The story of 2,100 MHz spectrum in the UK dates back to 2000, when the spectrum was originally auctioned by Ofcom to help operators roll out 3G services. The auction raised an enormous £22.5 billion, with terms for the licences initially set to last for 20 years.
However, just one year later, the government directed Ofcom to alter these licences…
Airspan, Padtec and Trópico partner for 5G Open RAN Public and Private Networks
Airspan Networks Inc., a subsidiary of Airspan Networks Holdings Inc. (NYSE American: MIMO), Padtec S/A, a subsidiary of Padtec Holding (B3: PDTC3), and Trópico have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to offer 5G network solutions. The agreement is part of Padtec’s and Trópico’s strategy which focuses on entering the 5G market…
Russia's MTS buys computer vision specialist VisionLabs
MTS’s focus on AI has been growing in recent months. Back in September, the operator launched a $100 million venture fund to invest in AI start-ups, with up to $20 million going to each company. MTS also pledged to invest up to $100,000 in start-ups in its accelerator programme.
At the time, Alexey Posternak, CFO of MTS AI, said the investments would focus on start-ups working with language…
1&1 grabs German 5G deal with Vantage Towers
Back in 2019, Germany held its first 5G spectrum auction, an event noted for its high prices and, more importantly, the potential entrance of a fourth national mobile operator in the form of data centre specialist 1&1 Drillisch.
1&1, which has operated as a mobile virtual network operator for numerous years via a deal with Telefonica, spent €1.1 billion on spectrum at the auction, acquiring a 5MHz block in the 2GHz spectrum band and five blocks of 10MHz in the 3.6GHz band.
Since then, 1&1 has signed numerous deals to help lay the groundwork for the launch of its own open RAN…
4 Fibre and Converged Communication Solutions Plan FTTP Broadband Builds
Two new UK Alternative Network (altnet) builders – 4 Fibre (SCCI Group) and Converged Communication Solutions – have today revealed their tentative plans to rollout or expand an existing Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network across some very different parts of the country. The plans came to light after both operators made a request for Code […]
Mobile Operators Unhappy as Ofcom Set Licence Fees for 2100MHz
The UK telecoms regulator has today set new annual licence fees (ALF) for spectrum licences in the 2100MHz band, which was originally auctioned off in April 2000 to support the rollout of 3G mobile (mobile broadband) networks for the eye watering sum of £22.5bn. But mobile operators aren’t happy about the change. The original auction […]
County Broadband Launch Bespoke Team to Help Remote Premises Get Fibre
Rural UK ISP County Broadband (CB), which is currently deploying their gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across parts of Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk in England, has today launched a dedicated “bespoke connections team” (BCT) to find and deliver cost-efficient ways of connecting the remotest premises. The provider, which is backed by £46 million of […]
Mobile Operator EE UK Quietly Scraps FLEX Mobile Plans
New customers of mobile operator EE (BT) can no longer order “Flex” plans, which were first introduced back in 2018 as an alternative to the traditional Pay As You Go (PAYG) model (here). The plans were quietly removed, without explanation, from the operator’s website and shops a few weeks ago. The Flex plans were originally […]
BT Ask Vauxhall to Build More EV Vans in the UK for Engineers
Telecoms giant BT is reportedly in talks with Vauxhall in the hope of encouraging the car manufacturer to ramp-up production of their electric vehicles and move more of the construction line into the UK, which will help with their goal of converting Openreach’s entire fleet of engineering vans to EVs by 2030. At present BT […]
Virgin Media O2 Name Trial Cities for UK FTTP Broadband Upgrade
Last month we reported that Virgin Media (VMO2) had begun trials in three cities to test their UK plan for upgrading existing Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) based network areas with Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband – using XGS-PON technology (here). The good news is that we now know the names of those three locations. At present about […]