Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Alternative network operator FullFibre Limited (Zzoomm), which has deployed their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) lines to cover 600,000 premises (RFS) and 80,000 customers across parts of 130+ market towns in England, has today announced that they’ve onboarded another ISP – Uptime Allies (The Cent.re Group) – to their UK network.

The Newcastle Upon Tyne based Uptime Allies is a relatively new ISP that was only founded in 2023. The company provides self-serve packages for broadband, email and website hosting, as well as leased lines, telephone and Voice over Internet (VoIP) services. The provider has also onboarded with several other broadband networks, such as Openreach (BT) and CityFibre.

Karl Mitchell, co-founder and operations director of Uptime Allies, said: “For many years, the broadband industry has been dominated by big players, but now AltNets like FullFibre are working on the ground to deliver a competitive and affordable service to business and residential customers alike.”

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Tesco Mobile, which is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) on O2’s national platform, appears to be causing some confusion among their base by informing “all of our current Pay as you go (PAYG) customers” that they are in the process of being “migrated” to the provider’s new PAYG Essentials tariff.

Several of the operator’s customers have contacted ISPreview to complain about the migration, which seems to be making quite a few changes – not all of which may be viewed as positive. One of those customers (credits to Darren) was also kind enough to include a copy of the SMS (text message) they received this week:

SMS: “Pay as you go is changing. Your tariff will be replaced with our new Essentials tariff between 07 Oct and 02 Nov. To help you settle in, your first 30-day bundle is free. Based on your recent usage, we recommend the exclusive £2.50 bundle. You’ll get 100MB data + 100 mins & 100 texts. You can then set it to auto-renew from your top-up balance or use your balance for calls/texts/data at our standard rates.”

The new Essentials tariff appears to be replacing the operator’s original Rocket Packs, Triple Credit, and Lite plans, some of which have been used by Tesco Mobile’s customers for many years. At the same time, the operator has also introduced a new PAYG App, which is only available to customers AFTER they’ve been migrated (the old app has been renamed to the “Tesco Mobile Rocket Pack and Triple Credit app” – those still on the relevant plans should use that).

The New Essentials PAYG Tariff Options

Clearly, some of Tesco Mobile’s customers are also being offered an “exclusive” £2.50 bundle too, which doesn’t appear on the standard tariff list and is probably being offered to those who only made limited or infrequent use of their old plan (e.g. for emergencies) – most likely impacting older or more vulnerable users (many of these are still on the provider’s flat rate Lite plans – the original style of PAYG).

Otherwise, each bundle only lasts for 30-days (like the previous Rocket Packs, but different from the Lite plans) and, by default, it will then automatically renew at the end of that period. Customers with older 2G SIMS have also been told that they’ll need to swap to a 4G SIM “as soon as possible … [or we] won’t be able to move your mobile number” to the new plan (related customers will be contacted separately).

The new plans seem to be driving customers toward only managing their accounts via the new mobile App, although Tesco Mobile does state that: “alternatively, if you’ve bought a top-up voucher from one of our stores, you can call 4488 from your Tesco Mobile phone.”

Further details can be found on Tesco Mobile’s Pay as you go Changes (FAQ) page, which among other things notes that the new Essentials plan will no longer be able to store card details for auto or regular top-ups and has discarded the old “favourite numbers” feature. In addition, E top-up cards will no longer work and customers who don’t use their phone for a period of six months or more will be disconnected (not so good for those who only kept it for emergency contacts).

Clearly this will be more disruptive to some of Tesco Mobile’s customers than others, but the changes they’re making do reflect the wider industry tend toward moving away from the older PAYG models and adopting something that is closer to a basic Pay Monthly no-contract style plan. A not particularly popular trend, it has to be said.

One final point to make is that customers who get migrated should try to avoid buying a new bundle during their first 30 days on Essentials. Doing this will cause you to lose any of the remaining allowances in your free bundle. So, use those allowances up first.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Government’s (DSIT) Building Digital UK agency has today published their annual progress report on the £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme, which covers the April 2024 to March 2025 period and reveals that related interventions delivered 152,700 premises with gigabit-capable coverage during this period (total so far of 1.227m – including past schemes/years).

At present around 88% of UK premises can already access a gigabit-capable network (here) and Ofcom separately forecasts that this could hit c.97% by May 2027 (here). Most of this has been delivered by commercial deployments (predominantly focused on urban and semi-urban areas), but there are some areas in the final 10-20% of premises that are simply too expensive for commercial providers to tackle.

Project Gigabit itself was originally established in 2021 to help extend broadband ISP networks capable of delivering download speeds of at least 1000Mbps (1Gbps), and uploads of at least 200Mbps, to achieve “nationwide” coverage (c.99%) by 2030 2032 (here) – focusing on the commercially unviable areas (usually rural and semi-rural locations). The project has already committed most of its budget up to 2030, but there are still some contracts yet to be awarded and others that have failed or been scaled-back (here, here and here).

The latest update builds on BDUK’s recent July 2025 update, although that one was a partial progress update for the year, as it only included data for the April to December 2024 period. By comparison, this one represents the full year of progress and includes data up to the end of March 2025.

However, somewhat annoyingly, BDUK has decided to exclude the table showing contractual delivery by contract and supplier in this release, which was present in the prior update. But we understand that this is because they’re planning to “release contractual delivery information as management information on a monthly basis in a transparent and regular way” in the very near future. So we’ll keep an eye out for that as it’s the most important bit.

Summary of the latest BDUK data

Of the premises delivered by BDUK between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025: 

• 41% (62,760) were delivered under the Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy scheme (GIS, Gigabit contracts) 
• 37% (55,740) were delivered by vouchers (gigabit broadband voucher scheme)
• 22% (34,200) were delivered by Superfast (older SFBB contracts) and Hubs (Dark Fibre for public sector sites etc.)
• 89% (135,900) of premises delivered between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 were in rural areas.  
• 91% (139,000) of premises delivered between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 were classified as residential premises and 8% (12,000) were classified as commercial premises. 
• The highest delivery was in England (67%, 101,800 premises) followed by Scotland (23%, 34,700 premises), Wales (7%, 10,700 premises), and Northern Ireland (4%, 5,500 premises). 

The spreadsheets also include some additional data and a regional breakdown of the figures, some of which we’ve included below. One key thing to note below is that Project Gigabit itself has still only delivered a relatively small amount of gigabit coverage, with the earlier ‘Superfast Broadband Programme‘ (SFBB) still holding the lion’s share (largely because that has run for many years longer).

BDUK – Gigabit Premises Passed by Year, Country and Region

Finally, BDUK said they were also investigating their vouchers data quality. “We have identified that our primary approach to collecting vouchers data has diminished in quality, and may be resulting in a small underestimate of vouchers delivery for recent months“. But otherwise we’ll have to wait a bit longer before BDUK published a more useful update on the latest progress by each Project Gigabit contract.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Mobile network operator O2 (Virgin Media) has today revealed that they’ve blocked more than 600 million scam text messages from reaching their customers phones so far in 2025 (more than double the number in 2023 and 2024 combined). But the operator warns that they’ve seen a “significant rise” in gambling, recruitment and car finance scam texts.

The telecoms provider has analysed messages reported and blocked throughout the month of August and identified that the “most commonly reported messages” right now are gambling or fake prize scams (i.e. where fraudsters offer free ‘credit’ on gambling sites, ‘prizes’ or ‘rewards’ with a link to an unsafe website).

The second most common tactic currently being used is the “Hi Mum / Hi Dad” scam, where criminals pretend to be a child reaching out to their parent in distress on a new phone number before asking them to transfer money (there’s also a disturbing AI version of this that works by cloning the voice of a known family member).

Third on the list is fake parking fines – where scammers threaten significant fines or for people’s ‘license to be revoked’ if they do not visit a suspicious website and make an immediate payment. Also on the rise are recruitment scams where fraudsters say they’re hiring for lucrative positions which don’t exist, and car finance scams in which victims are told they are entitled to compensation.

Murray Mackenzie, Director of Fraud Prevention at VMO2, said:

“Scammers aren’t sticking to old tricks; they’re evolving fast, tapping into trending news and targeting vulnerable people with fake prizes, job offers and financial compensation schemes.

we’re reminding people to remain vigilant; always be careful when you receive a call or text out of the blue, don’t share personal details with anyone, and report suspicious messages [and calls] for free to 7726.”

Customer with certain devices, including newer iPhones, can also use the “report junk” tool, which should appear at the bottom of messages from people not in their contacts.

TOP FIVE SCAM TRENDS – AUGUST 2025

1. Gambling / fake prize scams

EXAMPLES:

Your account is now loaded with GBP500 plus 150 FreeSpins Redeem and play today at: <website removed>

Congratulations! You’ve received a summer gift! Expires tomorrow. Open it <website removed>

2. Hi Mum/Hi Dad

EXAMPLES:

Hey mum save my new number

Hi Dad, did you get this?

3. Fake parking fines

EXAMPLE:

“Parking Charge Notice (PCN): The record shows that you have unpaid parking fines. The deadline for paying the parking fines is August 26, 2025. If you fail to pay the fine on time, you may be subject to additional fines and interest, and your credit record may also be affected. After reading this information, please enter your vehicle registration number in the link below (the information query is free) to view and pay the parking fines. <fake website removed>

Please complete the payment immediately to avoid having your license revoked and to prevent triggering more legal disputes. Thank you again for your cooperation.

4. Recruitment scams

EXAMPLE:

Hello, my name is Grace Mitchell, and I am the Human Resources Manager at Serviceplan Group.

We have reviewed your profile on several online recruitment platforms. Currently, we are offering a flexible part-time position that you can complete during your spare time.

The main task involves optimising software to improve its ranking, increase its visibility, and make the products we optimise more well-known and recognised.

This is a very simple task that can be learned in 10 to 30 minutes, and we provide free training to help you get started quickly.

The daily income ranges from £80 to £300, with payment made immediately upon completion of the data optimisation.

If you would like to join us, please contact us via <Whatsapp link> (Reply 1 and re-open this message to click the link, or copy it to your browser) (Please note that applicants must be at least 25 years old to be eligible for this position.)

5. Car Finance mis-sold

EXAMPLE:

Our records indicate you could be owed up to £2,382.58 in mis-sold car finance. Check for free: <FREE SITE> EXIT=88440

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

Telecom operator Telia Lietuva, in cooperation with ALGO Poland, has completed the construction and launched the first ZeroSite® base station in the Užkanavė district of Palanga. Named “Meldas” (Lithuanian for bulrush), the project is a prime example of how modern telecom infrastructure can combine functionality with harmony in the landscape.

The new station delivers more stable and faster 5G connectivity for both residents and visitors and is ready to host equipment for all three mobile operators active in the Lithuanian market. In the future, its resources can be shared, ensuring more efficient use of infrastructure.

Technology in harmony with nature

“Meldas” is an intelligent, multifunctional ZeroSite® telecom pole standing 15 meters tall (8 m pole + 7 m head). The on-site installation took just two days and included both pole assembly and the full configuration of active equipment.

The structure was designed to minimise environmental impact:

• no large concrete structures or heavy fencing,
• a compact form that blends into its surroundings,
• ability to be dismantled and relocated in the future.

Partner statements

Sigita Šeputienė, Head of Real Estate Development at Telia Lietuva:

“We understand how important reliable connectivity is for the residents and visitors of Palanga. At the same time, we want to preserve what makes this place special – its unique natural beauty. ‘Meldas’ shows that modern infrastructure can coexist with nature.”

Šarūnas Vaitkus, Mayor of Palanga:

“Palanga attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, which places a significant load on the network. This investment ensures stable internet access, convenience for daily life, and the continued growth of our resort.”

Adam Gołąbek, COO ALGO Poland

“ZeroSite® is a blend of aesthetics, cutting-edge technology, and rapid deployment. We are proud to deliver a solution for Telia Lietuva that perfectly fits such a prestigious location.”

Palanga – a prestigious and historic resort

Palanga is one of the most important seaside resorts on the Baltic coast, visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. It is known not only for its sandy beaches and unique microclimate but also for its rich history dating back to the 19th century, when it became a fashionable holiday destination.
Today, Palanga combines the amenities of a modern tourist hub with cultural heritage landmarks such as the Tyszkiewicz Palace, the Botanical Park, and the iconic pier stretching into the Baltic Sea.

Next steps

Similar solutions are planned in Monciškės and Vilnius (Kalnų Park), where a new ZeroSite® station will enhance network performance during large public events.

Technical specifications – ZeroSite® “Meldas”

• Height: 15 m (8 m pole + 7 m head)
• Support for up to 3 operators
• Prepared to host: 3 sector antennas and 9 5G panel antennas
• Installation time: 2 days
• Optional features: environmental sensors, cameras, Wi-Fi, EV charging stations
• Compliant with Palanga City’s architectural and urban planning requirements

Contact: apg@algo.com.pl

Also in the news:

Djibouti Telecom DAREs to expand subsea cable connectivity in East Africa

Vodafone partners with Simetric for ‘Single-Pane-of-Glass’ IoT platform

Netomnia secures £300m for network expansion

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Alternative rural broadband ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North), which is a community benefit society that has so far built their 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to cover 30,000 premises across England, has today announced that they’ve just connected their 15,000th customer (up from 14,000 a year ago).

The provider is a registered Community Benefit Society (i.e. they can’t be bought by a commercial operator and profits go back into the community) that has already expanded their full fibre network to cover various remote rural parts of Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Northumberland, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Yorkshire, Northumberland and County Durham – often with the direct help of local volunteers.

The announcement means that the project, which started all the way back in 2011, continues to deliver a strong average take-up of 50% and tends to expand the coverage of their network about twice as fast as the number of homes they connect to it. But the operator does eventually expect to cover 40,000 to 50,000 premises (RFS) in total once their existing plans reach completion.

B4RN may not be the biggest of alternative networks in terms of their premises passed figures, but their focus on remote rural areas means that they run an extremely large fibre network in terms of geographic reach. Suffice to say that premises passed doesn’t tell the whole story when it comes to rural coverage. This provider is much bigger than it looks.

B4RN Statement

None of this would have happened without the incredible efforts of our volunteers, landowners, contractors, staff, and members over the years. From digging the first trenches to helping their neighbours get connected, the B4RN community has always been at the heart of our success.

We’re also proud to acknowledge the important role of the BDUK UK Gigabit Voucher Scheme, which has provided vital support in helping many rural communities access affordable gigabit-capable broadband. By working together with government initiatives and local communities, we’ve been able to reach places that otherwise might still be left behind.

Hitting 15,000 customers gives us even more strength to continue expanding, reaching places others won’t, and ensuring rural areas receive the digital future they deserve.

We’re not stopping here. The demand for fast, reliable broadband continues to grow, and our mission is to ensure that no community is left behind. With more projects already underway and new areas in planning, we will continue to build, connect, and prove that rural communities deserve the very best.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network operator nexfibre and supporting retail broadband ISP partner Virgin Media (O2), which share some of the same parentage, have today announced that they’ve expanded the reach of their symmetric 2Gbps speed capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to more than 13,000 homes in the Gloucestershire market town of Stroud for the first time.

The area is currently already well covered by Openreach’s and Netomnia’s gigabit-capable FTTP broadband networks. But until recently there was little to no presence from Virgin Media, either directly or via nexfibre, which has of course now changed. Not bad for a town with a population of just 13,500, although the nexfibre build extends a bit beyond just the town itself.

Nexfibre, which reflects a £4.5bn joint venture between Telefónica, Liberty Global and InfraVia Capital Partners (here), has so far already covered 2.3 million premises across the UK with their new full fibre network. But the operator’s original plan to cover “up to” 7 million UK homes (starting with 5m by 2026) in areas NOT currently served by Virgin Media’s network of 16m+ premises was recently dealt a blow by Telefonica’s strategic review (here). The operator now only expects to reach 2.5 million premises by the end of 2025 and uncertainty remains over what comes next.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Broadband and telecoms giant BT Group has today announced a new partnership with edge video delivery network MainStreaming, which they hope will deliver a smoother and “more resilient streaming experience” for UK audiences by integrating it directly into their nationwide mobile and fixed networks.

According to the blurb, the new collaboration will: boost the quality of experience (QoE) and reliability for live streaming audiences; drive greater cost efficiency for network providers through caching at the edge (); and deliver efficiency for content providers through a unique capacity-based model to simplify costs.

On top of that, the roadmap also includes the UK’s “first trials” of MAUD (Multicast-Assisted Unicast Delivery) for live streaming, which is a type of Content Delivery Network (CDN) technology that we’ve written about a few times before (here). But we’re not sure why this is referenced as “first trials“, since EE has already conducted one (here).

The companies will also look at software-defined edge caching solutions designed to meet the evolving demands of content providers and consumers.

Chris Bramley, BT’s Chief Network Architect, said:

“We are continually enhancing our networks to ensure our customers enjoy the best possible streaming experience. Bringing a leading Content Delivery Network provider like MainStreaming into our network enables us to drive efficiency of video content delivery and provide outstanding viewing experiences to our shared customers.”

The improvements are being aimed at UK broadcasters and Over-The-Top (OTT) video platforms, which could include anything from the BBC’s iPlayer to Netflix or EE’s own pay TV services etc. But the announcement is somewhat vague on when everything promised by this partnership will be fully introduced or trialled.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today revealed that they will begin accepting applications from network operators for their auction of the 26GHz and 40GHz millimetre wave (mmW) bands from 17th September 2025. The large chunk of radio spectrum will be used by mobile operators to deliver faster 5G data (broadband) services.

At present the major mobile providers (EE, O2 and VodafoneThree – Vodafone and Three UK) already have access to several 5G capable bands between 700MHz and 3.8GHz. Such frequencies reflect the same sort of mid-band radio spectrum that mobile network operators have been using since the advent of the first 3G and 4G networks.

The move to auction off 26GHz (25.1-27.5GHz) and 40GHz (40.5-43.5GHz) will complement those existing bands by providing lots of additional spectrum frequency, which means more data capacity for extremely fast speeds (e.g. multi-Gigabit). But such signals tend to be very weak and can’t cover a wider area without a much denser / more expensive network, which in practice means they’ll primarily be used for serving busy urban areas (shopping malls, airports etc. – “High Density Areas“) and fixed wireless broadband (FWA) links.

The good news is that after a long wait Ofcom has finally confirmed that they will start accepting applications from companies wishing to take part in the forthcoming spectrum auction from later this month – 17th September 2025. The first bidding is then expected to follow in October 2025 and we should thus have a good idea of who has won what by around the end of this year.

Any company wishing to take part in the auction must submit its application between 10:00am on 16th September 2025 and 4:00pm on 17th September 2025.

Ofcom Statement

Making mmWave spectrum available for new uses has the potential to deliver significant benefits to people and businesses in the UK.

This type of spectrum will enable services requiring very high capacity and speeds. It can play an important role in enabling mobile providers to meet current needs and future growth in demand for data – this means that it can help to improve capacity in busy places like train stations, busy urban areas, and sports and music venues where lots of people want to use their mobile phone at the same time.

As part of the auction launching today, we are awarding the spectrum in 68 “high-density” areas (that is, the towns and cities in the UK where we have identified high demand for mobile data).

We are already making spectrum in the 26 GHz band available to those who want a licence through our shared access licensing regime. This regime offers local area licences – for example this spectrum might be used to provide fixed wireless broadband in rural communities or to support automation in industrial sites, such as busy ports.

Details of the confirmed bidders, start date and results will be published on our website.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Some residents in the semi-rural village of Catsfield in East Sussex (England), which is home to nearly 900 people, have been left without access to fixed broadband and phone services for roughly three weeks after a car fire caused damage to Openreach’s nearby telecoms pole and fibre optic cables.

Resolving such problems in urban areas is normally a lot quicker and a downed or damage pole can often be corrected within only a matter of hours, or a few short days. But the wait for rural villages is often a lot longer and there can often be mitigating circumstances that may cause an additional wait.

Openreach has previously informed ISPreview that it can take around 20 days to fix damaged poles, such as after a major storm. But over the years we’ve seen examples where, in rare cases of extreme damage, rural areas have been left to wait for several months before repairs (here, here and here).

Such long waits can stem from a variety of issues, such as with the need to seek prior permission for traffic management, safety considerations and limited local resources etc. According to the BBC News (see for pictures of the car), the long delay in Catsfield seems to be at least partly related to the fact that they had to allow extra time for Sussex Police to investigate before the burnt-out car could be removed, which has now finally happened.

A spokesperson for Openreach said:

“We’re aware of an incident where a third-party vehicle fire damaged part of our network, affecting a small number of customers.

Our engineers are working to get everyone back up and running as quickly and safely as possible. We’re sorry for the disruption and appreciate everyone’s patience.”

At present it’s not known precisely when Openreach will be able to complete replacement of the pole and its cables. In the meantime, some locals are complaining of patchy mobile signals, which has caused concern over the difficulty of contacting family, friends and the emergency services.

However, it should be noted that the quality of mobile coverage in the area does vary between the networks (Vodafone seems poor, but O2, EE and Three UK do have modest to good outdoor coverage), yet calls to the emergency services will usually connect via roaming to the best available signal (i.e. it’s not dependent on who you have your contract with).

In addition, the area also has access to Trooli’s alternative Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband network, but they often run their fibre via Openreach’s existing poles and ducts, which means that the outage may potentially also be impacting their network in the area too.