Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Rural-focus internet provider B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North), which is a community built and supported network that has so far deployed their 10Gbps full fibre (FTTP) lines to cover 32,000 rural premises in England (up from 30k in Apr 2025), has now grown its customer base to 15,700 (up from 15k in Sept 2025).

B4RN is a registered Community Benefit Society, which means they can’t be bought by a commercial operator and profits must go back into the community. The operator 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 (building and shares).

The latest progress has been shared as part of an update to bondholders reflecting on the impact of B4RN’s 2019 Triodos investment bond and the long-term growth achieved across its rural network since then. As part of that the bank’s corporate finance team structured and raised a £3.3m bond, which helped B4RN scale its network. This was often also used to underpin their applications to the government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS).

The provider originally says they set out plans to connect an additional 9,700 properties across 28 communities through its 2019 bond raise. Since then, B4RN says they’ve “significantly exceeded those ambitions” while also securing more than £20m in Government Project Gigabit funding.

Since 2019, B4RN has also:

• Increased its Net Book Value of network build from approximately £8m to around £35m
• Achieved an average take-up rate of 50% across its network
• Expanded its workforce from around 27 employees to more than 80
• Connected more than 309 community assets free of charge, including schools, village halls, places of worship and community-owned facilities
• Received seven industry awards recognising both its fibre deployment and community-led delivery model

Tom Rigg, CEO of B4RN, said:

“When we set out our ambitions in 2019, we knew there was enormous untapped potential within rural communities, but what has been achieved by our very own volunteers and communities since then has exceeded even our own expectations.

Together with our volunteers, champions, landowners, and customers we’ve built infrastructure that is delivering long-term economic and social value in areas that have historically been overlooked by traditional investment models.

We’ve always believed that if communities and investors take a long-term view together, rural infrastructure can be both sustainable and transformational. The progress we’ve made since 2019 is proof of that.

There’s been a lot of discussion across the market about the challenges of rural connectivity and infrastructure delivery. What our model demonstrates is that when communities are genuinely involved, and when investment is aligned to long-term outcomes, sustainable growth is absolutely achievable.”

Despite having a relatively small premises passed count, it’s worth noting that B4RN’s physical fibre network is geographically still quite large due to the wide open remote rural areas they tend to serve.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Customers of TalkTalk have informed ISPreview that, after pausing the sale of new hybrid fibre FTTC (VDSL2 / SOGEA) broadband lines to new subscribers (here), the ISP has also stopped providing their IP-based Digital Voice (phone) service to new customers too. But those aren’t the only products they’ve paused.

A quick look at the related information page on TalkTalk’s website confirms that Digital Voice is “only available to existing customers on our Full Fibre plans. Digital Voice is a flexible, more reliable home phone service. As opposed to traditional phone lines, Digital Voice runs through our superfast Full Fibre broadband” – an unusual move given the urgent transition away from old analogue phone services (PSTN/WLR).

The change appears to have occurred sometime between April and May 2026, while the provider’s official information page makes no mention of this being a temporary state. Nevertheless, TalkTalk has informed ISPreview that it is merely “temporarily paused“, which has been attributed to the same change as the FTTC pause (i.e. it relates to their ongoing work to fully adopt the Kraken customer management platform).

Kraken is designed to empower their customer care specialists to more quickly and effectively review customer account details and take actions that would previously have involved long and complicated processes. So hopefully all of this disruption should be worthwhile.

Existing customers with Full Fibre and Digital Voice are unaffected, and existing Full Fibre Data-Only customers will apparently “soon” be able to add Digital Voice when re-contracting. But for now it’s not available to new customers and TalkTalk haven’t said when that will change. Credits to John to being the first to report this to us.

We’ve since asked TalkTalk whether there are any other products that have been paused in the same way for new customers and were informed that they’ve also temporarily paused sales of their optional add-on services (e.g. SuperSafe, TalkTalk TV, Total Home Wi-Fi) to new customers – all as part of setting up and migrating customers to Kraken. But the ISP could not tell us when this pause would end, only that it would be “soon“.

In addition, last week saw TalkTalk announce that their support teams would no longer be available via X (Twitter): “Please note, from 30 June 2026, our customer service team will no longer respond to posts or messages here on X. To get the quickest and most effective help, TalkTalk customers should contact us via http://talktalk.co.uk/myaccount, the TalkTalk app, or by giving us a call.”

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network analyst firm Streetwave has published the partial results from a new study that compared the real-world mobile network (4G, 5G) and mobile broadband performance from EE, O2, Vodafone and Three UK across the District Line, which runs from Whitechapel to Wimbledon.

The tube journey involved in this study typically connects Whitechapel to Wimbledon – lasting over 50 minutes – and goes through zones 1-3. Streetwave is understood to have taken their portable data collection equipment onboard for one of these trips, thus the results below should be considered fairly anecdotal, albeit still interesting.

The test itself was conducted on 28th April 2026 and started at 4:58pm from Whitechapel, with the train being full during the rush hour journey. Streetwave then recorded the Basic Coverage scores for each operator, which reflects locations where mobile users can access data speeds of above 1Mbps download, 0.5Mbps upload, and below 100ms (milliseconds) of latency (i.e. supporting only the most basic of use cases or needs).

Basic Coverage Scores on District Line to Wimbledon

1. EE – 55%
2. Vodafone – 44%
3. O2 – 36%
4. Three – 34%

Put another way, the company’s simulated passenger on each mobile network spent the following amount of time WITHOUT a dependable internet connection on the journey: Three UK – 34 minutes, O2 – 33 minutes, Vodafone – 29 minutes and EE – 23 minutes. In addition, Streetwave also provided ISPreview with the mobile broadband speeds for each operator on the same trip.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release 

Huawei with TM Forum and 12 Operators, Jointly Releases the New-Generation Intelligent Operations White Paper 4.0‌ 

[Copenhagen, Denmark, June 23, 2026]‌ At the DTW Ignite 2026, Huawei in collaboration with TM Forum and 12 global operators, jointly released the New-Generation Intelligent Operations White Paper 4.0. This white paper focuses on Agentic Operations, integrating practical achievements from multiple global operators. It elaborates on the AI-native operations architecture, implementation pathways, and business value, aiming to accelerate the construction of a new paradigm for ICT operations, unleash new value, and enable a leap for operational intelligence. 

Since the first version was released in 2023, Huawei has released four generations of white papers, continuously evolving along the operational transformation path of “network-centric,” “service-centric,” and “value-centric.” Based on technological advancements and industry pain points, White Paper 4.0 proposes an AI-Native intelligent operations value proposition: value-driven, with Digital Twin Network (DTN) and Domain Specific Model (EDNS 2.0), and a new paradigm of intelligent operations featuring Hybrid Team + Agentic Process. 

White Paper 4.0 distils a “Three-Stage, Six-Step” methodology encompassing data governance, process re-engineering, and organizational transformation, along with a four-stage data governance framework of “Identify-Analyze-Optimize-Retain.” Simultaneously, leveraging DTN and EDNS 2.0, continuously scans network and service status in real-time, identifies risks, and generates remediation plans. This ensures the effectiveness of backup and disaster recovery mechanisms at the T0 moment, guaranteeing stable service operations. By eliminating risks at the T-1 moment and enabling rapid fault recovery at T0, it establishes a “dual protection” for intelligent operations. 

Based on this framework, a new operational paradigm is redefined: shifting from humans utilizing tools to execute and close tasks, to humans supervising/enhancing AI Agents to execute and close tasks. Through intelligent agents, massive-scale tasks such as inspections and fault handling are automated, allowing personnel to shift focus to high-value work like complex problem-solving and agent development/optimization. Several operator practices have already been implemented, achieving an agent one-hop closure rate of over 80%, supporting the dual enhancement of network and service quality. 

Danwill Duan, President of Huawei ICT Assurance and Operation Services Domain, stated: “Agentic Operations is an inevitable trend in the evolution of network operations. White Paper 4.0 consolidates the exploration achievements of the entire industry. We hope to take this as an opportunity to collaborate with more partners to effectively address challenges, create greater value, and accelerate the journey towards AN L4.” 

In the future, Huawei will continue to collaborate with global operators and standards organizations, deepen technological innovations in Domain Specific Models, Digital Twins of Networks, and AI Agents, continuously improve the new-generation intelligent operations framework, and accelerate the transformation of technological innovation into operational benefits.

President of Huawei ICT Assurance and Operation Services Danwill Duan 

Interprets White Paper 4.0‌ 

Official Download Link for the New-Generation Intelligent Operations White Paper 4.0:‌ 

https://inform.tmforum.org/research-and-analysis/reports/new-generation-intelligent-operations-an-ai-native-reinvention 

The post Deepening the Transformation Process, Ushering in a New Era of Intelligent Operations‌ appeared first on Total Telecom.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release 

[Copenhagen, Denmark, June 24, 2026] At Digital Transformation World (DTW) 26, Huawei, in collaboration with TM Forum and GSMA Intelligence, hosted the 5th Green & Resilience Development Forum, bringing together industry leaders to explore the sustainable development of communications networks. The forum featured in-depth discussions on the Green Network Index (GNI), AI-powered energy efficiency, and resilient architecture practices, collectively charting the course toward green and resilient networks.

Executive Vision: Green + Resilience as Dual Engines for Future Networks

Tim Niu, President of Huawei’s Network Consulting and System Integration Department, delivered the opening remarks, warmly welcoming distinguished guests and partners from around the world. The forum’s theme—”AI-Driven Green & Resilience: New Blueprint for Zero-Carbon and Reliable Network Architecture”—underscored a critical paradigm shift: green networks are no longer optional but essential. Resilience serves as the baseline for sustainable networks, while AI acts as the accelerator toward the 2030 zero-carbon vision.

“Huawei is committed to collaborating with industry partners worldwide, leveraging ‘green + resilience’ as dual engines to advance the GNI standard and the Hedera architecture,” Tim stated. “Together, we will build networks that are low-carbon and measurable, resilient and verifiable, and evolvable and sustainable.”

Industry Consensus: Green Transformation of Communications Networks is Imperative

Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence, presented the Green Network Index Round 2 findings. The second round introduced an enhanced measurement methodology and comprehensive indicator system covering entire networks, individual networks, and stations. Over 20 mobile and fixed network operators participated in this initiative. Additionally, the GNI digital platform has been launched, providing operators with case studies for sustainable development planning and benchmarking.

Marc Einstein, Director of Research at Counterpoint Research, explored how AI is reshaping the sustainability trajectory of telecom operators. Drawing on validated operator data, he highlighted that AI-driven optimization has achieved annual energy savings of 4 billion kWh. Over the past decade, Telefónica has seen data traffic surge by 1,200%, while total network energy consumption decreased by 12%, and energy density ratio declined by 92% compared to 2015. Green is no longer merely a compliance requirement—it has become a strategic foundation for the digital economy and computing power networks.

Lloyd Chan, Vice President of Strategic Transformation at HKT, outlined HKT’s approach to infrastructure development, emphasizing green practices, cyber resilience, and AI enablement. Network modernization, intelligent power supply systems, and resilient architecture design not only improve operational efficiency and mitigate operational risks, but also support AI-era service development and emerging application requirements.

Technological Innovation: AI Accelerates Green and Resilient Development

David Yu, General Manager of Huawei’s Green Resilience Target Network Solution, addressed key industry challenges: accelerating climate change, rising OPEX, and the prevalence of low-efficiency legacy equipment and network outages. Huawei has partnered with industry organizations to establish a green network index and Hedera Architecture, leveraging digital twin capabilities and AI for data governance. The solution is promoting the transformation of traditional wireless base stations into green smart sites and legacy equipment rooms into edge data centers capable of meeting future computing demands, supporting collaborative development across mobile, home, and business (CHB) scenarios—achieving results over 30% ahead of industry benchmarks.

“Green and resilient innovation provides the driving force for carriers to develop high-quality services and maintain a competitive edge.” David noted.

Looking Ahead: Infinite Value in Industry’s Green and Resilient Transformation

Facing dual pressures from global shifts and surging traffic, Huawei has invited GSMA Intelligence, Counterpoint, and HKT to explore this topic together, reaching a consensus: green and resilience are no longer a trade-off—they are shared imperatives. Looking ahead, the industry will move from passive energy saving to active energy intelligence, powered by the GNI standard and AI agent technology, building a digital foundation that is both low-carbon and resilient. Green and resilience are strategic imperatives, not competing options. Huawei looks forward to working with global partners to build a green target network that is zero-carbon, resilient, and built to deliver.

The post AI-Driven Green & Resilience: New Blueprint for Zero-Carbon and Reliable Network Architecture appeared first on Total Telecom.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network access provider Openreach (BT) has announced that they will shortly reduce the Fixed Fee for Excess Construction Charges (ECC), which are sometimes charged when UK broadband or Ethernet deployments require extra civil engineering work. In addition, they’re also reducing the Connection Charges on Ethernet Access Direct (EAD) lines for businesses.

Sadly, not all new installations are easy and some builds can attract ECCs, particularly those requiring the installation of a dedicated high-capacity Ethernet line (leased line) – these may need extra work to provide you with a service (e.g. running the fibre over a much longer distance than usual).

However, Ofcom’s regulatory rules require that any reduction in ECCs incurred must be reflected in the Fixed Fee that Openreach charges for the service, which is currently set at £708 excluding VAT. The good news is that there was a reduction in ECCs incurred during 2025/26 (here) and so the network operator will cut the Fixed Fee to £516 from 1st August 2026. But this has also had another positive impact.

OR’s Statement on EAD Charges

As a result of the ECC Fixed Fee reduction, Openreach has reviewed its Connection Charges. Having reviewed the ECC Fixed Fee reduction and compliance with the Ethernet basket charge control as a whole, Openreach will be making reductions to EAD Connection charges.

These reductions will apply to EAD up to 1GB services in Area 2 and Area 3, with the level of reduction varying by geographic area. These changes are also reflected in the Ethernet Access Direct (EAD) 1000Mb Local Access alternative pricing for the UK excluding CLA and HNR areas offer via an equivalent adjustment to the offer rental charge (Price List page 8.2.56).

The EAD price reductions are fairly small to modest, but it’s still a welcome development (see EAD Pricing).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Some customers of Sky Broadband reported that they were unable to access the main NHS website and app earlier in the week, seemingly after the internet provider accidentally managed to block it. But Sky has since suggested that the fault might have been with the NHS. The issue prevented people being able to access their medical data and manage appointments etc.

The problem appears to have occurred on Tuesday morning (23rd June 2026) and was reported across social media (X, Facebook etc.), including via threads on Reddit and Sky’s Community Forum. Customers initially thought the problem was with the NHS itself, but the health service instead pointed the finger of blame at the ISP (no other internet providers seem to have experienced the issue).

“NHS IT Dept tells me that there is a national issue affecting Sky Broadband customers who are unable to access NHS networks remotely, potentially due to a ‘dynamic DNS assignment’,” said one of Sky’s customers on their forum, while another added: “When I’ve spoken to my Practice they say their NHS IT service are saying there is a major issue with Sky Broadband accessing any NHS sites and they are advising everyone to phone Sky.”

The good news, according to a Sky Support agent, is that the problem was finally resolved before 4pm on the same day. “The NHS has implemented a fix on their end and we believe this should be fully resolved for our customers now. I’m very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you today,” said Sky’s agent.

A smaller smattering of customers had previously reported some brief but similar issues with NHS access, occurring both the day before and the day after the main disruption. The connectivity problems came a couple of months after Sky accidentally managed to block Secure Shell (SSH) communications to Bitbucket.org, which is a cloud-based Git repository hosting service that is designed for professional software (business) teams (here).

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The Worcestershire County Council (WCC) in England has today announced that Openreach have connected the first homes to their new full fibre (FTTP) broadband network as part of the £41m (public subsidy) Project Gigabit contract, which currently aims to cover 22,600 premises across the county’s hardest-to-reach (mostly remote rural) areas.

The first live connections under the contract, which was first announced back in January 2025 (here), are now serving properties in Lower Broadheath, Hallow, Powick and Callow End, while network build activity is also underway in and around Knightwick.

The latest data from the Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency indicates that Openreach has so far covered 170 premises under the contract (here), but this is now expected to ramp-up. Further work is also said to be “underway to explore opportunities to bring additional premises into the contract“.

Councillor Adam Kent, Deputy Leader of the WCC, said:

“This is a brilliant moment for Worcestershire. The first homes and businesses in Lower Broadheath, Hallow, Powick and Callow End are now plugged into some of the fastest broadband in the country – and the diggers are already moving on to the next communities.

Worcestershire is a county that means business, and this £41 million investment makes sure no village or rural enterprise is left behind. Whether you’re running a company from a converted barn, studying from home or streaming with the family, gigabit broadband puts world-class connectivity right on your doorstep. This is Worcestershire building the infrastructure of the future, today.”

Back in 2023 the WCC announced that they’d committed to help ensure that 90% of premises across the county will be able to access a gigabit-capable broadband ISP network by 2027 (here).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Internet provider NuFibre has today announced the launch of nuHub v1.0, which despite the name isn’t a router but rather their new bespoke “self-service customer portal” – designed and developed in-house to make “broadband management simpler and more accessible for customers“.

Quite a few ISPs already have something similar and, much like those, the nuHub aims to provide a centralised platform where customers can access and manage key account information, including: contact details, broadband packages, billing information, payment methods, router credentials and IP address information.

The hub will also help to free up the provider’s support staff to focus on other work. Nufibre said they intend to continue expanding the nuHub throughout 2026 with a range of new features and enhancements.

Martin Gardner, CEO of Nufibre, said:

“One of the aims we strive for at Nufibre is making broadband simpler for customers to self-manage. We have many exciting features already in development for future versions, including a fully integrated ticketing system, referral programmes, router self-diagnostics, and much more.

By giving customers instant access to the information and tools they need, 24/7, we’re enabling them to manage everyday tasks themselves while allowing our support teams to focus on areas where assistance is most needed.”

Existing customers can access nuHub here: https://hub.nufibre.co.uk/

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Board Director at Infracapital-backed alternative UK full fibre broadband network operator Ogi, Wyn Innes, has announced that he will be “stepping down” from the role at the end of October 2026 in order to start “exploring new opportunities“.

At present Ogi’s network is home to over 24,000 customers (April 2025) and covers more than 118,000 premises in South Wales (inc. a small part of England) with their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network. The operator has also recently been linked by ISPreview to talk of a possible consolidation with Fibrus (here).

As for Wyn Innes, it’s worth recalling that he was named CFO of the year at the Finance Awards Wales for 2022 for his role in building, shaping and implementing Ogi’s growth strategy. Suffice to say that he’s played a significant role in the provider’s expansion over 5+ years and intends to remain as a shareholder of Ogi after his departure.

Wyn Innes, CFO at Ogi and NED at S4C, said:

“After five and a half fantastic years as Chief Financial Officer and Board Director at Ogi, I’m stepping down from my role at the end of October. Ma hi wedi bod yn fraint or mwyaf i chwarae rhan allweddol yn llwyddiant Ogi.

I’m exploring new opportunities and looking forward to see where my career goes next! I remain a shareholder and supporter of Ogi and I continue in my role as NED at S4C.

It’s been an honour to have been a part of Ogi from the very beginning and being able to build, shape and guide the Company through its fundraising, build and customer acquisition phases.

Standout moments include securing equity investment from principal investor Infracapital and senior debt from Cardiff Capital Region along with building an award winning Professional Services team; but most of all I’m proud of being a part of a Welsh company which has contributed massively to the telecoms infrastructure in Wales, generating high paid jobs and providing an economic multiplier uplift to the Welsh Economy.

I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together and I leave knowing the business is in good hands with a genuinely exciting next chapter ahead. My thanks go to the whole Ogi team, past and present – particularly to my colleagues in the Professional Services team.”