Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Alternative rural broadband ISP Quickline, which is building a gigabit speed full fibre (FTTP) and fixed wireless (FWA) broadband network across rural parts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (England), has today announced that they’ve moved their Customer Technical Support Team in-house. Previously, it was outsourced to a company based in South Africa.

The provider is currently being backed by a private investment of £500m from Northleaf Capital Partners and aims to cover 200,000 premises with FTTP by the end of 2025 (up from 65,000 premises in Nov 2023). But its technical support was, until recently, being provided through an outsourcing arrangement via a company in South Africa.

The good news is that the ISP has now formed a 15-strong team of first-line support agents, which will be based at their HQ in East Yorkshire. The move means customers now speak directly to local experts who understand rural life in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and the importance of staying connected.

The new in-house team will sit alongside Quickline’s existing Customer Service and Sales teams, under a new structure led by Michelle Simpson (pictured). She has been appointed as Director of Sales and Service Operations, a brand-new role that brings all core customer-facing teams together. Michelle has been the provider’s Head of Sales for the past 3 years.

Quickline CEO, Sean Royce, said:

“This is a big moment for Quickline and for our customers. Having a locally based technical support team means when our customers need help, they’re talking to someone who understands their community, not just the technology. We’re proud to be employing more people here in Yorkshire, right in the heart of where we deliver our broadband services. It’s all part of our promise to offer a uniquely northern, truly local service that goes beyond just connectivity.”

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Internet provider Youfibre, which uses Netomnia’s (Brsk) fast-growing national full fibre (FTTP) broadband network, this week launched a new ‘My Account’ service / portal for customers. But this ended up becoming a victim of its own success after the ISP notified that “unprecedented demand” was preventing some customers from being able to log-in.

The new service, launched today, gives customers the ability to view future bills, update payment details, check their service status, refer friends (and earn cash rewards), see usage, provide access to various support articles and more. Future changes are similarly being planned that will give customers the ability to add new services and upgrade, as well as other things.

All in all, the new service is a most welcome change, although it’s apparently been so popular that some customers are struggling to gain access. “We are seeing very high demand for our new My Account service this morning and have had some reports of issues with log in. Please try again later today. Please ensure you use the email address related to your YouFibre account when you log in. We will post another update later today,” said the provider via social media (X).

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

EXA Infrastructure, Europe’s largest dedicated digital infrastructure platform, connecting North America and Asia via the Middle East, has announced key leadership appointments to support its strategic growth ambitions. Robert McCabe has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer, with Kate Hennessy and Ts Narayanan joining earlier this year as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Technology and Information Officer respectively.

These leadership changes reflect EXA Infrastructure’s focus on growth, performance, and strengthening its position with highly respected industry leaders.

Robert brings a wealth of expertise, having spent over 27 years in the telecom industry in various roles – most recently at Colt Technology Services – where he led business transformation through agile, high-bandwidth solutions. His appointment will be central to EXA Infrastructure’s strategy of scaling its global network footprint and delivering best-in-class solutions for enterprise and hyperscale customers.

Kate has more than 25 years of experience in telecommunications and digital infrastructure companies. Prior to EXA Infrastructure, she was CFO at Verne Global, a sustainably powered data centre provider in the Nordics, where she established the finance function, drove significant business growth and secured debt financing to support expansion. Before that, Kate spent 15 years at Liquid Intelligent Technologies, where she held several leadership roles including Group CFO and Chief of M&A.

With a career spanning 38 years in executive roles across the Telco Service Provider and System Integrator sectors in the UK, Nordics, and India – including the past 8 years as CIO at Colt and GCX – TS Narayanan’s expertise will be pivotal in leading systems and technology transformation initiatives that enhance the customer experience.

“As EXA Infrastructure continues to evolve as the digital infrastructure partner of choice, the addition of Robert, Kate and TS to our leadership team signals our intent to lead the industry through this next phase of growth,” said Jim Fagan, CEO of EXA Infrastructure. “Their proven leadership and industry expertise will be instrumental in shaping our future.”

These appointments follow EXA Infrastructure’s recent acquisition of Aqua Comms and further demonstrate its commitment to delivering resilient, future-ready network infrastructure.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

What happens when passionate fans can access state-of-the-art mobile connectivity at a large venue?

The answer is revolutionising! Fans get a leading entertaining experience, from quickly accessing the arena and ordering food and drinks from their phones, to uploading HD videos four times faster, easily finding friends at the event, and getting home smoothly and safely.  

Thanks to the partnership between Legends ASM and Boldyn Networks  the first direct bank arena in Leeds is being equipped with advanced 5G infrastructure that all mobile network operators can access and enable their subscribers to enjoy the benefits.  An opportunity that hasn’t been missed by O2 – the first network to sign up their customers to the power of “wow” at the music arena.

Martin McInulty, General Manager at first direct bank arena said: “Boldyn’s state-of-the-art network is transforming the way visitors experience events at our arenas. In the UK, fans in Leeds are the first to benefit by having the ability to capture ‘wow’ moments in ultra-HD and sharing them with friends and family in real-time. We look forward to more operators coming on board and unlocking these amazing experiences for their customers when visiting our venues. The new seamless, robust 5G connectivity also enables best-in-class venue management. We’re excited with how connectivity can optimise everyone’s journey at our venues and will continue leveraging Boldyn’s infrastructure to unlock the power of the ’future wow’.”

Paul Osborne, Chief Commercial Officer, UK and Ireland at Boldyn Networks, said:  “We are incredibly proud to provide high-speed 5G mobile connectivity to Legends ASM’s passionate fans. We want to enhance the experience for everyone, from visitors to staff, by providing a platform for a range of new digital services. Our deployments also demonstrate the power of shared infrastructure, capable of delivering 5G services to customers of all mobile network providers. We are delighted to support O2 as they lead the way in transforming customer experiences through the power of 5G.”

Dr Robert Joyce, Director of Mobile Access Engineering, at O2 said: “Given our long-history of giving our customers access to the best live entertainment, it’s only natural that they will be the first to benefit from our next-generation 5G network at venues across the country. We are committed to improving the connected experience for our customers no matter where they are, including in busy locations such as stations, stadiums and arenas. From finding friends to sharing special moments on social media, everybody knows that connectivity is vital when you’re at a gig so we’re ensuring more concertgoers than ever can experience seamless connectivity on O2.”

As the partner of choice to deliver connectivity in hundreds of Legend ASM venues worldwide, Boldyn is deploying an innovative neutral host 5G DAS solution at the first direct bank arena. Boldyn’s deployments enable critical ubiquitous connectivity, ensuring a fast and reliable experience for entertainment fans, vendors, and operational staff.

With 87% of event goers posting to social media at an event and 77% accessing their tickets digitally, the high speed, uninterrupted service marks a major development in the experience available at live entertainment venues in the UK.

So, the next time fans attend a concert their live experience will be different and more engaging than before. A state-of-the-art 5G network and their mobile operator will be there for them.

To read Boldyn Networks’ latest report visit: Sports, Gaming and Rock & Roll: Connectivity and the fan experience .

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Link to Word Doc: www.wallstcom.com/Riedel/250603-Riedel-Royal_Albert_Hall.docx

Photo Link 1: www.wallstcom.com/Riedel/Riedel-RAH_Exterior.jpg
Photo Link 2: www.wallstcom.com/Riedel/Riedel-RAH_Interior.jpg
Photo Link 3: www.wallstcom.com/Riedel/Riedel-RAH_Bolero.jpg
Photo Caption: Royal Albert Hall installs a new Riedel Bolero wireless intercom system as part of continued expansion and upgrade of its in-house audio equipment and services.

Photo Link: www.wallstcom.com/Riedel/Riedel-RAH_Team.jpg
Photo Caption: Left to Right: Ben Evans, former Audio Operations Manager, Royal Albert Hall; Nacho Lee, Programme Manager Global Events, Riedel; Liam Croft, Audio Project Manager, Royal Albert Hall.

WUPPERTAL, Germany — June 3, 2025 — Riedel Communications today announced that the Royal Albert Hall has installed a new Bolero wireless intercom system as part of its continued expansion and upgrade of in-house audio equipment and services. Bolero is a scalable, flexible, and industry-standard communication solution for Royal Albert Hall clients, the visiting productions that use the intercom system for behind-the-scenes communications during live shows.

“After renting communications systems from a different manufacturer, we chose Bolero for our permanent in-house wireless intercom,” said Ben Evans, Audio Operations Manager at the Royal Albert Hall. “It’s a user-friendly system that gives our clients clear, reliable audio, and it integrates seamlessly with the gear most of them use. The fact that there’s no complex license management was also a significant factor in our decision, and the system’s network-based flexibility was a key advantage over competitors’ point-to-point solutions.”

A 153-year-old London venue, the Royal Albert Hall is a highly flexible space with various stage configurations and performance locations. It hosts diverse events, such as rock/pop concerts, orchestral performances, spoken word performances, sports, ballets, ballroom dancing, book launches, and poetry. Events rotate in and out quickly, so the venue requires a reliable, scalable communication system that can accommodate the high turnover.

The Royal Albert Hall’s in-house technical services — lighting, rigging, audio, communications — are a selling point for production companies and attract high-profile productions. In 2018, the venue formed an in-house audio team to improve the audience experience. The venue partnered with manufacturer d&b audiotechnik for a permanent PA system, with additional investments in sound desks, microphones, and monitors. Then came the communications system.

“We have a reputation as a trusted technical partner in the events industry,” Evans continued. “Working with Riedel — and having the Bolero comms system onboard — bolsters that reputation and helps us to generate revenue.”

Bolero provides more channels, better infrastructure, and better range, compatibility, and connectivity than the hall’s previous system. It also offers efficient configuration for a range of different events. Interoperability with other equipment means that it is ready to go if issues arise. For example, when a visiting production’s own wireless communications system failed midshow, the crew maintained continuity by switching to the Bolero system employed by the Royal Albert Hall.

The Bolero sees daily use as a production communications and talkback system. Communication extends beyond traditional stage teams and show callers. A “shout system” allows front-of-house and monitor engineers to communicate. Separate communication rings simplify interaction for lighting/show callers, audio teams, and production. The venue can increase the size of the system for complex productions by adding extra rings.

Likewise, when a large-scale event requires more than the 10 wireless packs already in permanent inventory, the venue can easily scale up by renting additional packs or antennas. For example, the 2024 Olivier Awards needed 30 packs, plus additional Riedel Artist mainframes and panels. In that scenario, the in-house system interfaced with a large Artist setup serving 30-plus users across various site locations.

“The Royal Albert Hall’s technical services are a key part of its brand, and we’re grateful to play a role in the venue’s technical excellence and reliability,” said Nacho Lee, Programme Manager Global Events at Riedel Communications. “The traveling productions that visit the hall can trust Bolero to work with whatever equipment they bring in, and its reliability allows teams to focus on events without worrying about communication failures.”

More information on Riedel Communications products is available at www.riedel.net.

# # #

About Riedel Communications
Riedel Communications is a leading provider of live production tools in the worlds of media, sports, and entertainment. The company’s hard- and software solutions span from distributed video and audio networks over intercom and replay solutions to WAN and MPLS applications. Thanks to Riedel’s holistic approach, its three business units — Product Division, Managed Technology Division, and Networks Division — can leverage powerful synergies to provide flexible infrastructures, tools, and services for both fixed and temporary installations around the globe, enabling Riedel customers to run even the most complex projects on-site, remotely, or in the cloud. Riedel is headquartered in Wuppertal, Germany, and employs over 1,000 people in 30 locations throughout Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Americas.

All trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

Consumers and small businesses will be able send text messages via satellite

Australian telco Telstra has announced the launch of its direct-to-device (D2D) satellite text messaging service through its partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink.

Customers on selected plans and with compatible devices (currently limited to the Samsung Galaxy S25) will be able to use Starlink’s satellite network to send and receive text messages wherever they can see the sky.

Starlink’s low Earth orbit satellite constellation currently covers all of Australia except for the Australian Radio Quiet Zone in Western Australia and remote offshore territories and islands.

For customers with compatible plans and devices, all that is required to access the new satellite service is a simple software update, with Telstra suggesting that all eligible customers will be enrolled in the coming weeks.

Enrolled customers will automatically be connected to the satellite network whenever traditional terrestrial mobile coverage is unavailable.

Telstra first began working with SpaceX to make use of its Starlink constellation for enterprise customers back in 2023. The partnership was expanded to include D2D messaging with Starlink at the start of this year, with extensive testing of the messaging service running over previous months.

For now, Starlink’s D2D service is limited to the text messaging and even that, Telstra warns will be somewhat intermittent in delivery; customers are being warned they may face delays in sending and receiving messages based on factors such as their location and the proximity of the nearest orbital satellite.

“This means customers are likely to find that some messages are sent or received almost instantly, while others may take many minutes or longer,” said Telstra’s Tom Beach on the company website.

In future, Starlink’s D2D services will be expanded to include voice and data services. The number of compatible devices will also increase.

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Also in the news:
SWR deploys Europe’s first ’Rail-5G’ Wi-Fi  
BT accelerates fibre rollout amid cost cuts
AT&T agrees $5.75 billion deal for Lumen’s consumer fibre assets

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

In a somewhat surprising development for an ISP that has spent the past few years campaigning against mid-contract price hikes. City-focused UK ISP Hyperoptic has this week refreshed the pricing of their broadband packages to adopt the same structure of annual price rises as many of the largest internet providers.

The operator, which at the start of this year suffered another round of redundancies and spoke about having their “target of 2m homes passed well within our sights” (here), officially claims to have so far deployed their alternative full fibre (FTTP/B) network to reach “more than” 1.73 million homes in parts of 64 towns and cities.

Regular readers will note that Hyperoptic has also spent much of the past 2-3 years actively campaigning to stop the practice of mid-contract price rises by rival broadband providers, which often increases consumer prices well above the current level of inflation.

Just to quote the provider’s previous Policy Director, James Fredrickson, from 2023 (here): “Millions of households across the UK are unknowingly locked into deals with inflation busting mid-contract price rises – and unable to leave that provider without paying hefty termination fees … At Hyperoptic we don’t do mid-contract price rises. We believe the price you see advertised should be the price you pay for the length of your contract.”

Similarly, Hyperoptic’s CEO, Dana Tobak, last year reiterated (here) how they’d “campaigned against unpredictable mid-contract price hikes for over two years” and expressed pride “on being in the corner of customers, offering hyper fair and transparent contracts with no mid-contract price hikes“.

So, when several readers this week informed ISPreview that the ISP had done a U-turn on this policy and introduced the same sort of mid-contract price rises as larger rivals, we were perhaps a touch surprised.

Lutfu Kitapci, CCO and MD of ISP at Hyperoptic, told ISPreview:

“For years, broadband consumers have had to deal with unknown price increases in the middle of their contract and we are proud to have campaigned and supported the ban of this unfair practice. Price changes however are not uncommon, for example after introductory pricing, discounted months and other offers. To remain competitive in the current environment, we will be introducing an annual increase of £3 from April 2026, for customer joining from 3rd June 2025.

Existing customers will not be affected by the annual increase, unless they switch to a new minimum term. Customers on the Fair Fibre plan will also not be affected by this change. We are confident that this move will help customers to make a fair comparison when choosing their next broadband provider.”

The change means that, for example, customers taking their top 1Gbps tier on a 24-month term will now pay £35 per month (plus a £19 one-off activation fee), albeit rising to £38 from April 2026 and then £41 from April 2027. In fairness, Hyperoptic has clearly signposted the change and the pricing remains attractive, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is still a bit of an embarrassing change, given their history on the subject.

Naturally there are still plenty of other ISPs out there to choose from and many of those still inhabit the same moral high ground as Hyperoptic once occupied. But sadly, Hyperoptic are the only ISP choice on their own specific network.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Edinburgh-based UK ISP GoFibre has revealed that their roll-out of a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network in the County Durham market town of Barnard Castle, which forms part of their £6.6m state-aid supported Project Gigabit contract to cover 4,000 hard-to-reach premises in rural Teesdale (here), has now connected over 500 customers.

The local network expansion, supported by the UK Government’s LOT 4.01 contract, aims to provide high-speed internet to hard-to-reach areas in Teesdale, including Barnard Castle, Middleton-in-Teesdale, and surrounding villages. Overall the operator has, so far, managed to expand their full fibre network to cover over 120,000 premises (RFS) across over 30 “local areas” in Scotland and the North of England.

The local build currently covers Barnard Castle, Middleton-in-Teesdale and West Auckland, and includes towns and villages such as Cotherstone, Ovington, Gainford, Eggleston, Romaldkirk, Mickleton, Stainton, Barnard Castle and Witton-le-Wear. There are currently over 6,600 premises now ready for connection in the Durham-Teesdale area alone.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

A group of US Senators say that the Board is a key piece of the government’s cybersecurity strategy

A group of U.S. Senate Democrats has penned an open letter to Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, imploring her to reinstate the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) as a matter of urgency.

Created by the Biden administration in 2022, the CSRB was designed to review and assess major cybersecurity incidents and provide recommendations to the Department of Homeland Security. The advisory body comprised 20 permanent members from both the public and private sector, including the likes of National Cyber Director Chris Inglis and Google security engineering VP Heather Adkins.

Since then, the Board has investigated numerous high-profile cyberattacks, including the Microsoft Exchange Online breach in 2023, which saw hackers gain access to the mailboxes of 22 organisations and more than 500 individuals, including key US officials like the Commerce Secretary and the US ambassador to China.

More recently, the CSRB was involved in examining the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks of late last year, a series of cybersecurity breaches liked to the Chinese government that have been described as the ‘worst in the nation’s history’.

At the start of this year, however, the CSRB’s work was to come to an abrupt halt. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump dissolved the CSRB and all other advisory boards, calling them a misallocation of government resources.

Acting Secretary Benjamine C. Huffman explained the decision at the time as being “in alignment with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security.”

The move was met with immediate criticism, with both analysts and government figures saying the move would delay investigations into Salt Typhoon and threaten national security.

“It is a national security imperative that the investigation be completed expeditiously,” said Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security panel, at a committee hearing the following week. “I’m troubled that the president’s attempt to stack the CSRB with loyalists may cause its important work on the Salt Typhoon campaign to be delayed. The American people deserve better.”

Today, in their open letter, the four US Senators are expressing similar concerns.

“As we have noted, the CSRB had been actively investigating potentially the most expansive and impactful cyber security breach in U.S. history: the unprecedented compromises of U.S. and global telecommunications infrastructure by threat actors associated with the People’s Republic of China, widely referred to as ‘Salt Typhoon’. However, the CSRB’s investigation into the Salt Typhoon compromises of U.S. telecommunication firms, launched in 2024, was effectively terminated on January 20, 2025 and is depriving the public of a fuller accounting of the origin, scope, scale, and severity of these compromises,” said the senators in the letter. “It is essential that the U.S. develop a complete and thorough understanding of the factors that contributed to the success of these intrusions – including clear root-cause analyses of each successful penetration – and present key recommendations for the telecommunications sector to better protect itself against similarly complex and large-scale compromises by future threat actors.”

Shortly following the CSRB’s disbandment, DHS Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar noted that the bureau would be revived “at the right time”, but no further communication on the matter has yet been provided.

“You have had more than four months to reestablish this Board to conduct this critical work – DHS leadership and CISA must work together to immediately reinstate the Board as a crucial part of America’s cyber defense infrastructure,” concluded the Senators’ letter.

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Also in the news:
SWR deploys Europe’s first ’Rail-5G’ Wi-Fi  
BT accelerates fibre rollout amid cost cuts
AT&T agrees $5.75 billion deal for Lumen’s consumer fibre assets