Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Edinburgh-based ISP and network builder GoFibre recently published their annual accounts to the end of 2024, which among other things revealed that their revenues increased by 71% to £2.02m (2023: £1.17m). The operator now expects their roll-out of FTTP broadband in rural Scotland and North England to reach a footprint of 250,000 premises “in the next 3 years“.

The latest accounts also revealed that the provider ended the year with an operating loss of £14.11m (2023: £13.67m) and saw a decrease in their capital expenditure to £30.69m (2023: £33.01m). But gross profit did increase dramatically from £23k in 2023 to £1.02m in 2024, which perhaps highlights how their previous surge in network build has been attracting take-up (they covered an extra 42,500 premises in the last year, but customer figures aren’t stated).

The results also mentioned that their “business plan assumes GoFibre works with a number of ISPs to connect new customers,” which probably reflects the fact that their state aid funded Project Gigabit contracts require the provision of a wholesale solution. But network operators don’t always make the commercials of this attractive enough or have the scale to entice other ISPs to adopt, but experiences do vary. At the time of writting we don’t currently know what other providers may harness GoFibre’s network.

Customers of the provider’s own retail service, once live, can expect to pay from £22.50 per month for a 150Mbps (30Mbps upload) package on a 24-month term with an included wireless router, which rises to £33 for their top 1000Mbps (100Mbps upload) plan. The latter also comes with a bonus Wi-Fi extender (this can optionally be taken on other plans at extra cost).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Managing Partner of M&A-focused consultancy firm the Bradley Strategy Group, Rob Bradley, has today spoken to ISPreview as part of a new interview that lifts the lid on the “strategic recalibration” that is currently occurring across the UK’s alternative fibre networks and driving a wave on consolidation to correct for today’s “structurally misaligned market“.

According to figures released by the Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA), alternative broadband networks (excluding Openreach, Virgin Media and KCOM) are currently delivering full fibre (FTTP/B) lines to 16.4 million UK premises or 15.2m when overbuild between altnets is removed (here). Some of the biggest players in this space include CityFibre (c.4.5m premises), Netomnia (2.5m), nexfibre (2.2m), Hyperoptic (1.9m) and CommunityFibre (1.5m), but there are many more (Summary of UK Full Fibre Builds).

However, as our regular readers will already know, most altnets are currently looking at consolidation as a way of balancing against the increasingly difficult market conditions that have arisen over the past 2-3 years. Much of the latter has been driven by high interest rates, rising build costs and strong competition – all of which is making it hard to raise fresh investment.

In the past our interviews on this subject have tended to focus on talking to the network operators and retail ISPs themselves. So this time we thought it might be interesting to get the perspective of the Bradley Strategy Group, a boutique strategy consultancy focused on the UK fibre sector, particularly the consolidation of altnets.

The company has previously worked with firms like Fern Trading, Speed Fibre, and CityFibre, and they’re currently advising on multiple real-world mergers and integration plans within the altnet landscape. According to Rob Bradley, Managing Partner of BSG, the current “structurally misaligned” market suffers from having “too many operators, with overlapping footprints and duplicated costs, serving too few customers.” Not to mention that consumers haven’t always had a “compelling reason to switch” or were unaware of the new network choice(s).

“The issue is that the second part of the equation, “build it and they will come”, hasn’t materialised at the speed investors hoped. Take-up is lower than forecast. Operating costs remain high. And with limited revenue flowing in, many operators are now falling short of their own commercial projections, not because they failed to build, but because the expected returns haven’t followed,” said Rob.

In response, many altnets have had to slow or stop their network builds in order to focus on greater commercialisation, which tends to be followed by redundancies. But this has left a market with a lot of smaller players and an inevitable expectation toward more mergers and acquisitions. “For the best-positioned players, this is the time to scale with purpose,” said Rob. “Consolidation is not a last resort, but a strategic enabler, particularly when it leads to stronger commercial focus, platform efficiency, and capital access.”

On the other hand, many deals are still being “stalled by valuation gaps,” with some sellers often holding onto unrealistic valuations, often at the same time as “buyers are pricing based on actual take-up, cost to serve, and integration overhead“. The full interview delves into all of this and covers what altnets get right, what they get wrong and the changes that are needed to deliver a positive outcome.

This is particularly relevant as the next 12–24 months may well materially reshape the market.

The Bradley Strategy Group Interview

1. As a strategy consultancy focused on the UK fibre sector, you’ve worked with various investors and network operators and are currently advising on multiple real-world mergers and integration plans within the AltNet landscape.

Suffice to say that you no doubt have quite a strong insight into the current trend toward greater market consolidation between operators. So far this has got off to a bit of a slow-ish start (i.e. a good chunk of early consolidation has been more internal, between companies owned by a single shared investor). But I understand you’re expecting consolidation to pickup over the next 12-24 months.

Is the expected acceleration primarily because the wider economic strains are catching up with operators that have been trying to hold it back and, past a certain point, they may have little choice but to consolidate?

Rob Bradley said:

Yes, survival is now a central force, but the full picture is more than just financial distress. What we’re seeing is a strategic recalibration across the UK fibre landscape.

The capital that underpinned the initial wave of AltNet activity has largely been deployed. Most operators were backed with a clear mandate: build as fast as possible, hit premises targets, and trust that commercial traction would follow. So they built. But today, many of those plans have either completed, been exhausted, or are now facing refinancing risk, as debt providers reassess their exposure to the sector in a very different economic climate.

The issue is that the second part of the equation, “build it and they will come”, hasn’t materialised at the speed investors hoped. Take-up is lower than forecast. Operating costs remain high. And with limited revenue flowing in, many operators are now falling short of their own commercial projections, not because they failed to build, but because the expected returns haven’t followed.

We now face a structurally misaligned market: too many operators, with overlapping footprints and duplicated costs, serving too few customers. Mathematically and operationally, the sector needs fewer players covering larger areas. That’s the only way to drive unit cost efficiencies and deliver sustainable commercial returns.

So why didn’t the “gold rush” happen?

Because consumers haven’t had a compelling reason to switch. Many households still receive 40–60 Mbps over FTTC, speeds that remain sufficient for typical usage. And those broadband lines are often bundled with mobile, TV, or content services that increase stickiness. Switching to full fibre, especially via an AltNet, can feel disruptive: drilling walls, digging drives, changing contracts, and potentially losing bundle benefits. In the absence of a pressing use case or financial incentive, inertia wins.

Crucially, we never removed the legacy alternative. In Singapore, copper was retired as fibre rolled out, creating system-driven urgency. In New Zealand, a regulated copper withdrawal code is supporting fibre migration, region by region. In the UK, however, fibre and copper continue to coexist, and Openreach’s PSTN switch-off doesn’t eliminate copper broadband. Without regulatory push or consumer pull, there’s no tension driving the switch, and adoption lags.

This has exposed a key weakness in many early AltNet business plans: optimistic assumptions around exclusivity of footprint, rapid take-up, switching behaviour, and long-term infrastructure value. Those assumptions haven’t held, and investor focus is now shifting: from coverage to conversion, from homes passed to homes connected.

Capital hasn’t disappeared, it’s just chasing different outcomes. Monetisation, cost-to-serve, and platform resilience now matter more than build metrics. Investors are asking tougher questions about ARPU, customer lifetime value, and the operational gearing of each platform.

As a result, we’re seeing the maturation of investor logic. Early consolidation moves, often within single portfolios, were about stabilising positions. But the next wave of transactions will require real strategic intent: platform integration, footprint rationalisation, systems alignment, and brand consolidation.

And those deals are much harder. They demand not just capital, but capability: deep integration planning, shared technology architecture, operating model transformation, and culture alignment. This is no longer a volume game, it’s a capability race.

So yes, financial pressure is accelerating consolidation. But what we’re really witnessing is a correction to the business model. A moment of reckoning, yes, but also one of opportunity. For the best-positioned players, this is the time to scale with purpose.

2. What aspects of consolidation do you see as working in the current market and what’s not?

Rob Bradley said:

The most encouraging development is the shift in mindset. There’s growing recognition that consolidation is not a last resort, but a strategic enabler, particularly when it leads to stronger commercial focus, platform efficiency, and capital access. We’re seeing operators and investors move beyond the early fixation on premises passed, and start to prioritise connections, take-up, and operating leverage, the fundamentals that actually drive value.

Structurally, we’re seeing some smart dealmaking emerge. The CityFibre–Lit Fibre deal is a good example: it was built around technical alignment, a clean equity structure, and a clear integration thesis. The FullFibre–Zzoomm merger showed how combining mid-sized footprints can push a business past key scale thresholds, creating the kind of operational and financial profile that attracts further investment.

What’s also working is the recognition that aligned systems and architectures make a material difference. When platforms are compatible, whether CRM, OSS, or provisioning, integration timelines shorten, complexity reduces, and value is unlocked faster. Consolidation is no longer just about acquiring fibre in the ground; it’s about acquiring capability.

On the other hand, many deals are still being stalled by valuation gaps. Sellers often hold onto pre-2022 expectations, while buyers are pricing based on actual take-up, cost to serve, and integration overhead. Without creative structures, like equity rollovers or staged consideration, that gap is difficult to close.

And even when deals are agreed, integration remains the single most underestimated challenge. Differences in systems, data models, provisioning logic, and even support processes can introduce real operational risk if not planned for early. The best consolidation strategies are now building integration plans before the deal closes, not after.

In short, what’s working is commercial discipline, architectural alignment, and creative structuring. What’s not is late-stage integration planning and valuation rigidity. The more consolidation is approached with clear execution intent, not just financial ambition, the more successful it becomes.

3. What do you see as the key barriers for consolidation, which are still in play today?

Rob Bradley said:

While the strategic logic for consolidation is now widely accepted, scale efficiencies, rationalised footprints, shared systems, the barriers to action remain stubbornly real.

Capital structure misalignment

Many AltNets are still backed by investors with different timelines, return profiles, and governance structures. Some are open to equity-based combinations; others are debt-laden and focused on refinancing. This divergence creates friction: deals that make strategic sense often fail on financial alignment.

Valuation expectation gaps

Founders and investors are often anchored to valuations set during the peak of the market, typically based on homes passed or funded build, not on revenue or take-up. Buyers, meanwhile, are now pricing deals on penetration, EBITDA, and commercial traction. The gap between these views of value can delay or derail deal-making, especially for underperforming networks.

Pre-consolidation posturing

There is a growing awareness across the sector that consolidation is inevitable, but without widespread cash deals, many fear being subsumed on terms that understate their potential. This leads to strategic positioning: some operators may delay engagement, pursue additional growth, or extend their footprint to enhance value ahead of potential talks. While understandable, this can unintentionally slow down the consolidation.

Transactional and governance complexity

What often looks like a straightforward commercial merger on the surface hides a deep layer of structural complexity. Many AltNets are owned via SPVs or holdco arrangements, with minority investors, convertible debt, or waterfall structures that require bespoke legal negotiation. Deals may need shareholder approvals, creditor consents, or the restructuring of security positions. Add to this the need for tax-efficient merger structures, TUPE considerations, and a detailed review of legacy contracts and liabilities, and even aligned parties can take months to execute a transaction. The friction here is not just commercial, it lies in the layered legal, financial, and governance complexities that underpin most transactions.

Integration risk and system complexity

Even when two operators want to merge, the practical complexity of integration can kill momentum. Misaligned OSS/BSS platforms, incompatible provisioning and support models, fragmented customer records, TUPE obligations, and billing architecture mismatches all represent execution risk. Without a clear and costed integration plan, many acquirers walk away.

Lack of neutral, shared platforms

Unlike sectors such as mobile or energy, the UK fibre market lacks a standardised wholesale access framework or common technology backbone. Each network has grown independently, using different architectures and commercial terms. As a result, every merger becomes a custom integration challenge, raising cost, risk, and time.

Unclear regulatory incentives

There is no national mandate or regulatory encouragement to consolidate, no copper switch-off deadline driving urgency, and limited policy intervention to reduce inefficient overbuild. In markets like New Zealand or Singapore, consolidation was structurally enabled. In the UK, it remains voluntary, fragmented, and investor driven.

The biggest challenge isn’t strategic, it’s executional. The sector has a consolidation thesis that makes sense on paper, but getting deals over the line requires navigating valuation tension, legal architecture and operational friction. Without that full-stack view, consolidation risks remaining more aspiration than action.

4. What things do you look to see in a network operator that might, in this climate of rising consolidation, distinguish likely winners from those most at risk?

Rob Bradley said:

I look for six things that distinguish likely winners in today’s climate of consolidation:

Strong unit economics and low debt exposure.
Operators with a healthy debt-to-revenue ratio and prudent capital deployment stand out. High leverage in a high-interest environment limits flexibility and raises exit risk.

A leadership team with proven operational and commercial delivery.
Having execs who’ve scaled networks before, whether in fibre, cable, or mobile, brings credibility and hard-earned operational discipline. Experience matters when moving from 10K to 100K customers.

A scalable and efficient technology platform.
The ability to add customers without linearly adding headcount or systems complexity is a critical differentiator. We’re particularly interested in whether the operator has clean APIs, modern CRM and billing platforms, and solid provisioning/orchestration, not technical debt and manual workarounds.

Thoughtful build strategy with minimal overbuild exposure.
Operators who’ve avoided the most heavily contested urban markets or who have secured demand-side commitments (e.g. council partnerships, anchor tenants) are structurally advantaged. Gross margin is harder to sustain when you’re the third fibre line into a street.

Commercial traction, take-up on RFS.
Build is no longer enough. Investors are watching take-up closely. A growing penetration rate is a strong indicator that the go-to-market strategy is working and that the business has real potential for EBITDA breakeven.

Experience at Network, systems & organisational integration
As the market consolidates, those who can integrate efficiently across networks, systems, and people, will be best placed to realise the value of their deals. Integration isn’t just a back-office exercise; it’s where synergies are won or lost. Operators with experience aligning architecture, migrating customers, and unifying operating models will move faster, reduce cost, and instil greater investor confidence. In a sector where consolidation is inevitable, integration capability is fast becoming a defining competitive advantage.

There is one notable outlier in the market, and that’s CityFibre. Unlike most AltNets, CityFibre has pursued a deliberate scale-first strategy, fuelled primarily through debt. While this approach will inevitably face increasing pressure as capital becomes more expensive, it’s important to acknowledge what the team has achieved: they have built a scaled infrastructure challenger to Openreach in the UK.

No operator is immune to market risk, but CityFibre now appears well-positioned to emerge as one of the long-term winners and a likely centre of gravity in the eventual consolidation of the sector. Their strategic partnerships, including Vodafone, AllPoints Fibre, and, more recently, Sky, provide strong wholesale channels, and their national footprint gives them operational relevance at scale.

The coming years will be critical. The model depends on continued take-up, successful integration of acquired assets, and sustained access to refinancing. But based on current trajectory, CityFibre looks set to play a defining role in the UK’s fibre future.

Please flick over to Page 2 in order to finish reading the interview.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Court of Appeal (Civil Division) has dismissed Sky UK’s (Sky TV, Sky Broadband etc.) attempt to overturn an earlier decision by the telecoms regulator, Ofcom, which back in 2022 ruled that the provider had broken consumer protection rules by failing to send End-of-Contract Notifications (ECN) to their satellite-based Pay TV customers.

This is one of those situations that requires a bit of a recap in order to get the proper context. Firstly, the purpose of ECN’s, as Ofcom states, is to ensure that all “phone, broadband and pay-TV providers” must “warn customers when their current contract is ending, and what they could save by signing up to a new deal” (usually sent between 10-40 days before the end of your contract). This also encourages switching.

However, the situation for customers of Sky’s pay-TV packages is a bit more complex, which is something that we realised after some customers of their newer broadband-based Sky Glass and Sky Stream TV services queried why they weren’t receiving ECNs. In response, Sky’s support team told some of those same users that they only issued end of contract notifications to their broadband and mobile services, which appears to contradict a 2022 ruling.

This brings us back to August 2022, when Ofcom concluded a long-running investigation into Sky, which found that they had broken consumer protection rules by failing to send ECNs to their satellite-based Pay TV customers (here). Sky’s original argument against this, which the regulator rejected, was based on the fact that the 2003 Communications Act excludes “content services” from the ECN rules, which instead only apply to “electronic communications networks” (i.e. Sky argued that their satellite TV services were “content services“).

The above context is key because Ofcom later informed ISPreview that, despite providing access to broadly the same services as their satellite-based products, Sky Stream and Sky Glass are currently classed by the regulator as over-the-top “content services” delivered through the internet, like Netflix, Disney+ etc. As above, content services are not regulated as communications services and thus fall outside the scope of Ofcom’s rules (General Conditions). Ofcom informed us that the one exception to this is if they’re delivered as part of a bundle (e.g. alongside Sky Broadband), then ECNs would still apply.

Sky then launched a legal challenge against Ofcom’s 2022 ruling and, despite losing several attempts to overturn it, the broadcasting giant then filed another application for permission to appeal with the Court of Appeal just before Christmas 2024.

A Sky spokesperson told ISPreview (March 2025):

“We’re committed to providing our customers with the best possible service across all our products and offer an extensive range of options to help them manage their Sky TV services and bills.

We do not believe that Sky’s pay-TV service is an electronic communication service under the definition in the Communications Act 2003 and continue to seek legal review to clarify what has been a long running, genuine difference of views on interpretation of the law.”

This case (CA-2024-002837) finally had its day in court at the end of last month, and the judges today ruled to dismiss Sky’s challenge (here – credits to forum member plunet for spotting).

Extract from the Case Conclusion

I therefore reject Mr Ward’s submission that Ofcom’s case is flawed because it causes a service that is mainly content to be regulated. Nor do I accept his submission that Ofcom’s case uses the content exemption to define the scope of the regulation of the rest. It simply leaves it out of account – consistent with what the parties accept is common ground, that the CRF does not regulate content. It is not (as Mr Ward put it) “the content exception that drives a service like Sky’s into the field of regulation”: that is achieved by the fact that the non-content element of the service consists wholly or mainly of the conveyance of signals. As I have observed above, in connection with the BEREC report, it is Sky’s interpretation that would cause the extent of content to be used to determine whether conveyance of signals falls within regulation. That is counter-intuitive, to say the least, when the regulatory regime as a whole is intended to keep the regulation of content and of transmission separate, given the fundamentally different aims of the two regulatory regimes.

Second, it better accords with one of the key aims of the CRF and the EECC, namely to bring the transmission element of broadcasting networks within the regulatory framework applicable to communication services. We were not presented with any evidence as to the proportion of an overall service provided by any other broadcaster as between transmission and content, but viewed (as Mr Ward accepted it must be) from the perspective of the end-user, it is not difficult to see that the element of most interest will usually be content, rather than how that content is transmitted. Sky’s approach would – to put it at its lowest – create a significant risk of thwarting that key aim. Ofcom’s approach achieves that key aim, whilst ensuring the separate regulation of content and of transmission services.

Third, and contrary to Mr Ward’s submission, the “wholly and mainly” test, on Ofcom’s interpretation, still performs a valuable function: that of ensuring the regulation is proportionate, by balancing the various technical components that make up the service and enquiring whether that which consists of conveyance of signals, by the entity to be regulated, is the principal feature. Mr Ward gave, as an example of a service that would escape regulation because the conveyance of signals element was less than the principal feature, an electricity supply service that included a smart meter. nother example is Pay TV content carried over the open internet: on a purely “tech on tech” balance, this does not qualify as an ECS.

Fourth, Ofcom’s approach also better accords with the objective of legal certainty. I have already observed that if the wholly or mainly test is applied to the service as a whole including content services, then it is likely to take most broadcasting services out of the definition of an ECS, which cannot have been the intention. Even if that is not correct, however, then seeking to balance the relative importance of content and transmission services from the end-users’ perspective involves inherently difficult value judgments. As Green LJ put it in argument, transmission services and editorial control are almost philosophically different. The test could not be answered simply by identifying the amount spent by the broadcaster on different elements.

While it is true that a value judgment is still called for if the test is to be applied to what remains after exclusion of content services, it is a much more straightforward exercise, likely to lead to greater consistency in application and thus greater legal certainty.

This would point even more strongly in Ofcom’s favour if “content service” were to be construed as extending to the provision of content by its transmission, even where that content was produced by third parties, as Mr Holmes suggested. In that case, identifying whether the content or transmission element was the main or principal element would be even more difficult. That, as I have noted above, was not the approach adopted by the ECJ in UPC Nederland and Sky did not develop any argument on the point before us. Mr Ward said that in an effort to invite the Court to decide no more than was strictly necessary it had not made submissions on that point. In those circumstances, and since my conclusion does not depend on it in any way, I need not address the point in this judgment.

For the above reasons, I consider that the Tribunal came to the correct conclusion, and I would dismiss the appeal.

At present it is not known whether Sky will continue to fight the decision. ISPreview has asked Sky to comment and will report back once they respond.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release 

Boldyn Networks (Boldyn) and Virgin Media O2 have significantly enhanced 5G connectivity at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland with Boldyn’s connectivity-as-a-service (CaaS), the UK’s first full neutral host RAN managed service in a high-density demand venue.

O2 customers are the first to benefit from this innovative network delivered by the Sunderland Open Network EcosysTem (SONET) project, which will bring enhanced mobile connectivity to the iconic stadium, improving the way fans experience and engage with live sports.

Pioneering technology

Boldyn’s CaaS showcases the potential of advanced Open RAN technology, featuring an enhanced connectivity managed service that combines an evolved DAS system supporting O-RAN fronthaul interface standard and JMA XRAN®, a pioneering 5G O-RAN technology stack, with Boldyn’s Network Management System (NMS). This fully virtualized O-RAN-based platform reduces space and power requirements by up to 60% compared to traditional indoor architectures. The integration with Boldyn’s NMS reduces operational costs through the digitisation and automation of the service assurance processes.

With its innovative CaaS, Boldyn provides dedicated network management, monitoring, and optimisation resources for the venue— increasing the levels of service assurance while reducing involvement from the mobile operator’s own resources. Most importantly, the 49,000 stadium spectators benefit from high-speed 5G connectivity, a significant upgrade from its decade-old network system, resulting in richer connectivity experiences for everyone.

For mobile customers, the new network will translate into high-quality connectivity and more interactive, digitally enabled services, including seamless uploads and downloads of videos and social media, increased safety, and personalised experiences during events like in-seat food ordering.

A public-private collaboration

The forward-looking project is part of SONET’s aim at driving innovation and digital transformation across Sunderland, with the deployment of high-speed 5G connectivity at the Stadium of Light and the new British Esports Arena. Partially funded by UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), it represents a true collaborative effort between public and private entities to bring top of the line digital experiences to fans and visitors.

This will be especially important as the venue prepares to host the opening match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup and Sunderland AFC returns to the Premier League, now supported by a network that’s as ‘Premier’ as the football on display.

“This project underscores our commitment to delivering innovative connectivity solutions that enhance the digital experience for users in high-density environments, without sacrificing cost or energy efficiency,” said Brendan O’Reilly, CEO of UK & Ireland at Boldyn Networks, during a tour of the iconic stadium together with Igor Leprince, Group CEO of Boldyn Networks.

 “The launch of CaaS at the Stadium of Light is a testament to Boldyn’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of digital connectivity and setting new standards in the industry. We are incredibly proud to play our part in the SONET project and in enabling more engaging interactions at stadiums and arenas across the UK”, he added.

Dr Rob Joyce, Director of Mobile Access Engineering at Virgin Media O2 said: “We have a long history of giving our customers access to the best live entertainment, so it’s only natural that they will be the first to benefit from the next generation 5G network at the iconic Stadium of Light. Our Mobile Transformation Plan is focused on improving the connectivity experience for our customers no matter where they are and this work with Boldyn Networks is ensuring match going fans can experience a seamless connectivity experience.”

David Bruce, Chief Business Officer of the Sunderland Association Football Clubsaid: “The launch of an enhanced 5G network at the Stadium of Light marks another exciting step forward, not just for Sunderland AFC, but for the entire city. This technology will unlock incredible opportunities to enhance the matchday experience for our supporters through faster connectivity, richer content, and more immersive engagement than ever before. It reflects our ongoing commitment to putting fans at the heart of everything we do and forms part of a continued period of investment in the Stadium of Light. As part of the City of Sunderland’s vision for innovation and growth, we’re proud to play our part in shaping a smarter, more connected environment for our community.”

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

Ocean Networks, the Hawaii-based telecom development and service company, has moved a step closer to delivering the Hawaiian Islands Fiber Link (HIFL) by naming Prysmian and International Telecom (IT) as its partners for the new inter-island cable.

The HIFL is part of Hawaii’s Connect Kākou broadband initiative, aimed at expanding access to high-speed connectivity across the state. The system will span roughly 740km between Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kauaʻi, Lānaʻi, and Molokaʻi, and include 24 fibre pairs.

Prysmian will supply approximately the cable itself while IT will provide essential engineering and installation services for the HIFL system. Ocean Networks is responsible for the supply, construction, operations and maintenance of the system, under the oversight of the University of Hawaiʻi System Office for Information Technology with support from the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaiʻi.

“We are thrilled to be working with industry leaders like Prysmian and International Telecom, whose expertise is crucial to achieving our goal of enhancing high-speed broadband access across Hawaiʻi,” said David Blau, Chief Operating Officer of Ocean Networks. “Securing these contracts represents a major step forward in the construction timeline for the HIFL project, bringing us closer to fulfilling the promise of improved connectivity for all of Hawaiʻi’s residents, businesses, education, and government entities.”

The project’s funding and governance were first laid out in 2024, including a $120 million funding package, partially drawn from federal grants and private equity.

The system is expected to be ready for service in late 2026.

How is the subsea network ecosystem changing in 2025? Join the industry in discussion at Submarine Networks EMEA 2026

Also in the news:
US judge rules Huawei must face charges of fraud and racketeering
Optus ditches football rights to focus on telecoms
Nokia launches digital twin platform Enscryb to digitalise energy sector

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Alternative network operator and ISP Grain, which recently secured a major £225m funding boost (here), has announced a second expansion of their gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) broadband network this week. The latest location to benefit from this is the Leicestershire (England) city of Loughborough.

The operator’s broadband network, which is home to over 43,000 customers and covers 270,000 UK premises (aiming to reach 600,000 in the future), doesn’t currently appear to be present in Loughborough. But a quick scan of local road works suggests they’re in the process of preparing to build around some central parts of the city.

The official announcement doesn’t say much, but it’s worth noting that the city is already well covered by a number of other gigabit-capable broadband networks, such as Openreach, Virgin Media (inc. nexfibre), CityFibre and a few smaller players. Grain typically tries to work around this by focusing on areas with less overbuild or undercutting on price etc.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Some customers of mobile and broadband ISP EE (BT), specifically those on their top 1.6Gbps speed full fibre (FTTP) package via Openreach’s UK network, appear to be experiencing some repeated connectivity problems with the provider’s latest Wi-Fi 7 capable Smart Hub Pro router (slower packages get the different Smart Hub Plus device).

At present EE’s premium 1.6Gbps broadband package doesn’t have a huge number of subscribers, but some of those who are taking the service have recently been complaining about sporadic but frequent connectivity drops. So far as we can tell, these appear to be related to how the Smart Hub Pro handles the provider’s Domain Name Servers (DNS).

As one of those impacted by the problem told ISPreview: “The short story is that it looks like EE have a firmware issue causing the hub to regularly drop out. From most users perspectives, they will see a DNS error occasionally when browsing, but in reality the hub throws a full wobbly every 30 mins or so (it is variable), causing latency or even packets to completely drop.”

The issue also appears to have been covered in a lengthy thread on EE’s Community Forum, which notes that the problem goes away when customers use a different third-party router. According to feedback from EE’s support team, the provider did “put through some temporary changes to some devices” on Tuesday, which seemed to provide an initial improvement, although some of those affected report that the issue has since fully returned.

An EE spokesperson told ISPreview:

“We’re aware of a small number of customers who are reporting brief interruptions to their connectivity when using our latest Smart Hub Pro. Our engineers are working with those impacted and will promptly implement any fixes should they be required.”

Sadly, the Smart Hub Pro doesn’t allow customers to set third-party DNS servers as an alternative, but even if it did, then doing so might not resolve the problem. Customers report that there is no difference between using the router as the resolver or using a third-party (e.g. Google Public DNS, Cloudflare, OpenDNS and Quad9 etc.) and it makes no difference if they use ‘DNS over HTTPS’ or ‘DNS over TLS’ either. In addition, disabling IPv6 has no impact.

So far as we can tell, the issue appears as if it may have been introduced in a recent Firmware update, since it doesn’t occur on Smart Hub Pro’s that seem to be running an older software version and this changes as soon as the latest version is applied. Some tentative feedback from EE’s testing also indicates that the problem may be somehow linked to the device’s WiFi Optimisation feature, since the issue seems to go away when that is disabled from EE’s side.

In the meantime, the odd customer has informed us that, after ISPreview got involved, EE offered them a bill credit and the option to exit their current contract without penalty, if they so desired. Interestingly, some of EE’s staff still seem to describe their 1.6Gbps package as more of a “trial” product, which is not how it’s advertised (i.e. it could be a reference to the router or how their 1.6Gbps package is not underpinned by BT Wholesale).

The hope is that a permeant solution to this bug will be found sooner, rather than later.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

Building on its ongoing cloud transition with Amazon Web Services (AWS), BT Group is expanding this relationship with a new five-year strategic agreement that will deliver more agile, responsive, and customer-focused digital experiences. This agreement aligns with BT’s “Build, Connect, Accelerate” strategy and is designed to elevate BT’s customer solutions by modernising its technology from the inside out.

Transforming Technology to Transform Customer Experience

BT Group’s extension with AWS will push BT Group’s cloud journey forward from simple workload migration to cloud-native upgrades that customers will experience firsthand. Working with AWS Professional Services (ProServe), BT will shift its legacy systems into modern, customer-centric microservices. Developed in line with the TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture (ODA), BT’s focus on cloud-native systems will enable faster innovation and more personalised, reliable customer experiences.

“This isn’t just a technology upgrade – it’s a customer promise,” said Tom Meakin, Chief Strategy and Change Officer at BT Group. “By modernising our systems with AWS, we’re creating the agility to respond to customer needs faster, deliver more reliable services, and introduce new features that make everyday interactions with BT simpler and more secure.”

How Customers Benefit

• Working with AWS enables BT to deliver more value to customers:
• Scalability: Services that grow with customer demand and are adaptable to changing business needs.
• Resilience: More reliable connectivity and service availability.
• Agility: Faster rollout of new features and improvements based on customer feedback.
• Cost Efficiency: Lower long-term operational costs.
• Security: Enhanced data protection and compliance, giving customers peace of mind.

“BT Group is putting customers at the centre of its continued cloud transformation,” said Jan Hofmeyr, VP, Telecommunications at AWS. “By working with AWS, BT is innovating faster, resolving issues more quickly, and delivering smarter, more secure services that better serve today’s digital-first consumers.”

A Smarter Network for a Smarter Future

BT’s new agreement with AWS marks a major leap forward for its business transformation. By adding AWS capabilities into its Mobile Network for both Core operations and its Radio Access Network (RAN), BT is laying the foundations for a distributed, AI-ready data platform that supports autonomous network operations. BT is also automating several operations processes in its Network Operations Centre (NOC) powered by AWS’s machine learning and Generative AI technologies. This is a critical step in BT’s journey toward a self-healing network—one that can anticipate, detect, and resolve issues in real time, dramatically improving resilience and customer experience.

“Our ambition is to build a network that thinks ahead – one that can fix itself before customers even notice a problem,” said Meakin. “We’re in the early stages of this process, but through our work with partners like AWS, we’re one step closer to making it a reality.”

This new agreement represents a bold transformation of how networks are run. By combining BT’s telecom leadership with AWS’s cloud and AI innovation, the two companies are redefining what’s possible in telecom: a more autonomous, reliable, and customer-centric future.

Real-World Improvements Already Underway

BT Group’s use of AWS will also support transformational work already in progress:

• Simplified Payments: BT is redesigning its customer payments system to make setting up and managing direct debits easier and more secure. With reusable, tokenised data across brands and channels, customers will experience less friction and more confidence in how their information is handled.
• Smarter Service Delivery: A new engineering workflow platform is streamlining how BT manages customer orders and field engineer visits. By integrating order tracking, task management, and subcontractor coordination into one interface, BT can deliver engineering operations faster and with greater accuracy.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The company responsible for developing a system of sending micro-satellites up into orbit by using a massive centrifuge instead of rockets, SpinLaunch, has partnered with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace to help it separately develop a new global network of highly compact ultrafast broadband satellites – called ‘Meridian Space‘ – for Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The initial network is expected to consist of around 250 microsatellites (minimum required for them to achieve global coverage), each of which will weigh about 70kg and harness the latest 5G based NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) protocols for wide compatibility. This should deliver a sellable global capacity of over 2Tbps (Terabits per second), focused on serving businesses (backhaul for mobile networks, maritime, corporations, aviation etc.).

According to the website, each satellite will feature a number of innovative features, such as a reconfigurable reflectarray antenna that’s highly compact and operates across multiple frequency bands. The satellites also act more as relays for ground stations using “bent-pipe” architecture, which means that the signal processing will all be done on the ground (not onboard the satellites), thus reducing complexity, size and power requirements.

In addition, each satellite will adopt fixed-track orbits, which should help to simplify the setup and design of ground-based user terminals and gateways (i.e. no need for complex tracking antennas). The result is a lightweight satellite that’s cheap to build and can be deployed at scale via a single rocket launch (SpinLaunch won’t be using their centrifuge system for these, at least not yet).

The initial plan is to deploy a number of test satellites as part of an In-Orbit Demonstrator (IOD) mission planned for sometime in 2026, but if all goes well then a single rocket launch could conceivably allow the first customer links to go live in that same year. But we’d caution that space related programmes often suffer delays, so 2027 may be more realistic.

Assuming all goes well, the constellation could eventually be expanded to contain at least 1,200 micro satellites, but that will be a few more years down the road. In any case, this may help to provide yet more competition for SpaceX’s otherwise fairly dominant Starlink network, while also putting pressure on OneWeb (Eutelsat) and Amazon (Project Kuiper), although SpinLaunch aren’t themselves going to be offering direct consumer broadband services.

One to watch.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network analyst firm Streetwave has today published its results from the UK’s “largest mobile coverage survey“, which used bin lorries to test the 4G/5G (mobile broadband) network coverage and speed of each mobile operator across the River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region (RSPAWIR) – reflecting 33 councils in Wales and England’s West Midlands.

The company has already spent the past few years harnessing waste (bin / refuse) collection trucks to map mobile network performance across various parts of the UK (e.g. here, here, here, here and here). In this setup, rubbish 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 their routes.

The data this creates is usually considered to be more detailed and accurate than the estimates of mobile network coverage that are so often produced by mobile operators and Ofcom, which is because bin lorries need to go down almost every single road in order to conduct their collections and do so on a regular basis. Suffice to say that this makes them a uniquely useful and cost-effective resource for conducting this sort of study.

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 also gain access to some of this data via address-based coverage checkers and interactive maps (example).

The Results

The data was collected from across some 31,780km of road network within 33 councils in the west of England and eastern Wales, with the results for each area being summarised below using Streetwave’s definition of ‘Essential Coverage‘ – reflecting locations where the network provides users with speeds of above 1Mbps download, 0.5Mbps upload, and below 100ms (milliseconds) of latency (i.e. covering or allowing only the most basic of use cases / needs).

Overall EE was found to have delivered the highest ‘Essential Coverage’ – covering 80% of the region and pushing the fastest mobile broadband speeds (average download of 18.4Mbps and uploads of 5Mbps), while O2 produced the lowest result – covering 48% of the region. Vodafone ranked second with a 69% score for Essential Coverage, while Three UK came next on 50%.

However, it was noted that Essential Coverage falls as low as 35–40% in several councils, underlining the digital divide faced by many rural communities. Sadly, Streetwave’s summary didn’t include any scores for stronger types of coverage with faster speeds, but residents can access this and more data by using the digital coverage and performance checker (remember to zoom-in for the most detail or use your address).

Residents can access the coverage checker here:
https://app.streetwave.co/coverage-checker/river-severn-partnership

Otherwise, the ‘Essential Coverage’ results for each primary council in the region can be found below.

Entire River Severn Region

EE – 80%

Vodafone – 69%

Three – 50%

O2 – 48%

Herefordshire

EE – 74%

Vodafone – 74%

Three – 59%

O2 – 57%

Worcestershire

EE – 86%

Vodafone – 75%

Three – 57%

O2 – 46%

Warwickshire

EE – 90%

Vodafone – 72%

O2 – 57%

Three – 55%

Shropshire

EE – 72%

Vodafone – 72%

O2 – 50%

Three – 48%

Powys

EE – 60%

Vodafone – 56%

O2 – 46%

Three – 35%

Staffordshire

EE – 87%

Vodafone – 74%

Three – 57%

O2 – 50%

Gloucestershire

EE – 89%

Vodafone – 71%

Three – 63%

O2 – 54%

Monmouthshire

EE – 65%

Vodafone – 60%

Three – 45%

O2 – 39%

Telford & Wrekin

EE – 74%

Vodafone – 67%

Three – 58%

O2 – 51%

One catch above is the recently approved merger between Vodafone and Three UK (VodafoneThree), which over the next few years will change the results as both networks are slowly brought closer together. Not to mention the planned coverage and performance improvements under that agreement.

The survey was also tasked with studying the coverage of Long Range Wide Area Networks (LoRaWAN), which harness a small slice of lower frequency radio spectrum (e.g. bands like 868MHz and 915MHz) to support relatively slow and low power data links. Such networks are often used to support Internet of Things (IoT) style sensors (water meters etc.), although the results of this side will be less relevant to the public and weren’t included.