Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Deputy CEO of national network access provider Openreach (BT), Katie Milligan, has warned that until “the market really stabilises” then they won’t be able to predict when their current broadband line losses to rivals will stop (Openreach lost 707k in 2024 and expects to lose about 900,000 this financial year).

BT Group’s most recent trading update to the end June 2025 (Q1 FY26) revealed that Openreach lost another 169,000 total broadband lines to rival networks over the past quarter, which was mercifully down from 243k in the prior quarter. But the expectation is that the rate of losses for Q2 (H1) FY26 could pick up again, partly due to Sky Broadband’s recent partnership with CityFibre that already appears to be having a big impact (here).

Openreach has previously pointed out that most of these losses tend to come from areas where they’ve yet to deploy their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network (i.e. those covered by copper-based ADSL/FTTC services), which is one of the key reasons why they’ve adopted such a rapid fibre build. A number of rivals initially did tend to target such areas with their own FTTP networks in order to gain a first-mover advantage.

According to a new article in TheTimes (paywall), Milligan also indicated that line losses had been further fuelled by the cost-of-living crisis and a downturn in house building, which has pushed more households to get online via mobile broadband (e.g. Tethering from their handsets). But this aspect likely only accounts for a smaller portion of the losses.

Katie Milligan said:

“The whole point of people investing in fixed infrastructure was on the premise that the UK market would continue to grow both in terms of the number of customers adopting broadband but also as a result of house building and growth continuing, which hasn’t happened.

Until the market really stabilises and we know what the market growth or contraction is, we’re not going to call it.”

We’d disagree with Milligan’s “whole point” remark above. Once Openreach’s rivals started competitively building FTTP and delivering gigabit broadband at scale, then the incumbent either had to respond to that or risk a slow descent into obscurity by remaining reliant on their ageing copper line infrastructure, which could not keep competitive pace. Consumers also demanded faster and more reliable connectivity than copper lines could offer.

In terms of where Openreach might end up in the future. James Ratzer, an analyst at New Street Research, expects that Openreach may get a lower return on their fibre project than once expected and predicts that customer losses would continue until at least 2030. However, the CEO of BT Group, Allison Kirkby, has already recognised that they’ll end up with a “smaller market share, but it’ll be a more valuable modern-day asset” (here).

As Kirkby said back in May 2025, the group has “got to be competitive, rather than just accept that every line we can lose forever … BT needs to transform. We need to be a more modern day, more nimble company that moves faster … We were about half the productivity of our peers .. that’s what we had to address” (this reflects a lot of their network modernisation, redundancies and copper retirement work etc.).

All of this helps to explain why the BT Group is currently lobbying Ofcom to further soften regulation in competitive areas so they can compete more effectively with often cheaper rivals, which is something the regulator has been examining as part of their 5-yearly Telecoms Market Review (TAR). As Openreach’s Mark Shurmer, MD of Regulatory Affairs, said: “[consumers are being] denied the benefits of competition … Prices are higher than they need be and they’re propping up inefficient entry in the market.”

Openreach’s rivals, many of which are carrying significant financial risks in order to take on the dominant players and are also under pressure from wider market strains (i.e. rising build costs, high interest rates, network competition), naturally disagree with the above viewpoint. Most tend to feel that allowing the incumbent too much freedom too soon could create an anti-competitive environment that chokes off their growth and might ultimately lead to a less competitive market.

As usual, Ofcom has the fun job of trying to find some balance between so many competing interests.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Rochdale-based UK broadband ISP Zen Internet has today appointed Paul North as Managing Director (MD) of its Partner division. At the same time, Stephen Warburton, who previously ran Zen’s Partner division for over 20 years and was also holding responsibility for Zen’s Consumer divisions, will now be able to focus exclusively on the consumer side of things.

The move reflects Zen’s recent shift to develop their Fibre Hub (i.e. an alternative network aggregation platform for use by other ISPs), which requires a much greater and more dedicated focus on Partners than existed before.

Paul (Pictured – Left) is said to be bringing two decades of channel experience, having previously held senior leadership roles at Entanet (CityFibre) and Giganet (AllPoints Fibre Networks).

Richard Tang, Founder and CEO of Zen Internet, said:

“Paul’s arrival marks an exciting new chapter for our Partner division. He has a record for building successful wholesale businesses, but what really stands out is his passion for people and partners. That’s exactly what Zen is all about. With Paul at the helm, our partners can expect even greater focus, energy, and support as we move forward.”

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Government has today informed ISPreview that its Building Digital UK (BDUK) executive agency, which has responsibility for delivering gigabit broadband and better mobile connectivity across the nation (e.g. the £5bn Project Gigabit scheme), is to be integrated back into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) from 1st November 2025.

Regular readers might recall that the previous Conservative government turned BDUK into an Executive Agency back in April 2022 (here). The move was intended to give BDUK more operational autonomy to focus on deploying its various digital infrastructure programmes, while also establishing a new corporate governance structure for an extra layer of scrutiny and technical oversight.

Despite the change, BDUK remained legally within DCMS (now DSIT) and retained a close relationship with their policy officials. However, the new Labour-led government have been on a mission to review all Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) – also known as quangos – since earlier this year, which has been conducted with a “presumption of closure, merger, or return of functions to departments“.

The review is known to have been assessing ALBs based on four key principles (set out below) and those that failed to demonstrate the necessity of each one were more likely than others to face changes (as above). The exception being where independence from Ministerial decision-making is essential (not relevant to BDUK), such as quangos which scrutinise government or protect the rule of law.

The Four Key Principles:

➤ Ministerial policy oversight – if a policy is of national importance then Ministers should have appropriate oversight and control of its development. Major decisions that affect the country and the public should be taken by those elected by the country to do so.

➤ Duplication and Efficiency – government should drive out duplication and inefficiency wherever possible, this includes if there is duplication of policy or delivery work between ALBs and Ministerial departments.

➤ Stakeholder Management – the fact that government needs to engage stakeholders should not be a reason for an ALB to exist, government itself should be working hard to engage with a variety of partners at every stage.

➤ Independent Advice – where there is a clear justification for independent advice, then this should be conducted at arms length.

Sadly, we don’t know how BDUK scored on each of these, although clearly the government felt as if the right course of action was to reintegrate it back into DSIT.

Written Ministerial Statement by Ian Murray

Today I am announcing that Building Digital UK (BDUK) will be integrated into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) from 1 November 2025. BDUK is currently an executive agency of the department and will become a directorate within the Digital Technologies and Infrastructure group.

This move comes following the Cabinet Office’s review into Arm’s Length Bodies launched in April. The decision continues DSIT’s growth into the UK Government’s department of digital delivery, helping to accelerate innovation and drive economic growth across the country. It builds on the integration of other digital delivery bodies, including the Government Digital Service (GDS) and the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) into DSIT.

BDUK will continue to lead the delivery of the government’s vital digital infrastructure programmes, Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network. These programmes remain central to the Government’s Plan for Change and 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, supported by £1.9bn of funding announced in the Spending Review.

Thanks to BDUK’s work, we have already achieved 85% gigabit broadband coverage across the UK, and 95% 4G coverage, meeting both these targets a year ahead of schedule.

Integrating BDUK into DSIT will ensure that its operational expertise is embedded at the heart of Government, enabling more effective delivery of digital infrastructure and supporting our wider ambition to accelerate innovation and drive economic growth across the UK.

We will work closely with staff, unions and stakeholders to manage the integration over the coming months.

One of the concerns with a change like this stems from whether or not it will cause any negative impacts, such as in terms of the resources that BDUK can currently call on (staffing etc.) or the risk of additional admin delays to their current processes. Quite a few of the network operators that we engage with often reflect a view that the organisation can be too slow and thus under-resourced when responding to their needs and projects.

We can only hope that today’s change is going to make things better, not worse, although in reality they might just stay the same.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The saying goes that criminals will steal anything that isn’t bolted down, but the opposite now seems to be true in Nottinghamshire (England), where a spate of recent metal thefts has seen criminals making off with the steel covers from several of Virgin Media’s (O2) broadband and phone street cabinets.

The situation, which typically leaves such cabinets exposed to the elements and thus at risk of damage, is unusual because unlike the normal targets of metal theft in telecoms networks (e.g. copper cables, batteries etc.), the relatively thin steel of such cases doesn’t tend to attract much value from scrap metal yards (e.g. prices vary, but it can be as much as around £200 per tonne; you’d need to steal a fair few cabinet shells to reach a tonne).

According to the BBC News, which identified the problem and has some pictures of the exposed cabinets, a number of covers for Virgin Media’s street cabinets have recently been stolen around the Nottinghamshire area. Naturally, Virgin Media has asked local residents not to touch or go near the cabinets until engineers could attend, although the operator said the safety risk was low.

So far as we can tell from the pictures, most of the cabinets that have been targeted seem to be of the older and smaller variety, which may carry Virgin Media’s Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) based DOCSIS 3.1 network (broadband, phone and TV). But we have seen some other evidence of modern cream coloured FTTP carrying cabinets also being targeted in different areas.

A Spokesperson for VMO2 said:

“Unfortunately, following a recent wave of metal theft in the Nottingham area, covers of cabinets housing broadband equipment have been targeted and stolen.

If residents in the area notice any cabinets with missing lids, they are advised to report this to the relevant operator.”

Sadly, the perpetrators of such crimes never have any regard for the harm they could cause to locals, some of which are dependent upon related services and would be at risk if local services were to be disrupted.

Problems with Virgin Media’s cabinets can typically be reported by dialling 0330 333 0444 or posting to this thread on Virgin Media’s Community Forum.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Business broadband and phone provider Planet Telecom has announced the launch of SIMOVO, which is said to be a new UK-based mobile eSIM-only operator built for “modern travellers who want a simpler, more flexible way to stay connected in the UK and abroad“.

The current market isn’t exactly short on travel focused eSIM-only providers, but now you have another option to consider alongside all of those. “With support for over 180 countries, instant QR code activation, and no roaming fees, SIMOVO is designed to make it easier than ever to connect your device without the need for physical SIM cards or complicated setup,” said a spokesperson to ISPreview.

In terms of what you can get, general data plans start at around £2 for 1GB of mobile broadband data for 7 Days in Spain and the USA (examples only) and go up from there. Options also exist for “unlimited data“, albeit with caveats.

In terms of those caveats, you can choose to get “high speeds” for the first 500MB, 1GB and 2GB etc. of “unlimited data” consumed. But after that you’ll be throttled “with 2G speeds after daily high-speed use” – the T&Cs define this as 0.5Mbps, which is poor but sadly not uncommon for travel eSIM providers.

Robin James, Managing Director of Planet Telecom, told ISPreview:

“SIMOVO was built to make staying connected abroad as effortless as possible. We wanted to remove the frustrations travellers face – from expensive roaming charges to physical SIM hassles – and replace them with a solution that works anywhere, activates instantly, and gives people full control over their data.”

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Broadband ISP and UK network builder Exascale, which has deployed their own gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to a few thousands premises in part of Telford and Wrekin, this week did something quite unique by quietly founding a brand new Internet Exchange (IX) in the Midlands (MidlandsIX).

Internet exchanges are physical sites that allow ISPs, content delivery networks (CDN) and other network operators to interconnect. Such facilities can deliver more efficient network routing and peering, which cuts both costs and helps performance in all sorts of different ways (latency etc.). The UK already has a number of primary IXs, many of which are run by the not-for-profit London Internet Exchange (LINX).

The big news this week is that business ISP Exascale has set up its own IX for the Midlands of England. Initially, MidandsIX will be offering 10G ports for free in Exascale facilities, while 100G and 400G ports will be available at a “low monthly reoccurring cost“. Ports in non-Exascale facilities will attract a monthly reoccurring cost regardless of port size.

Thomas Bibb, CEO of Exascale, said:

“I’m thrilled to announce the founding of a brand new Internet Exchange, right here in the Midlands!

MidlandsIX is perfectly positioned in the heart of the UK, enabling faster, more resilient, and more efficient interconnection for networks across the country. Our goal is to strengthen regional connectivity, reduce latency, and support the ever-growing demand for high-performance internet infrastructure.”

The new exchange will span Exascale’s facilities in Telford and Wolverhampton initially, although the ISP said they are already in discussions over establishing other facilities in the Midlands. Thomas added that “we’re creating this exchange for the good of the internet and the community we serve, we seek to just recover our costs, nothing more“.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

The Medusa submarine fiber optic cable system, owned by AFR-IX Telecom, has achieved a significant milestone with its first landing at the cable station in Marseille, France. This marks the beginning of the cable’s rollout across the Mediterranean, establishing a crucial connection between Southern Europe and North Africa.

The initial segment will connect Marseille with Bizerte, Tunisia, and Nador, Morocco, with the landings expected between late October and December 2025. The first phase is slated to be operational by early 2026, paving the way for subsequent landings planned throughout the year to expand the system across the region.

The Medusa system will span around 8,700km with 19 landing points, linking 12 countries across North Africa and Southern Europe, including Portugal, Morocco, Spain, France, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Malta, Libya, Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt.

The cable system will support up to 24 fibre pairs, each with a capacity of 20 Tbps.

The project also extends beyond the Mediterranean, with planned connections to the Atlantic Ocean via Portugal and the Red Sea through Aqaba, Jordan. Further expansion to Sub-Saharan Africa is planned, with Gabon scheduled to join the network in 2028.

Marseille is a major digital hub in Europe, offering critical infrastructure such as data centres and multiple submarine cable interconnections.

“By bringing Medusa to Marseille, one of Europe’s leading digital hubs, we are laying the foundation for a project that will transform communications between Europe and Africa. Medusa will act as a driver of economic growth for the region and a catalyst for knowledge exchange across the Mediterranean,” said AFR-IX Telecom’s CEO, Norman Albi.

The Medusa project, a private initiative, has attracted substantial public funding due to its strategic importance. The European Union has contributed €38.3 million through its Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program, supporting AFR-IX projects aimed at strengthening Europe-North Africa connectivity.

A notable participant in the Medusa network is Tunisie Telecom, which has signed a strategic partnership to operate a dedicated fibre-optic link between Bizerte and Marseille with a 20 Tbps capacity. The company’s involvement underscores the collaborative nature of the project, which is co-funded by AFR-IX Telecom, Orange, and the European Union.

As the first segment of Medusa approaches operational readiness, the project stands as a landmark development in Mediterranean telecommunications infrastructure, promising to enhance digital connectivity, foster economic integration, and strengthen ties between Europe and Africa over the coming decade.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Podcasts

Trust is a key factor in building lasting partnerships with tribal communities, according to Joel Ogren, the CEO of Assured Communications.

By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

Joel Ogren, the CEO and founder of Assured Communications, says building partnerships with tribal communities is about listening and understanding history from different perspectives.

With a lengthy career that includes years spent working with the Pacific Islander community in Hawaii, Ogren has now applied his relationship-building skills to build lasting partnerships in Washington State.

Namely, Assured Communications has a partnership with Toptana Technologies, which is owned by the Quinault Indian Nation.

Toptana Technologies operates what has been described as “the first indigenous-owned cable landing station and backhaul network provider on the West Coast of the United States.”

The venture that is now Toptana Technologies was announced in 2022. At the time, it was also announced that Assured Communications would be the venture’s primary operations service provider and facilitator of sales and industry partnerships.

Meanwhile, the passage of time has only strengthened Assured’s collaboration with Toptana Technologies.

In June of this year, Toptana Technologies announced the latest phase of their regional network build.

Listen to the full interview with Ogren on Spotify!

The effort, and east-west fiber route project, strives to connect to Ocean Shores. The route is additionally pitched as falling along a key connectivity corridor for Seattle, Washington and Hillsboro, Oregon.

In the announcement, Assured Communications was listed as “leading all aspects of the initiative from feasibility and design through engineering, construction, and go-to-market.”

‘We’re going to do it with integrity’

Ogren said he worked hard to build trust and get Assured to where it is today.

In his approach to building partnerships with tribal communities, Ogren said he signifies up front that he wants to earn the right to be considered a trusted partner.

“It’s important to me,” he said. “We’re going to do it with integrity and an open approach to the work that we do.”

Credentials and experience also matter, he said, adding that demonstrating the ability to deliver on a project is key.

He also said Assured’s success would not be possible without the company’s highly qualified team of professionals.

“They understand this, they have those same values that help drive me,” Ogren said. “The ability to address the digital divide, they see the value of what we can do for these economies.”

Subscribe to the Broadband Communities newsletter!

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Openreach (BT) has today published the next (Tranche 22) batch of 94 exchanges in their “FTTP Priority Exchange Stop Sell” programme, which reflects areas where over 75% of premises are able to get full fibre lines and will thus stop selling copper based legacy phone and broadband products (i.e. FTTP becomes the only product option).

Currently, there are two schemes for moving away from old copper lines and services, which can sometimes cross over. The first starts with the gradual migration of traditional legacy voice (PSTN / WLR) services to digital all-IP technologies (e.g. SOGEA), which is due to complete by 31st January 2027 and is occurring on both copper and full fibre products (i.e. ISPs are introducing digital voice / VoIP services). The national “stop sell” on legacy phone services began on 5th September 2023 (here).

The second “FTTP Priority Exchange” programme involves the ongoing rollout of gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) lines – using light signals via optical fibre instead of electrical signals via slow copper lines. Only after this second programme has largely completed (75%+ FTTP coverage) in an exchange area can you really start to completely switch-off copper-based products, which will come later as you have to allow time for natural customer migrations.

Between the scrapping of legacy phone services, the full fibre rollout and the gradual switch away from copper lines themselves, this process will take several years in each area to complete, and the pace will vary (i.e. some areas have better coverage of full fibre than others). Naturally, premises that can’t yet get FTTP will continue to be served by copper-based broadband products.

94 New Exchange Locations (Tranche 22)

In this programme, the migration process away from legacy services starts with a “no move back” policy (i.e. no going back to copper) for premises connected with FTTP, which is followed by a “stop-sell” of copper services to new customers (12-months of notice is given before this starts and that is what today’s list represents). This stage is then followed by a final “withdrawal” phase, but that comes later.

The stop sell is applied at premises level, so it shouldn’t impact you if you don’t yet have access to FTTP, although edge-case conflicts may still occur due to rare quirks of network availability.

The 94 exchanges confirmed today takes the total number of exchange upgrades that have already been placed under “stop sell” rules to 1,747 (includes those that have been notified of a future stop sell). The stop sell in today’s list will become effective from 6th November 2025.

The operator also has a Stop Sells Page on their website, which makes it easy to see all the planned changes. Otherwise, the following list is tentative, so changes and delays will occur (exchanges can and are often shifted around into different tranches).

94 Stop Sell Exchanges in Tranche 22

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Rural broadband provider Airband, which has deployed its own Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) based networks to cover various parts of Wales and South West England, appears to have become the latest alternative network (altnet) to expand beyond their existing reach by adopting Openreach’s full fibre lines for off-net areas.

Just to recap. The altnet’s current broadband network spans “more than 440,000 premises in over 200 communities across 7 counties“ (here), which we were told breaks down as being 175,000 premises via “fibre” (FTTP) and 265,000 premises via wireless (FWA) – all Ready for Service. The provider also expects to end 2025 with 30,000 customers.

However, over the past few months, we’ve seen a number of altnets and their associated broadband ISPs moving to expand their reach outside on-net areas by hooking up with arch rival Openreach (BT). Some of the biggest examples of this have come from Hyperoptic (here) and Netomnia (here).

Such developments can help manage situations where existing customers may move (house) outside of the altnets existing network area, although it can also generally be used to boost retail take-up. The latest example of this trend, as first spotted by one of ISPreview’s readers today (credits to SaltyW123), appears to be Airband.

Consumers who visit the website and input an address that exists outside of Airband’s current network coverage are now being given a summary of FTTP packages from Openreach. Prices range from £30.50 per month for 160Mbps and rise up to £39.50 for their top 1000Mbps package (discounted price). All packages include a 12-month term, £50 Amazon gift card, free installation and Nokia Wi-Fi 6 router.

We don’t currently know precisely when this change was first introduced, although we have asked Airband to comment and will update when they respond.