mobile Goes Live via Vodafone UK UPDATED

25th January, 2021 (37 Comments)

The mobile division of cable broadband, TV and phone provider Virgin Media – Virgin Mobile – appears to have started the live launch of their new ultrafast 5G based data services, albeit initially only using their new Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) platform from Vodafone rather than O2.

Google Scraps Project Loon – 4G Rural Broadband via Balloon

22nd January, 2021 (10 Comments)

Maybe it was just a lot of hot air but Google (Alphabet) has announced that Loon, their long-running project that aimed to deploy mobile broadband (4G / 5G) connectivity from High Altitude Platforms (stratospheric balloons), is “winding down” as a company after they struggled to turn it into a commercial success.

Rural Full Fibre Broadband Pilots Start Rollout in Pembrokeshire UPDATE

22nd January, 2021 (3 Comments)

The Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) in Wales has today announced that the first of many gigabit-capable broadband cabinets have just been install in several rural communities, which stem from four new pilot schemes with Broadway Partners (UK ISP Broadway Broadband).

Vodafone UK Launch 4G Gigacube B818 Mobile Broadband Plans

22nd January, 2021 (29 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone UK has launched a new 4G based Gigacube B818 router and several associated mobile broadband plans. The new kit is described as being a “flexible alternative to standard broadband“, which they claim will allow customers to “benefit from high-speed internet access in areas without fixed-line connectivity.”

CMA Probe Fears Higher Prices After O2 and Virgin Media Merger

21st January, 2021 (19 Comments)

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published an ‘issues statement‘ on the proposed £31bn merger between mobile operator O2 and broadband ISP (inc. TV, phone) Virgin Media, which highlights the authority’s two main concerns – the risk of higher consumer prices and worse 5G connectivity for rivals.