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A group of land and property owners, including the British Property Federation (BPF) and National Farmers Union (NFU) among them, have written a new letter that calls on the UK government to suspend earlier reforms that made it easier and cheaper for mobile and broadband operators to deploy their infrastructure on private land.

Before 2017 it was frequently landowners that would extract highly lucrative rental agreements in return for allowing telecoms operators to deploy infrastructure on their land (e.g. mobile masts, trenches for optical fibre etc.). But this often made it too expensive for network operators to expand their coverage, and thus inhibited the roll-out of new services.

The previous government tried to correct this in 2017 by revising the Electronic Communications Code (ECC) to make it easier and cheaper for network operators to access public or private land (here). But that initially swung the problem in the other direction (here and here) and resulted in some providers, particularly mobile operators, trying to force the adoption of dramatically lower rents (sometimes slashing rents worth thousands to just a few tens of pounds).

Since then various tribunal rulings and wider political efforts have been made to find a fairer balance, which has had some modest success (e.g. here and here), although experiences do vary. Meanwhile, the new Government has previously signalled that they intend to make a “renewed push to fulfil the ambition of full gigabit and national 5G coverage by 2030,” which would at the very least require them to retain the current approach.

However, Time Times (paywall) has today reported on how a group of major landowners has written to Lord Livermore, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and demanded that he suspend the 2017 amendments. The letter highlights how the rules have “fractured the relationship” between landowners and mobile operators.

“Landowners are now increasingly unwilling to host infrastructure, and where there is no land available, rollout simply does not happen,” said the letter. “While well-intentioned, [the changes] are now actively discouraging land and property owners from hosting mobile infrastructure, slowing the pace of deployment and undermining Britain’s growth prospects“.

A Spokesman for the Government (DSIT) said:

“Our priority is to continue delivering high quality 5G networks across the UK, which is critical to boosting growth and improving public services for the British people.

We want to ensure the measures to deliver the infrastructure the country needs to grow work for both landowners, operators and communities, which is why they are currently subject to a technical consultation, which we invite the public to respond to.”

We suspect it’s no coincidence that this letter has been drafted at around the same time as the Mobile Infrastructure Forum (MIF), which represents the main providers of mobile infrastructure for EE, O2, Vodafone and Three UK (i.e. Cellnex UK, Cornerstone, MBNL and WIG), recently began calling on the government (here) to resolve the issue of 6,200 UK sites (masts etc.) that are “stuck in legislative limbo” and preventing 5G upgrades.

The 6,200 sites in question – representing 16% of the UK’s total – remain under a legacy legal framework governed by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) and equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland. But mobile firms complain that this makes it difficult to deploy the latest 4G and 5G (mobile broadband) upgrades.

The LTA 1954 can potentially create challenges because it provides security of tenure to tenants, including those holding access agreements for telecoms equipment. In short, landlords may be reluctant to grant access or agree to upgrades without legal intervention (even if the landlord wants to do it, the process can be tricky), potentially delaying or obstructing the rollout of new mobile technologies. Not to mention the added costs involved.

Once again the government and Ofcom, which is responsible for implementing the ECC, face a difficult balancing act as they attempt to implement long-awaited changes to help make broadband and mobile infrastructure sharing, as well as network upgrades and related dispute resolution, easier to deliver (see our summary). But achieving that without further undermining or reducing the rights of existing or potential site providers (land/property owners etc.) could be difficult.

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Some of ISPreview’s readers have informed us that mobile operator EE (BT) appears to have pushed out a new carrier update, which enables the “Voice Over 5G Standalone” network feature on Smartphones that can support it (currently we’ve only seen reports of this from Apple iPhone users).

Just to recap. Most 5G mobile networks today are still largely based on Non-Standalone (NSA) technology, which means they are partly reliant upon older and slower 4G infrastructure. But SA networks are pure end-to-end 5G platforms that can deliver ultra-low latency times, greater energy efficiency, better mobile broadband speeds (particularly uploads), network slicing, improved support for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, support for Voice over New Radio (VoNR or Vo5G) and increased reliability and security etc.

Speaking of which, EE’s 5G Standalone (mobile broadband) network has so far been rolled out across 50 major towns and cities, covering over 40% of the United Kingdom’s population. EE has previously also promised that the new network would introduce “higher quality voice calls even in congested areas“, although until now we haven’t seen any reports of Voice Over 5G Standalone (VoNR) actually being enabled.

The VoNR/Vo5G technology essentially delivers the same as Voice over LTE (VoLTE) does for existing 4G networks, which means that it enables voice calls to be made directly over a 5G network (as opposed to falling back to 4G or 2G for the voice component). Over the weekend, several of our readers (credit to Harvey for being the first) noted that their iPhone’s had received a carrier update (64.1) and could now toggle VoNR on or off (seems to be enabled by default).

The customers who have seen this update report that, when in a 5GSA area, their phones now stay on 5G SA instead of going back to the NSA platform. But at present it’s not clear how widely this update has been deployed or whether Android users have also received it (hopefully we’ll get some feedback on that today). Naturally, we queried this change directly with EE, but the operator declined to give a comment.

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Infracapital-backed alternative network operator Fibrus, which has been rolling out their full fibre (FTTP) broadband network across Northern Ireland and Cumbria (England), has today published their latest annual results and revealed that they finally achieved EBITDA breakeven in March 2025 and are now home to 113,500 customers (up from 100k in Nov 2024).

The ability to achieve a positive EBITDA (i.e. earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) can indicate that a company’s core operations are starting to become profitable (banks use this to help assess whether a company is able to pay off its debts). But EBITDA doesn’t fully consider everything (e.g. non-core financial expense), and there’s still a long road ahead.

Fibrus has so far extended their fibre optic lines to cover 410,000 premises (2nd May 2025) and today’s results, which run to the end of March 2025, reveal that their customer numbers grew by 45%, with 113,500 customers now connected to the network. At the same time, customer penetration — the percentage of premises passed that are now connected — grew from 23% to 28%, with the business on track to reach 30% in the coming months.

Breaking news.. more to follow..

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Network operator Openreach (BT) has finally started to deploy their new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based gigabit broadband ISP network across the Cathedral City of Oxford (Oxfordshire) in England, which mostly reflects the central area covered by their main exchange.

The city of Oxford is a bit of an unusual one because, until fairly recently, the only real option for gigabit-capable broadband came via Virgin Media’s (inc. nexfibre) network. Openreach had deployed a bit of FTTP too, albeit largely only around the outskirts and far north of the city. Netomnia then arrived in 2022 and has since covered most of the southern half of the city (expansion is ongoing).

Suffice to say that, until now, Openreach has only invested a bit over £26m to cover a total of around 90,000 premises across the whole of Oxfordshire, with the city of Oxford itself seeing relatively little love from the operator. But all that appears set to change as they’ve finally begun to build across the central area of the city.

Kasam Hussain, Openreach’s Partnership Director for Oxfordshire, said:

“We’re bringing full fibre broadband to Oxford and letting local people know what to expect. This is a major infrastructure upgrade, so there will be more engineering teams, equipment, and vans around town, and we’re working hard to keep disruption to a minimum.

Wherever possible, we’ll use our existing network of ducts and poles to avoid roadworks, new street furniture, and disturbance. But there may be places where we need to install new poles, underground ducts, and fibre cables because it’s the only way to make sure households get included in the upgrade.”

The operator hasn’t said how long this roll-out will take to reach completion or how many premises will benefit, although it does form part of their existing build plan and that is currently due to reach completion at the end of next year.

Last year Openreach reported that around 50% of all homes and businesses which have access to their new network in Oxfordshire had taken a service from a supporting ISP (e.g. BT, EE, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Vodafone, Zen Internet, iDNET, AAISP, Freeola and many), which is well above their current average UK FTTP take-up figure of 36%. But it may be harder to translate that to Oxford itself, given the prior existence of two rival networks.

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Network access provider Openreach (BT) has reportedly warned the heavily indebted UK broadband ISP TalkTalk that they could block them from putting new customers on to their network. The threat allegedly arose after the ISP missed several monthly payment deadlines to the network operator, its biggest supplier, due to cash flow issues.

Just to recap. The internet provider has had a rough few years and in September 2024 secured a crucial refinancing package worth c. £400m (here and here), which saved it from the immediate risk of a default on its debts (extended debt maturities to September 2027). But it’s still in a difficult position and recently suffered another round of redundancies (here), as well as the continued shrinking of its customer base from 3.6 to 3.2 million customers over the past year (here).

In addition, over the past couple of weeks, there have also been several newspaper reports about TalkTalk allegedly suffering from disputes over fees and bills with several of its suppliers, such as Sky (here) and Openreach (here). The companies involved have, thus far, declined to comment.

According to a new report in the FT (paywall), Openreach now appears as if it could be holding the Sword of Damocles over TalkTalk’s head following those late payments. The late payments are said to have varied in size and amounted to a “small percentage” of the total amount due, estimated at about £60m per month.

As per the previous reports, these payments have now been settled, although the BT Group is clearly keen to avoid a repeat of this. The newspaper claims that Openreach has now “threatened to block TalkTalk from putting new customers on its broadband network,” which we assume would only be enacted if the same problem with late payments were to continue with future payments.

The vast majority of TalkTalk’s customers come from Openreach’s national broadband and phone network, which helps to underline the significance of the network operator’s position on this.

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The fourth annual UK Fibre Awards event was held yesterday in London, which saw a number of broadband ISPs and full fibre network builders across several categories pick up awards for their achievements. Some of this year’s winners included Gigaclear for ‘Best Rural Fibre Provider’ and MS3 for ‘Best Overall Fibre Provider’ (they scooped several wins).

The event, which appears to be quite similar to many existing industry award ceremonies (e.g. the annual ISPA and Connected Britain awards), is currently being backed by telecoms / ICT centric media and event organisation firm BPL Business Media.

The winners for each category were chosen by a judging panel of seven industry and IT experts (here), including various senior managers, analysts and so forth. But as with previous years, there’s not much to reflect the consumer perspective in this group, and no technical testing was performed.

Winners of the UK Fibre Awards 2025

Best Rural Fibre Provider

Gigaclear

Best Urban Fibre Provider

MS3

Best Wholesale Fibre Provider

MS3

Best ISP Partnership Award

MS3

Rollout Challenge Buster Award

4 Fibre Limited

Take-Up Champion Award

Lightning Fibre

Fibre Sector Innovation (Deployment) Award

Deepomatic

Fibre Sector Innovation (Support Service) Award

Totalmobile Ltd

Best Vendor/Supplier Award

4 Fibre Limited

Best Business Services to the Fibre Community

NETS International Group

M&A/ Investment Award

Netomnia

Best Sustainability Programme

BT Wholesale

Digital Inclusivity Award

KCOM

Community Champion Award

KCOM

Best Company to Work for

Vorboss

Best Training Development & Recruitment Programme

The Institute of Telecommunications Professionals (ITP)

Marketing Team of the Year Award

KCOM

Sales/Commercial Team of the Year Award

Lightning Fibre

Service Delivery Team of the Year

NETS International Group

Executive Leadership Team of the Year Award

4th Utility

Overall Fibre Provider of the Year

MS3

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The Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA), which represents many of the UK’s alternative broadband operators, has today proposed several priority recommendations to help address – as part of a Lords Select Committee inquiry – the gaps in critical broadband infrastructure that could be holding back home-based working.

Just to recap. The Home-based Working Committee (Lords Select Committee) launched a call for evidence to support its inquiry into remote and hybrid working in the UK earlier this year (here). The inquiry said it would look to “address the challenges and opportunities of remote and hybrid working for workers and employers, the impact of remote and hybrid working on productivity, and any wider consequences of remote and hybrid working for the UK economy and society.”

INCA states that its submission to the inquiry, along with that of techUK, was the only written evidence to focus squarely on the role of digital connectivity in enabling flexible working. It highlighted both urban and rural challenges that it says “continue to restrict equal access to remote employment opportunities“.

In particular, INCA put forward several priority recommendations to the Inquiry, including those below that seem to focus more on driving take-up than expanding infrastructure coverage.

INCA’s Remote Working Recommendations

• Addressing connectivity gaps in urban ‘not-spots’ and multi-dwelling units (MDUs).
• Complementing gigabit coverage goals with a national campaign to drive adoption and digital literacy.
• Aligning home-based working goals with the Government’s own Digital Inclusion Action Plan to support marginalised demographics.

Paddy Paddison, CEO of INCA, said:

“Working from home is not a luxury, it is increasingly an economic necessity for individuals, families and businesses across the UK. But unless people have access to fast, reliable full-fibre broadband, the right to request flexible working is effectively meaningless. The Government must now act on the Committee’s findings to address the digital divide once and for all.

There’s a risk we focus too much on infrastructure rollout and not enough on adoption. We need joined-up thinking that connects investment in gigabit networks with efforts to increase take-up and confidence among users.

INCA stands ready to support government and industry in delivering a future where digital connectivity underpins fair access to employment for all.”

The government would no doubt argue that it’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband roll-out, as well as the £1bn industry-led Shared Rural Network (SRN) project, are both helping to support the industry in expanding digital connectivity much deeper into the country. But both are more focused upon tackling poorly served rural areas than urban ones.

However, the government’s direction on tackling issues of MDU access remains unclear (here), and at the same time it’s still too early to assess the impact of their recent decision to open up gigabit broadband vouchers for urban areas (here). The latter is not as consumer friendly or accessible as it once was, which doesn’t help.

The idea of aligning home-based working goals with the Government’s own Digital Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), which is currently attempting to address the lack of digital inclusion in some areas via a series of “urgent actions” that it hopes will “begin fixing digital exclusion“, is a fair suggestion. But it does have caveats.

The DIAP includes funding for local initiatives targeted to the most digitally-excluded groups (e.g. the elderly and low-income households), while also partnering with inclusion charity Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) to provide laptops to people who are digitally excluded. But this also includes people who simply refuse to go online, which is a sizeable portion of those who don’t have the internet at home. Suffice to say that the impact of aligning remote working goals with the DIAP will probably be quite limited.

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Multi-utility operator Clear Business, which provides UK SMEs with access to lots of different services (broadband, mobile, energy, payment, water etc.), has today announced that they’ve “strengthened” their strategic partnership with business ISP Gamma Communications.

The deal, which aims to make essential services “simpler, faster, and more effective” for small businesses across the UK, will see Gamma provide a fully managed service for connectivity and voice, delivered under the Clear Business brand.

The announcement indicates that both companies will also be “aligning both operationally and culturally” in order to create a smarter model for service delivery – one that removes complexity for business owners and adds value. Small businesses will also gain “seamless access to enterprise-grade communications“, backed by local support and established expertise.

John Murphy, CEO of Gamma Business, said:

“This partnership is rooted in a shared belief: small businesses deserve enterprise-quality service that’s simple to buy, easy to use, and backed by trusted expertise. We’re proud to be working with Clear Business to deliver exactly that. Together, we’re helping our channel partners stand out with services that are both powerful and refreshingly easy to manage.”

Jon Perkins, Chief Product & Strategy Officer of Clear Business, said:

“Simplicity is essential for small business owners. This partnership is about making their lives easier—with better service and more time to focus on running their business. As a one-stop shop for essential services, we’re committed to removing complexity and delivering real value. Gamma brings the technical expertise and service heritage that gives us—and our customers—total confidence. With Gamma powering our connectivity and voice services, we’re elevating the service experience and setting ourselves apart in a crowded market.”

Clear Business currently supports over 100,000 SMEs with their one-stop shop for essential needs and today’s deal is said to mean that they can now expect “greater speed, resilience, and responsiveness“. The partnership also supports Clear Business in navigating the UK’s shift from legacy to digital infrastructure / phone services (i.e. the WLR/PSTN switch-off), which is an area that Gamma has a lot of experience in.

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The mobile operator division of supermarket chain ASDA, which is powered by a virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement with Vodafone, has just launched a refreshed SIM-Only range with a reduced number of products, featuring reduced pricing across some of their key plans.

The changes are too subtle and numerous to list in full, but a bunch of older plans have been removed, while others have had their prices cut. For example, ASDA Mobile’s Pay Monthly unlimited data plan on a 24-month term now costs £19 per month instead of £23 and their 60GB data (mobile broadband) plan has similarly been cut from £17 to £15. Shorter 12-month terms are also available, albeit at extra cost.

Almost all of ASDA’s mobile plans include unlimited minutes and calls, no commitments or credit checks, inclusive roaming in 46 European destinations and 5G support. But one catch is that they’re no longer offering any Pay Monthly plans with a short 30-day contract term, although the closest thing to that is still their PAYG plans.

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Fixed wireless access UK ISP Symmetris Broadband, which together with their partners have already deployed a number of networks across rural parts of Norfolk and Suffolk in England (including some FTTP via the Gigabit Village off-shoot), appears to have recently been merged into sister operator WiSpire (both are associated to InTouch Systems).

The change, which seems to have occurred around early April 2025, means that the Symmetris company “has now ceased trading and all contracts, accounts and services have been migrated over to our sister company WiSpire Ltd.” Customers apparently suffered “no interruption in services and everything … [continued] as normal.”

WiSpire typically focuses on the same geographic area and originally made a name for itself by deploying wireless broadband networks from the top of church spires (hence the name). The company, which also runs ITSWisp and ITSFibre, was originally acquired by InTouch Systems back in 2018 (here).

The brief announcement doesn’t offer any further details, but we assume this is an attempt by the parent company to simplify their focus and remove duplication. At this stage it’s unclear how far Symmetris got with their full fibre project, although it did cover a number of small communities in Norfolk (e.g. the neighbouring villages of Pedham and Hemblington). But we haven’t had any new announcements from them since 2020.