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India’s largest mobile operator is targeting a landmark public listing as it ramps up investments in AI, cloud and next-generation digital infrastructure.

Reliance Jio’s MD and Chairman Mukesh Ambani has announced that the company will file the initial public offering (IPO) papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) later today.

The IPO could raise around $3.8 billion, according to analyst estimates, making it India’s largest IPO to date.

“The proposed listing of Jio will demonstrate to the world that India can build technology companies of global scale, global capability, and global value,” said Ambani at the company’s Annual General Meeting.

Backed by the billionaire Ambani, Reliance Jio Infocomm burst onto India’s mobile scene in 2016, with its discount prices triggering a major price war. Since then, the company has soared to become the country’s largest mobile operator with over 500 million customers.

The listing is expected to be closely watched by investors seeking exposure to India’s fast-growing digital economy. Jio has expanded well beyond mobile connectivity in recent years, building out a portfolio that includes fibre broadband, enterprise services, cloud offerings, digital payments and connected devices.

AI was also a significant focus of the meeting, with Ambani calling for India to continue its efforts to embrace AI and develop its own platforms, saying that the country should be a creator of AI as well as a consumer.

Jio is investing heavily in AI, with Ambani saying earlier this year that the company would invest around $110 billion over seven years to build India’s AI backbone infrastructure.

The company’s JioBrain platform, which it uses for network planning, predictive maintenance, resource optimisation and customer service automation, notably won the AI Innovation award at the World Communication Awards 2025.

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Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The relatively new broadband provider Olilo has today become the latest retail ISP to sign up to the Government’s Telecoms Consumer Charter (TCC), which was first introduced in February 2026 and follows the addition of Hyperoptic at the start of this week.

The Government has so far succeeded, via the TCC, in getting all the major and a few smaller UK broadband and phone providers to make a commitment to “stop unexpected bill increases“, make social tariffs easier to access and provide clear contract / package information etc. – including BT (EE, Plusnet), Virgin Media and O2, VodafoneThree (Vodafone and Three UK), Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, KCOM, CommunityFibre, WightFibre and Hyperoptic.

The good news is that Olilo has now signed up to the charter too, although we can’t yet see a social tariff on their website. But it should be said that the TCC doesn’t have any real teeth, won’t do anything to stop mid-contract price hikes themselves and nor does it address the unfairness of how such price hikes are currently being applied (e.g. applying the same flat c.£2-£4 monthly increase to those who pay just c.£20 a month and those who pay c.£100 – disproportionately targeting those least able to afford it).

The TCC was instead a late reaction to last year’s controversial decision by mobile operator O2 (here), which suddenly increased the cost of their existing mid-contract price hikes policy and applied that to their existing customers too (i.e. those who had signed-up via the previous policy were forced to accept the new one and its higher prices). Of course, providers that aren’t yet signed up to the TCC could still behave in this way.

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A new independent research report has been published by BroadbandSwitch.uk, which provides a fairly detailed and useful overview of Britain’s move to switch-off the old analogue phone network on 31st January 2027, which was previously delayed from the original end of 2025 deadline in order to protect vulnerable consumers.

Just to recap. Openreach are withdrawing their old Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) products as part of this change, while BT are retiring their related Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). But at present around 1.9 million UK lines are yet to switch to a digital alternative and the focus of the remaining effort is largely on helping those who use vital home telecare systems (e.g. elderly, disabled – vulnerable users), which aren’t always compatible with newer IP-based phone services (telecare providers were slow to adapt).

The Last Dial Tone paper doesn’t say anything that we haven’t reported on before, but we do think it’s one of the better overarching summaries. The report’s modelling also estimates that a residual tail of between 150,000 and 400,000 lines will not be migrated in time, although Openreach are expecting something more in the high tens of thousands.

The good news, as recently reported (here), is that consumer lines won’t face a hard disconnection on the deadline and there will be an emergency solution for those who fail to migrate. Business lines, however, won’t benefit from the same protections and will need to get a move on.

Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith, Report Author, said:

My hypothesis, stated plainly so it can be marked against events: the headline date will hold, but completion will be achieved partly on paper. A residual tail of lines, our modelling suggests somewhere between 150,000 and 450,000, will not be migrated in time. Instead they will be caught by transitional products that BT and Openreach have quietly pre-built for exactly this purpose: an emergency-calls-only line called EVAc, and analogue-style stopgaps known as PDPL and SOTAP that run to around 2030. The platform retires on schedule. A minority keeps a dial tone through the side door. That is a soft landing, not a clean finish, and not a delay.

Why lean this way? Three reasons run through this report. First, the network is failing in plain sight: it consumes around 1% of British energy usage, suffered more than 2,600 major incidents in a single year, and runs on parts nobody manufactures any more. Second, the date is a commercial decision, not a law, and the government has said it will not legislate a pause. Third, and decisively, the escape hatch already exists. The argument that forced the 2023 pause, that vulnerable people would be cut off, has been structurally defused by products designed to make sure nobody is.

We put the probability of this soft landing at 72%, a formal further delay at 23%, and a genuinely clean completion at just 5%. Part Three shows the working, and page 26 publishes the exact criteria by which we will score ourselves after the event. Authority is cheap to claim and expensive to demonstrate. We have chosen the expensive route.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency has today released their June 2026 update on the delivery progress of contracts awarded under the £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme. The update reveals that some 271,460 contracted premises (up from 256,680 in May 2026) have so far been covered out of a planned total of 839,340 (32% complete).

Just to remind. The figures in this update are not directly comparable to the figures published in BDUK’s annual general statistics releases. This is because today’s report tracks the number of contracted premises to which a supplier has delivered a gigabit-capable connection under the main Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy (GIS) programme, whereas the general statistics also include gigabit premises delivered via any public / BDUK subsidy (i.e. that includes other schemes too, like gigabit vouchers and contracts that pre-date Project Gigabit).

So far, most of the country’s gigabit-capable broadband coverage has been delivered by commercial deployments (predominantly focused on urban and semi-urban areas), while Project Gigabit focuses on the final bits that they fail to reach (usually rural areas). The project has already committed most of its budget up to 2030, but there are still some contracts yet to be awarded and others that have been scaled-back or switched suppliers (e.g. here, here, here, here, here and here).

Otherwise, it’s worth remembering that these contracts were all awarded at different times and are thus at very different stages of development (some started several years apart). A few of the listed contracts have already completed their delivery, such as Wessex Internet’s build for North Dorset and GoFibre’s roll-outs for County Durham and North Northumberland. Meanwhile, others, such as Openreach’s new contract for Cheshire (here), were only added in the April 2026 update.

Suffice to say, it’s important to understand the context behind each contract before judging delivery progress, since a face-value assessment will often overlook key realities. Speaking of which, some of the contracted figures may differ from the original announcements, which reflects the usual modifications (i.e. the scope of delivery can increase or decrease, such as due to commercial builds by rival operators going further than expected or builds costing more than expected etc.).

The progress this time has been steady for many contracts, although BDUK did note that they’d removed 310 premises from Wessex Internet’s contract for North Dorset, which will be re-added at a later date. Take note that the ebb and flow of a build can vary a lot from month to month as different phases starts and finish. We also note that this list still doesn’t seem to include two of GoFibre’s contracts in Scotland, which is despite those now delivering coverage.

Project Gigabit – Contracted Premises and Built Premises by Contract (June 2026)

For some extra context, you can check out the previous figures for May 2026 (here)

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The UK Government has confirmed that a total of 140 publicly-funded rural 4G (mobile broadband) mast upgrades have now gone live across the United Kingdom (up from 100 at the end of 2025), which includes new sites in England, Wales and Scotland as part of the industry-led £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) project. But more are set to follow before 2027.

The SRN – originally supported by a commitment of £501m in public funding and £532m of private investment from operators – involves both the reciprocal sharing of existing masts in certain areas and the demand-led building and sharing of new masts in others between the operators.

The SRN has already achieved its first target a year ahead of schedule by ensuring that 96% of the UK’s landmass can now access a 4G mobile network from at least one operator (here), although the coverage range drops to 89-90% when looking look across all operators (here). The project is now focused on tackling the second target to reduce Total Not-Spot (TNS) areas by January 2027.

Most of the early work on this project has involved private investment from the main mobile network operators – O2 (Virgin Media), Vodafone (VodafoneThree) and EE (BT). But over the past few years we’ve also seen government-funded mast upgrades and new site builds taking place in other parts of the country.

Regional Summary (Mobile UK)

Wales

Wales has seen a significant portion of this year’s rollout, with 11 new masts activated to bring the nation’s total to 55 government-funded SRN sites. The upgrades mean that residents and visitors to historically isolated spots — such as Nant Gwynant in Snowdonia, Capel y Ffin, and Manafon — can now access reliable 4G mobile internet regardless of their network provider.

Scotland

In the Highlands, a new TNS site has gone live at Scardroy, situated roughly 45km west of Inverness. The TNS portion of the programme explicitly targets areas that previously had no coverage from any mobile operator.

England

Across northern England, dozens of mast upgrades are being switched on to address historic blackspots. In Yorkshire, 4 new masts (bringing the regional total to 11) have gone live in locations like Halton Gill, Westerdale, and Arncliffe. Meanwhile, in the North East and Cumbria, a further 2 masts have been activated (bringing their total to 16), providing improved digital infrastructure to communities in Sharperton and Longsleddale.

With further work currently underway across multiple sites, the programme continues its rollout to narrow the digital divide between urban and rural parts of the UK.

We understand that there are around 40 new and upgraded masts that still need to be completed before the final deadline.

Current SRN 4G Geographic Coverage Progress (June 2026)

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A Tribunal has ruled that broadband and phone provider BT’s role, obligations and statutory powers make it sufficiently public in character for environmental-information purposes, but network access provider Openreach’s separate corporate status means it does not cross that same legal threshold.

The case reflected an appeal by BT and Openreach, which had been raised after the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) initially determined that both of the operators should fall within Regulation 2(2) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) – effectively designating them as “public authorities” for the purpose of related information requests by members of the public or others.

The ICO’s view was that both should be subject to such EIR related information requests because they carry out services in the public interest, operate under a statutory framework (e.g. Ofcom’s various rules, BT’s broadband USO etc.), hold special legal powers beyond those available to normal private companies and have a big impact on environmental matters. Not to mention that such networks are now considered essential national infrastructure.

In short, the ICO argued that all of this meant the environmental information held by both companies should be accessible to the public in the same way as information held by many public bodies. But as commercial operators this was naturally something that BT and Openreach opposed.

The Tribunal examined all of this in some detail (see the ruling) and appeared concerned that the ICO’s argument might end up meaning that almost any contractor, employee or agent acting for a public authority could themselves become a public authority. But they also recognised that Openreach’s legal separation from BT was a significant difference, thus what may apply to once doesn’t necessarily apply to the other.

Judge Kiai said:

“The Tribunal concludes that BT is a “public authority” for the purposes of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 by virtue of regulation 2(2)(c): BT is entrusted under the applicable national law regime with the performance of services of public interest which have the requisite nontrivial nexus with the environment, and for that purpose is vested with special powers going beyond the normal rules applicable between private persons.

By contrast, Openreach is not a “public authority” under regulation 2(2)(c), because it is not itself vested under national law with the relevant special powers, and the operational fact that it acts as BT’s agent does not satisfy the distinct “vesting” requirement.

Nor is Openreach a public authority under regulation 2(2)(d), because the Commissioner has not shown, on the evidence taken as a whole, that BT is in a position to exert decisive influence such that Openreach does not determine in a genuinely autonomous manner the way it performs the relevant functions. It follows that the appeal is allowed only to the extent that the Decision Notice relating to Openreach must be substituted and is otherwise dismissed.”

The split decision is good news for Openreach, as it will not now have to deal with the complex extra admin and costs that would come from needing to respond to environmental information requests (similar to those imposed on some public bodies). But obviously the situation for BT is exactly the opposite.

A BT Group spokesperson told ISPreview:

“We note the Tribunal’s conclusions on BT and are carefully considering the judgment and our options. The issues engaged raise important points of principle about the scope of the Environmental Information Regulations as applied to commercial companies operating in competitive markets. We welcome the Tribunal’s finding that Openreach is not a public authority for the purposes of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.”

The ruling also opens the possibility that other infrastructure operators with statutory powers, including in different sectors, could in the future potentially be treated as public authorities under environmental information law.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Internet provider Hey! Broadband, which offers services to homes in various areas covered by the F&W Networks (Fibre and Wireless) full fibre infrastructure – mostly across the South East of England, has discounted their 400Mbps (symmetric) package to £23 per month for new customers that sign-up during the 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026.

The package is available on a 24-month minimum term, including a free installation and wireless router. But take note that a £2 mid-contract price rise does apply, thus the monthly price will increase to £25 from April 2027 and then £27 from April 2028.

The same 400Mbps package normally starts at £33 per month.

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Broadband operator Netomnia (Substantial Group, YouFibre), which has deployed their full fibre (FTTP) network to cover over 3 million UK premises RFS (inc. 500,000 customers), have today confirmed that their deployment across the town of Sale in the Trafford district of Greater Manchester has reached 40,000 premises (RFS).

The original deployment in this area first began in early 2022 and the first homes then went live just before Christmas 2022, with the main build actually completing in 2023 – after 14-months of street works. The work was supported by a private investment of around £10m (c.£250 per premises passed) and is now complete.

Sale now sits alongside Didsbury, Cheetham Hill, and Oldham as part of Netomnia’s growing Greater Manchester footprint. Ian Kock, COO at Netomnia, said: “Delivering over 40,000 premises serviceable in Sale reflects how quickly demand for high-capacity connectivity is increasing across communities. Ensuring that homes and businesses have access to infrastructure that can handle that demand is critical, not just for today’s usage, but for how people will work, learn, and operate in the years ahead.”

Netomnia has long held an ambition to extend their FTTP network to reach 5 million UK premises by 2027 (inc. 1 million customers by 2028), although that now seems likely to be a target that will be merged into nexfibre’s future roll-out plans (depending upon the CMA’s competition review). Meanwhile, prices for YouFibre’s broadband packages start at £24 per month for symmetric speeds of 200Mbps on a 12-month fixed-price term and rise to £99.99 for their top 7Gbps tier. All packages include free installation and a Wi-Fi 7 router.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

The post GoFibre expands Scottish fibre rollout appeared first on Total Telecom.

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Alternative rural broadband ISP Wildanet, which is building a new 2Gbps speed full fibre (FTTP) network across rural parts of South West England (Devon and Cornwall), has today announced that they’ve upgraded their service to deliver symmetric speeds (i.e. the same speeds for both downloads and uploads).

Just to be clear. Wildanet appear to be introducing this as a premium service feature, rather than an upgrade at no extra cost like some of their rivals. For example, the provider’s 200Mbps (download) package with a 40Mbps upload speed still costs £27 per month on a 24-month minimum term with free setup and a bundled router, but if you want this at symmetric speeds then it’ll cost £31 per month (an extra +£4).

The arrival of symmetrical speeds at up to 2Gbps represents a further evolution in Wildanet’s network and has been enabled by the company’s use of more modern XGS-PON full fibre technology.

Simon Hughes, Wildanet CCO, said:

“Digital connectivity is now fundamental infrastructure for both communities and the economy. Cornwall and Devon have huge strengths in innovation, creativity and emerging industries but if the county is to realise its full potential it needs digital capability on a par with anywhere else in the UK. Symmetrical connectivity helps support the way people increasingly live and work, whether that’s running a business, collaborating remotely, studying online or managing a busy connected household.

The launch of Cornwall Connected highlights just how important digital infrastructure has become to Cornwall’s future. Reliable, high-capacity connectivity is essential for creating opportunity, attracting investment and supporting the next generation of innovation and growth. We’re proud to be playing our part in helping deliver that future.”

So far the provider claims their full-fibre rollout has already seen more than 50,000 connections enabled across the region, through a combination of private investment and publicly funded initiatives.