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

Articles for Category Tag - Mobile Broadband

NO Huawei – UK Gov BANs New 5G Mobile Kit from Dec 2020 UPDATED

14th July, 2020 (62 Comments)

The UK Government has today confirmed a dramatic U-turn, which means that new core and non-core 5G kit from Chinese tech giant Huawei will be banned from use in mobile networks from 31st December 2020. But existing kit will get until 2027 for removal and a decision on FTTP broadband ISPs will come later.

BT and Vodafone Seek 5-7 Years to Pull Huawei or Risk Blackouts UPDATE

9th July, 2020 (16 Comments)

Senior broadband and mobile figures from UK telecoms giants BT and Vodafone have today warned cross-party MPs on the Science and Technology Committee that they’d need at least 5-7 years to fully remove Huawei’s kit from their networks, or “blackouts” could be a risk. The cost may also rise into the billions.

Vodafone UK Deploys Improved Standalone 5G Mobile Tech

3rd July, 2020 (7 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone today claims to have become “the first UK operator” to showcase the next evolution of gigabit-capable 5G (mobile broadband) technology – “Standalone 5G” (SA), which includes support for improvements like ultra-low latency, “guaranteed speed performance” and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Broadway Partners Picked for 2 Pembrokeshire Broadband Pilots UPDATE

2nd July, 2020 (0 Comments)

The Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro) council in South West Wales has today announced that Broadway Partners (UK ISP Broadway Broadband) have been chosen to build two new pilot networks in rural parts of the county, which will aim to deliver “gigabit-capable” broadband speeds to local premises. More pilots are expected to follow.

Vodafone UK Leave WiFi Calling Users Waiting for SMS Support

1st July, 2020 (47 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone’s recent decision to stop selling their femtocell based Sure Signal 3G router on 30th April 2020, while instead encouraging use of Wi-Fi Calling, has one significant flaw. The latter still doesn’t support the ability to send and receive text (SMS) messages (it’s been listed as coming “soon” since 2018).

Vodafone Say 5G to Boost UK Economy by £158bn Over 10 Years

29th June, 2020 (8 Comments)

Vodafone has published a new report from WPI Economics, which perhaps predictably forecasts that the cumulative gains of UK businesses moving from 4G to 5G (mobile broadband) could produce an economic boost of more than £38bn by 2025, plus £120bn between 2025 to 2030 (total productivity-based boost of £158bn).

O2 UK Extends 4G Mobile to 91,000 Extra Postcodes in 2020

29th June, 2020 (11 Comments)

Mobile operator O2 has announced that they now have 4G (mobile broadband) coverage in over 18,000 regional UK towns, villages and hamlets (many of them rural), which follows a service upgrade across over 91,000 postcodes since the start of 2020; including almost 400 tourist hotspots “ahead of a record staycation summer.”

H1 2020 – Fastest National UK Mobile and Home Broadband ISPs

29th June, 2020 (1 Comment)

Once again we’ve taken our biannual look back to see how average download and upload speeds have changed across the fastest nationally available fixed line ISPs and mobile operators. Overall the COVID-19 crisis has produced a broad downward trend in H1 2020, but Virgin Media remains top for fixed lines and EE top for mobile.

City of London Corp Giving Out Free 4G Mobile Data and Dongle

18th June, 2020 (16 Comments)

The City of London Corporation has today announced that they will be handing out a “one off pre-loaded dongle device free of charge that will provide data to access the internet,” which will be provided to those who may be unable to leave home as a result of COVID-19 or cannot afford their own broadband access.

EE and Nokia to Build World’s First 4G LTE Air to Ground Network

17th June, 2020 (0 Comments)

EE (BT) and Nokia have announced that, as part of their support for the much delayed UK Emergency Services Network (ESN), they will build the “world’s first” 4G LTE (mobile broadband) based Air-to-Ground communications network to support 300,000 emergency service personnel (range from 500 to 10,000 feet above ground).

Vodafone Reach First UK Village via 4G Shared Rural Network

17th June, 2020 (11 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone has announced that the small village of Devauden in the Wye Valley (Wales) has become the first to receive a faster 4G based mobile (mobile broadband) service as part of the new £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN), which aims to help extend geographic 4G cover to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025.

Cross-party UK MPs Seek Free Broadband for 1.3 Million Kids

15th June, 2020 (42 Comments)

A cross-party group of MPs will this week reportedly propose a new bill, which seeks to help solve the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus) induced education crisis by requiring that up to 1.3 million school children (i.e. those eligible for free school meals) are also equipped with free broadband connectivity to help them learn.

Scotland’s R100 Broadband Voucher Scheme Set for Summer

13th June, 2020 (18 Comments)

The Scottish Government‘s Minister for Connectivity, Paul Wheelhouse, has confirmed that their new voucher scheme for poorly served areas (i.e. those that cannot access “superfast broadband” 30Mbps+) is set to go live this summer. The scheme will be accompanied by a new online “premises level” eligibility checker.

O2 Expands 5G Mobile to 60 UK Sites and LTE-M to 10,000 Sites

11th June, 2020 (9 Comments)

Mobile operator O2 has today announced that their new ultrafast 5G based mobile broadband network is now live across parts of 60 UK towns and cities (up from 20 at the start of 2020), which puts them ahead of their target (50 places by summer). On top of that they’ve extended their roll-out of 4G based LTE-M to 10,000 sites.

UK Mobile Firms Remove Data Charges on Sites Supporting Victims of Crime

11th June, 2020 (0 Comments)

The UK Government has today reached an agreement with Vodafone, Three UK, Tesco Mobile, Virgin Media (Virgin Mobile), O2, EE (BT), Sky Mobile and giffgaff to remove mobile data (mobile broadband) charges for customers who need to access websites that support some of the most vulnerable victims of crime.

O2 and Ericsson Deal to Continue 5G Rollout Across the UK

10th June, 2020 (10 Comments)

Mobile operator O2 UK and telecoms technology giant Ericsson have today agreed to expand their existing relationship by deploying the firm’s latest 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) hardware, software and service upgrades across the “West” of the United Kingdom. The work will include upgrades for existing 2G, 3G and 4G sites.

COVID-19 5G Conspiracy Arsonist Gets 3 Years for Burning Mast

9th June, 2020 (0 Comments)

The Liverpool Crown Court has sentenced Michael Whitty (47) to three years in prison after he set fire to one of Vodafone UK’s 4G masts in Kirkby on 5th April 2020, which caused damage estimated to be worth up to £15,000. Whitty’s action was fuelled by a bonkers conspiracy theory that links the spread of COVID-19 to 5G.