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Fixed wireless and UK broadband provider Connexin, which is backed by PATRIZIA and is in the process of being acquired by CityFibre (here), has today signed a new agreement with Southend-on-Sea city council to install their Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) wireless network on existing infrastructure across the city. This will support smart water meters, without the need for new poles.

Fixed wireless LoRa networks harness only a small slice of lower frequency radio spectrum (usually in one of the sub-1GHz bands like 868MHz or 915MHz) in order to support relatively slow, but extremely low power, data connections. Such networks tend to run at sub-Megabit speeds (often under 0.05Mbps, but some variants can handle several Megabits), which makes them ideal for linking Internet of Things (IoT) style sensors.

Under the latest agreement, Connexin will install wireless gateways on existing streetlights, where possible, across Suffolk and Essex. This should minimise the need for new poles and avoid unnecessary construction. By working with the Council to access existing infrastructure, disruption to residents will be reduced and a smoother, more efficient rollout of the new network is expected.

The new LoRaWAN network will support the transfer of data from up to 700,000 smart water meters being installed across Essex & Suffolk by 2035. These meters will send data from households across the region to Essex & Suffolk Water, enabling the water company to remotely monitor usage in near-real time, detect leaks early, and respond quickly.

Dan Preece, Vice President of Water & Utilities at Connexin, said:

“This agreement with Southend-on-Sea City Council is a fantastic example of how collaboration can drive innovation. Wherever possible, we want to partner with local authorities in this way. By utilising existing infrastructure, we can minimise construction and reduce disruption to the environment. This not only supports better water management but also lays the groundwork for smarter cities, making the region more sustainable and better connected.”

Cllr Daniel Cowan, Leader of Southend-on-Sea City Council, said:

“This is a smart, resident-first solution. By using the infrastructure we already have, like streetlights, we’ve avoided our streets being cluttered with lots of new masts [poles]. This digital network allows us a faster, smarter, and more cost-effective way with potential to do more to improve our services in the region.”

In addition to operational benefits for the water utility company, residents will gain greater visibility and control over their water usage. A free app provided by Essex & Suffolk Water allows customers to check their smart water meter readings on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis. On average, households with smart meters reduce consumption up to 20%, helping to reduce bills and environmental impact.

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National network access provider Openreach (BT) has confirmed that their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network, which offers broadband speeds of up to 1800Mbps to UK homes via hundreds of ISPs, has now covered 18.3 million UK premises (Ready for Service). This is now growing at a rate of 1.1 million premises (RFS) per quarter.

The official data shows that the operator’s FTTP network alone can now reach 55% of UK premises (out of 33 million total premises), which at country-level changes to 50% in England, 50% in Scotland, 67% in Wales and a whopping 90% in Northern Ireland where they’ve always been fairly strong.

The operator is currently investing up to £15bn to expand the coverage of this full fibre network to reach 25 million UK premises by December 2026 (here), which includes around 6.2 million premises in rural or semi-rural areas. On top of that, they’ve also expressed an ambition to reach up to 30 million by the “end of 2030“, although this is partly dependent upon a favourable outcome from Ofcom’s next Telecoms Access Review 2026 (note: it looks like they’ll get what they want on this).

Openreach currently has 15,000 people focused on their full fibre deployment and the average per premises build cost continues to hover around the £280 mark or roughly £1.2bn per year. The new service, once live, can be ordered via various ISPs, such as BT, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Vodafone and many more (Openreach FTTP ISP Choices) – it is not currently an automatic upgrade, although some providers have started to do free automatic upgrades as older copper-based services and lines are slowly withdrawn.

One catch in all this is that Openreach did lose 707,000 broadband lines to rivals during 2024 and some analysts expect this to accelerate in 2025 (here). But most of those losses continue to come from areas where they’ve yet to deploy FTTP (i.e. those covered by copper-based solutions, such as ADSL or FTTC / VDSL2), which is why the operator’s strategy is to “build as fast as we can to fill in those areas“, said CEO Clive Selley to Richard Tang of Zen Internet (here).

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In a not unexpected development, network operator TfW Ffeibr (TFW Fibre), which is an arm’s-length initiative setup by Transport for Wales (TfW) – itself owned by the Welsh Government (WG), has applied for Code Powers from Ofcom in order to boost their plans for a full fibre broadband network that runs alongside local railways.

Such operators typically seek Code Powers from Ofcom in order to help speed-up deployments of new fibre networks and cut costs, not least by reducing the number of licences needed for street works. The powers can also help with supporting access to run new fibre via Openreach’s (BT) existing cable ducts and poles (PIA).

All of this is very relevant for TfW Ffeibr, which toward the end of last year announced that they had built a new full fibre broadband network alongside the railways and were offering access to help serve local communities (here). This occurred along the South Wales Metro and while carrying out huge infrastructure changes to electrify the railway line in the South Wales Valleys.

In short, the new operator was established to offer internet service providers (ISP) access to the new infrastructure via wholesale. The network itself currently runs through Wales’ Core Valley routes and into the Capital City region, connecting some of the hardest-to-reach places in Wales.

Extract from Ofcom’s Code Powers Application

The Applicant seeks Code powers to facilitate the deployment of FTTP broadband internet (gigabit-capable) through railway line land, which run through rural and urban areas in Wales. These are known as the “Core Valley Lines”.

The Applicant seeks Code powers to offer managed services, which the Applicant intends to lease to customers on a wholesale basis. The Applicant intends to lease these services to the public sector, in addition to business and residential customers.

The Applicant proposes the managed services are built directly to residential and business premises, both via Openreach’s physical infrastructure (PIA) services and self-dig.

The Applicant also intends to offer dark fibre to other electronic communication network providers on the railway line land.

The Applicant’s initial data centres will be in Wales. However, there is scope for the Applicant to extend to other data centres across the United Kingdom.

The new application doesn’t tell us anything particularly new, but it does show that the network build is far from finished and more work is due to take place in the future.

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Telecoms giant BT has today signed a new “multi-million-pound” deal with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), which will see EE provide 34,000 mobile connections to support workers and real-time reporting on issues from flooding to farming disease outbreaks across England, Scotland and Wales.

The 5-year contract looks set to harness EE’s 4G based mobile broadband network, which currently has the strongest coverage of UK rural areas and continues to grow under the £1bn industry-led Shared Rural Network (SRN) project.

BT has also committed to support DEFRA’s carbon reduction ambitions as part of the deal. It will be given access to key tools including eSim capability and BT’s Carbon Dashboard, which provides visibility of electricity consumption and carbon emissions at an individual workload and application level to help minimise waste and reduce carbon-generating activities.

Andy Rowe, BT’s Director of Central Government, said:

“It’s a privilege to welcome DEFRA to the EE network and to support their mission to restore and enhance the environment for the next generation.

Their workers perform critical work across the UK and it’s vital they are provided with reliable network coverage, especially in times of crisis.

For organisations with large fleets and field workers, hybrid working is about more than just home and office spaces. Staying connected on the go is critical for DEFRA’s workers who rely on mobile connectivity to operate effectively and serve the wider public community daily or in emergency situations.”

As well as connecting national and local governments, BT also works with more than 200 NHS trusts, 43 police forces, 29 fire services and has supported the emergency services by handling all incoming 999 calls since 1937.

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Network operator CityFibre, which recently appointed Censuswide to conduct a nationwide survey of UK farmers, has claimed that 8% of farms do not have any internet connectivity at all and yet almost two-thirds of farmers surveyed (60%) believe broadband is critical for day-to-day farming activities.

The survey says it “raises real concerns that UK farms are being held back due to poor internet connectivity“. Despite almost 60% of farmers expecting their use of technology to increase over the next 5 years, issues around reliability and speed of internet connection were cited as the second biggest barrier (42%) to their use of new farming technologies, after purchasing cost (50%).

Meanwhile, for those who already have access to full fibre (FTTP) broadband, some 47% said the main benefit was the use of precision farming technologies that were previously unavailable to them, with greater efficiency in day-to-day operations (37%), diversification of farmland (33%) and greater access to administration tools (32%) also cited as key benefits.

However, the risks associated with poor internet connectivity go beyond day-to-day operations, with mental health and family life also impacted. The survey highlights the impact of social isolation among rural communities, with farmers feeling they miss out on local community matters as a result of broadband issues. Meanwhile, 9-in-10 farmers admit to avoiding using the internet during busy times of the day, causing disruption to daily schedules.

Greg Mesch, CEO of CityFibre, said:

“Farmers need access to the cream of the crop when it comes to connectivity, if we are going to reap the full economic and technological benefits of Britain’s farms.

Government initiatives such as Project Gigabit are helping to bring faster internet access to rural and harder-to-reach communities and we know the difference that full fibre makes, which is why our teams are hard at work, laying miles of cable and climbing countless telegraph poles to bring faster, better broadband to millions of people.”

Rachel Hallos, NFU Vice President, said:

“To confidently produce more home-grown food we need to be as efficient and productive as possible. Reliable internet and mobile access are key to achieving this. Lack of connectivity not only impacts the day-to-day operations of rural businesses but also the safety of our workforce. Leaving a farmer with no way of communicating in a crisis is dangerous, and this lack of access is preventing UK farmers and growers from doing what they do best – running successful and profitable food producing businesses.

Better internet access can unlock greater productivity, growth and investment into the rural economy, especially at a time when businesses are being required to meet more of their legal and regulatory obligations online.”

The survey appears to be intended to underline the expected benefits of CityFibre’s ten contracts with the Government’s Project Gigabit scheme, which are worth around £900m in state aid and will enable the operator to reach more than 500,000 homes and businesses in hard-to-reach rural areas. This rises to 1.3 million premises, over the next 5 years, when the operator’s private investment is included (overall total of £1.2bn in public and private funding).

However, it should be said that not all farms strictly need a full fibre connection in order to be able to function properly, with many still being able to benefit from a “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) service. Ofcom states that 98% of the UK can access such a service today, which rises to 99% in urban areas and falls to 89% in rural ones. The gap left to fill is getting smaller, but there’s clearly plenty of work left to do. Mobile, satellite and fixed wireless providers also have a role to play here.

Censuswide surveyed, online, a total sample size was 250 UK farmers between 11th and 17th February 2025.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

The majority of farmers (60%) say internet connectivity is critical to running their farm, yet almost one-in-ten farms (8%) do not have any internet connectivity at all

A nationwide survey of UK farmers has revealed that poor internet connectivity risks stifling growth and productivity on Britain’s farms, with unreliable broadband holding back the adoption of new technology including AI and real-time monitoring capabilities.

The Censuswide survey, commissioned by CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, found that although almost two-thirds of farmers surveyed^* (60%) believe internet connectivity is critical^[1] for day-to-day farming activities, nearly one-in-ten farms (8%) have no internet connectivity at all.

Against a backdrop of stubbornly low economic growth and the rapid rise in smart technology, the wide-ranging survey raises real concerns that UK farms are being held back due to poor internet connectivity. Despite almost 60% of farmers expecting their use of technology to increase^[2] over the next five years, issues around reliability and speed of internet connection were cited as the second biggest barrier (42%) to their use of new farming technologies, after purchasing cost (50%).

Meanwhile, for those who already have access to full fibre broadband, almost half (47%) said the main benefit was the use of precision farming technologies that were previously unavailable to them, with greater efficiency in day-to-day operations (37%), diversification of farmland (33%) and greater access to administration tools (32%) also cited as key benefits.

However, the risks associated with poor internet connectivity go well beyond day-to-day operations, with farmer’s mental health and family life also impacted. The survey highlights the impact of social isolation among rural communities, with farmers feeling they miss out on local community matters as a result of broadband issues. Meanwhile, 9-in-10 farmers admit to avoiding using the internet during busy times of the day, causing disruption to daily schedules, especially among family members who rely on the internet for other tasks, including education and hobbies.

The findings of the comprehensive survey reinforce the importance of accelerating the rollout of full fibre internet in rural areas through government initiatives like Project Gigabit, which is delivering fast, reliable broadband to mostly rural communities which would otherwise be left behind with slow speeds. CityFibre has been awarded nine Project Gigabit contracts, totalling over £865m in government subsidies to serve more than 500,000 hard to reach homes and businesses. Alongside co-investment from CityFibre, the awards have unlocked almost £1.2bn in combined public and private investment in rural broadband.

Commenting on the survey findings, Greg Mesch, CEO, CityFibre said:“Farmers need access to the cream of the crop when it comes to connectivity, if we are going to reap the full economic and technological benefits of Britain’s farms.

“Government initiatives such as Project Gigabit are helping to bring faster internet access to rural and harder-to-reach communities and we know the difference that full fibre makes, which is why our teams are hard at work, laying miles of cable and climbing countless telegraph poles to bring faster, better broadband to millions of people.”

Mark Ullyott, a mixed arable and bed & breakfast pig farmer from Middleton-on-the-Wolds, East Riding of Yorkshire, said: “Strong internet connectivity is essential for modern-day farming – not just optional. In a world that is reliant on so many online services, it is vital to complete simple mandatory tasks that many of us take for granted, such as using basic portals.

“We are also seeing a surge in cutting edge technology being introduced across the industry, and farmers who are unable to access reliable broadband risk being left behind. Ideally we would have more options available to us, including full fibre, but at the moment, satellite internet is our only option. We simply wouldn’t be able to run the business without it.” 

Rachel Hallos, NFU Vice President, said: “To confidently produce more home-grown food we need to be as efficient and productive as possible. Reliable internet and mobile access are key to achieving this. Lack of connectivity not only impacts the day-to-day operations of rural businesses but also the safety of our workforce. Leaving a farmer with no way of communicating in a crisis is dangerous, and this lack of access is preventing UK farmers and growers from doing what they do best – running successful and profitable food producing businesses.

“Better internet access can unlock greater productivity, growth and investment into the rural economy, especially at a time when businesses are being required to meet more of their legal and regulatory obligations online.”

CityFibre has begun work in nine of its Project Gigabit areas and will connect over 1.3 million homes and business across rural and hard-to-reach areas connected to full fibre broadband over the next five years. The UK government programme has already delivered on its original aim of bringing gigabit-capable connectivity to 85% of the country by the end of 2025, and is now working towards nationwide coverage by 2030.

Those wanting to sign up to the CityFibre network can see when services are available in their area by using the postcode checker at www.cityfibre.com.

How far is the digital divide hamstringing the UK economy? Join the discussion at Connected Britain 2025

^[1] ‘Extremely critical’ and ‘Somewhat critical’ answers combined
^[2] ‘Significantly increase/d’ and ‘Somewhat increase/d’ answers combined

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Ofcom have today published their latest quarterly (Q4 2024) study of UK consumer telecoms complaints, which shames NOW Broadband (NOW TV) and TalkTalk for attracting the most complaints about broadband, while O2 took the most heat for Mobile and Virgin Media was put on the naughty step for Pay TV services.

Take note that the regulator’s report only covers complaints that Ofcom itself has received and not those sent directly to an ISP, the ISPA or an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) complaints handler (i.e. Communications Ombudsman or CISAS). Ofcom does not deal with individual complaints, but they do monitor them and can take action if enough people raise a concern.

Otherwise, the results below reflect a proportion of residential subscribers (i.e. the total number of quarterly complaints per 100,000 customers per provider), which makes it easier to compare providers in a market where ISPs can vary significantly in size. But sadly, the study only covers feedback from the largest ISPs due to limited data (i.e. those with a market share of at least 1.5%).

Fixed Line Home Broadband Complaints

Both NOW Broadband (NOW TV) and TalkTalk attracted the most broadband moans in Q4 2024, with customers’ complaints about NOW mainly being driven by issues with complaints handling itself. The main driver of complaints about TalkTalk related to issues with service faults and provisioning. On the flip side, Plusnet attracted the fewest complaints of all the listed providers.

A special mention also goes out to Virgin Media, which has seen a sharp drop in its complaint levels since the start of 2024.

Fixed Line Phone Complaints

NOW Broadband (NOW TV) also attracted the most complaints for fixed line (landline) phone services, which were mainly driven by issues with service provisioning and network faults. By comparison, Utility Warehouse continued to attract the fewest complaints for the fourth consecutive quarter, followed closely by Sky. As above, Virgin Media also saw a sharp fall in complaints.

Mobile Complaints

Mobile operators enjoy lower complaint levels than fixed line providers, but somebody has to attract the most complaints and once again that turned out to be O2, where the quarterly moans were primarily driven by issues with complaints handling. By comparison, Sky Mobile and Tesco Mobile jointly attracted the fewest gripes.

Pay TV Complaints

Finally, Virgin Media attracted the most complaints for Pay TV services, while Sky TV and TalkTalk jointly received the fewest complaints. But it should be said that Virgin Media’s complaint levels have continued to fall.

Ofcom’s Consumer Complaints Report Q4 2024
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/../telecoms-and-pay-tv-complaints

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Neos Networks, which operates one of the biggest 34,000km long business fibre networks in the UK – spanning 550 exchanges, 90+ data centres and 600+ Points of Presence (PoPs), has today released the results of new research that claims almost all of the market’s alternative networks (96%) are considering mergers, partnerships and acquisitions with other providers.

As our regular readers will already know, most alternative broadband networks (altnets) across the market are currently looking at consolidation as a way of balancing against the difficult market conditions that have arisen over the past 2-3 years. Much of the latter has been driven by high interest rates, rising build costs and strong competition – all of which is making it hard to raise fresh investment.

In fact, we’ve already seen quite a few sizeable consolidation agreements taking place (e.g. Netomnia + Brsk and CityFibre + Lit Fibre etc.), and many industry observers expect the current crop of c.100 altnets to shrink down into a market dominated by just a handful of players over the coming years.

On the flip side, providers that have yet to consolidate are often switching their strategies from network build to greater commercialisation, which means putting more effort into growing their customer base rather than the reach of their physical underlying fibre optic infrastructure. The downside of this is that it often results in job cuts, which also has a knock-on impact for civil engineering firms (contractors).

The new Censuswide survey, which involved 100 Senior Decision Makers at UK-based altnets, helps to underline the current situation by highlighting some of the hurdles that many such networks face. When asked about acquiring customers, 55% said their target customers are “locked into pre-existing contacts“. This was followed by a lack of awareness (47%), with many altnets facing competition with up to 4 other providers in regions where they have networks.

Key Findings from Neos’ Altnets Survey

➤ 48% of those surveyed said it has been difficult to access funding over the past year. High interest rates are exacerbating this challenge, with 48% of altnets citing them as the primary reason behind their struggle for funding. Regulatory constraints and strict lending criteria were also cited as significant barriers.

➤ 98% said they expect to move beyond just offering traditional residential broadband to broaden their services and appeal. This was also cited as the number one long-term ambition for Altnets in the survey.

– 46% say they plan to launch smart home technology

– 43% say they will offer enterprise connectivity

– 42% say they will launch security solutions and packages

– 35% say will start offering multi-service solutions – i.e. TV and entertainment

➤ 55% said that improving customer satisfaction is their primary goal for the next few years, beating out other, more revenue-critical operations like increasing customer subscriptions and driving operational efficiencies.

➤ When asked what technologies they were using to help them differentiate themselves from their competitors, the majority of respondents said they were deploying Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualisation (53%). 5G Fixed Wireless Access (39%), and AI/ML enabled BSS/BSS automation also ranked highly.

Altnets also face other regulatory challenges, including the knock-on impact of Openreach / BT’s closure of its copper network as it transitions to full fibre. As part of this modernisation, most Altnets are now under pressure to remove equipment from old exchanges (here). They say it will cost them, on average, £1.4m, according to the research.

Lee Myall, CEO at Neos Networks, said:

“Altnets have played a pivotal role in reshaping the UK’s connectivity landscape, driving the expansion of full-fibre networks and challenging established incumbents. However, the industry now stands at a crucial crossroads. Heightened competition, financial pressures, and shifting regulatory frameworks mean that Altnets must evolve rapidly to secure their long-term future.

Our research highlights that Altnets are exploring a variety of strategies – from mergers and acquisitions to strategic partnerships and service diversification – to strengthen their market position and pave the way for sustainable growth.”

However, we’ve so far only tended to see more of a gradual stream of consolidation, rather than the expected flood. This suggests that it might take longer than expected for the market to consolidate toward a handful of larger players. In amongst all that, we may also see the odd failure, but the limited level of overbuild between altnets suggests that such a negative outcome could be rare.

Naturally, Neos Network has a vested interest in this market, particularly with respect to helping altnets diversify their product offerings and supporting network capacity.

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Telecoms and broadband giant BT has confirmed that, as part of their ongoing UK programme to modernise and consolidate the number of offices they have – shrinking them from around 300 to just 30 locations, they’ve begun a consultation on the closure of their Londonderry office. The move, which could be implemented by the end of 2025, puts around 140 jobs at risk.

The operator is instead proposing to relocate most of those impacted by the change to their recently refurbished Riverside Tower office in Belfast, which houses around 2,000 staff. But that reflects a road distance of about 70 miles or a travel time of 1 hour and 20 minutes (on a good day), which in practice means that many local Londonderry staff may struggle with the new commute and perhaps opt for redundancy.

A BT Group spokesperson said: “We are considering closing our office in Derry-Londonderry and we are consulting with colleagues and their unions on our proposals … There’s no impact to customers from these proposals.” Roughly half of the currently c.300 strong workforce in Derry will remain, as they are needed to help operate the company’s local exchange.

Economy Minister, Dr Caoimhe Archibald, said:

“This news is deeply disappointing, especially coming so soon after losses of 300 jobs in Enniskillen last year.

As a significant employer in Derry for many years, this announcement will be of real concern to BT workers and the wider local community.

I met with the company this afternoon and made clear that these plans are entirely contrary to my drive for regional balance. I offered the support of my Department and Invest NI to retain the jobs in Derry but unfortunately the company is proceeding with its consultation. Invest NI will however be working with staff affected to offer retraining and to help them with other job opportunities.”

BT said they remain “committed to Northern Ireland, building full fibre broadband further and faster than anyone else” (Openreach has already covered 90% of premises in the country with FTTP) and have delivered “extensive 5G and 4G mobile coverage” via EE.

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Shropshire-based UK ISP Aquiss, which is celebrating 20 years of service this year, has announced that they’re “slashing” the price of their CityFibre based Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband packages in half for the first 6 months of service. Symmetric speeds of up to 2.5Gbps (2200Mbps average) are available.

The special offer, which runs from 1st to 31st May 2025, means that their prices will now start at £19 a month (first 6 months, then £38) for a 160Mbps package on a 12-month minimum term and this goes up to just £28 (first 6 months, then £56) for their top 2.2Gbps package. All packages come with free installation and a static IPv4 + IPv6 address, although Aquiss do not bundle an inclusive router (you’ll need to supply your own).

“We’re thrilled to bring this incredible deal to our customers, showcasing the unmatched speed and reliability of our CityFibre packages,” said Martin Pitt, CEO of Aquiss. “With speeds up to 2.5Gbps and alternative options through Openreach and Fibre Heroes, we’re making ultra-fast broadband accessible to more households than ever.”

The provider also supplies services via Openreach and FullFibre Limited’s (Fibre Heroes) FTTP networks, albeit at different prices.