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The Director General of the BBC, Matt Brittin, has confirmed they’re exploring the possibility of creating a “sovereign streaming platform in the UK” and have already had “an approach and a discussion” with Channel 4 about bringing some of their content to the iPlayer service – a way of helping both players to stay competitive in today’s streaming-centric world.

The move would seem to be an attempt to build on last year’s agreement (here) between British TV broadcasters Channel 4 and UKTV (U platform), which is owned by the BBC’s commercial division. The deal represented a major new multi-year carriage agreement, which saw C4 gaining access to stream thousands of hours of additional free TV content and shows from the BBC via their online service (The Office, Red Dwarf etc.).

By comparison, Matt Brittin, who was speaking at last week’s meeting of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, appears to be proposing that C4’s TV content could now appear on the BBC’s iPlayer streaming service. This is not to be confused with a re-hash of the BritBox service, since that was a paid product and the BBC are talking about a free to air solution (although the TV Licence fee does leave plenty of room for debate around how we use the word “free” in this context).

Matt Brittin told the committee:

“There is an opportunity in the long run to have a sovereign streaming platform in the UK — I use that word carefully. Where do you go for quality UK content? The BBC is the biggest commissioner, but Sky-ITV remains an important commissioner, and others can too. The opportunity would be to build on the incredible reach and success of iPlayer. Nobody else around the world has anything like iPlayer’s scale and success. The other European broadcasters look at us with envy.

We have had an approach and a discussion with Channel 4. In the world of this ITV-Sky merger, Channel 4 looks very subscale. All these mergers are driven by the need to have scale, and Channel 4 looks very subscale. One opportunity for it would be to have content on iPlayer in partnership with the BBC but continue to be ad-funded. There is an array of commercial audience, public service and technical issues, but we will explore that as quickly as we are able to because that will be important for public service media.”

At this stage there’s no detail on whether this will actually happen or how much access iPlayer users might get to Channel 4’s content (i.e. will it mirror C4’s on-demand App content and include live programmes or be more restrictive), although anything that means we have one less than today’s gazillion different streaming Apps to install would perhaps be welcomed.

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Telecoms and broadband giant BT Group (EE, Plusnet, Openreach etc.) has confirmed that, as part of their long-running programme to modernise and consolidate the number of offices they have across the United Kingdom, they’ve decided to close their Liverpool city centre office at The Plaza in St Paul’s Square – putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

The operator currently employs 601 people at the site (Liverpool Business News), which is primarily said to reflect those working for BT’s business division, Openreach staff and Government-outsourced 999 call handlers. The related consultation process, which will begin on 20th July 2026, is expected to offer many of those workers the option of relocating to offices in Manchester and Leeds.

However, for many Liverpudlians the idea of having to travel all the way to BT’s offices in Manchester and Leeds would not be practical, which in reality means that a high proportion are likely to opt for discretionary enhanced redundancy instead.

A BT spokesperson said:

“BT has been modernising and optimising our estate to ensure our workplaces are fit for the future and provide the best possible environments for our people. As part of this strategy, we are proposing to close our office at the Plaza in Liverpool. We are working closely with impacted colleagues, with some proposed to move to other locations. We will continue to support all our colleagues throughout this change.”

In case anybody has forgotten, one of BT’s future strategic targets for 2030 has been to slash their total labour force to between 75,000 and 90,000 (it’s more likely to end up between 75k and 80k). As of 31st March 2025, the Group had a total of 85,300 employees (mostly in the UK), representing a decrease of 6,400 (-6.98%) compared with the previous year. We should add that Openreach’s engineering teams will eventually also start to shrink once their FTTP build starts slowing down from its current peak in the near future.

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The UK telecoms, internet content and media regulator, Ofcom, has confirmed to ISPreview that the availability of Starlink’s ultrafast satellite broadband service now technically removes the need for consumers to request the 10Mbps+ Universal Service Obligation (USO) from BT across much of the country (or KCOM in Hull).

Just to recap. The USO is a legally-binding and industry-funded obligation that falls on BT across the UK and KCOM in Hull (although it’s rarely used in Hull, where FTTP is almost universal). In short, people living in areas where they can’t yet receive a 10Mbps or faster download speed, and aren’t expected to be covered by such a network in the next 12-months, can request a service capable of 10Mbps+ (1Mbps+ upload) from the forementioned internet providers.

A cost sharing model also applies here, which means that the providers will “calculate the total excess cost of the build and divide that between the eligible premises. If that amount is below £5,000 per premises (on top of the £3,400), we’ll automatically split the costs“. But in the past some areas could still end up costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, even up to £1-2m, and would thus find even the USO route to be unviable (here and here).

However, the USO is also technology neutral and so many of those who pursued the USO option via BT in the past say they were instead offered mobile broadband (4G /5G) connections via EE (where viable), while those actually considered to have been delivered under the USO itself usually get full fibre (FTTP).

What about starlink?

Previously Starlink wasn’t considered as a viable USO alternative, partly because it was too expensive. But today the situation is different and over the past few months it’s become possible to get Starlink’s 100Mbps residential package for just £40 per month (£50 if you include the hardware rental); the service was even cheaper than this before, at least for a brief period (here).

At the same time some people who have applied for the USO from BT have recently told ISPreview that their applications were rejected due to the availability of Starlink. Crucially, BT are only obliged to provide a USO connection if no other alternative that meets the criteria is available, and Ofcom has now confirmed to us that Starlink meets the criteria.

10Mbps USO – Core Specification

➤ A minimum download “sync” speed of at least 10Mbps (Megabits per second).

➤ A minimum upload “sync” speed of at least 1Mbps.

➤ A medium response time with end-to-end latency of no more than 200ms for speech applications (this rules out Satellite).

➤ A maximum sharing between customers (contention ratio) of 50:1.

➤ A minimum data allowance of 100GB.

➤ A technology neutral design.

➤ The service must be affordable – the price threshold in the USO criteria is currently £59.60 a month (at launch it was £45).

Some caveats to this are the fact that Starlink isn’t available everywhere (e.g. not everybody can access a clear view of the Sky or deploy a Starlink dish), the service pricing has an annoying tendency to vary (it may not always be viable) and some locations can occasionally attract a hefty congestion charge; the latter could make it harder for Starlink to qualify in those areas as a viable alternative to the USO. In those niche cases, customers can still approach BT to seek a connection on USO terms.

According to Ofcom’s latest data to January 2026 (here), some 39,000 UK premises are currently deemed “unable to access decent broadband [USO] from a fixed line or fixed wireless connection” – this splits down as 23,000 in England, 9,000 in Scotland, 6,000 in Wales and just 1,500 in Northern Ireland.

The change may provide an answer to the question of why the Government haven’t published further details on their approach to reaching those who live in “Very Hard to Reach” areas with even faster speeds, since Starlink seems to now be considered a quick fix.

Speaking of which, the Government has been due to review the USO itself for a while now (here), but no progress seems to have been made on that front. Of course, these days, there may be bigger concerns looming for Starlink and similar satellite-based services (here).

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Remember when Openreach (BT) recently announced that it was going to give broadband ISPs on its network an extra £50 rebate for winning incremental new “full fibre” (FTTP) customers in areas where it competes with Virgin Media (here)? Well, the latter isn’t very happy, naturally, and has accused the incumbent of trying to “choke” off competition in the market.

“From 1st October 2026, in addition to the national Incremental New to Openreach customer offer, Openreach will give providers an extra £50 rebate for winning incremental new FTTP customers in areas where it competes with Virgin Media O2. The offer only applies to customer wins above baseline levels, so it’s designed to drive genuinely incremental new end customer wins,” said Openreach’s briefing at the time.

The somewhat controversial discount was announced by Openreach at the start of June 2026 alongside a number of other incentives, all designed to boost take-up of their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband lines among partner ISPs in an already highly competitive market. But the CEO of Openreach, Katie Milligan, later acknowledged that they were also trying to “test the waters” of Ofcom’s new market regulation via the recent Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR) changes.

Ofcom are currently consulting on the new discounts, which are a positive development for consumers, but which rival networks will clearly want to raise a few concerns over. The Telegraph (paywall) highlights how VMO2 is particularly upset over Openreach’s targeted approach and they may have a point.

Lutz Schüler, CEO of VMO2, said:

“For many, [the TAR] was seen as a welcome sign of Ofcom providing stability and being prepared to keep the incumbent in check. For BT, it seems Ofcom’s conclusions were heard as a dinner bell to start feasting on fibre challengers as it launched a platter of hefty discounts.

…

Ofcom should approach these offers as a serious threat to the emergence of long-term network competition, not as routine pricing proposals.”

Katie Milligan, Openreach CEO, said:

“Ofcom has said that Openreach should be allowed to compete, and we agree … We realise competition is tough for some but, like any business in a competitive market, we regularly develop offers to support customers and investment. We’ll continue to compete hard, but fairly, and our track record shows we consistently follow the regulator’s pricing rules.”

An Ofcom spokesperson said:

“We are assessing whether any of these offers raise competition concerns that require intervention, and are carefully considering all responses to our call for input. We will publish our consultation later this month.”

Suffice to say that VMO2 would like Ofcom to block Openreach’s proposed discounts and warned that the regulator would be setting a “dangerous precedent” if they allowed it. The move has come at a particularly sensitive time for VMO2, which via nexfibre is in the process of trying to acquire rival network operator Netonmia for £2bn and has pledged to build a more significant scaled-wholesale competitor to Openreach.

The aforementioned deal is currently subject to a sensitive competition review (here), but the CEO of rival network CityFibre, Simon Holden, warned that the proposed agreement could “significantly reduce competition and the choice available to consumers, as well as force hundreds of thousands of Netomnia customers back to VMO2” – potentially raising the prospects of the UK returning to a duopoly between Virgin/nexfibre and Openreach.

One other challenge is that, so far, VMO2/nexfibre have not been able to attract any non-group retail ISPs to their growing consumer wholesale network, despite plenty of effort (example). The competition watchdog (CMA) will be taking factors like this into account as they review the deal, which could have consequences for their final decision. Ofcom’s recent £28m fine of VMO2 for customer service failings might not have helped (here).

As usual, all the main players will be speaking from the position of their own vested interests, which is something that Ofcom will have to balance before reaching their final decision on Openreach’s new discounts.

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The heavily indebted UK broadband focused TalkTalk Group has reportedly received bids for its wholesale arm, PlatformX Communications (PXC), which is said to value the company in the “hundreds of millions of pounds“. The interest is said to have come from Africa-focused Telecel, as well as others like private equity firm Epiris, which has teamed up with PXC executive chairman Tom O’Hagan.

In case the name Tom O’Hagan seems familiar then that’s because he recently helped acquire business provider Entanet from full fibre operator CityFibre (here) and appears to have big plans for the UK business connectivity market. Suffice to say that acquiring PXC, which TalkTalk has been trying to sell since they demerged their businesses (Talk Talk Consumer, PXC [Wholesale] and Talk Talk Business Direct), would make a lot of sense.

According to Bloomberg‘s sources, the deliberations are said to be ongoing and there’s currently no certainty about whether this will end in a transaction. The news follows shortly after other reports indicated that broadband and mobile operator Vodafone (VodafoneThree) had tabled a bid for TalkTalk’s consumer business (here), which is another pairing that would seem to be quite complementary.

At the time a spokesperson for VodafoneThree said they are currently “very happy with our organic strategy” for growing fixed broadband (they’re one of the fastest growing retail ISPs), but would “always keep a close eye on movements in the market and the sector“. TalkTalk itself has declined to comment on both reports, as is normal in such situations.

The TalkTalk Group has certainly had a rough few years and in September 2024 secured a crucial refinancing package worth around £400m (here and here), which saved it from the immediate risk of a default on its debts (extended debt maturities to September 2027). This was later followed up by a £120m funding deal to help tackle ongoing financial pressures (here).

Since then the provider has suffered more redundancies and also refreshed their consumer brand in order to deal with a shrinking broadband base (here), but there may yet be light at the end of what has become a long tunnel.

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The LSBUD (Line Search Before You Dig) organisation, which provides an online asset search facility to UK civil engineering firms for underground pipes and cables, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government (DSIT), which is responsible for the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR), to develop a collaboration framework for improving safe digging practices.

The government currently sees huge potential for NUAR’s mapping – operated by Ordnance Survey (OS) – to help improve the way that national infrastructure is planned, built and managed (e.g. future full fibre broadband and 5G/6G mobile networks). Previous claims suggested that the map could help to cut the amount of accidental damage that occurs to existing infrastructure (estimated by some studies to cost up to £2.4bn each year) and boost economic growth by “at least £400m” per year due to increased efficiency, fewer asset strikes and reduced disruptions.

However, the Government’s NUAR has long seemed to be in a degree of conflict with LSBUD, which has been doing something similar for quite a few years longer. But the new joint commitment could see both sides working more closely together for the betterment of safe digging, which goes beyond telecoms and also stretches into water, energy and sewage etc.

The MoU is said to recognise LSBUD’s safe dig workflow risk analysis, communication exchange and work management functionality, as well as its expertise and preexisting industry relationships. The MoU also stated that NUAR was “not intended to replace or replicate LSBUD’s established service“. Indeed, LSBUD is now working with Ordnance Survey, who operate NUAR on behalf of government.

Richard Broome, Managing Director of LSBUD, said:

“We welcome this agreement and are looking forward to working alongside Ordnance Survey and the Government. The understanding is a big relief for our safe digging community, and we have already taken great strides forward, setting up the first planned industry workshop.

For us, it’s not about competing with each other. It is about safety. It always has been, and it always will be. By focusing on data sharing, integration and collaboration, we can move the industry forward, and do so safely.

It is very apt that the theme of this year’s National Safe Digging Week’s is ‘The Power of Collaboration’. It echoes our thinking and our ambition to keep people safe while digging. We are thrilled to have OS and DSIT on board for this journey, and can’t wait to make a real, purposeful impact together.”

LSBUD’s free online search service currently allows any individual to check their works against over 170 asset owners’ utility assets. These assets include 2.5 million kilometres of underground and overhead pipelines and cables in the electricity, gas, high pressure fuel/oil, heating, water, and fibre optic networks. The service processes over 4 million enquiries per annum. The NUAR separately provides secure access to data from over 600 public and private sector asset owners.

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Mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media) has announced that, in order to support England’s place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 football finals, they’ve extended their inclusive roaming benefit for eligible pay monthly customers travelling to the USA to include pay monthly Classic Plan customers. But only for a limited time, naturally.

The offer means that pay monthly Classic Plan customers can now roam freely in the USA until midnight on 20th July (PT) alongside Volt customers or those with a Plus Plan or Ultimate Plan, potentially saving them £7 per day for the cost of a travel bolt-on. Just remember that a fair usage limit applies to mobile broadband usage of 25GB (GigaBytes) for data.

Classic Plan users will, however, first need to log into their MyO2 account and activate the O2 Travel Bolt On (£7 per day) or buy a data bolt-on (1GB, 3GB or 5GB), and O2 will then automatically credit back the cost of the bolt on from 6th July – 20th July 2026.

Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media O2, said:

“Whether travelling in Europe or heading across the Pond, we’re now giving our customers one less thing to worry about this summer by crediting back roaming charges in the USA for the remainder of the tournament. From cheering their team on from the stands or sharing the excitement with friends and family back home, our customers can focus on the scoreline, not roaming charges, with the freedom, connectivity and confidence to make every moment count.”

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The Vodafone Group has this morning confirmed that Abu Dhabi-based E& (Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC) has sold its entire 16.21% stake – some 3,944,743,685 ordinary shares – in the global mobile operator to Vega, an acquisition vehicle wholly owned by the Niel family group (owner of French telecoms firm Iliad), for $5.95bn (£4.43bn).

In a brief statement Vodafone said: “The relationship agreement dated 11th May 2023 between Vodafone and e& has been terminated. Hatem Dowidar, who was appointed to the Board of Vodafone as the nominee director of e&, has resigned from the Board with immediate effect.”

Meanwhile, E& said that the move followed a “comprehensive strategic review of its international investment portfolio” and, after today, they will “no longer seek to exert control or influence Vodafone’s Board or management team“. But the company added that they “appreciate the constructive partnership with Vodafone and looks forward to exploring future opportunities to collaborate in ways that create mutual value“.

The transaction will generate cash proceeds to e& of approximately $5.95 billion inclusive of final FY26 dividend. This will result in net cash return of around $1.3 billion. Completion of the transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to take place in the near future.

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UK ISP Sky Broadband (Sky Mobile and Sky TV etc.), which sells their packages to consumers via both Openreach and CityFibre’s national full fibre (FTTP) networks, appears to have introduced some small discounts across several of their packages and also cut the price of their top 2.5Gbps (Gigabits) and 5Gbps tiers to £35 and £45 per month, respectively.

Just for some context. The 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps tiers both offer symmetric speeds and are currently only available via the CityFibre side of Sky Broadband’s service. Both packages also come with Sky’s Wi-Fi 7 router, while slow tiers include a slower Wi-Fi 6 device.

Customers taking up the new discount can also expect to receive free activation, a 24-month minimum contract term, unlimited usage, an optional bill credit worth “up to” £200 to help cover any early termination charges from your old ISP (if applicable) and, finally, online security and parental control features etc.

Sky also includes the disclaimer that their prices may change during the 24-month minimum term, which is another way of saying that they usually apply an annual mid-contract price rise but haven’t yet decided what that will be for 2027. On the flip side, Sky’s price rises are usually a bit softer than most of their biggest rivals.

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Press Release

The former BT Openreach executive brings more than 25 years of broadband and wholesale telecoms experience

nexfibre, the joint venture between InfraVia Capital Partners, Liberty Global and Telefónica, today announced the appointment of Ses Indy as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), strengthening its senior leadership team as the company executes its mission to build a scaled national wholesale alternative to BT Openreach.

Indy joins nexfibre from BT Openreach and brings more than 25 years of experience across digital infrastructure and fixed telecommunications. Throughout his career, he has held senior commercial leadership roles and worked closely with major communications providers, including Sky, Vodafone and PXC with a particular focus on wholesale strategy and customer growth.

At nexfibre, Indy will lead the company’s commercial strategy, revenue growth and customer engagement activities. His appointment comes at a significant moment for the business as it progresses its planned acquisition of Netomnia, a transaction expected to unlock £3.5 billion of international investment and create a combined network footprint of approximately 8 million premises by the end of 2027.

A three-time recipient of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work award, nexfibre is continuing to scale its wholesale platform and accelerate the rollout of next-generation digital infrastructure across the UK.

Ses Indy, Chief Commercial Officer at nexfibre, said:

“I am delighted to be joining nexfibre at such an exciting and important stage in its growth journey. I look forward to working with the leadership team to drive commercial growth, deepen partner relationships and help deliver the benefits of high-quality full-fibre connectivity to homes and businesses across the country.”

Rajiv Datta, Chief Executive Officer of nexfibre, said:

“The board and I are delighted to welcome Ses to nexfibre. He brings deep industry expertise, a strong track record of commercial leadership and extensive experience of the wholesale broadband market. As we enter our next phase of growth and work towards creating a scaled national wholesale challenger, his leadership will be instrumental in expanding our commercial reach, strengthening customer partnerships and delivering on our long-term ambitions.”

How is the UK connectivity landscape changing in 2026? Join the industry in discussion at Connected Britain 2026

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