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The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) has, after plenty of confusion earlier this year (here), finally agreed to introduce a number of key changes that will allow both residents and businesses on the remote Falkland Islands, which is a British Overseas Territory, to finally be allowed to use Starlink’s (SpaceX) ultrafast LEO satellite broadband network.

The islands, which reside nearly 500km off the South American coast and are home to 3,700 people, have long suffered from poor digital connectivity and that’s partly due to the political fallout from the 1982 Falklands War. As a result, local residents often have little option but to connect via an extremely slow and expensive satellite data link from the dominant provider, Sure (Sure Falklands Islands).

Locals have long been campaigning for the local government to work with SpaceX in order to approve the use of its Starlink based broadband service on the island, which reflects a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This would be able to offer a significantly faster and more flexible service for a lot less money (note: we don’t know if Starlink will do a Falklands-specific plan, so its packages may not match the UK).

The good news, according to the Open Falklands blog, is that residents belonging to the Starlink Petition Group recently proclaimed 10th June 2025 to be Starlink Freedom Day. This came after the local government finally approved some crucial changes that will make it possible for an official Starlink broadband service to go live.

Statement by the Starlink Petition Group

The Starlink Petition Group welcomes and celebrates the announcement that the Falkland Islands Government has formally revised the VSAT policy and fee level.

This decision marks a historic step forward for connectivity in our community. After nearly a year of persistent, coordinated advocacy from islanders, FIG’s approval is a powerful affirmation of democratic engagement and public will. We thank all members of the Legislative Assembly and all those involved in the process for their careful deliberation and ultimate support of the petition.

The Starlink Petition Group also welcomes the Government’s agreement to the second element of the petition: a reduction in the licence fee for operating a VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal). Historically, the Falkland Islands Government had set an annual fee of £5,400, which was intended as a deterrent to prevent consumers and businesses from circumventing the exclusive licence held by the local telecommunications provider.

We are also profoundly grateful to all the engaged people of the islands, as well as public servants and the Communications Regulator, whose dedication made this approval possible. Your contributions throughout the process have been invaluable. Thank you.

Just to be clear, as well as improving the policy rationale for the issuing of personal VSAT licences, the cost of such licenses has now been slashed to just £180 per year – bringing it within the realm of consumer affordability. But the Communications Regulator will still need to go through the usual motions in order to get all of this formally introduced, which could also mean some difficult discussions with Sure (the Sure South Atlantic exclusive telecommunications licence isn’t set to expire until 29th December 2027).

SpaceX itself has previously indicated that it would look to officially make Starlink available to the Falklands during 2025, although they’ll first need to receive written confirmation of this week’s decision. After that it will then take a bit longer for them to agree terms, package/price details and any issues of spectrum licensing with the FIG etc.

Some of these processes will occur over the next few weeks, but we’re not yet sure exactly how long it will be before residents can officially take the new service (the community expectation seems to be 2-3 months for the regulatory side of things). SpaceX itself has previously indicated that it would look to officially make Starlink available to the Falklands during 2025, which still seems plausible.

Legalising and normalising access to Starlink for all users could also help to make the Falklands a much more attractive place to both visit and do business. Thanks to one of our readers, Chris, for the news tip.

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VodafoneThree, which reflects the now finalised c.£16bn merger between Vodafone and Three UK (here), has this morning set out a set of post-merger plans for their 4G / 5G mobile (mobile broadband) network coverage, performance and branding. Starting with a 20% average speed boost on 4G for Three and SMARTY customers, and a new broadband partnership with CommunityFibre.

At this point we already know, from prior announcements, that VodafoneThree plan to invest £11bn to upgrade the UK’s 5G mobile infrastructure and coverage over the next ten years. The combined business has also previously stated that it aspires to reach more than 99% of the UK population with their 5G Standalone (SA) network by 2034 and push fixed wireless access (mobile home broadband) to 82% of households by 2030, among other things.

The hard part of this process, which involves integrating teams (some potential for redundancies in this area), networks and offices, has now begun. As a result of that, VodafoneThree has this morning set out a refined set of post-merger plans and network targets.

The move highlights just how quickly the operator intends to bring everything together; while also respecting the binding commitments they made as part of the agreement. The announcement includes quite a lot of sporadic detail, so we’ve opted to shrink this down into a bullet point summary below. It’s worth a read, due to so many changes being introduced.

Max Taylor, CEO of VodafoneThree, added: “A new era of connectivity has begun. We will connect every nation, every community, in every corner of the UK. We will build the UK’s best 5G network with an unprecedented £11bn privately funded infrastructure project, laying the digital foundation for our country’s growth ambitions. Benefits for our 27 million mobile customers will start within months, with access to roam across both networks at no extra cost. From big cities to small towns, and everywhere in between, our mission is to build the UK’s best network”.

VodafoneThree’s Plan

➤ Over time, Vodafone and Three UK will integrate into one physical network, which will be called: The Nation’s Network.

➤ The new company will operate a multi-brand mobile strategy in their consumer business, with Vodafone, Three UK, VOXI, SMARTY and Talkmobile remaining (on the same single network).

➤ Vodafone will be the only brand for business customers, with one team able to tailor solutions to a customer’s needs.

➤ Over the next 12 months, VodafoneThree will bring Three’s mobile broadband (Fixed Wireless Access) products together with Vodafone’s Full Fibre (FTTP) into one home broadband portfolio, under the Vodafone brand. There will only be one converged brand for both businesses and consumers.

➤ Aims to reach 99.95% UK population coverage of their 5G Standalone (5G SA) network by 2034. The network will be built at speed, with the 5G SA build plan being front-loaded so that, by the end of the third year, it will hit 90% population coverage from a current baseline of 47%. Around 71% of the UK population (circa 50 million) will have access to their fastest 5G speeds by the end of year one.

➤ Within just two weeks, through the sharing of combined spectrum, 7 million Three UK and SMARTY customers will receive an improvement in 4G data speeds (mobile broadband) of up to 20% (average).

➤ Within a few months, 27 million Vodafone and Three UK mobile customers will start to benefit from unrivalled access to roam on each other’s networks at no extra cost. It will happen automatically, with no need to change a thing (phones will connect to the best coverage available). By the end of the year this will remove a total of 16,500 sq/km of not spots – equivalent to 10x the size of London – with the first sites already having been turned on.

➤ By this time next year (June 2026), VodafoneThree will launch beta trials on a ‘first-of-its-kind’, space-based satellite mobile network, thanks to Vodafone’s partnership with AST Space Mobile. This will complement the existing network build, eliminating coverage gaps in places that otherwise couldn’t be reached.

➤ Within two years, the company will open two new customer care centres in Belfast and Sheffield, bringing 400 sales and customer service roles back to the UK, alongside the existing call centres in Stoke and Glasgow. Crucially there are “no planned retail redundancies“.

➤ VodafoneThree will launch a new ‘Just Ask Once’ Promise on the Vodafone brand from July 2025. ‘Just Ask Once’ will aim to resolve any query, quickly and painlessly, with a dedicated advisor who proactively updates the customer, and if the issue isn’t resolved to the customers satisfaction, they will be able to simply part ways without penalty.

➤ VodafoneThree has today announced a new partnership with CommunityFibre in London, bringing faster fixed FTTP broadband speeds to even more homes. This builds on existing agreements with Openreach and CityFibre.

➤ Over the entire 8-year build period, VodafoneThree will create and sustain demand for, on average, 9,000 jobs, with peak investment years (years 2-6) seeing as many as 13,000 jobs created across the UK (74% outside London and the South East).

➤ By consolidating networks, VodafoneThree’s energy consumption will be around 31% lower than it would have been as two separate networks. In addition, VodafoneThree will reduce emissions from operations to net zero by 2027 and look to achieve the same across the full value chain by 2040.

➤ This August, VodafoneThree will be the first to exclusively range the first phone from HMD’s Better Phone Project in the UK, with a new innovative on-device AI application called HarmBlock. This software (built by SafeToNet) means that that harmful content can’t be seen, shared, or created. The phone also features real-time location tracking, contact safe-lists, parental controls for apps and online access.

Overall, this all sounds very promising, at least in terms of network coverage and service, although it won’t be enough to placate the concerns about future consumer pricing beyond the initially protected period of 3 years. The fears of future price hikes and the gradual removal of their cheapest plans from the UK market, either directly or via MVNO providers (e.g. iD Mobile, Smarty etc.), seem unlikely to go away.

In addition, some might find VodafoneThree’s decision to name their combined network infrastructure ‘The Nation’s Network‘ a little bit too presumptuous or possibly even worthy of some cringe, although such thoughts may subside if they’re able to deliver on their coverage and performance improvements.

Separately, VodafoneThree today announced that the south coast (Devon) town of Brixham has recently received a 30% uplift in network capacity. The hope is that this will help balance against some of the expected network load during the busy summer months, when visitor numbers tend to climb.

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Network operator VodafoneThree UK has today announced that they’ve begun a “feasibility study” to explore the possibility and cost of deploying a new subsea fibre optic cable system to help transform broadband and mobile connectivity in the Shetland Islands – a remote subarctic archipelago that resides some way north of Scotland.

Shetland is currently already connected by two major subsea fibre cables, including the SHEFA-2 (Faroese Telecom) submarine (subsea) and the R100 North cable that was recently built by broadband giant BT as part of the Scottish Government’s £600m Reaching 100% (R100) project (here). The R100 project also deployed a number of smaller subsea fibre links between mainland Shetland and its smaller islands.

Despite this, Vodafone Business has proposed a plan that would involve running a new cable from mainland Scotland to Shetland. But the operator states that such a cable would “provide essential infrastructure for high-speed internet and telecommunications services for local communities, as well as businesses“. This would no doubt also support VodafoneThree’s plan to boost 5G Standalone coverage (here).

We think greater resilience should also be mentioned as one of the above highlights, particularly in today’s climate of rising conflict and security concerns around subsea infrastructure (example).

Richard Lochhead MSP, Minister for Business, said:

“High-speed connectivity is a necessity in today’s world – both for economic growth and everyday life. It is particularly important that residents, businesses and visitors to our rural areas and islands are not left behind in the digital age.

Private investment is critical to delivering this mission and I welcome VodafoneThree’s renewed commitment to help deliver the infrastructure needed to support our island communities, including its intention to undertake a feasibility study into a subsea connection between Shetland and the mainland.”

Nick Gliddon, Director of Vodafone Business, said:

“During our meetings in November 2024, with Shetland Islands Council, it was really apparent to me that connectivity is essential for everything from daily transactions to the growth of businesses and the economy.

Through initiatives like the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme, we are providing strong and reliable 4G coverage to our customers living in, working in, and visiting Shetland. The proposed cable could transform the connectivity landscape for the islands further, bringing significant economic and social benefits. We remain committed to delivering the necessary infrastructure to ensure the continued prosperity and growth of the islands.”

The timing of all this is quite interesting, not only because of the current climate around subsea security and the fact that it follows so soon after the completion of Vodafone and Three UK’s mega-merger. On top of that, the Scottish Government are also in the process of hunting out a supplier for their £40.7m (state aid) Project Gigabit broadband roll-out scheme for Orkney & Shetland (Lot 6).

The deployment of a new subsea fibre link to Shetland, if approved, would however be an extremely expensive project and it’s difficult to see where the return for VodafoneThree would come from for this without additional support (e.g. state aid or other investors). In 2023 Shetland had just 11,567 domestic properties, as well as 259 hotels / guest houses and 1,655 registered private businesses (most of these are small businesses, but they do now have the SaxaVord Spaceport).

At present this is just a feasibility study and so it remains uncertain whether it will be turned into a serious deployment.

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Network access provider Openreach (BT) has today warned businesses across the UK that they must “act now” in order to be ready for the old Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to be switched-off in favour of IP-based digital phone (VoIP etc.) services. But many are leaving it until the last minute, “risking network outages and malfunctioning systems“.

Just to recap. The legacy phone switch-off was last year delayed to 31st January 2027 in order to give broadband ISPs, phone, telecare providers, councils and consumers more time to adapt (details). The main focus of this was the 1.8 million UK people who use vital home telecare systems (e.g. elderly, disabled – vulnerable users), which aren’t always compatible with digital phone services because telecare providers were slow to adapt. But this overlooks that, for everybody else, many providers will still be working to the original Dec 2025 deadline to have their customers off the PSTN network.

According to Openreach, “many businesses” (we don’t get a solid estimate) are continuing to rely on outdated PSTN infrastructure and thus “risk both their operational effectiveness and bottom lines“. As legacy networks are decommissioned, systems such as payment terminals, security alarms, ISDN lines, and landline phones “will cease to work, potentially leading to significant disruptions“.

James Lilley, Director of All IP at Openreach, said:

“The nationwide transition to an All-IP network is a huge undertaking, and ensuring vulnerable users are protected during the shift has been a priority. Now that we are confident we have addressed those needs and can safely transition vulnerable customers, the deadline is set. It’s time for businesses to act and unchain their networks from legacy infrastructure.

The digital world won’t wait for those that stall. Every day of delay risks disruptions, higher costs, and missed Opportunities.”

The industry-led shift is being driven by a combination of factors, such as the looming retirement of copper lines in favour of full fibre (FTTP), as well as future exchange closures and the declining reliability of the old phone network (Ofcom states that related fault rates substantially increased by 45% in 2024). Not to mention that it is not economically feasible to maintain both the old and new networks side-by-side long term.

The government and ISPs have already introduced various measures to protect consumers, particularly vulnerable users. But businesses don’t benefit from this and need to ensure that their own systems are up-to-date ahead of time. The best way to start this process is by contacting your current provider to discuss the issue.

Openreach said businesses should start by reviewing their connectivity estate to identify any equipment still relying on PSTN. The network operator added that testing this equipment can be done for free at their test labs, ensuring compatibility with All IP networks (details here). Openreach are also offering a range of resources to help businesses through the transition, including support for edge cases and temporary solutions if needed.

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Hampshire-based alternative network builder and UK ISP toob, which has deployed a gigabit speed full fibre (FTTP) network across parts of South England and also harnesses CityFibre’s network in other areas, has announced that their own fibre network build has now covered over 8,000 homes in the large Hampshire village of Portchester.

The deployment in Portchester is said to have cost toob around £3 million to complete and appears to mark a return to fresh network build for the operator, which over the past year or two has often seemed to be more focused upon expanding their coverage via CityFibre’s existing FTTP network.

Apparently, this “initial roll out” in Portchester is just the beginning, with more homes due to be added across the area over the “coming months“, although toob doesn’t say how many more. But we should point out that the village is also well covered by Virgin Media’s (inc. nexfibre) gigabit-capable broadband network, with Openreach, Glide and CityFibre also having a smaller level of cover.

The network operator is currently being financed through equity from funds managed and advised by the Amber Infrastructure Group, as well as a large amount of debt financing provided by Ares Management’s Infrastructure Debt (here). At the end of 2023 this mix of equity and debt reflected a total commitment of £395m.

Nick Parbutt, toob CEO and Founder, said:

“Releasing this first phase of toob’s network build in Portchester is a great milestone for us and we’re really pleased to continue our investment within the local community. toob is committed to delivering fast, reliable broadband at an affordable price, and we look forward to connecting more homes across the area over the coming months.”

Customers of the service currently pay just £25 per month on an 18-month minimum contract term (or £37 if you want a monthly term) to receive symmetric speeds of 900Mbps+ (average advertised speed) from toob, which includes free installation, a wireless router, unlimited usage, a pledge of no mid-contract price hikes and UK-based support.

In addition, it’s worth mentioning that toob also offers a cheaper 150Mbps entry-level tier for just £22 per month on an 18-month term, as well as a separate 50Mbps Social Tariff (‘toob essentials’) for those on state benefits. The latter has no fixed contract term and costs just £20 per month.

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Network operator CityFibre has today announced that their high-speed fibre optic based Ethernet (leased line) services are now available to over 260,000 UK businesses (up from 80,000). The expansion has been underpinned by its nationwide upgrade to 10Gbps capable XGS-PON (FTTP) broadband technology.

Just to recap. CityFibre’s existing full fibre network covers 4.3 million UK premises (RFS). But this rollout also incorporates a dedicated Business Ethernet platform, designed specifically to support enterprise-grade service guarantees and bringing their full FTTP network online for its business ISPs.

The operator added that, over the past year, they’ve worked closely with partners to speed-up the installation of new business Ethernet connections by up to 40% (across their most complex Ethernet installations, where ‘permission to work’ has been agreed). CityFibre added that they’re also introducing a new “delivery assurance guarantee” to provide partners with the confidence of enhanced compensation for any unexpected delays to their installation date.

CityFibre added that they were also “committed to delivering the best economics“, with claims that its Ethernet prices are “up to 20% cheaper” than its “major competitors“. All of this sounds good, although their current top Ethernet tier still only offers symmetric speeds of 1Gbps, which at this end of the market is starting to look a little dated.

Andy Nash, Director of Business, Government and Mobile at CityFibre, said:

“Today’s announcement is a reminder that CityFibre is more than just a broadband network. We’re building a digital infrastructure platform that serves the needs of all sectors of the market, from consumer services right through to enterprise-level connectivity.

Our partners have called for a larger footprint and that is exactly what we are giving them. Tripling our business footprint transforms their addressable market and is a catalyst for growth and shared success. We look forward to our proposition of market leading products, service and economics benefitting even more businesses in the years ahead.”

CityFibre currently still aspires to cover up to 8 million UK premises with their new FTTP (XGS-PON) broadband network – representing c.30% of the UK. But their original target of hitting that by the end of 2025 will not be achieved, and the operator has instead shifted their strategy to focus more on growth via mergers and acquisition (M&A) of smaller alternative networks.

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Alternative rural broadband ISP Quickline has today reported that they’ve hit their “first milestones” as part of their state aid supported Project Gigabit broadband roll-out contracts for West and South Yorkshire. More than 10,000 rural premises now have access to their new full fibre (FTTP) network as a result, with more to come.

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 as well as its own commercial builds, the operator also holds several state aid supported roll-out contracts for Yorkshire under the government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband programme.

The latest development thus reflects their contracts for both the West Yorkshire and York Area (Lot 8 – original aim of 28,000 premises, £60m) and South Yorkshire (Lot 20 – original aim of 32,100 premises, £44m). Each contract includes phased delivery targets and progress has been made on these.

By the end of March 2025, Quickline was required to connect 6,273 funded premises in West Yorkshire and the York area. This target was surpassed, with 6,426 homes and businesses connected, including premises in communities such as Harden, near Bingley and Bradshaw, near Thornton.

In South Yorkshire, the first milestone target of 3,621 addresses isn’t due until the end of June, but as of 31st March, Quickline has achieved this number, ahead of schedule. Communities benefiting include Barnby Dun, near Doncaster, Ealand, Keadby, and Todwick.

When including the addresses Quickline has reached as part of its commercial build across rural West and South Yorkshire, more than 30,000 addresses now have gigabit-capable connectivity.

Dan Hague, Project Gigabit Delivery Director at Quickline, said:

“These contracts are complex by nature, often involving challenging rural builds and limited existing infrastructure. That’s why we’re proud to not only hit, but exceed, our first milestones – particularly so in South Yorkshire.

We’re still in the early stages of our Project Gigabit contracts and have a long way to go, and we remain focused on staying on track and delivering the broadband connectivity that rural communities across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire need and deserve.

Thanks to the commitment of our teams and build partners, we’re connecting thousands of premises and making real progress on closing the digital divide.”

Telecoms Minister, Chris Bryant, said:

“Quickline’s exceptional progress in Yorkshire shows what can be achieved when government and industry work together to tackle digital inequality, ensuring people like Colin can make the most of the modern world no matter where they live.

By exceeding these first milestones and connecting over 10,000 government-funded properties ahead of schedule, we’re already delivering on our commitment to level up digital infrastructure across the country, creating a more connected Britain where geography is no barrier to opportunity.”

Residential customers reached by their new full fibre network are typically charged from £22 per month on a 24-month term for 100Mbps (50Mbps upload) speeds with free installation, which goes up to just £32.67 (average) for their top 1000Mbps symmetric speed tier. But the gigabit package is currently running a confusing discount, which means the first month is £49, then the next 8 months are free and after that it’s £49 monthly.

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Broadband and mobile provider Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2) has this morning claimed, as part of a new online survey conducted by Strand Partners, that 48% of UK pensioners are still unaware of the social tariffs that can offer “significant cost savings” to those on state benefits, such as Pension Credit, Universal Credit and others.

According to the survey, which we should caveat was conducted last month with 1,020 “nationally representative” members of the UK public (only 241 of those respondents were pensioners), some 33% of pensioners have felt more isolated or lonely in the past 12 months and the majority (81%) worry about the cost of living.

However, as above, almost half of pensioners say they’re unaware of providers offering discounted broadband and mobile deals to those receiving Pension Credit, with 34% of pensioners also being unsure of how to switch to a cheaper tariff.

Additional Survey Findings

➤ Staying connected with friends and family through calls, texts and video calls helps 68% of pensioners feel less lonely and more part of the world.

➤ 46% of pensioners say the rising cost of living has made them feel more isolated from their community and means they can’t afford to go out and socialise as much as they used to (48%). Many are visiting friends and family less due to travel costs (42%), and 28% worry about money so much that they feel anxious in social situations.

➤ 62% of pensioners believe digital technology helps them keep their independence.

➤ If faced with reduced mobile and internet connectivity for an extended period of time, pensioners cite concerns including being unable to contact someone in an emergency (72%), missing important family updates (58%), and not being able to access online GP appointments or other healthcare services (55%) and losing touch with friends (46%).

Mobile operator O2 points out that its £10 per month O2 Essential Plan is available for both new and existing customers who receive a range of benefit payments, and comes with 10GB of mobile data, plus unlimited calls and texts. The plan can be taken as a 30-day rolling contract, has no activation or exit fees, and no price changes while customers receive benefit payments. But cheaper commercial mobile plans do exist in the market.

Similarly, Virgin Media also offers several Essential Broadband tariffs, which typically enable those on state benefits to take an unlimited 15Mbps (2Mbps upload) connection on a 30-day rolling contract for just £12.50 per month, rising to £20 per month if you opt for their faster 54Mbps (5Mbps upload) tier. Plus, if you pay an extra £20 one-off, then you’re also able to add their new STREAM TV box (Flex).

Dana Haidan, VMO2’s Chief Sustainability Officer, said:

“With today’s research revealing pensioners feel increasingly isolated due to the rising cost of living, Virgin Media O2 is proud to offer a range of comprehensive measures to help people on low incomes to get online and stay in touch with loved ones.

Anyone who is receiving Pension Credit or a range of additional benefits are able to access our cut-price tariffs that offering broadband and mobile services starting from as little as £10.

We want to raise the profile of our broad range of support for people experiencing financial difficulties, helping to combat loneliness and keep the nation connected.”

Virgin Media has previously promised to help raise awareness of such tariffs, and today’s press release plays into that effort. Finally, a quick reminder. We know social tariffs can be a divisive topic for some, but that is not an excuse to abuse the comment system in order to post offensive remarks toward those who take state benefits. Such posts are against our rules and will be removed.

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News

The solution allows riders on bus journeys to enjoy Wi-Fi connectivity via satellite

This week, satellite operator Viasat has announced that Brazilian transport operator Satélite Norte is the first to make use of its new Digital Bus solution.

Through the installation of Viasat hardware, Digital Bus combines satellite and cellular connectivity (when available) to provide onboard Wi-Fi services, even when driving in a remote location.

In tests, the solution showed provided consistent Wi-Fi performance on vehicles travelling from Goiânia, in the state of Goiás, to São Paulo, over 500 miles away.

In addition to benefits for customers, the integration of satellite connectivity also allows the transport company to better track, monitor, and manage its vehicle fleet. It will also allow for targeted and dynamic advertising, as well as a platform for gathering passenger feedback.

“Across many regions of the world buses are a key transport link – particularly in places where air travel is expensive, and rail routes are lacking,” said Andy Kessler, Vice President, Enterprise and Land Mobile at Viasat. “After launching Digital Bus earlier this month, we are proud to partner with Satélite Norte to bring our Digital Bus solution to Brazil. Together, we’re proving that reliable connectivity is transforming the passenger experience and helping operators digitize and elevate their entire operation. As premium road travel continues to grow, internet access is no longer a luxury, it’s an essential part of the journey.”

For Satélite Norte, this more reliable connectivity is viewed as a differentiator, allowing them to offer a service unavailable to competitors.

“Our partnership with Viasat aligns perfectly with our mission to offer comfort, innovation, and a differentiated experience to our passengers. We believe that high-quality onboard connectivity will become a competitive advantage and add even more value to our luxury route between Goiás and São Paulo,” said Waldir Sampaio, Executive Director of Satélite Norte.

Viasat says it is working with OEMs line-fit the solution in the near future.

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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 asset

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Solihull-based UK business connectivity provider Convergence Group has announced the acquisition of the M247 Group‘s UK focused connectivity (broadband, Ethernet etc.) and IT services operations, which apparently includes its related infrastructure and personnel, for an undisclosed sum.

The divestment deal only impacts M247’s UK services, with its international operations remaining unaffected. M247 confirmed that its main focus would now be on its international, multi-jurisdictional, enterprise customers (credits to Comms Business).

Darryl Edwards, CEO of M247 Group, said: “This divestment is a pivotal step in aligning our business with our international growth strategy. By selling our UK-only connectivity and IT services operations to Convergence Group, we can sharpen our focus on delivering greater value to global enterprises. This move enables us to accelerate our expansion into high-growth technology sectors, including IoT and AI inference services.”