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The UK telecoms and media regulator has today fined alternative rural broadband ISP Gigaclear £122,500 after they were found to have failed to “provide accurate and reliable caller location information to emergency services,” which could have made it more difficult for the police, fire and ambulances to find callers.

The alternative network provider, which has 150,000 customers, currently covers 600,000 premises across rural parts of England with their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network (i.e. 25% take-up, with a goal of reaching 29% by the end of this financial year). In addition, they also offer customers a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) based Home Phone service

Last year ISPreview noted that the small print on Gigaclear’s website stated that they “do not recommend you purchase home phone if you are reliant on your landline due to disability or accessibility requirements and do not have alternative means to contact emergency services in the event of a power outage” (here).

However, under Ofcom’s rules (General Conditions A3.5 and A3.6(a)), when someone calls 112 or 999 using a landline with a VoIP connection, the telecoms provider must – to the extent it is technically feasible – make accurate and reliable information about the caller’s location available to the emergency organisation handling the call, at the time it is answered.

Ofcom has now found that, between January 2022 and 11th March 2024, Gigaclear “provided either inaccurate caller location information, or no caller location information“, to emergency organisations for all emergency calls made by its VoIP customers. This affected a total of 948 calls to emergency organisations. This came after the provider self-reported the issue to Ofcom in April 2024.

Ofcom Statement

As a result, our investigation has found that Gigaclear has breached General Conditions A3.5 and A3.6(a). We consider this to be a serious breach of these conditions, which are set by Ofcom to ensure that emergency organisations are provided with accurate information about a caller’s location, wherever possible. This information is important because it helps assist the relevant emergency services in locating a person requiring emergency assistance.

Our investigation found that Gigaclear failed to test or monitor the availability of accurate caller location information to emergency organisations, prior to launching its VoIP service and while the service was live. Gigaclear also failed to ensure its third-party supplier configured the systems involved in the provision of caller location information to emergency organisations correctly.

Gigaclear missed an earlier opportunity to identify the issues by failing to appropriately investigate a customer complaint it received in 2023 concerning caller location information.

Gigaclear has since taken action to remedy the contravention and ensure accurate caller location information is now made available for calls to emergency organisations.

According to Ofcom, no members of the public reportedly experienced significant harm as a result of this serious breach, although the regulator has resolved to fine the company £122,500. Gigaclear must pay the fine within four weeks of this decision, and it will then be passed on to HM Treasury. It includes a 30% reduction as a result of Gigaclear’s admission of liability and agreement to settle the case.

Gigaclear’s Statement

Gigaclear deeply regrets the historic configuration issue with our VoIP service, described in Ofcom’s decision published today.

By the time we self-reported the issue to Ofcom in April 2024 we had already identified and rectified the error. We have undertaken a full post incident review to implement the learnings from this incident and put in place processes to ensure that no similar issues arise again.

At all times before and after the issue was fixed, all emergency calls placed by our VoIP customers were successfully connected. We are not aware of any actual harm to customers as a result of the issue, but we acknowledge the seriousness of the error and the importance of ensuring accurate caller location information is available to emergency services.

Gigaclear is committed to providing high-quality service to its customers and maintaining full compliance with all regulatory obligations and we apologise for having fallen short of the high standard which we strive to maintain.

George Lusty, Ofcom’s Enforcement Director, said: “Providing the emergency services with accurate location data can mean the difference between life and death. So it’s vital that telecoms companies set up their systems correctly and test them thoroughly to make sure this happens. We won’t hesitate to hold companies to account, and Gigaclear fell short on a number of basic levels, putting its customers at unacceptable risk for a prolonged period of time.”

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

The board will now begin searching for a permanent replacement

Today, Hull’s incumbent telecoms operator KCOM has announced that its CEO, Tim Shaw, will be stepping down from the role in August.

Shaw has been part of KCOM for 6 and a half years, serving as CEO for the last three. During his tenure, the business has significantly expanded its fibre broadband network coverage across East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, now topping 305,000 premises, as of November 2024. He has also overseen the company’s ongoing £17 million initiative to upgrade its existing copper network to full fibre.

But while KCOM’s network continues to expand and become more advanced, Shaw’s time as CEO has also seen KCOM’s market dominance increasingly come under threat. Local altnet like MS3 and Connexin are reducing KCOM’s dominance in Hull and the surrounding counties, while telecoms regulator Ofcom is pressuring KCOM to make its infrastructure more accessible to rivals. In fact, KCOM published a pricing scheme for its own Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) services for the first time earlier this month.

While these factors are unlikely to be disastrous for KCOM, they represent a market growing increasingly competitive. In fact, this increase in competition was a major factor in the decision from KCOM’s key investor Macquarie to explore a potential sale last year, according to reports. No further updates have been given regarding the strategic review, which appears to be ongoing.

All of this, in addition to mounting debt, will present a significant challenge for Shaw’s would-be replacement.

“Our huge thanks go to Tim. He has led KCOM through a period of significant change, both for the business and in the wider UK telco market. Throughout this, he has always kept the customer and service innovation at the heart of what we do,” said Richard Greenleaf, Chair of KCOM.

CFO Richard Schäfer will take over duties as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement.

How is the UK connectivity ecosystem changing in 2025? Join the discussion at Connected Britain, the UK’s largest digital economy event

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

Broadband and mobile operator EE (BT) has today responded to the UK government’s drive to wrap everybody under the age of 18 in cotton wool by becoming the “first major network” to launch a dedicated Smartphone proposition (mobile plans) for U18s, called “Safer SIMs” – part of its commitment toward “being the UK’s best network for families“.

The new plans are designed with network level website content controls, scam call protection, spending caps and “Stay Connected Data” (allows you to stay online after you’ve used up all your data, albeit at a speed of 0.5Mbps).

Safer SIMs plans are available on any smartphone device and are being supported by the option of new in-store online safety appointments with expert trained guides in over 400 EE retail stores who can provide “online safety support and practical guidance to parents and carers, as well as advice on setting-up device level controls“.

The new initiatives come as a new study conducted for EE by Opinium claims to have found that only 52% of parents feel they have the right tools and guidance to manage their child’s smartphone and social media usage, and 78% of children admit they conceal some of their online activity from their parents (aka – privacy).

A total of three new 30-day “Safer” SIM-only plans are due to launch “next month“, which will be tiered with different levels of controls and start from £7 per month.

Safer SIM Plans

Protected Plan: Ideal for the first few years of secondary school, with strict mobile network content controls when accessing websites, unlimited calls/texts with premium numbers, 150 text services and charge to plan blocked, reduced speeds (0.5Mbps) to limit streaming, as well as scam call protect

Guided Plan: Supports growing independence, and ideal for early teenage years with moderate mobile network content controls when accessing websites, 3GB data at 10Mbps, unlimited calls/texts with premium numbers, 150 text services and charge to plan blocked, and scam call protect. A pay-as-you-go version of the Guided Plan will also be available at launch

Trusted Plan: Ideal for older teenagers, with moderate mobile network content controls when accessing websites, 10GB data at 100Mbps, unlimited calls/texts with premium numbers, 150 text services and charge to plan blocked, and scam call protect

EE is also launching The P.H.O.N.E Chat, a content resource created to help parents explain the responsibility of smartphone ownership. This guide has been designed with support from Internet Matters, children, and their parents, to aid conversations about owning a phone, and includes details of how to talk about using their first handset. This is already available online, and in-store in the coming weeks.

Claire Gillies, CEO at BT Group’s Consumer Division, said:

“As the UK’s best network for families, we understand that while smartphones offer many benefits to people, there are also very real risks and challenges, especially for young people. As a parent of a teenager, I too have had to balance the benefits and challenges that come with giving our children their first smartphone.

I am proud that EE has consistently been an industry leader for online safety and today’s announcement is yet another example of our commitment to providing helpful tools and guidance to families. Our new initiatives and resources are there for parents at every stage of their child’s adolescence, so they can safely and confidently make the choice about smartphone usage that is right for them and their family”.

We should point out that the big mobile operators already offer network-level content filtering controls and tech-savvy parents will no doubt already be able to figure out how to setup a Smartphone to be safe for their children, without needing to take out a special mobile plan. But clearly that knowledge isn’t going to be universal and this is where EE’s new plans may help to simplify.

However, we can’t help but think that the government’s root and branch approach to introducing age-based restrictions (verification) across the internet is both needlessly excessive (it’s impacting all sorts or regular services and messaging systems) and easily defeatable (VPN). Not to mention the notion of treating young adults aged 15-18 in roughly the same way as much younger children is a touch insulting for people in that age group.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

The move comes as part of new CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s strategy to monetise “non-core assets”

Intel is set to spin off its networking and communications business, Network and Edge Group (NEX), as a standalone entity.

The plan was initially revealed in a memo to customers from NEX’s general manager Sachin Katti but was later confirmed by Intel spokespeople.

“We plan to establish key elements of our Networking and Communications business as a stand-alone company and we have begun the process of identifying strategic investors,” said Intel in an official statement. “Like Altera, we will remain an anchor investor enabling us to benefit from future upside as we position the business for future growth.”

Altera, Intel’s field programmable gate array business, was spun off last year, with the move being viewed as one of the company’s first efforts to monetise its non-core business assets. The decision quickly proved successful, with Intel selling a 51% stake in Altera to US-based private equity firm Silver Lake Partners for $4.46 billion in March. It seems likely that Intel is aiming to replicate this model with NEX.

Intel will remain an anchor investor in the spun off business, with Katti noting that the company had already begun “identifying additional strategic and capital partners to support the growth and development of the new company”.

Exactly how NEX would be valued, and the identity of potential buyers is so far unclear. In 2024, NEX contributed $5.8 billion of Intel’s total revenue of $53.1 billion.

A specific timeline for the spin off was not announced.

The decision to spin off the networking unit should come as little surprise. Intel’s new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took over the business from previous CEO Patrick Gelsinger in March, had reportedly been considering the spin off since May as part of an overarching strategy to return the company to growth.

Tan’ aim is to refocus the company around its core segments, PC and data centre infrastructure.

In the company’s latest quarterly results, released last week, Intel booked a $2.9 billion net loss.

In a note to staff following the company’s quarterly results, Tan emphasised that the business would need to make significant changes moving forward.

“I know the past few months have not been easy. We are making hard but necessary decisions to streamline the organisation, drive greater efficiency and increase accountability at every level of the company,” he said, adding that the company needed to be “laser-focused on strengthening our core product portfolio our AI roadmap.”

Unsurprisingly, this streamlining effort also includes job cuts, with Tan reiterating plans to reduce the company’s headcount by 15% (roughly 24,000 employees) by the end of the year.

In addition, Intel says it will not proceed with previously planned foundry projects in Germany and Poland.

Keep up with all the latest telecoms news with the Total Telecom newsletter

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

The telecoms regulator has today revealed that UK broadband ISP and phone giant BT (inc. EE and Plusnet) have now refunded or credited £18m back to customers. This follows last year’s Ofcom ruling (here), which found that the provider had “failed to provide” 1.1 million customers with clear and simple contract information before signing up to a new deal.

Just to recap. Since June 2022 broadband and mobile operators have been required to provide customers with a short, one-page summary of the main contract terms of their chosen package before entering into a contract, including clear examples of how any price increases might impact the price they pay. But Ofcom’s investigation found that EE and Plusnet had failed to do this for a sizeable number of customers and fined BT £2.8m.

As well as fining BT, Ofcom also required the provider to amend its sales process and refund any affected customers who may have been charged for leaving before the end of their contract period. “We told the company that if it was unable to refund any money, it must donate it to charity,” said the regulator.

As a result of this enforcement action, Ofcom has today posted a brief after action report that reveals how BT has now refunded or credited £18 million back to customers and donated £440,000 across 17 charities where refunds or credits were not possible.

Ofcom Statement

The company broke our consumer protection rules designed to ensure telecoms customers get clear, comparable information about the services they are considering buying.

Following engagement with Ofcom, BT contacted the majority of affected customers, explaining that it had not provided them with the information to which they were entitled, and giving them the opportunity to request the information and/or cancel their contract without charge.

However, before these communications were sent, some customers affected by the breach left BT before the end of their contract and may have been charged an early exit fee. Our rules are clear that if the required contract summary and contract information is not given, the contract is not binding on customers. As a result, an early exit fee should not have been payable by these customers.

As well as fining BT, we also required it to amend its sales process and refund any affected customers who may have been charged for leaving before the end of their contract period. We told the company that if it was unable to refund any money, it must donate it to charity.

As a result of this enforcement action, BT has now refunded or credited £18 million back to customers and donated £440,000 across 17 charities where refunds or credits were not possible.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Edinburgh-based UK broadband provider GoFibre has today announced that they’ve begun to expand their new full fibre (FTTP) network into the rural village of Witton-le-Wear in County Durham. The build forms part of their state aid supported Project Gigabit contract with the government.

Just to recap. The Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit scheme is currently working to extend 1Gbps download speeds (200Mbps+ uploads) to reach “nationwide” coverage (c. 99%) by around 2032. As part of that, GoFibre has already secured three smaller ‘Local’ (Type A) deployment contracts for Teesdale (Lot 4.01), North Northumberland (Lot 34.01) and the Scottish Borders and East Lothian (Scotland Lot 5) area. On top of that, they also hold the £105m regional (Type B) contract for North East Scotland.

The deployment in Witton-le-Wear thus forms part of their Teesdale (County Durham) contract and GoFibre’s network has already reached around 150 homes and businesses in the community, with a further 118 premises due to be added before build completion is reached in August 2025. Since commencing the wider project, over 4,000 funded premises are now ready for connection in the Durham-Teesdale contract area (close to the original target for Lot 4.01).

Despite a challenging crossing of the Witton Bridge which required the use of civil engineering avoidance techniques to avoid impacting the Grade 2 listed structure, the build has run to schedule so far.

Andy Hepburn, COO of GoFibre, said:

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to the local community for their support and patience throughout the build. Their cooperation allowed us to complete the project with minimal disruption, particularly when working around the historic Witton Bridge.

We know firsthand how frustrating poor internet can be, so it’s incredibly rewarding to deliver a service that’s fast, reliable, and built to last. This is a proud moment for our team and for the community. We hope you can join us at our event on the 12th to celebrate and learn how full fibre broadband can transform your online experience.”

Customers of the new GoFibre service, once live over the next few years, 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

Mobile network operator O2 (Virgin Media) has today announced that they’ve completed a project to upgrade the network capacity and coverage of their 4G and 5G mobile (mobile broadband) services around a total of 700 postcodes across the coastal Scottish city of Dundee on the Firth of Tay estuary.

The upgrades, which took 12 months to deploy, form part of O2’s Mobile Transformation Plan, which is investing around £700m this year into their mobile network – “ensuring it is fit for the future and can keep up with increasing customer demand“.

All mobile network operators have to conduct similar work, so this is not unusual and comes against a backdrop of rising demand (i.e. the amount of mobile data traffic more than doubling on O2’s network in the past 5 years). Not to mention the need to withdraw their old 3G network. Sadly that’s all the information we get.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network operator Netomnia (Brsk, Youfibre), which has so far rolled out their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cover 2.56 million UK homes (inc. 341,000 customers), has appointed industry veteran Matthew Skipsey to be its new Managing Director (MD) of wholesale ahead of an expected adoption by more ISPs.

At present Netomnia (Substantial Group), which recently became the first network operator to adopt 50Gbps (50G -PON) broadband technology (here), is aiming to expand the reach of their full fibre network to 3 million premises by the end of 2025 and then 5 million by the end of 2027 (inc. 1 million customers by 2028). The service is currently available across parts of over 90 UK cities and towns.

However, in terms of wholesale, the company has so far tended to remain a bit more vertically integrated by only selling packages to consumers and businesses via ISPs that are a part of the same group (Youfibre and Brsk). But ISPreview are now aware of several third-party retail ISPs that will imminently be joining this network as Netomnia moves to grow their focus on wholesale.

The latest sign of all this stems from the company’s decision to appoint industry veteran Matthew Skipsey to be their new MD of Wholesale. Matthew was previously the Network Strategy Director at All Points Fibre Networks (APFN) and the Co-founder, CTO & Head of Giganet before that. Going back further, he also helped to found Wessex Internet and held various senior positions at M12 Solutions.

Matthew Skipsey said:

“I’m delighted to join Netomnia as Managing Director of Wholesale.

I’ve always respected Netomnia and the wider Substantial Group companies. They continue to achieve some impressive numbers; including a capital-efficient build programme, fastest Alt-Net build and subscriber acquisition rate, powerful network and proudly are the second-largest Alt-Net in the UK. None of this would be possible without the exceptional people behind it.

I’m excited to lead Netomnia’s Wholesale division, which provides open access to Netomnia’s 2.56+ million premises for B2C & B2B full-fibre broadband, Ethernet and dark fibre opportunities. The network is on track to reach 3 million premises by the end of 2025, with plans to scale to 5 million by 2027.

I’d like to thank my ex colleagues at APFN, Fern Fibre, Octopus Investments and those from the original Giganet, M12, and Wessex Internet days as well as key suppliers who have supported me throughout my career in telecoms.

The next chapter will be very exciting and I can’t wait to get started!”

A stronger push into wholesale makes sense for an alternative network operator in Netomnia’s position, although its ability to break into this market may be constrained so long as it also continues to act as a competitor to its own future partners by running its own retail providers alongside them (conflict of interest). On the other hand, the operator’s growing network coverage and blistering speeds will be very attractive to a lot of ISPs.

At this stage we don’t yet know how much flexibility third-party ISPs on this network will have to differentiate their products from that of the existing group providers, but we suspect that the prices and package speeds will initially be similar to those offered by Youfibre and brsk.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Hull-based UK network operator KCOM, which has deployed their own Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across a big chunk of East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (England), has announced that current Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tim Shaw, is to step down. The outgoing CEO will hand over the reins to CFO Richard Schäfer on an interim basis.

Tim has been with the Macquarie-backed business for six and a half years, albeit only three years as its CEO. During that time he’s witnessed the continued expansion of their FTTP network, as well as the ongoing migration and retirement of their old copper line network. On the flip side, he’s also seen KCOM’s grip on its core market of Hull being eroded by rivals, such as Connexin (CityFibre) and MS3, and the operator has recently been nudged to embrace infrastructure sharing (here).

The announcement itself doesn’t say why Tim has chosen to leave, although we understand that he’ll be announcing his next move in due course (i.e. it sounds like he’ll be taking up a new role elsewhere). KCOM is clearly facing some challenges, not least from Ofcom’s forthcoming market review and its weakening hold over local infrastructure, thus the company might benefit from a fresh pair of hands and a new vision for the business.

Richard Greenleaf, Chair of KCOM, said:

“Our huge thanks go to Tim. He has led KCOM through a period of significant change, both for the business and in the wider UK telco market; throughout this, he has always kept the customer and service innovation at the heart of what we do. We wish him the very best for his next chapter.”

Tim Shaw, CEO of KCOM, said:

“Over the past four years, KCOM has been through some remarkable change. I’m immensely proud of the way the team has focused relentlessly on customer experience, embraced innovation and taken connectivity to even more homes in the region. KCOM is an iconic brand, and leading the business through its 120th anniversary last year was one of the great privileges of my role.”

A recruitment process for a permanent appointment is currently underway, led by the Board.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Consumers looking to join UK internet provider File Sanctuary, which sells broadband packages via Openreach and CityFibre’s national networks, may like to know that they’ve today launch a 2300Mbps (symmetric) speed package via the latter’s platform. The price starts at just £55 per month.

“We’re excited to bring 2.3 Gbps FTTP to our customers,” said Aaron Russell, Managing Director (MD) & Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at File Sanctuary. “This launch reflects our commitment to delivering future-ready connectivity with honest pricing and real human support.”

The unlimited usage 2.3Gbps package costs £55 inc. VAT per month on a 12-month contract term and with free installation. But the package doesn’t bundle a router, thus new customers must either use their own or pick from a choice of FRITZ!Box router models. The provider also claims they don’t do mid-contract price hikes, offer UK-based support and native IPv4 and IPv6 support (no CGNAT, but if you want a Static IP it’ll cost an extra £2.40).

Finally, customers can optionally pick a monthly (1-month) term, but you’ll then have to pay the £66 one-off installation charge.