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Articles for Category Tag - Politics

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A Year Early – £1bn SRN Project Delivers 95 Percent UK Cover of 4G Mobile

30th June, 2025 (5 Comments)

The Government has announced that the £1bn industry-led Shared Rural Network (SRN) project, which aimed to extend geographic 4G mobile (mobile broadband) coverage to 95% of the UK (aggregate) by the end of 2025 (5G also benefits from the new infrastructure), has “achieved its overarching target a year ahead of schedule“. But there’s more work left to do.

R100 Gigabit Broadband Build Reaches 80,000 Premises in Scotland

27th June, 2025 (2 Comments)

The Scottish Government (SG) has today revealed that more than 80,000 premises have now benefitted from their £697m Reaching 100% (R100) project with Openreach (BT), which is rolling out full fibre (FTTP) broadband to remote rural areas. Some 27,000 premises of this have been delivered over the past year, which is up from 20,000 the year before.

Bin Lorries to Help Map Mobile Network Coverage in Tees Valley

27th June, 2025 (0 Comments)

The Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) in North East England, which covers several council areas (Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees), has signed a new deal with digital mapping specialists Inakalum to deploy special kit on local bin lorries (refuse collection trucks) to map local 4G and 5G mobile (broadband) coverage.

EU Reveals 2025 Gigabit Broadband and 5G Coverage Progress vs UK

27th June, 2025 (16 Comments)

The European Commission (EC) recently published their annual 2025 study of broadband coverage in Europe, which reveals how the EU’s fixed gigabit broadband (FTTP and Hybrid Fibre Coax) and 5G mobile networks compare across all of its 27 countries. We compare this with the United Kingdom below.

Project Reach Launched to Fix Mobile Signal Notspots on UK Rail Network

26th June, 2025 (9 Comments)

The UK Government’s Department for Transport (DfT) has today taken the wrappings off Project Reach, which reflects a public-private partnership that will deploy “ultra fast fibre optic cable” across 1,000 kilometres of major rail lines to help “eliminate mobile signal blackspots” in tunnels on “key rail routes” up and down the country.

Ofcom Launch Improved UK 4G and 5G Mobile Speed and Coverage Checker

26th June, 2025 (17 Comments)

The UK communications and media regulator, Ofcom, has today launched an overhauled mobile network coverage checker, which includes enhancements that are intended to better match people’s real-world experiences, particularly of modern 4G and 5G (mobile broadband) service performance and signal strength.

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Freedom Fibre Scales Back North Shropshire Project Gigabit Broadband Contract UPDATE

25th June, 2025 (12 Comments)

The Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency has just announced that alternative network provider Freedom Fibre has had to scale back their £24m (state aid) Project Gigabit broadband roll-out contract for North Shropshire (LOT 25.02 in England), which originally aimed to cover “around” 12,000 hard-to-reach rural homes (here).

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Gov Asks UK Organisations to Donate Used Tech to Digitally Excluded Brits

25th June, 2025 (2 Comments)

The UK Government has today invited organisations to sign-up to a new charter, which is being backed by Deloitte, Vodafone (VodafoneThree), BT and others. The charter encourages members to change how they manage and dispose of IT assets, with the aim of increasing device donations to the 1.5 million people who currently lack access to a basic laptop, tablet or smartphone.

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National Security Strategy Lacks Detail on UK Telecoms and Subsea Fibre

24th June, 2025 (0 Comments)

The UK Government has published its National Security Strategy (NSS), which may or may not confirm earlier reports (here) that broadband (inc. telecommunications) will now be considered part of national security investment in order to help reach a new NATO target for spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2035. Subsea fibre protection also gets a brief mention.

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CityFibre Close to £2bn Funding Deal for UK Full Fibre Broadband Plans

24th June, 2025 (28 Comments)

Alternative network operator CityFibre, which has already built a gigabit-capable full fibre broadband (FTTP) network to cover 4.3 million UK premises (RFS), is reportedly set to sign a £2bn funding deal – reflecting a split of debt and equity – to help keep them in business and support their plans for a major consolidation of rival operators.

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Openreach Start Enhanced Migration Pilot for Legacy UK Phone Switch-Off

23rd June, 2025 (9 Comments)

Network operator Openreach (BT) has kicked off their first UK pilot to test the effectiveness of a targeted approach for safeguarding vulnerable customers during the mass migrations away from the old Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), which is due to be switched-off, in favour of a temporary alternative service.

Brsk Reduce Rollout of Broadband Poles After Stockport Locals Protest

23rd June, 2025 (6 Comments)

Network operator and UK ISP Brsk (Netomnia) has scrapped plans to deploy three additional 9-metre-high wood telecoms poles on Fernwood Road and Bracken Close in Marple Bridge (Stockport, Greater Manchester), which came after a significant portion of locals protested the plan. Residents complained it would have spoilt their view of the surrounding countryside.

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Boost for Broadband and Mobile as UK Sets 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy UPDATE

20th June, 2025 (6 Comments)

The UK Government has published its Infrastructure Strategy for the next 10 years – backed by £725bn in long-term funding for maintenance and major projects, which promises to “transform how infrastructure projects are planned and delivered” in order to “deliver stability, investment and national renewal“. And there’s some good news for broadband and mobile networks.

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New Data Use and Access Law to Help UK Utility Maps and ISP Comparisons

19th June, 2025 (2 Comments)

The UK government has today announced that their Data Use and Access Bill has become law (Royal Assent), which pledges to inject £10bn into the British economy over 10-years by, among other things, supporting personalised market comparisons for utility pricing and putting a new digital map of underground broadband cables and pipes on a “statutory footing“.

Government Appoints Lesley Cowley as Chair of Building Digital UK Agency

18th June, 2025 (2 Comments)

The Government (DSIT) has this morning announced that they’ve appointed Lesley Cowley OBE to be the new Chair of their broadband and mobile centric Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency. The development comes after former Chair, Simon Blagden, resigned from his position back in July 2024 (here) and was replaced by Hazel Hobbs (Interim Chair).

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.

Scotland May Reissue Gigabit Broadband Tender for Fife, Perth and Kinross

17th June, 2025 (0 Comments)

The Scottish Government (SG) looks as if they could be preparing to “relaunch” their proposed gigabit broadband roll-out procurement for Fife, Perth and Kinross during September 2025. This might take a second stab at trying to find a supplier that can help upgrade the remaining set of hardest-to-reach premises.