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Articles for Category Tag - Science

Government Publish Results from 19 UK 5G Open Network Projects

3rd April, 2026 (0 Comments)

The UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has published the results from their £80.5m programme to support the development of open network solutions, such as 5G based OpenRAN on mobile broadband networks and other technologies, which began in 2023 (here).

Openreach Fibre Sense Trial Diagram for Detecting UK Water Leaks

Openreach Trial Uses UK Broadband Network to Detect 100+ Water Leaks

12th March, 2026 (6 Comments)

Network access provider Openreach (BT) has today revealed some of the first results from their ongoing trial of a new technology (here), which harnesses the operator’s existing fibre optic broadband network to detect mains water leaks. In just three months, it’s already pinpointed 100+ leaks and is estimated to be saving 2 million litres of water a day.

Fibre optical network cable close-up by 123rf ID245596935

Next Generation 200Gbps PON Full Fibre Broadband Standard Inches Closer

5th March, 2026 (14 Comments)

At present most fixed broadband networks in the UK are focused on deploying 10Gbps capable XGS-PON based full fibre (FTTP) technology for retail ISPs, while less than a handful are playing with 50Gbps (50G-PON) technology (here, here and here) and CityFibre has talked about 100Gbps for the mid-2030s (here). But the next gen 200G PON technology is also making progress, and it’s a major shift.

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VodafoneThree to Start UK Trials of Satellite Mobile Service in Summer 2026

3rd March, 2026 (4 Comments)

Mobile operator VodafoneThree (Vodafone and Three UK) has issued an update on their Joint Venture (SatCo) with satellite operator AST SpaceMobile, which reveals that they’ll kick off their first customer trials of a space-based 4G and 5G mobile (mobile broadband) service – that can connect with regular Smartphones – this Summer 2026.

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Vodafone Trial 5G and 6G Mobile Tech that Turns Smartphones into Radars

26th February, 2026 (3 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone has announced that they’ve begun working with Tiami Networks to test a new technology for current 5G and future 6G mobile broadband networks called Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC). This essentially turns modern Smartphones and mobile networks into something akin to a Radar, with many potential applications.

Research Claims 5G Enhancements May Save UK 25 Million Metric Tons of CO2

16th February, 2026 (3 Comments)

New research from the University of Surrey has claimed that an “optimal combination of energy-efficient” 5G (mobile broadband) network features, such as AI systems that let mobile mast and antenna base stations go into sleep mode when usage is low and phones that avoid unnecessary background network checks, could cut “indirect carbon emissions” across the UK by c.25 million metric tons.

fibre optic cables on pcb circuit board 123rf

UK Government Project to Test ZBLAN Optical Fibre Cables Made in Spaaace

9th February, 2026 (0 Comments)

The UK Space Agency has today awarded contracts to three companies to investigate the possibility of producing advanced materials in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which includes one project (SkyYield) that aims to design a payload to process ZBLAN fluoride glass in microgravity (i.e. a specialist optical fibre that can transmit light with up to 100 times less signal loss than traditional silica fibre).

University of Leeds Team Push Free Space Terahertz Laser Data Link to 4Gbps

6th February, 2026 (1 Comment)

A team of UK researchers working at the University of Leeds, supported by colleagues from University College London (UCL) and others, has demonstrated a wireless line-of-sight Free Space Optical (FSO) communication link pushing data speeds of 4Gbps (Gigabits per second) using Terahertz (THz) frequencies; something that has previously been extremely difficult to harness.

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Study Finds Amazon Leo’s Broadband Satellites are a Bit too Bright

2nd February, 2026 (3 Comments)

A new study has provisionally found that Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper), which is in the early stages of launching a new mega constellation of ultrafast broadband satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for the UK and globally, suffers from an all too familiar problem of being a bit too bright – potentially enough to disrupt observational sciences (astronomy).

AST Space Mobile Satellites Over UK and Europe with Vodafone

AST Space Mobile Set to Launch First BlueBird 6 Satellite on 15th Dec 2025

22nd November, 2025 (0 Comments)

Satellite operator AST SpaceMobile, which is working with Joint Venture (SatCo) partner Vodafone to launch a space-based 4G and 5G mobile (mobile broadband) service to connect with everyday Smartphones on the ground, has announced that their first commercial BlueBird 6 spacecraft will launch on 15th December from the Satish Dhawan Space Center (India).

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Study Examines Impact of Solar Storms on Starlink Broadband Performance

18th November, 2025 (0 Comments)

A new study from a team of three researchers working out of the University of California (USA) has taken a “deep dive” into the impact of solar storms on Starlink’s global network of ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The results uncovered some “previously overlooked patterns” of vulnerability and suggest that “more adaptive, region-aware mitigation strategies” may be needed.

Peter Merz - Head of Standards at Nokia Technologies

Nokia Interview – 6G to Focus on Efficiency More than Mobile Broadband Speed

17th November, 2025 (9 Comments)

The Head of Standards at Nokia Technologies, Peter Merz, has today told ISPreview – as part of our latest interview – that they’re conscious of wanting to avoid what mobile operators call “G-fatigue” (over-hyping) with their development of future 6G mobile (broadband) technology, which he says will be more about “intelligence and efficiency” than raw data throughput.

video gamer playing on computer by 123rf

Vodafone and Nokia Trial Lag Busting L4S Tech on Live Home Broadband Link

2nd October, 2025 (7 Comments)

Telecom giant Vodafone and strategic supplier Nokia have today revealed that they conducted their first real-world trial of “lag-busting” L4S (Low Latency, Low Loss, and Scalable Throughput) technology on a “live home broadband fibre [FTTP] connection“. The trial was able to significant reduce the delay (latency) time during gaming and videoconferencing by 94%.

Gov Encourages Pension Firms to Invest in UK Science, Tech and Digital

2nd October, 2025 (12 Comments)

The UK Government has today launched a new Innovation Cluster Map, which forms part of a fresh drive to encourage pensions firms to commit more of their private investment toward the country’s science and technology sectors, which could include anything from research into new vaccines and medicines to AI or future satellite broadband technologies etc.

network cables closeup with fiber optical background 123rf

Microsoft Backed Researchers Significantly Improve Hollow Core Fibre Cables

1st September, 2025 (6 Comments)

A team of Microsoft backed and largely UK based researches, which were originally part of Lumenisity – a spinoff from the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton, appear to have succeeded in reducing attenuation and other signal degradation phenomena in next gen hollow core fibre (HCF) broadband cables – boosting speeds by 45%.

AI 6G Researchers from Ulster University Image

Ulster University Uses AI to Develop Faster MIMO Tech for 6G Mobile

26th August, 2025 (0 Comments)

Researchers working out of Ulster University in Northern Ireland (UK) have harnessed AI (Artificial Intelligence) in order to develop a new type of Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (ma-MIMO) technology. The team say this could be used to make future 6G (IMT-2030) based mobile broadband networks “faster, smarter, and far more energy-efficient“.

Results of the UK’s Largest Mobile Network Survey for the River Severn Region

21st August, 2025 (5 Comments)

Network analyst firm Streetwave has today published its results from the UK’s “largest mobile coverage survey“, which used bin lorries to test the 4G/5G (mobile broadband) network coverage and speed of each mobile operator across the River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region (RSPAWIR) – reflecting 33 councils in Wales and England’s West Midlands.