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Articles for Category Tag - Ofcom Regulation

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Ofcom Warns UK Broadband ISPs NOT to Use Alternative Switching Methods

19th June, 2025 (29 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has posted an update on their investigation into the performance of the new consumer broadband and phone switching system (One Touch Switching). This found no major problems with the biggest ISPs but did warn that some providers on Openreach’s network were using an “alternative switching method“, which they said must stop.

INCA Calls on Ofcom’s Review to Protect UK Broadband Altnets from Openreach

18th June, 2025 (9 Comments)

The Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA), which represents many of the United Kingdom’s alternative network operators, has today set out its formal response to Ofcom’s current Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR) and warned that the proposals risk harming altnets in the business market, while also handing Openreach too much power.

VodafoneThree Sign Outside UK Office Building in June 2025

VodafoneThree Outline Future UK Network Plans and 4G to 5G Speed Boosts

12th June, 2025 (55 Comments)

VodafoneThree, which reflects the now finalised c.£16bn merger between Vodafone and Three UK (here), has this morning set out a set of post-merger plans for their 4G / 5G mobile (mobile broadband) network coverage, performance and branding. Starting with a 20% average speed boost on 4G for Three and SMARTY customers, and a new broadband partnership with CommunityFibre.

Virgin Media and O2 Warn UK Pensioners Unaware of Cheap Social Tariffs

12th June, 2025 (10 Comments)

Broadband and mobile provider Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2) has this morning claimed, as part of a new online survey conducted by Strand Partners, that 48% of UK pensioners are still unaware of the social tariffs that can offer “significant cost savings” to those on state benefits, such as Pension Credit, Universal Credit and others.

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).

BT Allegedly Explores Acquisition of Struggling UK Broadband ISP TalkTalk

10th June, 2025 (37 Comments)

A newspaper has claimed that telecoms giant BT (EE, Plusnet etc.) is allegedly in the “early stages of exploring a takeover” of debt-laden broadband ISP TalkTalk. The news follows only days after Openreach reportedly threatened to block the troubled internet provider from adding new customers (here) due to concerns over delayed payments.

As Funding Deal Looms, CityFibre Says Talk of Sale to VMO2 Unfounded

10th June, 2025 (24 Comments)

Network operator CityFibre, which has so far deployed their gigabit-capable full fibre broadband (FTTP) lines to cover 4.3 million UK premises (RFS), have said that recent newspaper “speculation” around the possibility of the business being acquired by Virgin Media (O2) are “unfounded“. The operator added that they were now close to securing a much-needed financing deal.

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Landowners Lobby UK Government for Higher Rents on 5G Mobile Masts

9th June, 2025 (9 Comments)

A group of land and property owners, including the British Property Federation (BPF) and National Farmers Union (NFU) among them, have written a new letter that calls on the UK government to suspend earlier reforms that made it easier and cheaper for mobile and broadband operators to deploy their infrastructure on private land.

Ofcom UK Set to Begin Hunt for New Chairman to Replace Lord Grade

5th June, 2025 (4 Comments)

The UK communications and media regulator, Ofcom, is reportedly preparing to kick off a new recruitment process – at the government’s (DSIT) behest – to find a replacement for the organisation’s current Chair, Michael Grade (Lord Grade of Yarmouth), who has been in the role since May 2022 and previously held senior positions at the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.

Nathan Rundle, CEO - Gigaclear and Richard Tang, CEO - Zen Internet

CEO of Rural Broadband ISP Gigaclear Warns Ofcom Has Gone Too Far

4th June, 2025 (39 Comments)

The CEO of Abingdon-based alternative rural broadband ISP Gigaclear, Nathan Rundle, has told Richard Tang, CEO of Zen Internet, that they’re still focused on extending their full fibre (FTTP) network to 1 million UK homes in ultra rural areas. But the provider is concerned about Ofcom’s proposed changes to the market getting in the way.

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Vodafone and Three UK Officially Complete £16bn Mega Mobile Merger UPDATE

2nd June, 2025 (69 Comments)

The huge £16bn+ merger between mobile network operators Vodafone and Three UK (CK Hutchison) officially completed today, which will change the competitive dynamic of the UK market. The deal is also expected to help improve the national coverage of the latest 5G Standalone (mobile broadband) technologies, but concerns remain over jobs and consumer pricing.

Ofcom Propose to Boost Starlink’s UK Satellite Broadband with E Band

27th May, 2025 (4 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed to grant SpaceX’s Starlink service “temporary authorisation” to harness the E band frequencies for their mega constellation of compact ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The move would expand their backhaul capacity at three gateway earth station sites within the UK.

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Openreach Delay UK Launch of Ethernet Access Direct 2.0 Until Dec 2026

24th May, 2025 (25 Comments)

Network access provider Openreach (BT) has notified UK broadband ISPs of a 9-month delay to the planned launch of their new Ethernet Access Direct (EAD) v2.0 product for businesses, which appears to have been prompted by Ofcom’s current Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR). The move means that EAD 2 won’t become available until the end of 2026.

Gov Reveal More on Ofcom’s Planned Change to Improve 4G Mobile Maps

23rd May, 2025 (25 Comments)

The UK Government’s Minister for Telecoms, Sir Chris Bryant, this week provided more details to parliament on how Ofcom would soon improve the accuracy and relevance of their mobile coverage maps, which made particular reference to the minimum required 4G mobile broadband speed (currently 2Mbps) – this will shortly be more than doubled to 5Mbps.

Ofcom Ranks Big UK Mobile and Broadband ISPs by Quality and Faults – 2025

22nd May, 2025 (4 Comments)

Ofcom has today published their 2025 study of UK broadband, phone and mobile service quality, call waiting times, complaint levels, fault repairs, compensation and install times for the largest providers. For example, TalkTalk attracted the lowest satisfaction for broadband (77%) and Plusnet (BT) secured the highest (91%).

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Mobile Networks Call on Gov to Help Bring 5G Upgrades to 6,200 UK Sites

21st May, 2025 (8 Comments)

The Mobile Infrastructure Forum (MIF), which represents the main providers of mobile network infrastructure for EE, O2, Vodafone and Three UK (i.e. Cellnex UK, Cornerstone, MBNL and WIG), has today called on the government to resolve the issue of 6,200 UK sites (masts etc.) that are “stuck in legislative limbo” and preventing 5G upgrades.

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Clarifying POP Telecom’s Approach to Unwanted Feature Charges on UK Bills

19th May, 2025 (9 Comments)

Several newspaper reports over the weekend have claimed that UK ISP POP Telecom has been adding a “sneaky hidden broadband charge” to customers’ bills for “Router Assurance“, which can add an extra cost of £2.50 per month to the bill. But that’s not the only extra charge to consider, so ISPreview decided to dig a bit deeper.

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Openreach Respond to Altnet Concerns Over Cost of UK Infrastructure Sharing

16th May, 2025 (16 Comments)

The Deputy CEO of broadband network operator Openreach (BT), Katie Milligan, has today responded to some of the “fiery debates” and “noise” that has recently been created by rivals over the regulated solution for sharing their existing cable ducts and poles (PIA – Physical Infrastructure Access), which some have complained is unfairly priced.