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Independent wholesale, broadband and data centre connectivity provider VeloxServ has today announced that their UK ISP partners will benefit from their new “collaboration” with London-focused provider Vorboss, which operates a 100Gbps capable full fibre network in the city.

Just to recap. Vorboss has so far completed the deployment of a 700km+ dedicated point-to-point fibre optic network across Central London (covering most of zones 1 and 2), which we’re told is enough to potentially connect all commercial buildings in the area to their direct internet access and Ethernet network (this is up from the 500km they reported last year, suggesting the network has expanded).

Under the new deal, VeloxServ’s partners will gain access to the new network and full fibre speeds that go from 10Gbps to 100Gbps. “The demand for cost-effective and high-performance connectivity for businesses in London is growing rapidly in a fast moving and data-driven economy, which is why we’re delighted to be able to work with Vorboss to offer our ISP partners an even greater choice of competitive full-fibre products to serve the needs of their customers,” said Craig Messer, MD of VeloxServ.

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Press Release

Almost 12,500 more homes and businesses in Cumbria can now benefit from Full Fibre broadband 

A Cumbrian farmer who describes receiving Full Fibre broadband as “transformational” is among the homes and businesses now able to connect to lightning-fast speeds through Project Gigabit.

Project Gigabit is the government-funded programme to enable hard-to-reach communities to access fast, reliable gigabit-capable broadband. Fibrus is rolling out next generation broadband services to homes and businesses that might have otherwise missed out on gigabit upgrades across Cumbria, part of a £108 million connectivity boost.  In November 2022, Fibrus was awarded the contract, which initially covered 32,000 homes and businesses in Cumbria.

Today the company is proud to announce that it has achieved a major milestone in its Project Gigabit contract, successfully delivering reliable connectivity to almost 12,500 homes and businesses in Cumbria – on time and within budget.

This milestone comes after the announcement that Fibrus’ UK Government contract has been extended, allowing the company to deliver Full Fibre broadband to an additional 21,000 previously underserved premises in Cumbria. Once completed, alongside other commercial expansion plans, 99% of homes and businesses in Cumbria will have access to next-generation broadband.

Among those benefiting from wider access to lightning-fast Full Fibre broadband is Cumbrian dairy farmer Andrew Williamson from High Hesket who says his connection has been a game changer.

“It has made a huge difference,” said Andrew, who farms 240 pedigree Holsteins at Inglewood House at Calthwaite near Penrith.

“The farm is right on the end of the line and continually had problems with phone lines and internet speed. We’ve gone from 2mb at the best, up to 500mb overnight. The reliability has made a huge difference to the farm, it has made everything more efficient.”

He added: “Farming has changed massively in the last 20 or 30 years, and everything we do is data driven. The problem is, as things get more sophisticated you need more speed. All the milk recording and information we need on the pedigree of the cows is web based, so having good internet and website access is really important.”

Jenny Lennon, Managing Director of Hyperfast Networks, said: “The fibre rollout in Cumbria has been one of the most challenging we’ve encountered, with geographical challenges, heritage sites, and tourism restrictions all playing a role. Reaching this significant milestone under Project Gigabit is a huge achievement.”

“Stories like Andrew’s are a powerful reminder of why we do what we do. This project is making a lasting impact on digital infrastructure, bringing Full Fibre broadband to those who were previously left behind and truly transforming lives in these communities.”

“Focused on our next milestone, we’re excited for the future and fully committed to delivering 99.9% Full Fibre broadband coverage across Cumbria.”

Telecoms Minister Sir Chris Bryant said: “Fast, reliable broadband is essential to help grow businesses and our economy as a whole, and Project Gigabit is rolling out the connectivity to help make this growth a reality for people. For farmers like Andrew, it demonstrates how businesses can thrive with access to great digital connectivity.

“We’re breaking down barriers to opportunity and nowhere is this more apparent than in Cumbria, where almost 12,500 more homes and businesses now have access to lightning-fast broadband.”

Fibrus’ impact in Cumbria extends far beyond broadband. In April 2023, the company launched the Community Fund Cumbria to help combat digital poverty, with a special focus on supporting older and younger members of the community. By the end of this year, Fibrus will have invested £180,000 to help tackle digital exclusion in the region.

To further support local youth, Fibrus also introduced the Play it Forward Fund in 2023, providing vital funding to grassroots, non-profit sports clubs across Cumbria. To date, 40 clubs have benefited from this initiative. Fibrus’ commitment to young people is also demonstrated through its apprentice training facility at the former agricultural college at Newton Rigg, Penrith. Here, 46 apprentices have completed their training, with 74 more set to be trained by 2026.

Join the telecoms ecosystem in discussion at Connected Britain 2025, the UK’s leading digital economy event

Also in the news:
Germany appoints first ever digital minister
Signify and Cornerstone to deploy city-wide multi-operator wireless network through street lighting
BT opens new flagship Manchester office

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Infracapital-backed network operator Fibrus has today revealed that their £108m publicly funded Project Gigabit broadband rollout contract in Cumbria (Lot 28), which was awarded to the operator in November 2022 (here), has so far managed to reach “almost” 12,500 more homes and businesses. But many more are due to follow.

The contract, which Fibrus says has so far been delivered “on time and within budget“, has gone through the odd modification (here) since it was first announced and is currently valued at £149.75m with an aim to bring the operator’s Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to a total of around 53,500 extra premises in the hardest to reach areas.

Once completed, alongside other commercial expansion plans (including by other network operators), some 99% of homes and businesses in Cumbria will have access to gigabit broadband. But it’s still not entirely clear when the Project Gigabit roll-out for this county is due to complete.

Jenny Lennon, Managing Director of Hyperfast Networks, said:

“The fibre rollout in Cumbria has been one of the most challenging we’ve encountered, with geographical challenges, heritage sites, and tourism restrictions all playing a role. Reaching this significant milestone under Project Gigabit is a huge achievement.

Stories like Andrew’s are a powerful reminder of why we do what we do. This project is making a lasting impact on digital infrastructure, bringing Full Fibre broadband to those who were previously left behind and truly transforming lives in these communities.”

Focused on our next milestone, we’re excited for the future and fully committed to delivering 99.9% Full Fibre broadband coverage across Cumbria.”

Telecoms Minister, Sir Chris Bryant, said:

“Fast, reliable broadband is essential to help grow businesses and our economy as a whole, and Project Gigabit is rolling out the connectivity to help make this growth a reality for people. For farmers like Andrew, it demonstrates how businesses can thrive with access to great digital connectivity.

We’re breaking down barriers to opportunity and nowhere is this more apparent than in Cumbria, where almost 12,500 more homes and businesses now have access to lightning-fast broadband.”

The operator’s wider full fibre network currently reaches over 410,000 UK premises and has connected 100,000 customers, although most of that has come from their large deployment in Northern Ireland.

Fibrus’ local apprentice training facility, which is situated at the former agricultural college at Newton Rigg (Penrith), has so far also helped 46 apprentices to complete their training, with 74 more set to be trained by 2026.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Scottish train operator ScotRail has today announced that they’ve launched a new 6-month trial alongside communications provider Clarus Networks, which will extend their Starlink (satellite) based broadband upgrade of onboard WiFi – this is to include six class 158 trains that travel along their Highlands routes in Scotland.

In case anybody has forgotten, ScotRail and Clarus Networks have been developing a solution to harness Starlink’s network of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for over a year (here). The setup was previously shown as being able to deliver low latency (~40ms) and download speeds up to 220Mbps while in-motion (this of course needs to be shared between multiple users).

The latest announcement reveals that six Class 158 trains, which will be in service in the north of Scotland from Inverness to Wick, Thurso, Kyle of Lochalsh, and Aberdeen, have been fitted with this equipment as part of another six-month trial.

The new trial is being supported by the Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), and the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT).

Benefits of the Service (ScotRail)

➤ Improved customer Wi-Fi service.

➤ Wi-Fi calling capabilities for customers and staff.

➤ GPS tracking of trains to enable joined-up public transport journeys.

➤ Live on-board CCTV access and download.

➤ Improved on-train journey information for customers.

Customers will know they are on an upgraded train when they see the on-train stickers and signage, and will also notice a new upgraded on-train Wi-Fi landing page when they connect.

Scott Prentice, ScotRail Strategy and Planning Director, said:

“The launch of this trial is fantastic news for our customers using services in the north of the country, and will have a very positive impact on their journey experience.

There has been a lot of hard work by our staff and our partner, Clarus Networks, to get to this point, and I am looking forward to seeing how customers interact with the new technology on our trains.

The project addresses the long-standing challenges we’ve had for train connectivity in the region, and we hope it will lead to a future roll-out of the technology across other rural routes in Scotland.”

The expectation is that this trial, if successful (seems likely), could lead to the roll-out of the technology across the remaining class 158 trains in the ScotRail fleet, which would cover other rural lines including the West Highlands, Stranraer, Dumfries and the Borders.

The outcome may also influence the inclusion of this technology in the procurement of new fleets and new trains in the future.

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Low-cost mobile provider iD Mobile (Currys), which harnesses Three UK’s national 4G and 5G network via a virtual operator (MVNO) partnership, has today moved to help mark its 10th anniversary by launching a new customer rewards platform called ‘iD Perks‘ – offering various discounts from household names like Disney, Booking.com, Morrisons and The AA etc.

The operator, which over the past 10-years has grown to serve more than 2.1 million customers (up from 2m in Nov 2024), notes that almost 50,000 of their customers have stayed with them for 9 years or more. Suffice to say that iD Mobile appears to be keen to reward existing customers with iD Perks.

The new loyalty scheme is promising to deliver hundreds of deals and discounts across top brands, including Booking.com, The AA, Morrisons and Disney, as well as special iD Mobile anniversary offers, such as discounts on select purchases and bonus perks. The operator indicates that their connection to Currys may also give it a “unique edge” in this area.

Rohit Vedi, MD of iD Mobile, said:

“As we celebrate 10 years of iD Mobile, we’re incredibly proud of just how far we’ve come. Surpassing 2 million subscriptions and earning accolades and recognition from trusted voices like Which?, uSwitch, and Martin Lewis truly reflects the hard work of our brilliant team and the strong brand we’ve built over the last decade.

Reaching this significant anniversary is a fantastic milestone and it’s been inspiring to see iD Mobile become a trusted provider for millions.

But while we’re proud of what we’ve achieved, we’re even more excited about what’s ahead – continuing to deliver even better deals, innovative features and new ways to give back to our customers, starting with our new loyalty platform, iD Perks!”

At present, iD Mobile’s website is already running various 10th anniversary offers, including getting up to 10x the data on selected phone and SIM-only plans until the 5th June, and promoting the ability to win up to £1000 worth of Currys gift cards. But today’s announcement doesn’t make it completely clear how you access the other iD Perks promotions, although we assume it may come via their mobile apps for iOS (iPhone etc.) and Android.

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The business division of broadband and mobile giant Virgin Media and O2 – VMO2 Business – has this morning announced plans to merge their complementary direct B2B operations with those of the Daisy Group, which aims to “create a major new force in the UK business communications and IT sector” via a new entity.

Breaking news.. more to follow..

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Industry trade body Mobile UK, which represents Three UK, EE, O2 and Vodafone, will today publish a new report from Assembly Research that once again calls on the government to “secure the UK’s economic growth goals and maintain its competitive standing” by supporting their wish list of demands to help boost the roll-out and coverage of mobile networks (4G, 5G etc.).

The current government previously made clear that they would be making a “renewed push to fulfil the ambition of full gigabit and national 5G coverage by 2030” (here). Naturally, broadband and mobile operators have not been shy about producing their own wish lists for what this could mean (here, here, here and here), which for mobile operators has often been reflected in calls for a more flexible planning system, lower licence fees for radio spectrum and easier engagement with local authorities.

However, the story so far has been one of disappointment, at least for the mobile operators. Despite their lobbying, the government’s new Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB), introduced on 11th March 2025, and Autumn Budget, largely seemed to ignore mobile networks, preferring instead to focus on other sectors, such as energy, housing and transport.

Meanwhile, reports from earlier this year (here) also appeared to indicate that the government might be looking to cut some of its £501m of support for the £1bn industry-led Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme and its efforts to extend 4G coverage into remote rural areas. But the exact outcome of those discussions remains unclear.

Suffice to say that the new report – ‘Mobile Infrastructure Investment: The UK’s Route to Growth‘, commissioned by Mobile UK and conducted by Assembly Research, marks another attempt by mobile operators to have the government recognise their impact on the economy (it claims that every £1 invested can generate £5 for the wider economy) and “take immediate action to stimulate increased investment“. This includes the usual batch of familiar recommendations.

Key Recommendations by Mobile Operators

While the Government has successfully incentivised private sector investment in the fixed broadband market, Mobile UK asserts that a similar policy focus is now essential for mobile infrastructure.

The Assembly Research report identifies crucial areas where government intervention will significantly boost investment and benefit the economy, including:

➤ Repurposing ALFs [annual licence fees] to improve mobile coverage and capacity.

➤ Revising planning rules to facilitate network deployments.

➤ Implementing the PSTI Act now and in full.

➤ Introducing a business rates holiday on new mobile infrastructure.

➤ Evolving the UK’s net neutrality regime.

➤ Supporting operators’ plans to switch off 2G services.

➤ Appointing digital champions to help expedite 5G rollouts.

➤ Tackling not-spots via the Shared Rural Network programme.

The operators appear to be hoping that they can encourage the government to address these “missed opportunities” via the upcoming Spending Review and Infrastructure Strategy.

Hamish MacLeod, Chief Executive of Mobile UK, said:

“The Government has rightly identified growth as its top priority and called on the UK’s telecoms industry to help strengthen the economy. Now, it’s crucial for the Government to prioritise mobile infrastructure, enabling operators to accelerate investment in coverage and capacity.

This will be fundamental to underpinning growth and fostering innovation throughout the UK economy, and the upcoming Spending Review and Infrastructure Strategy are key moments to demonstrate this commitment.”

The government has so far talked up a big game around areas like planning reform, although they’ve also suffered somewhat of a public backlash to recent tax rises and other changes that could make them even more risk-averse than usual. This is a problem because mobile infrastructure has always been a bit of a hot potato, with many people often objecting to the construction of new mobile masts and related kit, despite their importance.

We’d be surprised if the forthcoming Spending Review delivered many big changes for the operators, although it would be equally surprising if the future Infrastructure Strategy overlooked the sector. Some of the things that the new report desires also stray into tedious areas like Net Neutrality (i.e. measures to prevent serious blocking or slowing of access to legal websites / internet services), which can be very divisive topics and has only recently been reviewed by the regulator.

Elsewhere, Ofcom are currently looking to reduce Annual Licence Fees (ALF) in some radio spectrum bands, albeit not by as much as mobile operators really want (here) and it remains to be seen whether the government might encourage the regulator to opt for a more radical change.

The reality is that mobile operators probably won’t get everything on their wish list. But it currently remains unclear whether they’ll get anything substantive at all. This is despite the importance many of us place on our ability to access a good quality mobile and data service.

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The One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo), which is the industry-led organisation responsible for helping to deliver Ofcom’s solution (One Touch Switching) for easier and quicker UK consumer switching between broadband and phone providers on different networks, has successfully completed 1 million service migrations since its launch on 12th September 2024.

The OTS system remains a Gaining Provider Led (GPL) process, where the customer contacts their new (“gaining“) ISP to start and manage the process on their behalf. But despite a bit of a bumpy start, which we won’t recap today, this has now been widely adopted by the vast majority of consumer facing ISPs.

On the flip side, some smaller ISPs continue to lag behind on their adoption, which is causing problems for consumers who wish to escape or even join those same providers (Ofcom has yet to take any solid action against this). In addition, TOTSCo’s messaging platform, including the systems that some ISPs have put in place for engaging with it, remains somewhat of an imperfect animal where bugs and problems can still obstruct or delay switches.

“The OTS process is now well established, and we’re seeing the positive results of our combined efforts,” said Paul Bradbury, CEO of TOTSCo. “As providers and [Managed Access Providers (MAPs)] have become more familiar with OTS, we’ve noticed a significant reduction in issues and enquiries while the overall match-rate has risen gradually since go-live from 60% to a current value of around 67%. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the process and the collective commitment across industry to continuous improvement.”

Despite the issues, it’s pleasing to see the 1 million switches milestone being achieved (up from 920,000 on 25th April – just two weeks ago, or about 40k per week) and this also provides a solid figure for the level of actual consumer switching that is taking place between broadband ISPs in the UK market. The figure is many times lower than the artificially inflated claims about switching that we often see from those flaky opinion-based consumer surveys.

The TOTSCo platform is now switching (no pun intended) its focus toward the development of a switching solution for business connections and providers (details), which is occurring alongside the separate Gaining Provider Led Business (GPLB) Switching Industry Process (here). The first connection testing for this is still due to get underway at the end of this month, with the goal then being to then go live with a viable service in “early 2026“.

The difficulty is that business connectivity is a much more challenging, diverse and complex field, where the sort of problems that ISPs have encountered with consumer switching is less likely to be well tolerated. But to be clear, while business providers are still required to follow most of the same OTS rules (i.e. Ofcom simply have not specified what the process should be for such ISPs), there is no requirement for any ISP to use TOTSCo’s own business switching solution (once it exists) and business switching is considered a competitive market. In practice, many will probably still end up using TOTSCo’s platform.

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Internet, mobile and phone provider Vodafone UK appears to have quietly introduced a new range of fixed line “Pro 3 Broadband” packages, which feature their “all new” Ultra Hub 7 Fibre router and Super WiFi 7 Booster. The headline change here is reflected in the fact that this kit supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 networking standard for faster speeds.

Just to recap. Last year saw Vodafone introduced a new range of Wi-Fi 6 / 6E capable routers and extenders – the ‘Power Hub‘ router and ‘Super Wi-Fi 6 Booster‘ (here), which both harness Wi-Fi 6 technology. The Power Hub router is today the default device they offer, but until now you could also pay a bit more to get their Pro II packages that included their Wi-Fi 6E capable UltraHub (here).

The provider’s Pro packages also typically include additional features, such as a Super WiFi Booster for the “fastest WiFi in every room“, dedicated WiFi Xperts for daily support (i.e. proactively monitor and fix WiFi issues), automatic 4G back-up (dongle/modem) if your fixed broadband service goes down and Secure Net Home for “hassle-free [internet] security and family controls“.

However, back in October 2024 ISPreview spotted that Vodafone were preparing to launch a new range of Wi-Fi 7 capable routers and wireless mesh extenders for their fixed line customers in 2025 (here), which included the Ultra Hub 7 Fibre (FG4278VF), Super Wi-Fi 7 (RP761BVDF) and Ultra HUB7 (DG4278VF). The good news is that these have now quietly started to turn up under their new Pro 3 packages.

The new Wi-Fi 7 kit and other Pro 3 extras will typically set new customers back an extra £9 to £13.50 per month on top of the standard package pricing, which oddly seems to vary between their packages. For example, if you take out their CityFibre powered 82Mbps service, it normally starts at £23.50 per month or £36.50 to get Pro 3 (+£13). By comparison, if you take their 910Mbps package the price starts at £29 or £38 with Pro 3 (+£9).

At the time of writing, Vodafone has yet to put out an official press release, and we don’t have any spec sheets for the new devices. But after a bit of digging, we did uncover that the new Ultra Hub 7 router features 2 x 2.5G LAN ports (one is both WAN and LAN), as well as 2 x Gigabit LAN ports (speed unclear), 2 x telephone ports and 1 x USB port (intended for their 4G backup). Not to mention the usual lights and buttons (power, wps etc.).

The device also features a separate WiFi button, although we’re not sure if this is purely an on-off feature or something else. Vodafone said their Ultra Hub 7 Fibre router will be supported with security updates until 1st August 2032. We hope to have some official information after the weekend.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

The three-year plan will see new telecoms equipment deployed at over 4,600 locations

This week, the US Department of Transport (DOT) has announced a new plan to upgrade the nation’s ‘antiquated’ air traffic control infrastructure.

The three-year ‘Brand New Air Traffic Control System Plan’ will includes upgrades throughout the system, from new hardware and software to the construction of six new air traffic control centres.

“Decades of neglect have left us with an outdated system that is showing its age. Building this new system is an economic and national security necessity, and the time to fix it is now,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a statement.

The update will also include a major revamp of the system’s telecoms infrastructure, including “new fiber, wireless and satellite technologies at over 4,600 sites, 25,000 new radios and 475 new voice switches”.

The financial requirements for such an upgrade were not formally announced, but Duffy said that “billions” would be required from Congress to complete the project.

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Also in the news:
Germany appoints first ever digital minister
Signify and Cornerstone to deploy city-wide multi-operator wireless network through street lighting
BT opens new flagship Manchester office