Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Starlink (SpaceX) internet service, which reflects a mega constellation of ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), recently introduced a new residential package for consumers – currently only available in the USA (but it may yet come to the UK) – that caps download speeds at 100Mbps, but drops the monthly price to just $50 (c.£30).

Starlink currently has around 8,940 satellites in orbit (c.5,400 are v2 / V2 Mini) – mostly at altitudes of c.500-600km. Residential customers in the UK usually pay from £75 a month, plus £299 for hardware (currently free for many areas) on the ‘Standard’ unlimited data plan (kit price may vary due to different offers) directly from Starlink, which promises UK latency times of 26-33ms, downloads of 116-277Mbps and uploads of 17-32Mbps. Cheaper, albeit more restrictive (data capped), options also exist for roaming users (e.g. £50 per month for 50 GigaBytes of data).

Suffice to say that one of the obstacles to Starlink’s wider adoption by home users in the UK has been the relatively high price point of their unlimited data service. As above, you can get cheaper roaming options, but these aren’t really intended for homes and would only really work well as a backup solution or for those with low usage requirements. Ofcom states that the average monthly data usage per UK broadband connection is now 531GB (GigaBytes) across “all technologies“ or 766GB for full-fibre lines.

The difficulty with expensive-to-run satellite broadband networks is that it’s hard for them to offer truly mass-market affordable packages and deliver unlimited usage with fast speeds at the same time. But this seems to now have become more viable for Starlink as they expand the capacity of their ground stations, spectrum use and launch more capable satellites into orbit.

The new “Residential 100Mbps” package in the USA is a good example of that, since it offers unlimited data but does obviously cap download speeds at 100Mbps (this is still a good level of performance for most people) in order to hit that attractive $50 (c.£30) per month price point. Upload speeds aren’t throttled, but then they rarely go much above 20Mbps anyway. The other catch is that availability of this plan remains limited to certain parts of the USA (most likely states where capacity is in abundance).

Customers in the USA can alternatively pay $80 (c.£61) per month for “Residential Lite” and speeds up to 250Mbps (this is closest to the UK’s Standard plan) or take “Residential” for $120 (c.£91) and speeds up to 400Mbps. Normally we wouldn’t cover Starlink package changes in other countries as they have different approaches right across the world (reflecting differences in capacity, ground stations, spectrum availability etc.), but we do think there’s a good chance of something similar coming to the UK in 2026.

The reason for thinking this is four-fold. Firstly, Ofcom has recently been granting Starlink access to more spectrum capacity, and on top of that they’ll shortly start launching their first high-capacity GEN3 satellites into orbit. In addition, the recent agreement with BT and EE to launch a rural broadband solution would mark a perfect opportunity to launch such a package (here). Finally, Starlink is about to face more competition from Amazon’s Leo service, so what better way to respond to that than by leveraging the advantages of a more mature network via competitive pricing. Time will tell.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Internet retail giant Amazon has announced that their in-development Project Kuiper constellation of ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) has been renamed to Amazon Leo. The first customer connections are also now expected to go live by the end of this year – initially in the US, Canada, UK, Germany and France.

Amazon currently has approval to deploy and operate their own constellation of 3,236 LEO satellites as part of Project Kuiper Amazon Leo (altitudes of between 590km to 630km). The company has in fact already launched over 150 satellites into orbit after a total of six rocket launches, which includes two of their initial prototypes – Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2.

However, despite being known as Project Kuiper – inspired by the Kuiper Belt (a ring of asteroids in our outer solar system) – for the past six years, Amazon said they’re now “ready to share our permanent brand for the program: Amazon Leo, a simple nod to the low Earth orbit satellite constellation that powers our network.” But admittedly, this could get tedious when trying to reference LEO the orbit vs Leo the brand.

In terms of the service itself. Each spacecraft can technically process data traffic at speeds of up to 1Tbps (Terabits per second), albeit shared between many users. The company will also deploy three ground terminals (dishes) to cater for different types of customers (here and here) – Compact (residential and roaming), Standard (residential and business) and Pro (high demand enterprise, telecoms and governments etc.).

Project Kuiper Customer Terminal Specs (GEN1)

Compact

Peak Download Speed: 100Mbps
Peak Upload Speed: 20Mbps
Size: 18cm x 18cm x 2.5cm
Weight: 1Kg
Data & Power Ports: Ethernet/POE
Antenna: Single Phased Array – Shared (Tx/Rx) Aperture

Standard

Peak Download Speed: 400Mbps
Peak Upload Speed: 100Mbps
Size: 28cm x 28cm x 3.3cm
Weight: 2.5Kg
Data & Power Ports: Ethernet/PoE
Antenna: Single Phased Array – Shared (Tx/Rx) Aperture

Pro

Peak Download Speed: 1,000Mbps
Peak Upload Speed: 400Mbps
Size: 50.5cm x 77.8cm x 5cm
Weight: 17Kg
Data & Power Ports: Ethernet (data) + Ethernet (Mgt)
Antenna: Dual Phased Array – (Tx/Rx) Solution

Environmental Operating Specs (all terminals)

Link Availability: >99% in extreme global weather conditions (>99.5% on Pro)

Operating Temperature: -30c to +50c (-22f to +122f)

IPRating: IP66

Storage Temperature (Power OFF): -40c to +60c (-40f to +140f) ETSI EN 300 019-1-1 Class 1.2

Operating Humidity: Relative humidity: 5% to 100%

Storage Humidity: 0% to 100% condensing. ETSI EN 300 019-1-1 Class 1.2

The re-branding announcement also included an update on Amazon’s plan for a commercial launch of their Leo service: “We expect to introduce Amazon Leo service to select enterprise customers by the end of 2025, and will roll out service more widely in 2026 as we launch more satellites and add coverage and capacity to the network“. At present, there are still no details on how much UK consumers will have to pay to get a connection, although it’s likely to be competitive with Starlink.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A few months ago we reported that the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) in England and network analyst firm Streetwave had begun a new project to map 4G and 5G mobile broadband coverage and speed across the region using bin lorries (here). The data from this has now been made available to the public via a new interactive map.

Streetwave has spent the past two years harnessing waste (bin / refuse) collection trucks to map mobile network coverage and speeds in various parts of the UK (e.g. here, here, here, here and here). In this approach, refuse collection trucks are installed with several off-the-shelf Smartphones using special software, which run continuous network tests (once every 20 metres in rural areas and 5m in urban areas) as the vehicles go around.

The data they collect is then used by local authorities to help identify areas that may require additional intervention in order to improve local mobile coverage and or network capacity. In addition, members of the public have also been given access to some of this data via address-based coverage checkers and interactive maps.

The latest region to benefit from this is South Yorkshire, which is home to around 1,400,000 people. The 12-month £34,000 project, which was funded by the SYMCA, now allows residents and businesses to check their coverage at home, on the commute and at work enabling informed network choices, reducing unnecessary spending and lost productivity.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said:

“These days getting online and staying connected isn’t a luxury; it’s vital. Whether we’re booking a doctor’s appointment, running a business, or keeping in touch with friends, we all rely on decent mobile signal.

But too many of us in South Yorkshire are still stuck in mobile ‘not spots’, where coverage drops out or disappears completely. That’s just not good enough.

That’s why we’re working together to fix it. Our project gives us the data we need to push for better coverage, so wherever we live, work or travel, we can all get the signal we need. It’s another step towards building a fairer, more connected South Yorkshire that’s fit for the future.”

The interactive map – https://app.streetwave.co/coverage-checker/south-yorkshire – enables people to both get details on download and upload speeds for specific addresses, as well as showing how mobile data performance varies from area to area by different mobile operators. But it should be noted that this study was conducted before the Vodafone and Three UK merger, thus it won’t be able to reflect any recent changes as a result of the shared network integration.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) has tonight revealed the winners of their 27th annual 2025 internet industry and broadband awards. The night’s biggest winners included CommunityFibre, Lightning Fibre, and Wightfibre, each of which took home multiple awards. The former CEO of CityFibre, Greg Mesch, was also named ‘Internet Hero‘.

The award categories were once again revised for this year’s event, not least through the introduction of five new categories, such as the award for ‘Best Wholesale Platform’, ‘Best Network Integration’, ‘Best Technology Partnership’, ‘Engineer of the Year’, and ‘Best Customer Loyalty’. The event also came during ISPA UK’s 30th anniversary year.

Steve Leighton, ISPA Chair, said: “The ISPA Awards remains a brilliant occasion to celebrate the achievements of our industry and the people shaping the UK’s telecommunications landscape. As ISPA UK marks its 30th anniversary this year, it’s especially inspiring to reflect on how far our sector has come, and the role our members continue to play in building a world-class digital future for the UK. This year’s winners exemplify the innovation, resilience, and dedication that define our sector. As we continue to tackle challenges and embrace opportunities, from moving towards fibre rollout completion to enhancing digital inclusion, these organisations and individuals are laying the foundations for a more connected, inclusive, and sustainable future.”

The winners were all crowned at a gala ceremony in London (City Central at the HAC). The results reflect the outcome of some limited technical testing by Thinkbroadband across several categories, as well as the use of a judging panel of 13 industry figures to help determine the ultimate winners across 18 categories.

ISPA Award Winners 2025

Best Fibre Infrastructure: WightFibre

Best Wholesale Platform: PXC

Most Innovative Fibre Deployment: 4Fibre

Best Network Integration: AllPoints Fibre

Best Community Engagement: Community Fibre

Best Customer Loyalty: Wessex Internet (Highly commended: Truespeed)

Best Customer Experience: Lightning Fibre

Engineer of the Year: Ogi

Sustainability Champion: Community Fibre (Highly commended: Openreach)

Best Technology Partnership: Strategic Imperatives/Fibre Cafe

Best Voice Provider: Voipfone

Best Customer, Network and Data Security: TalkStraight

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Champion: Openreach

Digital Inclusion Champion – Industry: Quickline

Digital Inclusion Champion – Charities: Frome Medical Practice Somerset

Best Consumer ISP (over 100k customers): Community Fibre (Highly commended: EE)

Best Consumer ISP (under 100k customers): Lightning Fibre

Best Rural ISP: WightFibre

Best Business ISP: Community Fibre

Internet Hero: Greg Mesch, CityFibre

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

The operator’s largest private shareholder, Vodacom Group, says the carve out would harm Safaricom’s value proposition for customrs

Kenya has a debt problem.

As of June 2025, the country’s public debt stood at KES 11.81 trillion (around $ 91.3 billion), roughly 67.8 % of the country’s GDP. As a result, debt servicing is regularly consuming a huge amount of public funds; in the 2025 financial year, debt servicing cost the country more than healthcare or education.

Loath to increase taxes, the government’s solution to this challenge has been to sell down its stakes in various enterprises, announcing plans earlier this year to raise KES 149 billion (around $1.1 billion) through this method. The most significant of these stake sales relates to Safaricom, the country’s most profitable business, in which the government holds a roughly 35% stake.

By August, the Kenyan government said it was considering a push to split Safaricom into three distinct entities: a telecoms operator, a tower company, and a mobile money business centred around Safaricom’s M-Pesa platform. This, the government said, would allow each unit to be evaluated separately, potentially driving up their value for a potential stake sale.

“We are discussing whether to offload more shares as an entity or split them and then get the fresh valuation, and then get to that direction,” said Treasury Secretary John Mbadi in a Bloomberg report.

The government’s suggestion of spinning off M-Pesa is nothing new. The mobile money platform is one of the world’s most successful, having grown over almost two decades to become a key economic enabler in Kenya. With nearly 38 million users, as of September 2025, and reportedly handling around 59% of the country’s GDP, M-Pesa is a huge moneymaker for Safaricom – and a regulatory headache for the country.

Kenya’s central bank has pushed for the nation’s telcos to separate out their mobile money units for regulatory clarity since at least 2022. Safaricom’s local rivals, Telkom Kenya and Airtel Kenya, have both complied with this directive, but M-Pesa’s carve out has been delayed by a disputed tax liability of around KES 75 billion ($580 million).

Safaricom itself has been reluctant to split off M-Pesa, which today represents almost half of its revenue. This week, the company’s largest private shareholder, Vodacom Group (35% stake), reiterated this sentiment, with CEO Mohamed Joosub highlighting M-Pesa’s synergistic value to Safaricom’s telecoms customers.

“We do not want to list the financial services companies separately because we believe they are closely related to the value proposition we offer to our clients,” he said. “Actually, we envision a closer connection between it and loyalty in the future. We position ourselves as having something quite distinct from a typical telecom company.”

Safaricom’s refusal to carve out M-Pesa underscores the platform’s centrality not only to the operator’s business model but also to Kenya’s wider digital economy. The Kenyan government has a difficult task ahead of balancing its urgent fiscal needs without negatively impacting a service that has become financial crucial infrastructure for millions of people.

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Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network operator Openreach (BT) has issued a progress update on their deployment of a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband ISP network in rural parts of Wales, Surrey, Hertfordshire and Wiltshire, which form part of their Project Gigabit contracts with the UK government.

Just to recap. Openreach has previously been chosen to deliver all of Project Gigabit’s Cross-Regional (Type C) procurements (here, here and here) via a Single Supplier Framework agreement (here) – currently reflecting £745m in total public subsidy to help upgrade 297,000 premises to full fibre technology in some of the hardest to reach parts of rural England, Scotland and Wales (i.e. premises with no prior access to gigabit connectivity).

The areas covered by these Type C contracts typically reflect locations where no or no appropriate market interest had previously been expressed before to the Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency, or areas that have been de-scoped or terminated from a prior plan. Areas like the ones above are often skipped due to being too expensive (difficult) for smaller suppliers; all the other contracts have gone to smaller alternative networks.

Openreach has today issued a few additional progress updates on their related Project Gigabit builds across remote rural parts of Wales, Surrey, Hertfordshire and Wiltshire, which reveals the next batches of locations to be targeted in each region (this also includes some surrounding areas). As usual, it’s important to reflect that network operators don’t usually reach 100% of premises in every location they target.

Openreach’s Project Gigabit Progress (Next Locations)

Wales

Northop Hall, Abercynon, Twyn-yr-Odyn, Nefyn, Llandebrog, Mynytho, Mynyddislwyn, Ynysddu, Hollybush, Abertillery, Aberbeeg, Llanhilleth, Llangeview, Llantrisant, Llanllywel, Llantilio Crossenny, Brynderi, Whitecastle, Llanmadoc, Llangennith, Llanidloes, Machynlleth, Cefn Coch, Llanfair Caereinion, Dolanog, Golfa, Devil’s Bridge and Llanilar.

Surrey

Knaphill, Pirbright and Bisley

Hertfordshire

Much Hadham, Albury, Farnham, Braughing and Bayford.

Wiltshire

Winterbourne Monkton, Brokerswood, Hawkeridge, Heywood, Eastcourt, Oaksey, Royal Wootton Bassett, Clyffe Pypard, Highworth, Avebury, Ogbourne St Andrew, Ogbourne St George and Woodsend.

In total, Openreach’s Full Fibre network already reaches more than 1.1 million properties across Wales, as well as 320,000 properties across Surrey, 360,000 properties across Hertfordshire and 215,000 properties across Wiltshire. In a canned statement, Telecoms Minister, Liz Lloyd, said: “By delivering infrastructure that will serve these communities for decades to come, we’re making sure everyone can benefit from the digital world, no matter where they live.”

The new service, once live, can be ordered via various ISPs, such as BT, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Vodafone and more (Openreach FTTP ISP Choices) – it is not currently an automatic upgrade, although some providers have started to do free automatic upgrades as older copper-based services and lines are slowly withdrawn.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Government’s Building Digital UK agency has today published the latest Q2 – Q3 2025 progress report on their £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme. The data reveals that some 1.3 million premises have now received coverage from BDUK’s gigabit programmes since their inception, albeit only 131,090 via Project Gigabit’s contracts.

At present over 88% of UK premises can already access a 1000Mbps+ capable broadband network (here) and Ofcom separately forecasts that this could rise to between 91-97% of homes by January 2028 (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.

Project Gigabit itself was originally established in 2021 to help extend broadband ISP networks capable of delivering download speeds of at least 1000Mbps (1Gbps) 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 been scaled-back or switched suppliers (here, here, here and here).

The latest update builds on BDUK’s prior report and covers the wider period between 1st April 2025 and 30th September 2025, although it should be noted that the agency tends to publish a separate and more regular monthly update in order to cover the progress of individual contracts under the Project Gigabit scheme (here). Today’s report is thus more of a general overall progress update, without any individual contract specifics.

The latest Q2-Q3 2025 BDUK data

Of the premises delivered by BDUK between 1st April 2025 and 30th September 2025 (Q2-Q3 only): 

• 71% (57,210) were delivered under Gigabit contracts, or Government Infrastructure Subsidy (GIS) 
• 18% (14,460) were delivered by vouchers 
• 11% (8,590) were delivered by Superfast (e.g. the prior SFBB programme) & Hubs (e.g. Local Full Fibre Networks for the public sector)
• 89% (71,500) of the premises delivered between 1 April 2025 and 30 September 2025 were classified as residential premises and 9% (7,100) were classified as commercial premises.  
• The highest delivery was in England (77%, 61,700 premises), followed by Scotland (14%, 11,300 premises), Wales (7%, 5,700 premises), and Northern Ireland (2%, 1,400 premises) 
• Yorkshire and the Humber had the highest delivery among English regions (19% of England, 11,400), followed by the South East (18%, 11,300) and the North West (17%, 10,300). 

The spreadsheet also includes some additional data and a regional breakdown of the figures, some of which we’ve included below. One key things 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).

Gigabit Premises passed by year and BDUK intervention

Gigabit Premises Passed by Year, Country and Region

Finally, BDUK said they were also investigating their vouchers data quality, which may be resulting in a small underestimate of vouchers delivered.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network builder and broadband ISP CommunityFibre, which has invested c.£1bn to deploy a 5Gbps speed full fibre (FTTP) network across 1.342 million UK homes (inc. 185k businesses within 200 metres of their network) – mostly in London, have today launched a new entry-level 100Mbps package for small businesses.

The “Business Ready Broadband” product is said to have been exclusively designed for smaller business operators, such as hairdressers, corner shops, and local bakeries, who do not require speeds up to 10Gbps, or may not be eligible for residential broadband for commercial purposes.

Such businesses can now get CommunityFibre’s Business Ready Broadband 100Mbps broadband (24-month term and £0 set-up) + Calls + Public IP + MX20 router for £45 +vat month. This package also includes access to CommunityFibre’s Phone App, enabling users to make and receive calls on the go.

Business Ready Broadband Features

• Fast full fibre: 100 Mbps upload and download speeds, using the UK’s most reliable broadband technology. No copper at all.
• Calls: Unlimited calls to UK landlines and mobiles. Phone app to take calls on the go.
• Dedicated support team: Real help from real people. Our specialist business team are on hand to help keep you connected.
• Public IP: Unique IP address for secure remote access and hosting services (such as websites, servers and CCTV).
• Service guarantee: If something goes wrong, we’ll have you back up and running as soon as possible with our 8-hour fix time.
• Router included: A Dual-Band Linksys router at no extra cost.
• No hidden costs: There are no upfront costs to worry about with £0 set up fee and free installation.
• Superior reliability: Our award-winning network is up and running over 99.9% of the time, with no peak-time slowdowns.

Side note – by “public IP” they mean a fixed / static IP address.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Business focused UK broadband ISP, IT and Cloud solutions provider FluidOne has today announced that their existing Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Russell Horton, is to step down after seven and a half years in the post. Russell is to be replaced by Paul Kahn.

The announcement credits Horton with growing the business into a £100m+ secure connected cloud solutions provider, which serves 2,200 business customers across the UK. Under his leadership, the company has also completed and integrated nine strategic acquisitions. Horton will support the handover process before officially departing on 8th December 2025, and will remain as an investor in the business.

Horton’s replacement, Paul Kahn, joins the business after serving as President of Government Solutions International at NYSE-listed Fortune 500 company KBR Inc. Prior to that he was also President of Communications and Connectivity at FTSE 250 Cobham PLC. Suffice to say that he has experience in leading large-scale technology, engineering and services businesses through “complex transformations and delivering sustainable growth“.

Paul Kahn, Incoming CEO, said:

“I’m delighted to be joining FluidOne at such an exciting point in its development. Russell and the team have built a business with excellent foundations, strong customer relationships, a service portfolio bringing together secure connectivity, IT, cyber, unified comms and AI, and a culture that clearly delivers for customers.

My immediate focus is on listening and learning, understanding the business, our customers, and the team. I’ll be working closely with the senior leadership team to refine our strategy for the next phase of growth while maintaining the customer service excellence that FluidOne is known for.”

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The City of London (CoL) Corporation has picked Roc Technologies to deliver a new end-to-end networking connectivity solution, encompassing a UK-first enterprise SASE rollout for public services, AI-driven wireless capability and high-availability internet connectivity. The move comes after Roc reached a deal to harness Vorboss’ 100Gbps full fibre network in the area (here).

Coverage of the new Cloud supported network will span the City of London Corporation, the City of London Police, the Barbican Centre, City of London schools, parks, libraries and protected heritage locations such as Epping Forest, the iconic ponds at Hampstead Heath and Mansion House. A total of over 200 locations are to be included in the solution, ensuring the new connectivity reaches every employee, official, resident and visitor within its community.

The agreement is part of the CoL’s mandate to create a “One City” experience for millions, which aspires to redefine how connectivity empowers residents, visitors and businesses. “This trailblazing infrastructure brings tangible, everyday benefits to users right across the City. Reliable, high-speed access means staff can work productively and securely from any location … Importantly, this enhanced connectivity addresses critical public safety challenges: such as ensuring seamless support for 4K body-worn police cameras, which helps protect officers and the communities they serve, even in remote areas,” said the announcement.

Chelsea Chamberlin, Chief Technology Officet at Roc Technologies, said:

“The City of London sees footfall of millions of people a day, so it’s vital that a consistent network experience is delivered across all locations and to all users, including visitors, residents and businesses regardless of the services they need to access. We’re delighted to be the sole primary supplier for this exciting project, drawing on a range of solutions from our expert partners to deliver a truly future-proof network architecture in the heart of the capital.”

Zakki Ghauri, Director of Digital Services CoLC, said:

“Our ambition is to be at the forefront of digital innovation for the benefit of Londoners. Partnering with Roc enables us to modernise our network, enhance connectivity across all our organisations under one banner and ensure we can deliver innovative, flexible services wherever and whenever they are needed.”

Roc added that all of the vendors and partners involved in the delivery of the new service maintain resilient data centre operations in the UK, ensuring no sensitive data leaves the UK. The solution leverages HPE’s AI-Ops platform, Juniper MIST, global cybersecurity leader Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma SASE solution and Vorboss’ fibre network.

Consolidation of suppliers from 11 to one, Roc also promises cost efficiency – £20,000 a month in savings is projected by removing energy-consuming on-premises hardware and cutting supply chain complexity. The cloud-based service model (i.e. “all traffic and devices managed in the cloud“) is said to mean that services can be scaled up and down as needed, ensuring further savings and necessary agility for the corporation (hopefully they have a non-cloud alternative for disaster backup).